“Please, give me your hand.”
She took his right hand, the one holding the quill.
“It’s covered in ink.”
“Oh.”
Only then did Ash look down at his hand. She was right. It was covered in black ink. There was also ink on his palm and on the documents beneath as well. The reason was quickly apparent. The quill was defective. There was a small crack in the tip, and there was a small, but steady stream of ink leaking out.
“I guess this quill is broken.”
Elaine sighed softy and took out a handkerchief from her pocket.
‘Good thing I always carry one with me.’
When Ash was younger, he often made a mess when eating or playing, so Elaine had developed the habit of always carrying a handkerchief with her.
The fact the Ash easily caught colds also played a part. Children had a weak immune system, so they often catch colds, but Ash seemed to be sick more often then the other children. Also, once he got sick, it lasted longer then normal. On days he sneezed, there would be an uproar.
White thin fingers were gripping his now large adult hand almost wrapping around it. Ash panicked, trying to pull his hand from her grasp.
“Its fine. I…”
“Hold still. No matter how focused you are on your work, how could you not notice that your hand was like this?”
Elaine held his hand tightly. It was as if she was scolding a child, but Ash who was now embarrassed, hardly noticed. He flinched again, as if trying to pull his hand away, but soon relented after hearing Elaine’s words. She was right, he had been careless. Ash, now unable to refute, eventually turned his gaze away and retorted softly.
“…Are you sure? Your handkerchief will get stained. You won’t be able to reuse it.”
“Its fine. This is what it’s for anyways.”
“…?”
He didn’t seem to understand what she meant, but that didn’t matter. Elaine kept her eyes fixed on his palm, concentrating on cleaning away the smeared ink. She wrapped the handkerchief around her thumb and rubbed the ink away, little by little removing the stains.
Suddenly, Elaine realized that Ash’s hands were big. Her hand, which was on top, was thinner and smaller in comparison. Through the thin cloth, she could feel his hard, calloused palm. Callouses that were uniformly positioned, without being too rough. It was the hand of a knight, one who held a sword often.
In the past Elaine had thought that someday, when Ash had gotten bigger, she had wanted to tech him swordsmanship. She had wished he would enjoy swordsmanship more than magic. It would be fun to be able to spar together. She had often imagined what it would be like when the young Ash had grown up. That was why she had wanted to gift him that red sword.
After a short while, she let go of his hand. “I’m done now. There is still a faint ink stain so make sure you wash your hands thoroughly later.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Ash replied, watching her put the now soiled handkerchief back into her pocket. He then looked down at his clean hands. The feel of her touch on his hands had been very unfamiliar to him. But why was it that he didn’t dislike it?
He thought it was strange, and looked for the answer in her light green eyes, but could not find one.
***
A few days later.
The moonlight coming in through the window cast long shadows on the floor. Elaine was walking down the hallway of the dark mansion. She had just finished escorting Ash and was on her way back to the dormitory.
It had been peaceful ever since the incident with the old man in the streets. Her routine consisted of going to Ash’s office every morning, going through his work schedule and watching him work.
‘I hope things stay this peaceful in the future. I don’t want Ash to be in danger.’
Just then, she heard footsteps from across the hallway. They echoed softly, gradually getting closer.
Elaine who had just been lost in thought, raised her head at the sound. Eventually, a maid holding a lamp in the darkness came into view.
“Knight.”
“What’s wrong.”
Elaine looked at the maid, who was walking around at midnight, suspiciously. Then she saw the maid pointing to a corner of the hallway, as she whispered.
“Well, over there… I thought I heard a strange noise. Cam you come with me, I’m frightened.”
Strange noise? Elaine tilted her head for a moment, but then nodded.
“All right.”
She walked behind the maid. The sound of their footsteps disappearing into the darkness. As they crossed the hall and rounded a corner, Elaine stopped in her tracks.
“Hold on for a moment.”
The maid looked back at her curiously.
