Tujan's mother had me sit on an armchair. She'd brought a small stool and asked me to place my right leg on it. There was a greenish mixture in a bowl next to me while wet leaves were on a plate.

They were all scared when they found out I was human but Tujan assured them that I didn't have bad intentions. She promised that they would get me treated and once I was okay, I could leave.

I didn't even want to leave just yet.

"So what happened?" Her cousin, Bihak, asked me. Nilsa, Tujan's mother, applied the greenish mixture to my leg. She would take a lump with her right hand and then rub it around the area. Each rub stung and I hissed.

"I was chasing this thing. A Kulni? I... I don't want to talk about it."

The young man still sat at the dining table. I could see him from my position. He was observing us, watching me, but not saying a word.

Rika - that was what Tujan called her father - sat on an armchair, watching his wife apply the mixture to a human, an 'athurhen'. That's what I was. Bihak sat on the floor because he wanted to be facing me. I had piqued his interest.

"What do you do on earth?" He asked me.

"Uh... I go to secondary school."

"Oh. My cousin teaches me how to fight. I can show you some of my moves if you want." He stood up and began to demonstrate.

I chuckled; he was quite good.

I glanced at Tujan. She knelt beside her mother, passing her the wet leaves while she used them to cover the wound. I didn't expect someone as angelic as Tujan to be a fighter. "Tujan?" I asked him.

"Oh no. Not her." Tujan raised her head here, sending me a coy smile. "It's Tevessa, he teaches me to fight."

"Bihak!" Rika stood up and faced his niece. "Kaw'vreh tur morr." [Go to your room]

"Rika..." His tone sounded like he was begging.

"Kaw'vreh!" He barked at the boy and he whimpered. He stood to leave, tears welling in his eyes. [Go away/leave]

My heart clenched. What had he done wrong?

"Rika." The man in the dining stood up. His voice was calm. "He ne tart'un gnor-ki. Tisk yanik. Heik tart'uka-thurhen." He turned to the boy, "Kaw'reh."

[He has done nothing wrong. Don't make him sad. He is talking to a human... Come here]

Bihak ran to him and hugged him, sobbing in his khaki trousers. "Shh." The man turned to me. "I'm the skilled young man who teaches this extraordinary child how to fight." He raised Bihak in the air and brought him back down. "Wipe those tears now."

"Tevessa, tisq tart'uka-"

"Let's speak in the girl's tongue, okay? We are not like humans, being secretive and selfish. Father, loosen up. Look, even mother is trying to be hospitable. Let's not fear the girl because of what the Chinese arthuhens did to us." Tevessa passed me a knowing look.

Chinese?

"Tevessa-!"

Tevessa shook his head, a bright smile on his coral lips. His garnet eyes shone when he looked up.

"Father!" His voice was stern. "I'd prefer if we don't argue. Not here." There was some sort of finality in his voice.

His father cast me a doubtful glance. I kept my head low to avoid eye contact. He sighed, walked through the curtains and out of the living room he went.

Tevessa walked toward Tujan and his mother while his eyes scrutinized my wound. Nilsa had covered it with the leaves and was now wrapping a bandage around it.

"Kulni never hurts anyone. You must have really bad intentions then, huh?" We locked eyes.

I stared at his deep red eyes, then lowered my eyes, pressing my lips and stretching them. "Believe me, I don't. I..."

"Tevessa, ne tartik yani." Tujan snapped, getting up immediately. Nilsa finished wrapping the bandage around the affected area of the lower part of my leg.

"But I wasn't being annoying, Tujan. I was just questioning an Earthian."

"Her eyes are brown," Bihak added.

"A very beautiful brown. Emery. You have a beautiful name."

"Thank you-"

"Ah! But it's not as beautiful as mine, yes? Be honest."

"Tevessa can be very overconfident." Tujan eyed Tevessa. "But he's nowhere near as half as all the things he says about himself."

Nilsa stood up now and I tried to do the same but my leg stung. I brought it up and sat back on the chair.

"Sit for a while now, my dear," Nilsa advised. "The leaves quicken the healing. It was a deep scratch truly."

"Thank you, Nilsa. Thank you so much."

"It's okay. I'll prepare pegrazh juice for you. They are amazing," she offered.

"Mama!" Tevessa screamed. "How many times have I hurt myself and you never offer me pegrazh juice?" He whined, dramatically placing a hand on his chest.

I stifled a chuckle. Tujan walked to him and gave him a light slap. "Because she's a good, well-mannered person."

"And I'm not?"

"Not so much." She walked towards the dining room and opened a door from there, following her mother in, probably to the kitchen.

"Bihak, go up now. Your aunt might be looking for you."

"Zhun." He ran to the curtain.

"Bihak?" Tevessa called him. He turned. "Get me a chair from the dining room."

"Zhun." Bihak walked to the dining room and dragged a wooden chair out and to the living room. [Yes/Ok]

Tevessa took it from him and placed it so that the back was facing me. Bihak went in, while Tevessa sat on the chair in the wrong way so that he was facing me. He put his hands in his pocket and brought out a can - my can, which he extended to me. "Tujan gave this to me. It's yours?"

"Thank you. It fell off when I was running from your. . .Cat-dog."

He chuckled. "You must be very connected to the Elakki, yes?"

"Why do you say?"

"First, you own Elyinian oil. And now, Mehjazgeu?"

"A what?"

He looked at me. "Mehjazgeu. . .I thought you said it's yours?" He squinted.

"Oh. That's what it's called. I just know they're made with Merwinian stones, really. Crypta gave it to me."

"Crypta." He stood up abruptly. "So you and the royals are allies, hmm?"

"Not exactly. I don't know them as much as you do." I shifted in my chair, readjusting my right leg on the stool. I turned to a portrait at my side. It was a picture of Tujan's Rika. Only, he was much younger here. He had a moustache in the portrait and his hair was combed to the back. "How many people are here? And, who are you people?"

"You know, I could ask you the same question."

"I'm a human, Earthian, athurhen or whatever."

"You pick languages fast." He complimented.

"Uh-"

"Look, I understand my father. He has the best instincts. If he doesn't trust you, then I can't completely too. If truly Crypta is your ally, he wouldn't let you be here. It's too dangerous."

"I asked him to." I smiled, remembering how we had argued and I put him in a tough position to let me enjoy Neba. Look where it left me.

"Why are you smiling? Am I that strikingly handsome?" He raised a corner of his lip.

I scoffed. "You should be a lot more like Tujan."

"Tujan. . .She's a special one."

"Her eyes look like quartz."

"Ah, nes-hi quartz. Even my mother was surprised. Considering that we're twins. . ."

"You don't very much act like your twin then."

Someone hummed. I turned. Tujan and Nilsa were coming out through the dining room, a tray of four cups in Tujan's hand. She placed it on the table in the dining room. "Tevessa, help Emery to the dining room."

"Ah of course!" His voice was theatrical. "Tevessa Valimenati turns to a servant because of the presence of Mama's new favourite! How sweet."

My cheeks flushed. "You don't have to." I brought my legs down, placing my hand on the arm of the chair as I tried to get up. I got a few steps through but hit my right leg on the table. The contact elevated the sting and I lost my balance.

I could feel myself falling. It was like the day I fell on Kimberly's cake and ruined her party. I took my hands out just to get a hold of anything. Nilsa and Tujan screamed, being alert.

I fell into a soft wall.

The kind with arms that could wrap my shoulder and waist, I realized later.

"You sure are a clumsy one," Tevessa teased, holding me in his arm. He swept me off the ground, carrying me bridal style. My hands instinctively wrapped around his neck. "Oh don't get used to it. Except you plan on getting married to me. Emery Valimenati does sound nice."

"Tev!" Tujan called him, laughing hard. "I'm sure someone like Emery would not want someone like you."

We reached the dining room and he placed me on a chair. "No need to thank me, miss."

"I wasn't going to, anyway."

Tujan laughed at him, sticking her tongue out. Nilsa shook her head and sat down, a visible smile on her face. Tevessa cleared his throat and sat beside him, taking a cup to himself. Nilsa passed me a cup. In it was a red liquid, almost like wine.

I took a sip. It tasted like good wine mixed with sugar and grapes. It felt like liquid paper on the tongue and cooled the back of my tongue. "Wow, this is good."

"Pegrazh juice never fails, my dear."

We talked about a lot of things. They didn't tell me who they were and they asked me not to tell anyone of their being here.

Nilsa said, "We'd prefer if we remain hidden, my dear. You can't tell anyone-"

"Not even Crypta," Tevessa interrupted in a rather serious tone.

"Can we trust you, Emery?" There was a glint of hope in Tujan's voice.

This entire community was a mystery and I more than planned to know more about it. They didn't also seem like bad people nor a threat to Crypta or Neba. Sure, it was wrong to hide this from Crypta.

But if I'd never been chased by a cat, I wouldn't have been here and I wouldn't have known either.

I sighed. "You have my word for it."

"Thank you, Emery. You can always visit whenever you want." Nilsa said and I nodded.

"I'm pretty sure I won't. Your husband doesn't like me." I stared at the thick liquid content of the mug.

I felt soft hands on mine. I looked up to see Nilsa's pink-rose eyes staring at me. Those eyes provided comfort. I wanted to bury myself in them.

"My dear," she spoke softly. "He does like you, once he gets to know you, okay?"

I nodded forcing a reassuring smile.

"And if you ever want to see me, just think of my handsomeness while getting through that portal." He showed off his muscular arms. The sleeve of his green shirt was folded up to his upper arm.

"I doubt that I'll ever come to see you." I sipped from my cup. "I see nothing in you."

"Zhun. I'm so bright in your eyes you can't see anything else. Do I show you what I got?"

"How do you say 'No, thank you' in Neba?" I asked Tujan.

She laughed, drinking from her cup. "It's not Neban language, it's Cirile. Neba is just a kingdom. Just like a country in a continent. And in Cirus, when we want to reject something, we say 'Sa, kuthan.' "

"And when we want to accept, we say, 'Zhun, kuthan' or 'Zhun, ami tart akres.'" Tevessa said. "I know that you'll be accepting most of my advances. Give it a little time and you'll see."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Ah!" He drank from his cup and shut his eyes. "Do you want to make it one?"

"Maybe. Will you accept it as one?"

Nilsa and her daughter stared at each other, then at me, drank from their cup, both smiling. Tevessa had the intestinal fortitude to wink at me.

"Maybe."

.

A/N

Hey! Thanks for reading Chapter 13 of Saving Neba. Your thoughts on this chapter?

Tbh, I wrote this A/N yesterday and couldn't wait to hit the freaky publish button this morning 😅

Did you know that exactly a month ago (and three days lol), I'd posted an excerpt of this particular chapter while announcing that I would upload a new chapter in six days. And one month later, we have that exact chapter where the excerpt came from!😌

Coincidence, much? Or had I intentionally analyzed this a month ago and set my frame so properly so that one month later, I would sound like a smart author?😁

I guess we'll never know.🤭

This was actually my most favourite chapter. Maybe it still is. What about you?

I beg only one thing from you. Please add this book to your reading list. By doing that, you help me get this book to a wider audience 🥺

Oh and don't forget to tell someone to tell someone to tell someone to go to Wattpad and search for 'Saving Neba'. It'll mean a lot.

Forgive my constant reminders, but vote if you enjoyed this chapter!😚