Chapter 15 : Caspian Brown

Kaya turned around and saw the blue haired boy staring at her with a smile, which surprised her to the point of nearly having a heart attack. She, then looked down and saw him offering his hand.

"It's a gentleman's duty to guide a lady through his personal quarters." He stated before she could say anything and she guessed that confusion was written all over her face. She held his hand, his words making her head spin. He was way too polite. Right at the moment the boy squeezed her hand and guided her through the long red hallway and up the stairs, she saw something dangling from his neck. She had no idea why she didn't notice it before. It was a necklace with a long silver chain, the gem being supported by silver swirls, giving it the illusion of levitation. It was dull, grey, like how Clover's gem was previously.

Confirmed. This boy was another wonder.

Kaya was snapped back to reality when she heard the creaking of a door. The boy was smiling at her once again and the door he had just opened was the entrance to a master bedroom.

Kaya stepped inside, awe obvious in her expression as she looked around. The room was almost as big as the orphanage's cafeteria, the color theme being beige and the bed at the center being queen sized. She stared at the huge television, which seemed four times wider than her.

"This will be your room for the meantime." The boy said behind her, a small smile on his face as he watched her gasp in amazement. "Your friend, Clove, was it? He will stay in the guest room across yours."

Kaya's smile faded when she realized that Clover was going to have a smaller room. She turned around and faced the man, who just cocked his head at her. "Actually, mister, I think it would be better to give Clove this room, since he needs to recover from his injury and... he deserves it much more than I do. I will be okay with the guest room."

The boy chuckled, both his hands behind his back and slowly stepped towards Kaya. He leaned in a bit, causing her to blush because of how close his flawless face was, which made her a bit insecure because of the height difference. How tall was this guy?

"Your generosity is endearing, Miss...?"

"Kaya." she moved backwards, a bit uncomfortable by the close distance. "Just Kaya. Not to be rude but who are you?"

The boy's smile faded then he shook his head before he mumbled something to himself. Kaya stared at him, a bit frightened by his actions. After a few seconds of muttering, the boy stepped back a convenient distance before bowing deeply, almost ninety degrees, which made her stare at him again.

Why was he acting like some kind of prince? Well, he does look like one...

"I deeply apologize for not introducing myself earlier, Kaya." The boy bowed again, then he looked back up at her with a genuine smile on his face.

"My name is Caspian Brown and you can call me Caspian."

...*****...

"I'm sorry, your highness, I have failed you. The girl now has the fire gem bearer."

"...Nonsense, general. This is all part of the plan but I will admit that I would have preferred it if you had killed the bearer."

"I am terribly sorry, your highness."

"You contributed to the gem's activation, which has satisfied me enough. There will be no use of collecting the gems if their powers are still sealed."

"...What about the other bearer, your highness? She is close to him as well... "

"..You know what to do, general."

...Back at Caspian's House,...

"I don't understand, why did he save us?" Clover was on the bed, his treated leg supported by a thick pillow. Kaya was sitting on a chair next to him, glad that Caspian had agreed to her proposal of switching bedrooms.

"I honestly have no idea, Clove…" She scratched her cheek and stared at her watch, it's glow still there since Caspian just left the room a few minutes ago. "At least, we were able to escape, right?"

"Yeah, but..." Clover tried to adjust his position but he failed with a groan. Kaya immediately helped him sit up then he hugged the nearest pillow he saw. "Why? His gem is grey, isn't it? He doesn't know that he's a wonder so why would he help us? Didn't you also mention that you're on the police's watch list?"

"Both of us are, Clover." Kaya stated matter-of-factly and giggled when Clover gave her a glare. Still, she thought Clover was right. Why would Caspian help the two of them all of a sudden, especially during a police chase? It made no sense to her, even more so after she found out-through small talk with Caspian - that he was from a family of politicians. Thus, he had a good upbringing and was, well, rich. Two possibilities came to her mind as she massaged her temples.

First of all, Caspian could know about his powers and he saved her and Clover because he knew that they were like him. Secondly and she hoped it wasn't right, Caspian could be at the enemy's side, ready to kill both at any moment and was actually after Clover's gem. Kaya was hoping that the first option was right.

"We shouldn't trust him." Clover said, his face expressionless. Even though she has only been with him for a few days, she could tell that he was the kind of person who couldn't express his feelings well.

"Clover..." Kaya carefully squeezed his arm, being careful not to hurt him. "I know that you're doubting Caspian right now, I am too but we should at least return the favor. I mean, he did help us. We would be in jail right now if he didn't."

Clover just stared back at her for a while, his blonde bangs falling just below his eyebrows. Then, he sighed and averted his gaze towards the ceiling.

"One percent."

Kaya scrunched her eyebrows together. "What?"

"One percent. That's how much trust I'm willing to give Caspian." Clover said, in a tone that meant his decision was final. Kaya leaned on her chair, torn between trusting Caspian.

Yes, he did help her and Clover but he was also like that mysterious character in a novel, who just appeared out of nowhere to assist the main characters, just to end up being one of the bad guys. Kaya knew she was stereotyping but she still didn't know what to think.