Rookies

The morning light filtered softly through the window slats, dancing across the wooden floor of the cabin.

A warm breeze drifted in from the forest, carrying the scent of moss and sunlight. Somewhere nearby, birds sang.

Hina stirred.

Her eyelids fluttered open slowly, vision blurry at first. The world around her was unfamiliar, wooden ceiling, faint scent of cooked rice, the warmth of blankets tucked gently around her body.

She sat up with effort, muscles aching. Her breath came slow, shallow, but steady. The room was dim, quiet, but not empty.

There were eyes watching her.

Three of them, girls, sitting nearby on small stools and folded blankets. Two were younger, twins, their identical faces filled with open curiosity and concern.

The third, a little older, maybe her age, had kind, serious eyes and long, silver hair that framed her face like a soft veil.

Selena.

"You're awake," she said gently, offering a small smile.

Hina blinked, still groggy. "Where…am I?"

"You're safe," Selena said. "You're in our home. Red brought you here last night."

Hina glanced around. Wooden walls. Modest furnishings. A fire gently crackling in the hearth. Not a mansion. Not a slum.

Somewhere… in between.

Somewhere she didn't know.

The twins shifted closer. One of them, Lia or Lana, she couldn't tell, offered her a damp cloth to wipe her face.

The other held a bowl in both hands. "Porridge," she said brightly. "Selena made it!"

Hina hesitated for a moment… and then accepted it with both hands. Her grip was weak, but steady enough. The first spoonful felt like sunlight in her throat, soft, warm, and gentle on her stomach.

She nearly cried.

But she didn't.

Outside, Lio sat near the stream, half-dozing with a fishing rod in hand, one boot off and drying by a rock. He whistled tunelessly as dragonflies zipped past him.

Red moved between the traps, boots pressing softly into the earth. Sword at his hip, cloak tied back, hair loose. His armor remained hung inside, the day didn't yet require steel.

Every motion he made had purpose.

And every purpose was quiet.

When Red entered the cabin again, Hina had finished her bowl. Selena was wiping her hands while Lia and Lana brought a new blanket for her cot.

Red said nothing at first.

He walked in with a quiet presence that turned the room still.

No armor today.

Just a linen shirt, plain pants, and the crimson-eyed stare of someone who always saw more than he said.

Hina straightened instinctively, though her spine still hurt.

Red glanced at Selena. She nodded slightly, it's okay now.

So Selena turned gently to Hina.

Selena: "Do you… want to tell us what happened?"

Hina looked down into her hands. She held the empty bowl like it was a lifeline.

Then, slowly…she began to speak.

"My name is… Hina."

The twins leaned in slightly. Selena listened quietly. Red said nothing, but he watched.

Hina: "I was born to the Ardelien family. A minor noble house… in name only. We had land, a keep, and pride. But I… I was born weak. Always sick. Always fragile."

She paused, breath shaky.

Hina: "My father saw me as a burden. My mother couldn't protect me. I wasn't strong enough to carry the family name… or marry into another. So…"

She bit her lip.

Hina: "They left me. Not with guards. Not with ceremony. Just a closed gate and silence. I wandered. I tried to find somewhere safe. Slept in back alleys. Ate scraps. I didn't know about the slums. I just… kept walking until I couldn't anymore."

Her voice grew smaller.

Hina: "And then I collapsed. That's all I remember. Until I woke up here."

The room was still.

Selena's hands clenched gently in her lap.

The twins sat quietly, suddenly understanding more than they had before.

Red stepped forward, slowly.

He knelt beside Hina, eyes level with hers.

"No one here will cast you aside," he said.

The words were simple.

But in them was a promise.

Red: "You will eat. Sleep. Heal. That's all you need to do."

Hina looked up at him, eyes wide, brimming with something fragile and disbelieving.

"Why…?" she asked. 

Hina: "Why would you help someone like me?"

Red's voice was quiet. Firm. Absolute.

Red: "Because someone has to."

And that was enough.

From that morning on, Hina lived under Red's care.

She had no title now. No house name. No silk sheets or marble halls.

But she had warm food.

A soft bed.

And for the first time in her life…

She had kindness.