Chapter Text
The sun hung low in the sky, painting the wispy clouds with pastel streaks of gold, purple, and pink. The sound of birdsong and crickets filled the air as a single towering figure clad in dark tattered clothes walked steadily through underbrush. His attention drawn more towards the world around him than to the ground in front of him. His presence did not bother the wildlife of the forest as most other men did, but this being was not like most other men. In fact, most men would consider him something monstrous and strange.
Time passed, the sun is much lower now and coloring the sky with rich reds, oranges, and deep purple, but there was still enough light in the evening that one could see clearly. As he continued to walk, through the trees Adam saw something ahead of him that looked something vaguely resembling a small house, but it was sitting atop four wheels, and loosely tied to a tree nearby, not far from the strange house, were two of the largest animals he had ever seen lazily grazed on grass. They were a grey color with pale grey spots covering their broad necks and barrel shaped midsections, which stood atop darker grey legs that were thick as logs. They looked vaguely like the deer he had first seen or like the nimble deer like horses he'd seen in one of the illustrated books he'd read, but these were much much bigger and stockier.
The not a deer, maybe a horse, closest to him lifted its head and watched Adam approach this unusual sight for some time before returning its head to the ground, sensing that he was no threat to them, and continued to eat as he neared the enormous animal. He smiled warmly as he reached out and stroked its back and side with both of his hands.
The animal snorted softly with a twitch of its shoulders and a swish of its silvery grey tail.
What feeling of delight Adam had was dashed as he heard twigs snap underfoot of someone approaching the strange camp sight. He quickly drew up the semblance of a scarf around his neck to cover the lower portion of his face, then stood very still as someone, a man, walked up to the caravan. The stranger was of average height and sturdy build, possibly in his twenties or thirties, though Adam could not quite tell in the light of the setting sun. His skin was suntanned and he had loose short brown curly hair with a reddish undertone that had been mostly swept to the left side. One lock of hair had broken free of the rest and had fallen into the stranger's face. The young man wore a plain tan shirt with the strings that kept the front of it closed undone, plain dark brown pants that were tucked into equally as dark brown shin high well worn boots. In one hand he carried a pole with string running along it, and in the other he carried a fish that was half the size of his own leg as he kept his eyes on the ground in front of him, clearly lost in his own thoughts.
As the stranger rounded his way past where Adam stood motionless, the man turned his head ever so slightly as if he caught sight of something in the corner of his eye. He took two more steps before coming to an abrupt stop, then slowly turned his head in Adam’s direction. There was a bewildered look in hazel eyes as though he wasn’t expecting to see anyone else.
“Where the devil did you come from?” The stranger asked. His voice was strange, as though he was intentionally trying to sound like it was lower than it really was.
“I’m.. a t-travelerr.” Adam replied nervously.
“Aye, that I gather.” The stranger replied equally as nervous as he looked Adam over. “But from where do you travel from?”
“Oh… ah… that way.” Adam carefully pointed in the direction he came from, trying not to move too fast so as not to further frighten the already spooked stranger.
The stranger looked in the direction Adam pointed and raised a bow in a quizzical way then turned back to Adam, eyes still darting back to where he had pointed for a moment more.
“Do you have a name, traveler?”
“A-adamm.”
“Are you… unarmed, Adam?” The stranger asked cautiously.“Yess.” He replied and held both of his hands up with his palms open to prove he meant no harm.
“Alright… well…” Said the stranger as he looked up at the sky for a moment then back at Adam, his demeanor relaxing considerably. “It’s getting dark. You shouldn’t travel at night. Why not join me for dinner and stay the night inside? There’s no way you’ll make it to the nearest town by night.”
“I do not w-wish to intrude.”
“Please, I insist. I have more than enough fish and food is always better when shared with someone.” He said as he held the fish in his hand up a ways for a moment to emphasize it being a bit much for one person to eat alone.
Adam paused a moment before tentatively giving a short curt nod. “T-thank you.”
“No need to mention it. I am Adrian.”
"Adriann…"
"I see you have met my horses. That one is Fig, and the one behind her is Thistle."
Adam looked back at the large animal next to him and pat her back again while softly repeating the name to himself with a smile. "Mm. Fig."
Adrian waited for Adam to make his way towards the caravan so he could more easily continue their conversation as he made his way to a door on the side of the mobile structure. "I take it you're staying somewhere nearby since you don't seem to be traveling with anything."
"I took shelterr in a c-ave reccentlyy." Adam replied as he finally got a closer look at the strange house.
"I-… I'm sorry did you say a cave?" Adrian turned back to the tall figure with a puzzled look on his face.
"Yess."
"Oh… I see… Do you, not have a place to stay?" The young man asked as he swung a small hook on a rod out from the side of the caravan and hung the fish on it from the jaw.
"The cave iss wherre I have been sst-ayingg."
"Oh. W-…would you care for a ride to the nearest town to find a better place to stay?"
"No!" Adam said a bit too frantically at first. "No. I do not f-feel ssafe goingg into townss."
"May I ask why?" The sound of immense suspicion grew in Adrian's voice as he started to lean away from his towering guest.
"I ffind people are often f-fright-ened by mme."
“Is that why you cover your face now?” Adrian mused as he gathered up some kindling strewn about the ground and tossed it into a nearby ring of rocks that had set up on a clear patch of dirt.
“Yess. I do not wwish to f-frighten you with mmy app-earance.” Adam replied plainly.
"Well" Adrian said as he gathered up some larger branches that had been set in a sizable pile near a small set of stairs leading up to the caravan's door. “I am not one to judge others so quickly by their appearances.”
"I wwould like to k-keep mmy face co-vered for noww, if you do not mmind."
"Very well." Adrian looked at his surroundings for a moment as he patted his hips as though he were looking for something before raising one finger as something occurred to him. "Ah! One moment." And he opened the door to the caravan and disappeared within. Adam could hear rummaging about inside and curiously peered up into the open door. He couldn't make out much of the inside, but what he could see was a hint of a blueish-grey wall and some kind of large metal object with a little door on the front and stuff hanging above. As soon as Adrian had disappeared inside his home, he reappeared with an empty pail, a stool and a tin box of matches in hand. He swiftly hopped down the stairs and set the things he had in hand to the side, then hopped back into the caravan. There was a loud thunk of something heavy being moved and then a large chest slid into the doorway. "Do you mind giving me a hand, my friend?"
Friend?
A light fluttery feeling gripped Adam's heart for a moment, before he nodded and grabbed a handle on the side of the chest and helped lift it out of the caravan.
"You can set that wherever you would like near the fire pit. You can use that as a place to sit for the evening."
"Tthank you." Adam said as he moved placed the chest near enough to the ring of rocks that he would still have plenty of room for his legs, but also not feel too singed once the fire was going.
"If I may ask one more thing from you before the sun gets too low." Adrian asked as he picked up the items he had set aside a little earlier and moved the stool closer to the ring of rocks as well. "Could you run down to the river that's that a ways and fill this up with some water? I will get this fire going while you're doing that."
Adam nodded as he took the pail from Adrian and headed off in the direction the young man had pointed.
Roughly four minutes later the sound of running water hit Adam's ears, and a minute after that he came upon the river itself. The water was slow and clear, and in the last bits of daylight, Adam could make out the vague shapes of fish swimming about in the glassy water near the bank. He waked a little ways in, not minding that his feet were going to be sopping wet once he exited the river, filled the pail he'd been given with water, then sloshed his way out of the river and headed back the way he came.
“H-here’s the wwaterr you requested.” Adam said as he held the pail in his hands aloft once he had returned to the caravan.
“Ah! thank you my friend. If you could set it over there next to the door. I’m almost done getting the fire lit.” Adrian replied as he turned and pointed to the steps leading up into the caravan.
Adam followed the invisible line from Adrian’s finger to the destination it led to and set the pail down, then made his way over to the chest Adrian had pulled out for him to sit on. There was a cushion that had previously not been there now resting atop the chest. "What iss thiss?"
"Oh! I went and got a cushion from my couch while you were getting water." Adrian replied. "I had a feeling you wouldn't mind something more comfortable to sit on than the bare chest."
"Tthank you." Adam said as he settled himself into his seat with his hands awkwardly rested upon his knees.
“There we are.” Adrian stated as he stood up from the now crackling campfire and headed into his caravan, picking up the pale of water and setting it slightly more out of the way for the time being. "Excuse me for a moment." He stepped into the caravan and Adam could hear the sound of rummaging from within as Adrian collected a few of the supplies he would need to prepare the meal for the night. As he reappeared, Adrian continued where he left off. “You do not have to hide your face with me if you do not wish to.” Adrian said descended the few steps and set up a wooden folding table and placed a cutting board atop it, and a another smaller bowl beside it, then picked up the pail of water he had asked Adam to retrieve for him and set it on the table as well. It was a little crowded, but it worked at elevating his work space.
He then unhooked the fish he had caught from where he had temporarily hung it to get himself set up, then placed it on the cutting board, and pulled out a small tool he had put in a pocket at some point that Adam had not seen, and began to run it against the scales of the fish, removing the scales in the process.
As he was preoccupied with descaling the fish, Adam pulled the scarf hiding the lower half of his face down and readjusted it so it hung more loosely around his neck. Then continued to watch the young man proceed to gut the fish, tossing the innards into the bowl. He then cut the fish open into a beautiful fillet, then sliced down the center to remove the spine and added that to the discard bowl, before cutting the fish into more manageable strips. He rinsed his hands and pat dried them on the side of his pants.
“Oh, my…” He said as he finally looked back in Adam’s direction and saw the scars that ran across the features of his face, and the gaunt sunken in dark circles under his eyes. “What happened to you?”
“You w-wish to knoww mmy tale?”
“I've just barely started preparing the meal for the evening. We’ve got the time. Let me hear it.”
And so, while Adrian prepared, cooked, and served their meal, Adam recounted his tale to his generous host.
He spoke of the tower and the fire that thrust him into the world, and of the forest and the cabin he fled to and hid in the mill gears, and how he learned to speak and read from the family that lived there, and of the blind old man that he befriended once the rest of his family had left for the season. And he told Adrian about how the old man prompted him to discover his origin, and what he had learned about himself when he returned to the place of his creation.
It was here in his story that Adam noticed a pained and sorrowful look on his host’s face. “You arre the f-first to be sso m-moved by the recounn-ting of mmy wr-retched creationn.”
Adam’s break in his story to acknowledge him caught Adrian off guard as he sat upright and cleared his throat of any knots that had formed there. “Trying to imagine what that must have felt like… I can very well believe that must have been… gut wrenching. To say the least.”
Adam gave a short quiet chuckle. “I have ssince beenn able to recon-cile with it.”
“Please, don’t mind me. Do continue your story my friend, I would like to hear it.”
Adam nodded with a smile and continued where he left off, recounting his unfortunate reunion with the old man and his passing, and how he tracked down his creator and of his requests for his a companion. He spoke seeing his dear Elizabeth again, only for her to be tragically killed at the hands of his creator. And he spoke of the long and mad pursuit over countless miles his creator undertook in an attempt to rid the world of Adam’s presence from the world and of how it all came to a close in the arctic, and of how he was finally able to make peace with himself as his creator passed away.
“Annd ssince thenn, I have beenn wander-ing alonne. F-fennding fforr m-mysself.” Adam finally concluded.
“How many years do you think you’ve been wandering alone?” Adrian asked.
Adam thought about that for a moment, tapping his forehead contemplatively before answering. “F-four winterss. Thiss year wwill be mmy f-fifth.”
“I dare not imagine what living without somewhere warm and dry to rest your head every night most feel like.”
“I havve grownn ac-customed t-to it.”
“Well then, since it sounds as though there is nowhere in particular that you’re headed after tonight, allow me to open my home up to you permanently. If you so desire.”
“Yyou w-would do that f-for mme?” Adam asked almost meekly, mist tears welling in the corners of his eyes. This was the first person ever since the old man all those years ago to opened their home to him. Everyone else who saw him by accident readily and openly attacked him before he could get a word in, and in so doing he had learnt it was better to avoid humans all together.
“I am familiar with how lonesome it can be traveling alone. It is…” The young man trailed off a moment as he let his eyes wander to the dimming fire between them. He quietly added a fresh piece of wood to the fire before stoking it with a long stick. “It’s something I have grown accustomed too myself.” He said with a melancholic sigh.
Adam couldn’t place where his host’s melancholy came from as the young man had yet to share his story with Adam yet. “I h-hummbly ac-cept your offerr. T-thank you.”
Adrian perked up slightly as he met Adam’s eyes with his own and gave him an small appreciative smile before dropping his gaze back to the fire between them.
Silence hung between them for a time as Adam finished off the last bits of his own meal, then set the dish down beside him on the chest he sat atop, then watched the few embers rising from the half revived fire dance in the air above it.
“Mmay I ask w-what bringss you out h-here?”
“You wish to know my tale?” Adrian said as he sat up and turned to look at Adam for a moment.
Adam nodded once.
Adrian heaved a sigh before slumping back to how he had been sitting a moment before. “Hmm. Where do I start?…” He thought a moment on this before finally answering. “My tale is no epic story such as yours. I grew up in a decent family. Overbearing mother, stern father, and an younger brother who got evveeryything he ever wanted. My parent’s goal was for me to marry upwards, try to bring the family up with me, but…” Adrian trailed off with a small shake of his head. “What I wanted never mattered, so… I got tired of it all, stole fifty sovereigns from my parents safe and ran away. I made my way south, got on the first ferry I could buy a ticket for to cross the channel, I traveled from place to place working odd jobs as I could get them, but I never really… fit in, anywhere I tried to settle down, people would start to look at me suspiciously if I stayed in place for too long because I was ‘odd’ to them…” Adrian heaved a shaky sigh as though he were trying not to cry. “So, I bought my lovely home that you see now, and bought my horses. I can travel wherever I want whenever I want, and I offer an extra set of hands to anyone looking for labor whenever I can find it. Whenever it feels as though people start to look at me strangely, I pack up and travel to the next town where someone is looking for work.”
There was something in Adrian’s voice and the way he told his tale in considerably less detail than how Adam had told his that made Adam think there might be something else to Adrian’s story that the young man wasn’t comfortable with sharing with him for time being, so Adam decided it was best to not press Adrian any more on it despite his curiosity to know all he could about his new companion.
“I amm sorrry you had t-to leave your f-family.”
“Please, don’t be. I’m much happier now that I’m on my own… the loneliness does hurt sometimes, but…” Adrian looked over to Adam and gave him a quick smile. “I suppose I don’t have to deal with that any longer if you truly do choose to stay.”
“I do.”
“Thank you, my friend.”
Adam silently nodded his thanks in return.
Silence fell between them again for a shorter time before Adrian clapped his hands to his knees and stood from the stool he sat on and rose to his feet, picking up his own dish and reached his hand towards Adam. “May I take yours if you’re through for the night?”
“C-certainly.” Adam said as he handed his over to his newfound friend.
Adrian collected what other remaining unwashed cookware there was and rinsed at least the surface level grime off them with the pail of water and a rag — he would do a more thorough clean once the sun was up — then moved them back inside his caravan. He then collected and packed everything else he used to prepare the night’s meal back into the caravan as well.
once he was done with that, he leaned against the door frame of his humble abode and asked. “Do you mind of I play some music?”
“M-music?” Adam asked with an innocent tilt of his head as he turned towards Adrian. He was familiar with the word music from the books he had read to the old man, but it now occurred to him that he hadn’t ever heard music before. Not that he could recall, anyways. “Wwhat is… m-music?”
Adrian straightened somewhat as his eyebrows rose in surprise. “What is-… why, it’s one of the greatest forms of self expression there is.”
Adam furrowed his brow and blinked slowly several times, head tilting more to the side.
“Here.” Adrian chuckled as he held up and slightly waggled a finger. “Let me show you.”
he disappeared into his home again, the sounds of things being opened and closed and moved about being the only hint of him moving about inside. He reappeared in the doorway a minute or so later with a decent sized wooden… something, in his left hand, and a bizarre stick in his right, then descended the steps and returned to his seat, pausing just before sitting down to move it farther away from the fire.
“When I was younger, my mother wanted me to learn a different instrument, but I begged her to be able to learn to play this instead.“ Adrian said mused briefly as he adjusted the length of a metal rod that stuck out of the bottom of the thing he was holding.
“Wwhat in-strument, is this?”
Adrian’s eyes seemed to sparkle in the firelight as he looked to Adam. “This my friend is a cello.” He said with a fond, almost reverent tone.
“Annd that?” Adam asked as he pointed to the stick in Adrian’s right hand.
“This is a bow, it uses horse hairs and a rosin I applied while I was still inside to give the hair something to help grab onto the strings.” He said as he held the bow towards Adam so he could get a better look at it.
“Howw f-fascinating.” Adam mused as he looked the bow over.
Adrian pulled his arm back and made a few small final adjustments to his own posture, relaxed his face, closed his eyes, set the bow against the strings, and took a steadily breath.
Then he began to play.
The sound that emitted from the cello as he began to play was one of the most beautiful sounds Adam had ever heard. It was rich, low, and full like a beautiful voice, and the melody Adrian played was slow and haunting as it echoed through the trees, and whenever he played on two strings at once, it sounded like there was another person playing along side him, and whenever Adrian rocked his hand from one finger point on the strings, the sound coming from the cello would tremble in the air in turn.
The way Adrian swayed with his instrument as he played gave dam the sense that thee young man and the instrument were one and the song he played for Adam was coming directly from somewhere deep within him. The melody shifted to a higher range and the cello sounded almost like a bird that Adam could almost picture flitting through sunlit trees. As Adrian continued to play, Adam closed his eyes too and was surprised to find he could almost feel the music flow through his chest and swirl in the air around him. The melody shifted back to the lower sadder range and Adam could feel his heart sink with it. He opened his eyes as he touched his hand to his chest. what a strange sensation.
He looked over to Adrian as the young man continued to play, an equally sad and melancholic expression painted on his face as he played those haunting notes. The song Adrian played began to slow down, and as it came to a close, Adrian opened his eyes again and looked towards Adam with a small, very small, smile that held an emotion Adam couldn’t recognize. Something stirred within him and he felt compelled to clap, just as the family in the cabin clapped for their daughter whenever she finishes reading a book for them, at the performance that was shared with him. It was awkward and short, but a genuine one all the same.
Adrian chuckled softly, that unknown emotion in his eyes disappeared with it as he shifted the bow to his left hand so he could sheepishly scratch the back of his neck with his right hand. “I don’t remember the last time I played for anyone else. My apologies if that was rather dreary sounding in places.”
“N-no. It wwas b-beautiffull.”
“Shall I play another for you?”
“P-please.” He said, his voice shook slightly as a single tear ran down his cheek.
And so Adrian continued to play for Adam, one song after another echoing well into the night, chatting occasionally between each piece about music, other instruments, and composers as Adam asked about them.
It was only when the fire between them was finally about to die that Adrian played his final song for the night.
“Well, Adam, my new friend. I suppose we should turn in for the night. Don’t you agree?”
“I am af-fraid to ssay I do nnot feel t-tired the ssame wway you do.”
Adrian gave a short chuckle at that and rose from his seat. “Tired or no, it’s better to rest inside on something soft than it is to rest out here, wouldn’t you agree?”
It was hard to argue with that sound logic.
Adrian quickly stepped past Adam and up the steps to store his cello before returning and gesturing to the chest Adam was sitting on. “If you could give me a hand lifting that back inside for a moment, please.”
Adam nodded then rose to his feet, and handed the couch cushion and chest over to Adrian, who thanked him, then returned both items to where he had pulled them from of earlier that evening, causing several loud thunking sounds as he moved the chest about in the process. Once that was over he reappeared in the door, stepped back out, grabbed the stool he had been sitting on and the pail of water, emptied the pail onto the fire, shook any excess water from it, then clambered back into the caravan and returned those from where they came as well.
From the few windows in the caravan, Adam could see lights being lit from within. A few moments later, Adrian reappeared in the doorway, leaning out it somewhat and waved Adam inside. “Well come on. Don’t just stand there like a toad on a log. Come inside! Let me show you your new home.” He then stepped out of the way for Adam to enter, quickly following up with “Watch your head though, you are quite tall.”
As Adam entered the wheeled dwelling, he scanned the surroundings of his new home. The ceiling was just high enough for Adrian to walk around fully upright, but as he had been warned, Adam wasn’t quite able to do the same, and had to either crane his neck down or walk with his knees slightly bent to be able to move around without scraping his head on the ceiling. One other thing he noted about the ceiling, was the cupboards lining the ceiling where it met with the walls.
“If I could make one request of you, could remove your shoes when you get the chance, please? I try not to track too much from the outside inside.” The young man asked.
“Of coursse.” Adam replied as he let his gaze wander over the interior of Adrian’s home.
“Thank you.”
At one end on the space was a couch with a two small pillows on it that Adam recognized by the color that was where Adrian had pulled the cushion for him to sit on came from. Behind the couch were three windows made with smaller pieces of glass with a set of dark blue curtains that were half way drawn open at the time being.
Next to the couch, on the wall opposite the door, there was a shelving unit with pained glass doors build into the structure that the chest he had also been sitting on was stored in a section of it near the floor. Lining three of the shelves of the unit itself were more books than Adam had ever seen before. The remaining shelf had various brass trinkets set into little slots to most likely prevent them from sliding around as the caravan was pulled and what looked like tubes of paint or some other means of art supplies that he knew he was going to want to examine in greater detail when he had the chance.
“I take it you enjoy reading from time to time?” Adrian asked as he saw Adam’s eyes widen at the sight of his book collection.
“Yess.”
“Feel free to read them whenever you want. This key here goes to all of the locks in the place, I usually keep it on that little hook near the door behind you or hanging out of one of these locks." Adam took a moment to turn around to see where this hook that was mention was, then turned back to Adrian after spotting it. "To open these you just lift them up and slide it back after you unlock them. Like so.” Adrian demonstrated as he spoke. “What’s mine is yours now.”
“T-thank you.” Adam replied as he continued on with his explanation of his surroundings.
On the opposite side wall next to, or more accurately in front of, the couch was a board with two sticks nestled into grooves near the sides that was folded up against the wall and held in place with a small hook. Adam pointed to it and asked “Wwhat iss that?”
“Ah! that’s a table. See?” Adrian said as he unlatched a small hook at one corner of the board and lowered it. The sticks that was hanging from it swung down in tandem and turned into legs for the table. Just as soon as the table was unfolded, Adrian refolded it and re-latched it to the wall.
Next to the table, or more accurately fitted just underneath the table was a dresser with a lit oil lamp atop it that was also built into the structure. Adam absentmindedly nodded in recognition and understanding of how that one worked as he pointed at it too before turning his attention to a weirdly shaped box leaning against it that vaguely resembled the cello Adrian had played for him.
“The next town I go to, I can see if there are any shops that sell clothes in your size if you would like something else to wear. I can also see about getting you some new shoes if you would like some… and I can see about getting anything mended if you’re particularly attached to the clothes you currently wear.”
“You wwould do tthat f-for mme?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t be a very good friend if I let you run around in the same thing day after day, now would i?”
“Hmm. I-if you inssisst.”
“I do. I have plenty of room for you to have your own clothes in the dresser as it is.”
Adam’s gaze then wandered back to the opposite wall where a cast iron stove was tucked into a structure on the living space that was a little larger than a wardrobe. Hanging from some hooks on a shelf near the top on that unit, were some pots, pans, and a kettle. On one of the side walls of this piece was a brass rod with a nicer looking rag, or was that a ‘towel’?, than the one Adrian had been using while cooking earlier.
“Dishes can be found in the cupboards along the ceiling here. And silverware can be found in a box in this one.” He said as he patted one cupboard door.
Adam’s eyes wandered to another set of drawers and a large set of doors above them immediately next to the stove unit. Adam pointed to it then looked back at Adrian.
“That is where the wash bucket and other cleaning supplies and larger cookware are stored.” He said as he slid past Adam with a quiet “Pardon me.” Then turned the handle to one of the doors and opened it to show it’s contents to Adam. “These stay closed with these two pins at the top and bottom here.” He said as he pointed them out. “You have turn the handle before you close it too or they won’t close all the way. see?” he then showed how the pins kept the door from fully closing while the handle remained un-turned, before closing the door the way it was intended. “This drawer.” Adrian said as he knelt down to the lower most drawer. “Gets stuck sometimes so you might have to jiggle it out if you ever need anything from it.”
Adam nodded with a contemplative “Hm.” Then looked to a similar, slimmer structure on the opposite wall save for a pocket at the bottom where a drawer on the other side was. “That’s the pantry.”
Adam nodded again.
Adam nodded quietly as he let his eyes move on to the next part of the interior.
There was a doorway leading into the smallest version of a ‘hallway’, if it could even be counted as one, with a curtain hanging at the back off of a rod that seemed to be mounted into the walls. The walls of this ‘hallway’ was another set on pained glass doors took up the upper half of each wall, and a regular door that took up the lower half of the wall. Behind the glass doors, Adam could see there were even more books.
“In here there are more blankets on this side for the winter months, and on this side there are blankets and some extra pillows. And here.” Adrian spoke as he did his best to not obscure Adam’s line of sight as he pulled the curtain to the side. “Is the sleeping quarters. There’s too much room for just myself. So please, don’t feel like you have to try and fit yourself on the couch. I won’t have you sleeping on the floor either.”
“Arre you ssurre? I w-will nnot be an in-trrusionn?”
“I insist. If we are not going to be strangers anymore then it’s not polite to let your friends sleep in less comfortable positions than yourself.“ He slid past Adam again to allow him to get a better view of the only real ‘room’ in the space. On the wall at the head of the ‘bed’ was a much smaller window to the one at the other far end of the caravan. As he leaned into the space, he noted more shelves in similar size to the cupboards in the main area of the caravan but with similar glass paneled doors to the large shelving unit with what looked like more books that were far smaller than any he’d seen so far, as well as a few other objects he could quite make out what they were. Directly under the shelves on either wall, was a narrow band of stained glass that he remembered from the outside being yellow and green with a strange warbled texture to them.
“Oh!” Adrian spoke up. “I would request one more thing from you, if that’s alright.”
“Wwhat iss it you re-quire?” Adam replied as he turned back to look at Adrian.
“Whenever I need change my clothes, may you please stay in the sleeping quarters with the curtain drawn closed. I would extend you the same courtesy as well. You understand, yes?” Adrian asked.
“Y-yess?” Genuinely Adam hadn’t considered what privacy really was. He had heard of privacy before from the books he’d read, knew what it meant, but he didn’t fully understand it.
“Now please! Please come fully inside. Close the door behind you as well, if you would be so kind.”
“Oh.” Adam turned around to look at the door behind him that was very much indeed still wide open, then closed it as requested. One thing lingered on his mind, however.
“Mmay I assk you ssomething?” He asked as he turned to face the young man again.
“Certainly.”
“Wwhy arre you ex-tending this courtessy to mme?”
“What do you mean?”
“Wwhy in-vite mme in-to your homme?"
Adrian thought about how to answer this for a moment before answering. “A few reasons. Firstly, my father was very old fashioned, and firmly believed in chivalric virtues, two of those being courtesy and generosity. You are in need of a proper place to rest your head. Is it then, not the courteous and generous thing to do to offer my home to you?"
"Hmm."
"Secondly," Adrian continued. "As I had mentioned earlier, it's quite lonely, traveling alone. Yes I have my horses to keep me some company, but they are not exactly the best conversationalists." Adam could not help but smile at that. "And thirdly..." Adrian trailed off for a moment as he tried to figure out how best to put the next part of what he was going to say. "You said something earlier tonight yourself that resonated deeply with me."
"That beinng?"
"That you simply are." Adrian looked at Adam with a profound sadness and a longing for some lost connection written on his face that the taller figure had not seen in many years. "While you may not be the same as me, you are truly the first person I have ever met that even remotely understands what it is I feel, and, I hope you don't mind me saying, but I do not want to send you off into the horizon, for I do not believe I will ever meet another person like myself."
Before Adam had a chance to respond, Adrian darted his eyes away from Adam and awkwardly brushed his hair out of his face and scratched at the top of his head, almost not knowing how to properly divert the conversation elsewhere with better grace, then straightened himself up as he cleared a knot that had begun to form in his throat. "But enough of this melancholic talk. to go about the business of turning in for the night. If you would give me a moment, I shall arrange the bed to fit us both. Please, make yourself at home in the meantime."
With that Adam gave him a polite nod and turned and walked towards the bookshelf lining the one section of wall and peered into the glass doors. There were many natural history and music theory books, as well as an assortment of books by authors he did not recognize. There was a particularly large collection of books by someone by the name Shakespeare on one shelf. He turned the key that was hanging out of the door's lock, pushed the panel open, and grabbed a random book off the shelf.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
He opened the book and began quietly the lines to himself, but no sooner than he made through the first paragraph that he wrinkled his nose and put the book back on the shelf.
Not that one.
He reached for one of the books from the Shakespeare selection.
The Tragedy of Macbeth
As he looked over the first page of this story, Adam realized he'd never seen a story written in the manner this one was, and concluded that this story was meant to be performed.
"Wwhen sshall we three mmeet againn? In thunderr, light-ningg, or in rainn? When the h-hurly-burly's done, when the battle'ss been losst and wonn. That will be erre the sset of the sunn." He began reading aloud to himself. "Where the p-lace? U-pon the hearrth"
"There to meet with Macbeth." Adrian spoke the next line from memory in a fond tone. His voice came from much closer than Adam was expecting made him jump and quickly close the book. "My apologies, Adam, I did not mean to frighten you. In fact I meant to tell you the bed is made if you would like to see."
Adam kept the copy of Macbeth in hand, clutching it close to his chest with both hands as he made his way back to the bed space. He pushed the fabric curtain to the side and found that the bed had been made so that they would each have their own set of blankets to use, and Adrian had even given him his own pillow.
Adam felt a gentle touch on his back before Adrian spoke this time so that he wasn't snuck up on a second time that night. "I don't know how you like your blankets, but I prefer wrapping myself up like a caterpillar in a cocoon, but that is likely to cause problems with two people using one blanket, so I made it so each of us have our own blankets to use."
"I preffer ussing them in a ssimilar mmanner."
"Excellent!" Adrian said as he clasped his hands together triumphantly. "Now then! One final matter for the evening. You do not have anything to sleep in, and I certainly don't have anything that will fit you, so… ah… may I take your coat?"
Adam looked to his shoulders then nodded once, passed the book he was still holding over to Adrian to hold for a moment, and awkwardly slipped his arms out of his sleeves. He then exchanged his coat for the book and shuffled over to the bed and plopped down. This was the softest surface he'd ever sat upon. Even more comfortable than the couch cushion. It was also from this angle that he now noticed two oil lamps attached the walls in here. He set the book aside and clunkily removed his shoes that he had forgotten to remove when he first entered the caravan, and set them in front of him.
Adrian collected them from Adam as well and set his coat atop the dresser near the couch after folding it to the best of him ability given how tattered it was and set his boots on the floor next to it.
"Alright." Adrian said as he turned towards Adam. "Pick whichever side you want and make yourself comfortable. I shall change. And remember, I ask for privacy while doing so, got it?" He said while wagging a finger at his new roommate.
Adam pulled the curtain closed and picked Macbeth up, and pulled the blankets to the left of him over him and continued reading aloud where he had left off.
A page later and Adrian pulled the curtain open, he was now wearing a white shirt and matching pants with thin pale blue vertical lines on them that looked much more comfortable than what he had been wearing before. Adam also noticed that it was darker behind him than it had been earlier, likely from the oil lamp being extinguished for the night.
"Ah, so you will be taking the left side." Adrian noted allowed as he reached to extinguish the oil lamp on the right side of the bed. "Did you want to do anymore reading for the night before I turn out your lamp?"
Adam shook his head as he closed the book and tucked in under his pillow. Something about this made a smile tug at the corner of Adrian's mouth before he reached across Adam and extinguished that lamp, then crawled under the set of blankets he had set on the other side of the bed.
"Rest well, Adam."