He eventually pulled himself out of bed and made his way to the window. He cold t have her seeing him in the daytime, so he decided he would come back home at sundown every night. He went back to his desk and crafted a note explaining his plan to be back that evening, and gave her permission to do as she pleased—to leave and visit family, explore the house, anything.
Kendalla set her book down and poked her head out from the curtains, finding to house oddly quiet. She came out of the library and headed back to the bedroom to see if Elijah wanted anything to eat for breakfast. She found the note on the desk as well as the empty room. She frowned slightly at his departure till that evening, having wanted to get to know more about him and if he had any affiliation with Shiloh. She sighed and went downstairs, wanting to explore more of the house, knowing her parents were busy so opting to leave them.alone for now was best.
In the light, the downstairs was incredibly dusty, especially the rooms he presumably didn’t visit often—such as the dining room and even the living room with the dusty hearth and empty fireplace. The drapes were all pulled halfway closed, hanging on rusty rings that could probably fall at any moment. The upstairs was much nicer compared to this.
Kendalla scanned the area and cautiously walked around, not sure if this was prohibited. Elijah did say it was fine to explore…she Nodded to herself and continued, the dress that she had changed into swetpt he floor. She found a hearth and another living space. " Still like the library best." She decided with a small laugh
There were a few artwork and painting portraits hanging above various places in the living room: above the the hearth, the bookshelves, and other random places. The people in the portraits wouldn’t be recognizable to Kendalla, but maybe they were to Elijah. His family, maybe?
Kendalla reached up and touched the paintings, tracing carefully around the intracate detail. She didn't know the people depicted of course but she was entranced by the still image nonetheless. She wondered if Elijah knew them, or if it was simply a collectors item
~
They seemed like normal people with normal faces, so if they were his family, maybe he didn’t have such a monstrous face after all? But if they were just friends or if he didn’t know them at all, then that wouldn’t help at all.
Kendalla sighed and pulled her hand away from the painting. She headed back upstairs and waited for Elija to come back by busying herself with making food and growing some more plants
Elijah would return as the sun dipped fellow the horizon and casted a shadow inside the house. He opened the door and closed it quickly to hide in the darkness.
Kendalla was in the kitchen, preparing food and had not heard Elijah come in. She stored the stew in the pot and nodded, satisfied with the look of it. She added some herbs into the pot and let it sit. While waiting she danced around the kitchen, humming a familiar song
Elijah pulled the hood over his face a little farther as he peeled into the kitchen. He smiled at the sight of her, but made no noise to let her know he was home.
She smiled and walked back to the stove. She searched the kitchen for two bowls and served the stew. She walked over to one of the counters and hopped up to sit on top, pulling over a cookbook she had found and skimming through
“What are you making?” He finally spoke, stepping into the kitchen from around the corner. He pulled his hood down a little farther as he sat down at the dining table, “I can only guess it will be delicious.”
She jumped in surprise from her place on the counter and glanced up to Elijah emerge from the shadows "how long were you standing there?" She asked, getting down and filling the extra bowl with food
“Not long.” He smiled, “It smells wonderful in here, by the way. What are you making?” He asked again.
Kendalla calmed her racing nerves and handed him the bowl "vegetable and herb stew, grew them myself outside." She said proudly, "needs a few more things buts not bad. Let me know what you think."
“Mm..” he took the bowl in his hands, “Could you hand me a spoon, love?” He dipped his head down towards the bowl to breathe in the wonderful smell, oh how delightful. It reminded him of the comforting food he once had with mortals while under an alias. It was the best meal he’d ever had, and this would be no different.
Kendalla nodded, blushing slightly at the nick name. She rumaged through one of the drawers until she found a spoon. "Here," he handed Elijah the spoon and went back over to the counter to read the cook book
Elijah took the spoon and dipped it into the bowl. He brought the spoonful of stew up to his mouth to softly blow on it before taking a ginger sip, “Mm…” He stirred the soup, “Where did you learn to make this again?”
She tapped the book next to her "right here." She said with a smile "surprisingly good." She muttered with a nod "I might try more."
“You should..” he took another bite, “It takes like a family recipe. Did you bring it with you from home?”
Kendalla nodded again, asking a sip of the soup, "mhm, mom gave it to me after my 7th birthday. Little did we know i'm not so good with food around that age, I sorta burned everything I made." She laughed shyly and shook her head "I never tried to make that recipe again."
“Hm..” he took another sip after giving her some, “You should try it again, then. That recipe you burned.” He pulled his leg up to sit cross-legged.
She nodded "I just might. It was one that my mother liked a lot, I could never make it the same for some reason." She smiled abd took a sip of the stew "so where'd you disappear to this morning?"
“Oh…” he looked down into the bowl to think about what to say, “Just taking a walk…I’ll be gone every day when it’s light outside. It’s just..easier that way,” he admitted.
"so you'll just be gone….since we sleep at night." Kendalla nodded "just because it's easier doesn't mean you should do it. We got married for a reason. I'm fairly certain it wasn't to hide from each other all day." She jumped down from the counter and set her bowl aside to finish later, having lost her appetite for now "I'll be in the garden if you need me." She said quietly, heading out of the kitchen to put back the book
Elijah continued to stare down at the floor. He opened his mouth to retort a reply, but merely said okay when she left for the garden. What was he supposed to do? Or say? Surely she would be mad at him for whatever he did. Staying here in the sunlight with her was only an option if he wanted to to find out it was him. So no, that wasn’t an option. At least he came to spend time with her in the evening, it was her who was leaving him right now. He curled his lips into a feigned growl, pretending like he was mad at her.
It was easier than being mad at himself.
Kendalla headed out to the gardens, knowing she should go back inside to try to resolve things with Elijah. She shook her head, not wanting to upset him more and sat down to tend to the weeds that had come up, throwing them to the side to dispose of later. She thought over what Lore had suggested and sighed, she wouldn't do that to Elijah, not to anyone.
(I’m gonna be gone for the week on vacation and probably won’t be able to reply, but I’ll be back online by the 17th!)
Elijah finished his bowl of stew, savoring each bite of Kendalla’s meal. He smiled down at it before setting it aside on the table. He exited the kitchen to go back to his room and ready himself for bed. Kendalla, would be back later tonight, he reasoned, he shouldn’t have any reason to worry about her unless she really didn’t come back…then he would go look for her.