"You say that now, but tell me what you think after you've known me for more than two hours," he joked.

She simply smiled, but said nothing more.

"It is okay with you, that I go in alone, right?" He asked, shooting a sideways glance at her.

"Of course, Mas-, I mean Stephen," she recovered.

Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

"I mean, I understand you are bound to me, and whatnot, but they've never seen me with a girl before. To tell you the truth, I'm still getting used to it, so this might not be the best time. It has nothing to do with you. I just don't want to upset your feelings."

"You're worried about my feelings?" She asked, incredulously. "You are a rare kind of master, that is for sure. People from my time were not like that."

"What were people from your time like? Do you have memory of your life before being in the portal?"

She thought for a moment before answering. "I do. Snippets and flashbacks. I remember the time, and bits and pieces of my own life. That seems odd, doesn't it?"

"I suppose, but so is the fact that you're a genie as well," joked Stephen.

She giggled, "You're right. But my time was much harsher than it is now. Death and poverty were very real. You never knew what the day might bring to you. It was a daily struggle just to survive. Many that I knew didn't live very long, or very well at all. It's hard.. for me to think back on those times."

"Maybe someday, you will tell me about your life before the portal. That is, if you want to?"

She rewarded him with her trademark smile, "Someday, if you still want to hear the story then."

Stephen responded with a squeeze of his hand. This seemed like the more natural thing in the world to him, holding hands and being close with her, even with the obvious elephant in the room. Despite only knowing her for half a day, he already felt closer to her than just about anyone else. He felt more understood than he had ever, and at least since Danny had died. Maybe this was just what he needed to help him get through a tough time.