8 Tell Me Your Name

"…A creature lives in that lake because why would the fruits of the wistalia trees keep on disappearing? Who else would eat it when not even a single person in this palace would go to the lake and eat it?"

"That is indeed true but what kind of creature would even live in that place?"

"Probably a monster that appears during the night?"

"If that is the case, then we should have prevented the young miss from going there. She could have been attacked or something."

"Well, there's a chance that the young miss might have seen that monster already."

"Then she could have told us that, right?"

"I don't know. It might not be a monster in the first place, it could be a human or something."

--~--

Alexandra fluttered her eyes open. Why is it so hot? She thought to herself and kicked off the blanket that covered her whole body. The room was bright and the sunlight shone upon her, who opened all of the windows and the curtains of the balcony? She wasn't feeling well and the memories of last night came rushing in.

"What's a mere kid doing at this place?"

The enchanting and beautiful scenery of the lake and the attractive boy sitting on top of a thick branch of a wistalia tree. She knew that she fainted but who brought her here? She can't walk back here while sleeping, who brought her back? While she was thinking, the door of her room was swung open. Alexandra looked at the direction where the door is seen.

Diana emerged out of the door carrying a tray with a bowl and a glass of water. She had a worried look on her face and she heaved a sigh first before she closed the door. It seems like she was having many problems and that made Alexandra's heart break. Why are you sad? Don't be sad. Alexandra thought to herself and suddenly coughed and this caught Diana's attention.

"Young miss, Alexandra!" She said, she ran towards her direction and placed the tray down at the edge of the bed. Diana caressed her cheek, she still had a worried face on and placed the back of her palm against Alexandra's forehead.

Her face became more worried than before, "Your fever still hasn't gone down…" Diana muttered and sighed. Alexandra wanted to speak but her throat hurts, she sat up and reached for the glass of water placed on top of the tray Diana brought. She brought to her lips and drank it all.

"What did I just told you about escaping the palace and going to the lake at night?"

Crap.

"What would have happened if you fainted in the middle of the woods with no one there to save you? Your body is weak because you are a child yet you went to the lake, meters away from this place. You are so stubborn, young miss," Diana began to scold her. She was furious and angry at the same time. So I was the cause of all her problems, Alexandra thought.

Please spare me though, I'm in a bad condition, she wanted to say but she just kept her mouth shut then opened it as she was going to respond to her question.

"But I want to see the scenery." Was what she wanted to say but she didn't. It might trigger Diana to scold her more and become stricter than before, she doesn't want that to happen. Well, she deserves to be scold by Diana anyways, she didn't follow what she said and made her worry, aside from that, she also got sick. However, there was still one question inside her mind. Who brought her back? Was it Diana?

"Be thankful, a boy suddenly came carrying you. He said that you fainted at the lake. If I wasn't roaming around the palace to check, we wouldn't have seen you in that state." Diana's features soften while she spoke and Alexandra's question was answered. A boy? As in the pretty boy at the tree? Alexandra opened her mouth to speak but was shut off when Diana spoke again.

"At first I was suspicious of him and somewhat blamed him. But he answered that he was the one at the lake, he had low mana that's why he was eating the fruits of the wistalia trees and he would usually come to the lake to either observe the scenery or eat the fruits especially during the full moon. I was quite doubtful and suspicious at first even up until now. Though he explained that he didn't know that the lake was the property of the royal family as he just stumbled upon it by accident," Diana said as she did multiple hand gestures as she spoke.

Huh? That made Alexandra became more confused than before. She opened her mouth to speak but to close it again then open it as she finds the right words to say. It was like the movement of a fish's mouth.

"W-What does he looks like..?" Her voice was low and she stuttered. However, Diana only heard a few words but understood what she was trying to say.

"He is slightly taller than you, he looked like 2 years older than your age. Red eyes and dark-colo—"

"Oh, okay." Alexandra cut her off and sighed, she was getting tired and she wanted to sleep.

"I thought a scary creature would be living at that lake, it turns out that it was just a boy with low mana."

Diana suddenly said while she took the bowl of soup and a spoon placed on top of the tray.

"Here, this will help you recover. You were sleeping the whole day yesterday and you just woke up this afternoon." Diana said and she brought a spoonful of spoon near her lips, Alexandra opened her mouth and put the spoon inside her mouth. Although embarrassing as an adult, she was inside a child's body.

When she finished the whole bowl of soup, she laid down in bed and closed her eyes to sleep.

--

It was in the middle of the night when she woke up once again. I feel like crap, she thought to herself and adjusted her position, she stirred her body sideways and now she is facing her right, she saw the glass door of the balcony, with curtains draped at its sides. The moon was seen outside and its light lit the room. She closed her eyes and when she opened it, someone was standing in front of her, he had a frown on his face and crimson red eyes glowed.

She was startled and almost screamed because of it when she realized who it was.

Oh, the one at the lake and the one who brought me back. Alexandra thought to herself and stared at the boy. His thin eyebrows were knitted and his eyes were narrowed making it look like he was glaring at her.

"You're awake." He simply said, still not removing the frown on his face. His voice was low when he spoke. Alexandra thought of what she should say and immediately spoke when she did.

"Thank you for bringing me back." Was what she said and that made the boy's features calm, his lips didn't form a frown, his eyebrows weren't knitted and his eyes weren't narrowed anymore. He clicked his tongue, "Because of that, they already know me."

"They?"

"The maids in this palace." He answered and he groaned.

"Were you hiding or keeping your identity a secret? I don't even know you.��� Alexandra replied.

"Not really. I just don't want anyone to discover me." The boy answered. How old is he? Alexandra randomly thought inside his head while he was speaking.

"But still, thank you."

If he didn't bring Alexandra back in the palace, her condition will be worse than now. The boy just remained silent and bore his eyes on her.

"Harrison." Huh? What is he saying? The confusion was visible in Alexandra's eyes and the boy just sighed.

"That's my name, it seems like most of your maids know me already and it's no use hiding or not telling my name." He added answering Alexandra's question inside her mind. Her mouth formed an 'O' before she fainted a smile and spoke, "Nice to meet you, I'm Alexandra."

He just hummed as an answer and he was still staring at him, "You look like crap." He said, bluntly.

Rude, Alexandra rolled her eyes. "I'm sick." She answered and let out a series of coughs. He just hummed again and silence surrounded them. The silence didn't make them feel awkward, it was calm and Alexandra felt peace within her. She should be wary and afraid around a person that she doesn't know but she was calm and she felt solace with him which was quite weird. Probably because I'm sick, that must be the reason.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm also feeling sleepy. And—"

Before she could finish her sentence, she yawned and covered her mouth.

"Just go to sleep then."

And with that command, she did.

She can't stop herself from closing her eyes and falling asleep while he just stood there and watched her.