Lake 2

As we continued to bathe in the fresh and warm water of the lake, we continued to talk and ask questions with each other.

"How old are you now?" my voice echoes with the gentle wave.

"I lost count of my age because I don't have any calendar here. What year and month is it now?"

"It's year 2026 of the month of April." I answered. "No, wait, It's actually the first day of May today because I ran away from home on the last day of April." I corrected my words.

"2026… I can't believe 7 years have passed already. I'm 26 years old now." he answered.

"Really? But you look 10 years younger than your age." I said to teased him.

"Should I be happy to hear that?" He asked innocently.

I only laugh.

"How about you? What is your age?"

"I'm 22." I replied.

"You look like 12 though."

My smile faded and I looked at him in disbelief when he also tried to tease me. I didn't know he's good at copying jokes.

"I'm just small, but I'm already an adult." I told him while frowning.

He only laughed.

"Yeah, I know that. I'm sorry, I just can't help but to tease you as well."

I studied his face for a minute. I somehow felt glad because unlike the other day, he's smiling widely now. That made me happy too so I also smiled while looking at him.

"I hope you can see your face in the mirror right now." I speak.

"Mirror? Why? What's wrong with my face?" He asked with a confused look.

"There's nothing wrong with your face. I just want you to see yourself smiling beautifully right now."

He got stilled. He also got speechless so he went back to hiding half of his face on the water. He's starting to get shy again. I can see his ears turning red from afar.

"But wait, can vampires look at themselves in the mirror?" I asked when I remembered something.

"According to the book I read before, vampires can't look at their own reflection in mirrors because mirrors were constructed and backed with a thin layer of silver. It is believed to be one of the purest metals so it is perfect for repelling werewolves and vampires." I added.

"I haven't read that before as I don't have any interest in vampires or werewolves unlike my sister. But I don't think that story is real. After I turned into a vampire seven years ago, I can still look at myself in the mirror and it doesn't scare me at all." he replied.

I nodded my head to say that I understand what he's saying. In all fairness, not everything that was written in a book is real. So I shouldn't believe everything that I read.

I dip my head on the water and move to the side before I ask him another question.

"I'm still curious about one more thing. Does your heart beat?" I asked with a very serious tone.

I want to confirm if vampires' hearts do beat or not.

"It probably does…" is the answer that came out from his mouth.

"Can you feel it beating?" I continued to ask him.

He held his chest before he looked at my eyes. I looked back at him and didn't look away.

"It… does." he answered.

My eyes widened in excitement.

"Can I listen to it?!" I asked excitedly.

If I confirmed that a vampire's heart is beating, it would be so awesome! Flare would also be so happy to know it, but I immediately frowned when I remembered that Flare is not here anymore.

I felt my heart aches so I held my chest tight.

Flare's heart inside me is what remains to keep her alive. I need to protect this heart at all costs to protect Flare. I wonder if my heart is aching right now because I made Flare sad.

I didn't know that I am already spacing out. I only brought back to reality when I noticed that Galen is already standing in front of me.

He was holding both of my shoulders while looking at me worriedly. I can see the mixture of fear and worriedness in his eyes.

"Are you okay? What's wrong? Does your heart hurt? What happened?" he asked nonstop.

I looked at my hand that was still clenching on my chest until now. Did he think that I was having a heart attack and will gonna faint again so he swam near me to check if I was okay?

He knew that I have a weak heart so he got worried just by seeing that I was clenching my chest. I felt sorry for worrying him. I just got sad because I remembered Flare.

"I-I'm okay…" I answered and tried to smile so he wouldn't worry too much.

He stared at me for a few seconds before he pulled me closer to him and hugged me gently. I can't move my body as I don't know what exactly to react. He seems really scared and worried.

"Please don't make me worry like that again. I thought something bad had already happened to you…" he whispered.

I didn't notice that I was already holding my breath unconsciously. I can still feel the gentle and small waves of the lake that's surrounding us. The water is still warm, but Galen's body temperature is warmer... Just like human's.

"Your heart is really beating, that's amazing." I said after a moment of silence.

I leaned my ear closer on his bare chest to listen to it clearly. I was about to raise my hand to hug him back, but he gently pushed me away that made me startled.

Cluelessly, I look at him. He is still standing there but he's not looking at me anymore.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hug you without permission…" he immediately apologized.

He tried to look at me, but he quickly move it to the other side and cover his face using his hands. He looks really sorry.

"I was just really worried about you. I hope you won't get the wrong idea. I'm really really sorry, Iris. I'm so stupid." he said.

My face softened as I heard him calling my second name again.

I know that he was just worried and concerned about me. I felt that ever since we met last night. 

When I fell on the river, he came back and helped me to stand up. He even let me come with him because he doesn't want me to wander in the forest alone. I felt his genuineness in taking care of humans. That's why I don't get scared of him even a bit. I don't feel uncomfortable with him.

When he turns around and swims back to the place where he stood earlier, he stretched his hand to grab his cloak and gets something there before he asks me if I can wear my clothes now.

I'm sure that his eyes are closed so I immediately agree with what he said and get off the lake before I wash my clothes for a minute and quickly put it on.

"You can now open your eyes." I said when I was already done.

He's the only one left on the lake so he also gets off and wears his clothes together with his dark red cloak.

I waited for him to finish and when he was done, he walked towards me and asked if I could show him my palm.

"Why?" I asked curiously but I'm already doing what he said before I could wait for his answer. My body moves on its own when he's the one who's speaking.

"Here,"

I looked at what he put on my palm.

My eyes widened in surprise when I saw 3 pieces of wild berries on it. I thought all the berries we picked earlier fell down on the mud so I need to wait until tomorrow to eat it. I never thought that I would still get to taste it tonight.

"I'm sorry, I should've held tight on the other berries to give you more, but I only got to save 3 pieces.." he apologized again while scratching the back of his head.

I wanted to tell him that he didn't need to apologize, but I only smiled with teary eyes.

"Thank you, Galen." I said sincerely.

I couldn't explain how much I appreciate everything he has done for me. It's not yet a week since we met, but he already did a lot for me. I'm so thankful for it.

"You're welcome," he answered with a soft voice and a slight smile.

I hope I can be a help to him too. I want to help him with everything that I can, and I'll start helping him by finding his sister and the 12 celestial keys.