CHAPTER 25

Edmund

"Where are you taking me?" Bianca giggles as I lead her, with her eyes closed.

She is watching her step, because the ground is uneven and there are a lot of tree roots around us. After all, we are in the woods. A very special woods.

I don't know if this will work. But if there is a place in the entire world where she may have the chance of stumbling onto another dryad, then this is the place.

I didn't tell her any of this. We traveled here, just the two of us, because I felt that after everything that has happened in the shifter town, she deserved a little get together, just the two of us. But I had a hidden agenda as well, which I didn't tell her about, mostly so she wouldn't be disappointed if nothing happens.

To be quite honest, I have no idea how to go about this. There isn't any rulebook when it comes to summoning dryads out of the woods, just like there is no rulebook where you can summon a vampire to come to you. It doesn't work like that. You go there, where you hope to find them, and you hope for the best.

"Just a little bit longer," I tell her, holding her by the hand and helping her walk.

When we are finally there, I stop. "You can open your eyes now."

She does as she is told. She turns around, enjoying the sight.

"Where are we?" she asks, looking about.

"We are in Neerior Woodland," I tell her.

"Wait…" she suddenly tells me, lifting her hand in front of her chest. "I… I know this place."

"You do?" I ask, not only surprised, but shocked that she would say something like that. But on second thought, this shouldn't come as anything surprising. We all feel where we belong, even when we don't know it.

"I sense something here," she turns around, wandering in this small clearing, as the sun shines down upon her.

"You should," I'm unable to keep my mouth shut. I'm way too excited not to take part in this moment.

"I sense the presence of others like me here," she says, with a hopeful voice.

When she turns to meet me, her eyes are sparkling.

"Old legends say that this is where the first dryad appeared," I finally tell her. "I wanted to bring you here, so you could learn a little more about yourself, and maybe, if we're lucky enough, we might see another dryad you could talk to."

"Oh, my goodness!" she exclaims loudly, overwhelmed by what I just told her.

"But I don't know how to go about this," I admit. "I brought you here. The rest is up to you."

She walks over to me and gives me a peck on the lips. "You always know what to say and do. I am so lucky to have you."

"I'm the lucky one," I correct her, meaning every word of it.

"We could argue about that all day long," she chuckles.

"I would rather not," I laugh as well.

She starts walking again, just looking around. She walks over to a tree, then wraps her arms around it, pressing her cheek to the rough skin, closing her eyes. I try not to disturb her, but I watch over her every single moment, just in case.

She opens her eyes, walks over to the second tree and does the same thing. Then, she does it again and again. She hugs ten trees, and nothing happens. But she isn't discouraged. When she wraps her arms around the eleventh tree, we both realize this one is special.

All of a sudden, the tree hugs her back. Its branches lower down and wrap themselves around Bianca's body. She smiles as she's pressing her cheek against it. A moment later, someone peers from behind the tree. The branches pull away instantly. Only Bianca is doing the hugging now.

"Hello?" she calls out.

I watch, making sure not to disturb this precious moment. I'm pretty sure that no vampire in ages has seen something like this, the first meeting of two dryads, one of whom didn't even know she was one.

The face behind the tree hides instantly. But curiosity wins over. A red curl appears, then two green eyes.

"I'm Bianca," she says softly. "I won't harm you."

The stranger hesitates for a moment, then steps out into the light. Her hair is red and long, falling all the way down to her lower back. She is dressed in a white robe that floats down to her feet. She is barefooted. She tilts her head to look at Bianca curiously.

"You are one of us," she says simply, as if that's the most normal thing in the world.

I can see Bianca trying to suppress a chuckle. "Yes, I think so. Actually, I've only found that out lately." She turns to me. "You see, Edmund here, he is the king of– "

"You," the dryad says, interrupting her. "You look like someone I knew."

"I do?" Bianca asks, all hopeful.

The dryad approaches her, takes a strand of Bianca's hair into her hand and brings it to her nose, inhaling deeply. To be quite honest, it is much less solemn than I thought it would be, but maybe this is the better option. The two of them obviously seem to be having fun, which is what matters. They are getting to know each other. Hopefully, this dryad might be able to tell Bianca more about her past. If she doesn't, this will still be a good thing for Bianca. We are already being more lucky than we thought we would be, having stumbled upon a dryad willing to show herself to us.

"You look like Villosa," the dryad says.

"Who is Villosa?" Bianca asks, her voice rising as she asks more and more questions, becoming high pitched with impatience.

"A dryad I haven't seen in a long time," she admits, sounding melancholic. "She fell in love with a human. We told her not to go with him, and after thinking about it long and hard, she left with him. I don't know what happened to her, but you look so much like her."

"I don't know who my mother is," Bianca admits. "I was found as a baby and taken in by the shifters."

"The shifters?" the dryad squeals, pulling away, her face taking on a horrifying grimace. "Are you one of them!?"

"No, no," Bianca shakes her head immediately, and I rush over to be by her side, again, just in case.

Dryads are kind and benevolent, but they can be meaner than a pack of vampires when pushed. It is better to play it safe. We don't know her, and she doesn't know us.

"I left them," Bianca explained. "They thought I betrayed them, but I didn't. They wanted to kill me."

"They always want to kill those who don't think like they do," the dryad says, seemingly appeased by what she's heard. "I'm surprised they took you in."

"Me, too," I add, quickly biting my tongue for interfering. The dryad shoots me an icy stare. Not very welcome, but then again, it is not because of me that we are here. I will endure whatever it takes for her.

"Edmund," Bianca says. "He is the– "

"King of vampires," the dryad immediately recognizes me, although I have never seen her before. "I knew your father."

"You did?" I ask.

She smiles, and it feels like the sun exploded all around us. The flowers extended a little higher to be closer to her. The grass trembled underneath her feet. The branches lowered themselves a little.

"I live a little longer than all of you other supernatural creatures," she tells us. "I have seen it all."

She walks around us, still eyeing just Bianca. "I sense a great power in you."

Bianca is quiet. I can see she wants to say something in return, but she doesn't know what. To be honest, I also wouldn't know what to say in return to that. I'd just want to keep listening to see if there's more.

"You have to awaken it still," she divulges.

"There is more?" Bianca asks, incredulously.

"Much more," the dryad smiles again. "But now is not the time for that. You must rest. Focus. Nurture."

Upon saying those words, she places her hand on Bianca's stomach. We both watch her, as she closes her eyes, humming a melody that doesn't seem familiar to either of us. When the dryad opens her eyes, she nods to herself.

"Yes, you must nurture," she confirms. "There is a small one within you. One with eyes like the sky."

It doesn't hit me immediately what she says. It takes me a moment or two to register it, for my mind to truly comprehend what it means. Then, the knowledge settles inside of me, nestling like a little kitten in a basket where it aims to fall asleep.

"Once you no longer nurture with your body, but rather your mind and your heart, you will return here, and we shall speak again," the dryad says.

She spins her hair about her head, lifting grass blades, leaves and flower petals all around her. A moment later, they all drop to the ground, and she is nowhere to be seen.

"Did you see that?" Bianca gasps.

"Scratch that… did you hear that!?" I say, turning to her.

Her eyes lock with mine. I press both my hands to her belly. I can't feel anything. Her stomach is normal. It's not bigger or anything. I doubt it is too far to tell. After all, the first two times, I was careful. Then, when we expressed our undying love for each other, I stopped being careful. I wanted this to happen. I still do.

I don't know when exactly she conceived. But the dryad somehow does.

"I'm… pregnant…" Bianca whispers, looking down at her belly, where my hands are still resting. "I'm having… a baby…"

"We are," I smile, correcting her.

I cup her chin with my fingers and make her lift her gaze once again. "A baby with eyes like yours," I repeat. "I couldn't have asked for a bigger miracle."

"Are you… happy?" she asks. Her cheeks flushed at these words, as if she's embarrassed to ask me.

"What would ever make you doubt that?" I wonder gently, gazing at her lovingly.

"We never discussed it," she clarifies. "I don't know if you wanted to wait or– "

"Wait for what?" I interrupt her.

"Some time to pass," she shrugs.

"For what?" I ask again, smiling from ear to ear. "What it is you think I need time for?"

"I don't know," she says again, smiling.

"I just wanted time to find the one I love, the one who will be by my side no matter what. Now that I have found you, I need no more time for anything, other than to be with you in every way possible. And creating new life with you… that is more than I could have ever hoped for."

"Oh, Edmund…" she exclaims joyfully. "You don't know how happy your words make me…"

"I love you, Bianca," I whisper in her ear, wrapping my arms around her.

She locks me into an embrace, with her arms around my neck, and lifts her eyes to meet mine. "I love you, too."

I kiss her softly, under the sun in the woods that is the next step to discovering her true self, her true strength. When I pull away, I feel overwhelmed by love for her, for this new life growing inside of her, new life that we have created together.

"I am so happy to be by your side, while you discover your strength," I tell her, pressing my forehead to hers.

"You are my strength," she tells me. "You and this little baby."

"Can we have more after this one?" I wonder.

"Can I rest a little after the first one and then?" she chuckles.

"Of course," I nod. "But not too long."

"Well, thanks," she laughs. The melody of her laughter fills the woods around us. It is the most wonderful sound I've ever heard.

"Come," I take her by the hand. "I'm taking you home."

"I know where that is now," she says suddenly.

"You do?" I wonder. "Where?"

I expect her to say in the vampire town, where I took her after we left the shifter area. That is where my home has always been, and that is where I took her. but her reply surprises me.

"Wherever you are," she says. "A castle, a shack. Outside or inside. In the darkness or in the light, my home is by your side, wherever that may be."

"Bianca…" I whisper her name, overpowered by love for this sweet, tender little thing, who has so much strength and courage inside of her. "Your heart has always known mine, even before I myself was certain of that. Now, I shall never let you go."

With those words, I squeeze her hand and lead her out of the woods. We go back home, back where she belongs… by my side.

THE END