Chapter 53: Lake of Bones- Part 3

Going to where they were, she tried to get their attention which didn’t work as they were too busy pulling the hair and kicking each other. Stepping into their childish business, she pushed both of them away from each other.

“What are you two boys doing, instead of enjoying your time like the others?” Heidi used a stricter tone to talk to the two children.

“He stole my book which I have been meaning to give it to my grandmother!”

“You don’t have any grandmother!” the other boy scoffed.

“I do! Unlike you!” they tried getting each other but Heidi pulled them again.

“Stop it both of you if you don’t want to spend your night out with the hound dogs!” the threat worked wonders making both the boys stand still in their place. Her father usually used it to scare her and her siblings when they were about to put their toe out of line, “What’s your name?” she asked one of the blonde boy.

“Guss, ma’am.”

“And you must be Mark,” she gave a pointed look to the boy who had freckles round his nose, “Mark, stealing or hiding someone’s belonging which doesn’t belong to you is wrong. Your parents would be really disappointed if they knew about it.”

“My parents don’t care about it! They aren’t alive. They don’t exist,” the boy answered angrily. With what she heard, was the reason him taking another boy’s book because he had no family when the other boy still had his grandmother? Pursing her lips for a moment, she sat down to level herself with the boys height. Softening her tone, she spoke to him gently,

“I don’t think that would be right. Did you know that people whom we hold dear and close to turn into angels once they die. Even if we cannot see them, they are still around always looking after their loved once. People never leave, so you should never tell that they don’t exist. Sometimes, you’ll have to keep them here,” she said taking his hand and placing it on his heart, “Safe in your heart,” she smiled looking at the boy.

Sending both the boys from there, Heidi followed them to only be stopped by the lord who had been leaning against a tree.

“That’s one heap of garbage I heard in a while.”

“Ah, you heard.”

“I did. Is that what you grew up listening to?” he asked her with false amazement and she looked at the two boys who maintained a good distance between them as they walked.

“No, milord.”

“Misleading little children are we.”

“What would you propose I should have done?” she asked raising her brows at him.

“Very easy. Dead people are gone and won’t come back. Ask him to man up and move forward than cry over something he doesn’t have. Building false castle isn’t going to work always.”

The boy named Guss had turned around to run towards her, “Where are you going? We are going to start eating soon,” she said.

“Mark said he threw the book there,” the boy said ready to get past her but she held the boys arm.

“Why don’t you go ahead with the lord while I go look for it? Yes?” she said to him and then faced the lord indicating him to take the boy along with him.

Heidi went back to where she had seen both the children fight with each other, searching for the book around the shrubs that had grown. Hearing the flutter of pages, she followed the sound to only be distracted by a brown rabbit that was hopping towards the stream of water that was flowing down.

“So cute,” she said looking at the rabbit.

Biting her lip she decided to pick the book later and to pat the rabbit first. Walking slowly and tailing behind the rabbit she tried getting closer to it. In the past she was never allowed to bring pets home or couldn’t. When they were young, Nora had once brought a rabbit home as a pet from the forest to only find it next day cooked and served at the table for dinner. After holding the rabbit and placing it back on the ground, the rabbit ran away not looking back and she felt her heart sink.

Getting up from the ground and dusting the back of her dress, she looked from the raised ground to see the water flowing down in a rush. Realizing she had spent quite some time here, she stepped back to feel the ground she stood on loose and wobbly. Something didn’t feel right and just when she was about to step back, the ground broke into loose mud dragging Heidi down into the river. She was pushed into the large river and when she finally emerged from the bottom, she gasped for air. She coughed as water had entered her lungs. Her eyes burned and she tried adjusting them. Finding for the shore, she turned around while keeping herself above the water.

Just as she began to swim across the river she felt the muscles in her right leg begin to act up with pain. Not now, she thought to herself. Half drinking the water and half swimming she swam, telling herself, just a little more. As she moved her arms and legs, she placed her hands on the bank of the river when she felt someone grab her leg from below. Out of shock her arms began to flail in the water but she couldn’t move forward. Whoever it was, pulled her below, not letting her get away, pulling her down to the bottom of the river.

Warren who had just got back from the orphanage placed the boxes down on the ground to which the orphanage headmistress thanked him. Looking at the children and his cousin sit on the blanket of sheets on the ground, he found Heidi not to be there.

“Where’s Heidi?” He asked to no one in particular to find her walking back from the forest holding a book in her hand.

Nicholas was eating the fruits which was given to him and when he looked up to see his cousin. He turned his face to only stop eating and get up.

“What’s the matter?” Warren asked at the sudden action.

“Take the children and leave right now,” Nicholas ordered without moving his eyes away from Heidi who had stopped walking after he stood up.

“Okay,” Warren complied without a question and led the children and the headmistress back to the carriage before giving Nicholas and Heidi a look as he left the scene.

Nicholas didn’t waste a second more from drawing his gun out and shooting right over Heidi’s arm. For an instance he felt he had mistaken her for something else but then she spoke,

“How did you find out?” a voice said which didn’t belong to Heidi, “Was the disguise not right?”

“Where’s the girl?” He asked.

“A vampire cannot see us. Not even a pure blooded vampire like yourself,” it said, “How?” It asked almost confused. Understanding he wasn’t going to get an answer he drilled two more bullets into the forehead before the body dissipated into dust.

Going back to find her, he looked around to find her to be nowhere. He couldn’t sense her nor hear her heartbeat. What the hell happened to her? The thought ran over his mind as be searched for her. Seeing the disoriented ground in front of him, his eyebrows furrowed. Walking forward he found a shadow in the river water.

Realizing it was Heidi, he dived into the water to drag her limp body out of the water. Placing her on the ground, he checked for her pulse which was fine. Suspecting that she had drunk a lot of water, he pushed her chest to let the water out of her body. When she began coughing out water he let out a sigh of relief. He helped her sit up, rubbing her back as she coughed. Her face was pale and eyes lost.

“What were you thinking coming this far away? What if I didn’t find you?” Instead of consoling her, he scolded once she had calmed down. Heidi found herself suddenly engulfed in his arms and her eyes widened at the action, “Damn, you scared me to death. Seriously what were you thinking? And for a stupid book. So troublesome,” she heard him speak.

“I-I am sorry,” not knowing what else to say right now, she apologized.

When Nicholas pulled back, he placed his hand over the side of her face and asked concerned, “Are you alright?”

Heidi felt the invisible strings in her heart pull again tightly when his dark red eyes stared into her eyes. When the strings snapped, she realized she was in deep trouble.