Kaden was splashing in the waters with excitement only children show at his age.
The water kept splashing in my face, and I smiled faintly when I saw his laugh.
Then I stopped smiling when I remembered the circumstances I seemed to be stuck in.
Kaden began to show exhaustion from playing in the water. He began to swim next to me and laid his head on my shoulder.
I patted his head in indulgence, with my heart melting like candy.
In this moment I vowed to protect this child as best I can, even though I knew it was a deadly promise where I don't even have the power to do so in a dangerous world where vampires can cut my throat in the blink of an eye.
I looked at the boy, and he looked at me with his curious eyes, his thick eyelashes blinking with water dripping on his face.
I asked the boy, "How old are you?"
Then the boy looked at me, and then he brought up eight fingers. Five wet fingers on the right and three wet fingers on the left sticking out of the water.
I said with a faint surprise, "You're eight."
The boy nodded like an obedient child, and he said with a childlike smile, "How old are you, big brother?"
I was surprised when he called me big brother. I don't have any family left in this world, so hearing him calling me big brother brought me joy.
I said with a faint smirk. "I'm eighteen. Why are you calling me big brother? You don't even know my name."
The boy wasn't stumped by my question, and he raised his head with a cute smile. He said, "Because you're really pretty, so you must be my big brother."
His words only made my lips twitch. Hearing the word 'pretty' again didn't make me happy because the vampire said I was pretty as a fae.
The word pretty is more like an insult, but I continued smiling despite my annoyance. I shake my head at his answer, and I say, "Little brat. No need to please me, and since you call me big brother,you should know my name."
I squeeze the little boy's cheeks with a faint smirk and ask, "Can you guess what my name is?"
The boy wasn't happy with me squeezing his cheeks, so he pouted. His cheeks turned into a big mushy ball under my hands, and he said with a glare towards me. "Greeny."
I raised my brow in confusion. Why would he think I'm called Greeny? What kind of awful name is that?
My cheek twitched again, and I asked with a frown. "Why, Greeny?"
He said with a pout, "Your eyes are green."
I nodded with a smile and said,. "You're wrong about the name part; you can call me Blake."
The boy pouted, "But that's a terrible name!"
I glared playfully at him, "No matter how terrible, it's my name."
Under my fierce glare, he nodded with reluctant, pouty cheeks. I'll release him when I get confirmation he'll be calling me by my name.
I began to wash him with soap and made sure he was as clean as a baby, and I washed myself. I poured water over our heads, and the boy laughed cheerfully under the waterfall.
I smirked. Then we stepped out of the water and then realized we didn't have any clothes. I didn't bring any clothes or anything.
There on the wall was a towel large enough for two people. I dried the boy and then wrapped the towel around him. I slowly went to poke my head out of the doors in both ways to see if anyone was in the hall.
Once I saw no one lurking around, I immediately told the boy to be quiet with my fingers against my lips. The boy nodded as if he understood.
Smart boy, I thought.
I ran out along the hall, and the floor was soaked under my feet with water. My bare feet walked and walked, and I noticed everyone was gone.
I frowned. Where is everyone? But that's not important, and I raced to the stairs completely grateful that no one had seen us. Once I reached the boy's room, I saw some clothes in the closet. I grabbed it and draped it over the boy.
I had to tie the clothes around his waist since they are big on him. It made him look girly, so the shirt reached around his ankles, looking more like a dress. I did the same with the shirt around my waist. With a sigh, I was relieved it wasn't too big on me.
When I settled the boy in bed, he needed some rest. He was just ill awhile ago, so he needs his sleep. The boy yawned and held my hands tightly like he was afraid I might leave.
I went through his hair and watched him fall asleep. I yawned since I'm tired myself, but before I could fall asleep on the bed. The door came with a knock.
I groaned and went straight to open the door. It was the vampire before who led me to the bathroom downstairs. He said with a friendly smile, "The prince wants you."
I held back my groan and wondered what the prince wants with me now. With a forced smile on my face I nodded my head.
I shut the door quietly so I wouldn't wake the boy. Then I followed the vampire, who led me to the prince's room.
My mind wanders over and over: what does that ruthless prince want with me?
The vampire knocked on the door. The prince said in his cold voice. "Come in."
His voice only sent chills through me, and we stepped in the room. The prince was sitting in his chair while sipping from a white cup. I could tell it was blood since his lips were stained with something red.
That knowledge only made me remember what kind of monster I'm dealing with.