Chapter 41 Skipping Rocks

Chapter 41 Skipping Rocks
Caen picked up a rock and skipped it across the water. Lucy looked down nd picked up a rock as well. When she tried to ignore it, it made a loud thud and sank to the bottom. 

Instead of laughing, Caen bent down again and said, “Here, let me show you.” He pressed the rock in her hand and then guided it back and forth. “Like this and then flick your wrist.”

Again, the rock sank. 

He kept picking up rocks and showing her the notion over and over again. Till finally, she managed one skip. 

He released her arm and let her practice on her own. They sat there skipping rocks without saying a word. 

When Lucy got tired, she sat down by the water's edge and just watched Caen. The moon’s reflection shone on the water, causing the rocks to ripple like a blurry vision. 

She was getting hungry as it was past the first meal of the night, but she did not want to break this little piece of tranquility. 

Looking up at the sky, she watched the stars. Far away from the palace lights, she could see them more clearly. 

“How long have you been coming here?” Lucy asked, breaking the silence. 

“Since I was a young boy. ” He skipped another rock. 

“How did you find it?” She asked as the frogs croaked to one another around the pond. 

Lucy looked around at the trees and the clearing. 
He paused as he thought. “I was upset with my father over something I don’t remember now. So, I decided to run away. I stumbled upon this place and stayed till dawn.”

A rebellious child, Lucy thought. She was not surprised. 

“Your parents were probably worried.”
She said, thinking about a child out alone. 

He laughed. “I thought I was brave going out in the wilderness. I didn’t realize till I was grown that my father had followed me to make sure I was ok.”

Lucy fumbled with her locket in her hand as she thought about what he said.

It made her heartache, wondering if she had run away, would her father have followed and stood watch over her to make sure she was safe? She knew the answer and did not like it. 

“Whose picture is in your locket?” Caen asked, looking at her. 

“No one,” she mumbled, looking at the jewelry. 

“No one or a past lover?” There was an edge to his voice that she could not place.

Lucy looked at him in bewilderment before opening the locket and pointing its blank contents at him. “No one,” She said again.

He walked over his brow furrowed, “There really is no one, then why wear it?” His cold hand grazed the piece of jewelry. “Why?” He said, letting go and stepping back.

She shrugged, “I haven't found anyone whose picture I want to put in it yet.”

He looked away from her.

“Will you let me read the letter my stepmother sent?” Lucy asked, remembering the baroness. 

Caen stopped skipping rocks and looked at the one in his hand. “You can’t”

“Why?” She doubted her stepmother knew any secrets or was a security risk. 

“I burned it.” He admitted. 

She laughed. Oh, how she wished she could burn all the words her stepmother said to her as she grew up. 

“What about your tree?” Caen asked, switching the subject back to her. 

“It’s an old tree in the very back of the garden. So big I couldn’t wrap my arms around it. I would go there when I needed to escape the noise.” The noise of the manor and of life. Sometimes it filled her head until she could no longer think. 

He nodded in understanding, even if she did not specify what the noise was. He knew. 

A chill ran through her from the night air. 

“I’ll build a fire,” Caen said, disappearing into the trees. 

Lucy expected him to come right back, but the minutes passed, and still he had not returned. Maybe he was abandoning her in the woods. 

She stood up and brushed herself off, no longer wanting to sit around, but she froze. 

There was a figure at the treeline. She could not tell who it was, but she knew it was not Caen. 

Like a hare being spotted by a fox, she knew she was in trouble. 

In a flash, they were face-to-face with her. His face was long and his eyes dark. His clothes looked like formal attire that had been worn every day for 10 years. There were holes and missing buttons. 

“What have we here?” A sinister smile spread across their lips. Lucy’s heart pounded as everything in her screamed danger and to run. 

Then another appeared not too far away in a similar state of dress. “Alistair, you are good at finding the best blood.” The other said.

Alistair let out a laugh. “It’s a talent. I thought my nose was deceiving me.”

“How did it get out here, though?” The other one looked around the trees. 

Lucy’s heart was beating so hard she was sure they could hear it, echoing in her ears. 

“Must have strayed from the palace.” He shrugged, his eyes fixed on Lucy with a desire in them. 

Shadow stomped his foot, pulling on his reins, trying to break free. He let out a loud neigh. Dulcie seemed agitated as well, stepping from side to side. 

“What if it’s not alone?” The other one said, looking at the horses. 

“Then one for you and one for me. I never thought I would see a human, let alone drink their blood.” He laughed. 

But as his hand began to reach for her, something was agonizing Lucy’s back, or more like someone. Her body tensed, but then relaxed slightly as she caught the familiar scent. Caen. 

The unknown vampire moved away in a flash, his eyes full of alarm. 

Caen let out a feral-sounding growl, and then he was on the vampire. He ripped its head from its body before it could utter another word. 

The other vampire took off in a run, but Caen was faster. He chased after it in the trees. Lucy could not see what was happening, but she heard the cries of pleading before they were quickly silenced. 

Caen returned, inspecting the body of the first vampire. 

A scream echoed through the trees. It took Lucy a second to realize it came from her as she tried to stop, but couldn’t. 

Caen turned around to her. His eyes were filled with rage, and blood splattered across his body. 

He rushed back to her. “Shhhh, it’s ok. It’s ok.” He said over and over, rubbing the sides of her arms as he tried to get her to stop. 

Eventually, her voice seemed to break, and the noise stopped. Her body was shaking uncontrollably. 

He wrapped his cloak around her, but she was still in shock. “I thought you might be hungry, so I found a game fowl.”

Lucy saw a pile of wood with a dead bird next to it out of the corner of her eye, but it still was not registering.