Ysabelle walked into Eirisse's room and was about to knock on the bathroom door to tell her that when she finished, she should go down to eat dinner, but she stopped her hand in midair when she heard her cry out. It made her stop completely, her breathing halted at the same time as her hand. She lowered her hand down to her side and listened carefully, her acute hearing aiding her.
Eirisse was muffling her screams down. Had she been hurt somewhere? Ysabelle wondered how she got herself hurt or if someone had hurt her. A batch of questions bombarded her mind in a split second.
She gloomed when a specific thought entered her head, what if she just escaped from danger and needed help. She looked so… fragile and was probably alone now. Ysabelle furrowed her eyebrows, thinking. Maybe she was no threat, but she still wondered how she got there?
She turned around and exited her room, closing the door behind her. She descended the stairs slowly, Eirisse invading all of her thoughts. She made her way to the dining room lost in thought.
Why did she not know she was a witch? Her scent was faint, but Ysabelle could still tell she was not human. 'How could a human enter our world? The queen said she had control of everything, including the portal.' Was there something more to this than she could fathom? She took a seat at the dining table and gave a loud sigh.
"Hey! Yzzy! Are you listening?" A familiar voice pulled her out of her trance.
She looked up to find her mother hovering over her, her face full of dismay. Ysabelle narrowed her eyes toward her. Her mother smirked knowing that nickname ticked her off.
"Don't call me that." she threatened in a livid voice.
"Only way to get you to pay attention to us, sweetie." Her mother answered simply in an innocent manner. When she said that, she noticed Logan as he sat next to her. He winked at her and took her hand in his warmer one, trying to calm her. Their bond was a red thread that connected their hearts. One felt what the other felt. Emotions and at times pain, they were shared in the bond. Logan squeezed her hand softly, his worried gaze on her as he felt her aggravated state of mind.
"So, what really happened with that girl?" the former alpha suddenly asked, worry clear in his tone.
"Is she a threat?" Her mother continued and she slammed her hand on table loud enough to shut them up. She grew protective of the girl so quickly that she still didn't understand why herself.
Logan chuckled at her short temper. Feisty, he mind-linked me. She looked over at him, giving him a death stare, but it only made his smirk grow. He slowly placed his hand on her bare thigh and squeezed it slowly, without her parents looking. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, his touch calming her down. The sparks she felt every time they touched made her want to lean into him closer, craving him completely.
"She is no threat. I know you can all smell her scent." She mumbled almost in a childlike whine.
"Yes, it's not that strong, but I can tell she is a witch," Ethan affirmed from behind as he entered the room.
"That is the problem." she paused, opening her eyes. Everyone was looking at her with confused faces.
"She does not know she is a witch. At first, I believed she was a mermaid in human form, which is crazy. The water must have washed part of it away or something" She started.
"Mermaid? Why would you think that?" Her mother asked, not finding any logic with the scent she carried.
"As you saw, her clothes were wet, she told me she got here swimming. But, then, when she told me she was human, she did not believe me when I told her she wasn't…that I was not one either. She practically freaked out, thinking I was joking around." She paused for a brief moment, looking at their concerned faces. Even Logan seemed lost in thought.
"Maybe she has been held captive for many years and has never seen another creature until now." Her father hypothesized, "maybe she accidentally opened up a portal without knowing?"
"She was injured, after all, maybe someone was hurting her and she escaped," her mother agreed with her husband.
"Wouldn't the Queen know about this already if a portal opened? Nothing passes without her knowing." Ethan made a great point which just made it difficult to understand this. If she were a trespasser, the Queen would have immediately sent guards to search for the intruder since last night. No news has spread of such a thing.
"That possibility passed through my mind as well," Ysabelle muttered. "When I went to her room, I heard her cry in pain. She must be physically wounded somewhere really bad." She implied.
"You should talk to her and ask her what happened, Ysabelle. You did bring her home." Ethan suggested. she gave him a glare; she knew she was her responsibility.
"I know, I already told her we were going to discuss this." Ysabelle pointed out.
Suddenly, they could hear footsteps getting closer to the dining room, her heart was beating really fast. She was nervous. Her scent was stronger than yesterday. She was definitely a witch.
*
Five pairs of eyes were staring at Eirisse as she entered the dining room.
Ysabelle had left a note on the bed telling her to go down to eat dinner after she finished showering. So there she was, nervously looking back at them.
"Come join us, sweetie." Ysabelle's mother sweetly motioned for her to sit in the empty chair next to Ethan. She nodded and slowly walked towards the chair and sat on it softly. Ethan glanced at her showing a small sympathetic smile. Eirisse smiled back, but it faded just as it had formed. Anxiety made it hard to think about anything else.
"So, my family here is rather curious about how you stumbled upon this place," Ysabelle announced, catching her attention. Of course, they would be curious, she was a stranger here. Ysabelle was playing with her mate's fingers while staring deep into the witch's eyes, her stare gave Eirisse goosebumps.
"I," should she tell them? Would they believe her?
"Don't judge me as a lunatic when I tell you what happened, please." she pleaded with all her being.
They all looked at each other confused before Ysabelle's mother nodded once reassuringly.
Eirisse took a deep breath, trying to gather herself, and placed her hands in on her thighs, rubbing them nervously back and forth. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Ethan, who was staring at her hands, then, at her legs, making her blush in embarrassment as she tried to cover the small cuts on them.
"I was in the basement of my house, and I found an old, dusty mirror. It was huge. I am not sure but, when I read a phrase that was written on it, the mirror exploded, sending the pieces flying into me," she paused, touching where the cuts were still on her thighs unconsciously.
"The mirror turned into a vacuum. It started sucking me in without warning. My brother and friends could not stop it. I do not know what happened to me, when I opened my eyes, I was positive I had died. I do not remember anything of how I ended up in the lake drowning." I looked up to meet their gazes. Ysabelle's boyfriend was lost in thought, his face frowning.
No one said a word which caused more apprehension around the table. Eirisse bit her lip to prevent her from screaming at them to tell her what was going on.
"Do you think the Queen should know about this? Maybe she can help." Ethan asked. 'They have a queen? Where the heck am I?'! Inside, she started to panic.
"No." Ysabelle's father hurriedly answered. Everyone's eyes instantly turned to him.
"Right now, the girl needs some rest. Tomorrow we'll see what we can do." He answered while Logan stood up immediately.
Everyone looked up at him, "Well then, good night." He flatly said. Everyone else stood up to leave, so did Eirisse. She was more confused than before, no one had answered her silent questions. Ysabelle and her boyfriend left and went upstairs, followed by her parents. Ethan was still sitting down so she turned around and started walking out the room, wanting to be alone as well.
"Do you mind if I help you?"
She shuddered as his breath fanned her ear. Her eyes widened, shocked by his closeness. When had he stood up? When did he get so close to her?
She turned around and eyed him carefully. They were really close, she had to involuntarily take a step back to keep a safe distance. She started fangirling inside, he was tall and gave bad-boy vibes, not heartless like Logan, but more like he just did what he wanted type of guy. He looked too relaxed around her as if it enticed him to be around a stranger.
"How did you –" she started, but he continued talking like she hadn't spoken at all.
"Your wounds must hurt, you should get them cleaned so they won't get infected," Ethan added, motioning towards her legs. He whiffed a faint scent of blood on her, meaning her wounds were still fresh and open.
"Uh, umm," she stuttered as she kept looking into his eyes. He was so handsome. She looked away from him, remembering she had wounds on her back and stomach and she was not about to strip in front of a hot stranger. Who knows if he really isn't human, as Ysabelle said before, she didn't want to be near him, fear started creeping in the more she thought about it. When Ysabelle said it, she looked like she meant it, and it just made her question whether she was still dreaming or not. This felt more real than she had thought. She pinched her arm and winced when she felt the pain.
"Don't worry Ethanie, I'll treat her wounds. You can go to sleep now, you work tomorrow, remember?" Ysabelle answered, cutting the last word in syllables. She interrupted Eirisse's thoughts as she felt Ysabelle's long fingers wrap around her smaller shoulders, making her shrug in surprise. Ysabelle pulled back a few steps away from Ethan.
Ethan scoffed, clearly annoyed by her sister's sudden appearance. He rolled his eyes at her and crossed his arms in defense.
"Sure, sure, whatever." He replied, taking a few steps closer to them, and when he was a few feet away from Eirisse, he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Good night, Rissie."
She froze, making her posture straighten up. Her breathing stopped for a moment.
Ethan walked out of the room, without noticing how much that nickname made me feel homesick, even though she had barely been there a few hours.
Ysabelle seemed to notice her rigid figure, "Are you okay?" She asked caressing her shoulder in a soothing manner.
Eirisse gulped down her melancholy and blinked a few times before looking up at her smiling, giving her a small nod, trying to reassure both of them.
"Let's go treat your wounds now, shall we?" Ysabelle spoke softly as she guided her pitiful body up to her room.