'The truth is, there are so many things that cannot be comprehended by mere beings. Beings that only desire to survive. They are unworthy of the information in this book. The passage earlier spoken about, can be opened by mortal beings, as unworthy as they are. Unfortunately, this is out of anybody's control, for only an individual can control his own heart, thoughts and desires. '
Ace thought for a while. The words of the book weren't straightforward. They only lingered around the point that was trying to be made.
Fortunately he understood and by the look on his sister's face, he could conclude that she also did.
By the time they were done with the fist page, a good amount of time had long passed. The wound on Terra's wrist had healed within a few seconds after she made the cut.
Ace held the pocket knife in her hand, stopping her from harming herself.
"You look pale." He said, his gaze lingering on her pale face.
"I'm alright. A little blood loss wouldn't do me any harm."
"Let's find someone else."
Terra was about to stop him but Ace had already called out to one of the nurses. The nurse walked over. She happened to be from Orion.
She bowed her head before raising it in respect.
"How can I help you?"
He whispered something I to her ear. She blushed. Her brown eyes staring at Ace.
She nodded before pulling out a scalpel. She made a cut on her palm without any hesitation before letting the blood drip onto the book.
When the next page was filled with words, Ace stopped her from bleeding anymore. The wound on her palm healed visibly fast, not leaving even a scar.
Terra stared at the nurse with a curious gaze, "How?" She asked baffled. The nurse was undoubtedly a human, yet she her wound healed so fast.
"I am a member the Regen Clan. My regenerative abilities can't hold a candle to that if your kind, but I can heal basic wound like this without any problems." The nurse smiled, her eyes glimmering with pride.
Terra now understood why her brother had chosen that particular nurse for this task.
"Let's go have something to drink first." Ace stood up. Seeing that she could not continue reading here, Terra took the book along with her. The book was a little heavy, but with her strength as a vampire, she couldn't be bothered by the book's weight.
Ace led his sister to the cafeteria. He ordered four cans of blood and a glass of warm milk.
Terra smiled when she saw the cans in her brother arms,
"It's been a while since I had that." She said.
Ace filled one-third of the glass with the warm milk before he filled the glass with blood. He stirred the pink liquid with a straw before giving it to Terra.
She took a sip, savoring the taste unique to her brother's blood milkshake. Only Ace could make something as ordinary as blood tea taste so good.
"How is it?" He asked
"Delicious!" She smiled.
•••
The environment was lively as the girls gossip.
The group of girls Tulip was seated with were talking about the Hexad. When they began to talk about Alexander, Tulip subconsciously touched her chin, the exact place Alexander had licked.
"Why are you suddenly blushing?" Lillian asked looking curious.
"I'm not!" Tulip held her warm cheeks before hiding her head between her thighs.
"You certainly are. Look at how red those ears of your are."
Tulip covered her ears too, "it's an allergic reaction!" She blurted out.
"Some allergies!" Lillian refused to believe her.
Tulip thought kept replaying the scene of him licking her face. How warm his breath was when he came so close to her. His black eyes that looked like they could see through her.
She looked at her wrist watch, it was almost time for dinner. Alexander had told her to meet him right after dinner. For some reason, she couldn't wait till then. She excused herself before making her way to the tree Alexander had told her to meet him under.
She knew she would have to wait for him, so she brought her sketch book with her. It should help her spend the time waiting for him.
She sat under the tree, her sketch book in one hand, a pencil in the other. Tulip didn't know what she was sketching, her hands just moved on their own. Only after ten minutes did realization dawned on her.
She had sketched Alexander's face.
She had only seen him close up once, but his face had been burned onto the deepest part of her mind. She doubted she could forget what he looked like even if she tried.
Thirty minute later, a realistic drawing of Alexander formed. The drawing looked more like a black and white portrait of Alexander than the sketch she initially intended. His raised eyebrows, thin lips and straight nose, everything was exactly like he was. She even got the piercing on his left ear.
Alexander sat on one of the branches of the tree. He stared down at the girl who was so busy drawing him that she could not sense his presence. Like Tulip, he couldn't wait until after dinner to meet her. He had arrived a good hour before time and had found himself a comfortable seat in one of the branches of the tree. He was surprised to see Tulip arrive thirty minutes after he had, with a sketch book in hand. He didn't know she like to draw, then again, he knew practically nothing about her.
"What are you drawing?" Tulip's heart almost jumped out of her throat. She looked above her. Alexander sat on a branch, one of his long legs was supported by the branch he sat on, while his other leg dangled freely.
From where he was seating, it would be easy to see what she was drawing, but Tulip buried the book in her chest,
"It's nothing."
"Is that so?" Alexander jumped down from the tree. His feet made contact with the ground, yet not a sound was made.
"You spent an hour drawing nothing?" He took a step closer. Tulip took a step back in response.
"E-exactly!" Tulip cursed in her head. Why was she stuttering.
Alexander looked amused. She looked like a frightened rabbit right now.
"Are you calling a sketch of me nothing?" He took out his phone and showed her the picture he had taken.
He knew all along. He had even taken pictures of her from where he was seating.
Tulip bit her inner cheek, if he knew why did he still ask her?
Seeing that she had no intentions of answering, Alexander didn't probe any further.
"You are here early." He said. Tulip could see her reflection from his black eyes.
"I could say the same about you."
Alexander smirked, the smile lit up his face.
"How's your neck?"
Tulip touched her neck, "It doesn't hurt. At least, not right now."
Alexander nodded, "That's good."
He pulled out pack of pills. The pills were blood red. He handed them to her.
"This should stop the pain. Take one pill once a week. It is difficult to make." He said sincerely.
Ace was reluctant to make them because of the risks involved. He had only mad twelve pills.
Tulip took the pack from him. It smelled strongly of him.
Curious, she asked, "Why does it smell so much like you?"
"It's made of my blood. I won't always be around, so just in case the pain in your neck shows up again, you can take the pills."
Tulip was silent, it didn't make sense why someone like Alexander would go so far for her. They had met only a few days ago, yet he was doing all this for her.
"Why are you doing this for me?" She couldn't help but ask.
Alexander looked around, the place was slowly getting crowded.
"Let's talk somewhere else" There were vampires around too and Alexander didn't want to have anybody eavesdropping on his conversation.
Alexander started walking without waiting for a response. Tulip tried to follow him but his long strides were getting too much for her to catch up with. He suddenly stopped, Tulip crashed into his back. She winced
"Here," he took her hands, shocking the on lookers and Tulip. His hands were soft and warm. She wasn't expecting expecting this dark prince to be so gentle. As they continued to walk, less and less people could be seen.
"We're here." He announced.