Hermione walked around the woods where she had come to find herself. After morphing into her original form, she cautiously glanced around as she pondered where Celeste might be.
After she escaped with Emily, the latter scurried away quickly because where she came from wasn't so far from the manor. Hermione was stranded in the woods searching for Celeste and accelerating her steps to avoid being caught by the guards who were supposed to be on their feet and charging after them.
Rhea would become irate if she found out that they had successfully escaped her grasp. And she would do everything to track them down and drag them back to that hellhole.
As she searched for her friend, she prayed that Daphne and Emily had made it home safely.
Despite feeling terrified due to the fear of being captured and returned by Madame Rhea's men, Hermione persevered in searching for Celeste.
Five years of being in this dangerous place had left them without sight of their parents, and they had decided to return home. She couldn't leave without ensuring that Celeste was also safe, and they were ready to go home together.
As the wind became colder, she tightened her arms around her body. Hermione looked up at the sky, where the trees had obscured it from view, and they swayed in the air, taking the course of the wind.
A rasping breath coming from the side made her gasp gently. She turned to look but there was no one. Never had her ears caught noises from a far distance before, and she narrowed her eyes, wondering whom the sound belonged to.
Hermione was conservative of her environment as she walked ahead, towards where she believed the noise was coming from.
It should be Celeste!
She thought inwardly, after all, they had planned to meet outside the largely built fence of the manor and return home together.
She was excited to see Celeste once again.
A smile carved its way on her lips as she hastened her steps, where the breath got louder and louder.
As she inched closer, the smile on her face was suddenly displaced by a frown once she noticed it sounded nothing like Celeste.
It was a laboured breath as if someone was struggling with something.
Hermione didn't reveal herself at once, instead, she stood behind a large tree and peeped from the side. Her eyes were split evenly, with half of them aimed at the person and the other half concealed by the tree, and her body was also discreet.
A young boy, possibly in her age range, was leaning against the tree with his legs stretched out. He had his eyes closed and hands plopped by his sides. She noticed he was breathing through his mouth.
The boy was brown-skinned, someone she had never seen before and he had dark silky hair that hovered across his face.
As she looked down at him, she realized that he was severely injured with a wooden stake in his chest and blood covering his shirt. He must be hurting, and at the same time, struggling to survive.
Hermione felt pity for him. Out of her kind nature, she stepped out of her hiding place. When she could've turned back and run away from a stranger with all her might.
Who knows what this one might also do to her?
Hermione walked closer, hearing the sound of leaves rustling and branches breaking beneath her foot. She squinted her eyes at him, checking if he was still asleep.
After what seemed like an eternity, her short legs arrived at the tree he was leaning against, and it took a lot of courage for her to crouch down to his level and observe him.
She stretched out her hand, towards his chest to remove the wooden stake that was causing him pain.
Immediately her hands landed on the stake, his eyes flew open instinctively. Hermione stumbled backward at the sight of blazing hazel eyes.
He thundered in a menacing voice, "Who are you?"
The boy's nostrils arched in anger toward her as he glared down at the little one who could have been the cause of his death.
The sound of his voice put her off. He looked terrifying and intimidating. She felt uncomfortable.
"Deaf. Are you?" He inquired once again, inclining towards her, but she shifted back in haste.
Hermione lowered her hand to the ground and wrote 'Eden', momentarily forgetting that she was no longer with Rhea and there was no need to fake her identity.
"Tell me why you wanted to kill me. Did my brother ask you to finish from where he left off?"
Huh? She blinked in confusion, not understanding what he meant.
But why would his brother hurt him? Perhaps his brother didn't like him like how hers didn't like her? They both were alike?
"I---dont know what you're talking about. A--And I was only trying to help. I never planned to kill you" She slurred.
Lloyd answered, "You're a stammerer, not a mute" His lips twisted.
"I'd die sooner or later, I know. I don't just want to" He murmured in silence, closing his eyes and leaning back against the tree.
Hermione heard his words, "C--a yo--u be saved?"
"Hmm. Offer your blood" He responded straightforwardly.
Her hands flew to her neck and she shook her head vigorously. Hermione just escaped from blood-sucking creatures, she didn't know she would be encountering one on her way to freedom. She was aware that mates were meant to bite each other, and it was meant to be a mark of their connection. Regardless, she avoided being bitten. Especially by these people.
"W--what will you offer in return?"
"What do you want?"
"Home. I want to-- go home"
Lloyd opened his eyes, his hazel eyes meeting her green ones. And his gaze softened, seeing the depressed look on her face. He wasn't the type to ask about what didn't concern him, and he was an easygoing person.
"I'd take you home. It's a promise"
Hermione didn't know why, she trusted his words.
Even the apprehension she had once felt around him disappeared like mist and she now felt comfortable even though she wasn't supposed to.
Maybe because he sounded genuine and didn't seem to be the type to hurt someone. She agreed to him biting her, even when it was against her beliefs.
Coming closer to him, she tilted her head, where her neck was bared in front of him. She closed her eyes, her nose scrunching as she expected the piercing.
As he watched her, the corner of his mouth curled for a brief moment. "It is going to hurt" He let her know.
"Ye--yeah. So just get done with it" She countered. Crying inwardly that, because he looked pitiful, she agreed to his request and wanted to get hurt by him.
He lifted his hand at first and reached for her nape, Hermione opened her eyes, not expecting him to pull her abruptly and her eyes met his.
Time seemed to be still, as they both gazed into each other's eyes. She gulped feeling his intense gaze on her. Out of nowhere, she heard her heart thumping in her chest, faster than it was before.
Wasn't he biting her anymore? And why was her heart palpitating her chest?
.
Just when she thought she should ask the question, he broke the gaze and leaned closer to her. She held her breath.
Hermione felt his lips on her neck and she stiffened. Lloyd parted his lips, where his fangs had elongated and his eyes red, he inhaled the scent of blood rushing up her neck, and his urge to bite her became heightened. He had to control himself to not hurt her.
He gently flicked his tongue across her soft skin, tasting the saltiness and ensuring to calm her nerves, before he pierced her skin.
Hermione jerked but couldn't run anywhere as he held her in place and started to suck her blood. The stake was removed at once.
Once he was replenished, he let go of her, where she stumbled back and puffed.