Hiya! Thanks to all those who reviewed, read, alerted, and/or favorited this story thus far. I am so grateful for your kind words of encouragement.

I was looking through my outline, and I took out a lot of chapters which I thought were unnecessary. Thus, there are only 8 chapters left, including this one. That means this story will end on chapter 28. It's kind of a low number, but that is where it needs to finish.

A guest asked me if I can bring Edward in, but I'm sorry to announce that he and his family are no more. It's not that they dead, as we are all aware of. It's just that he is no longer significant to this story. Bella moved on and that is that.

Chapter 21- Misunderstandings and Minnie

"No, Bella. You don't do it like that!" Felix scolded, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

I groaned. "Can we please move on from this? I'm not getting any better!" Purposely, I added silently

He muttered, "It's clear why not. Anyway, I'm confused as to why you're not getting any better. It's been, what, two or three months. Shouldn't you have improved by now?"

I sweetly replied, "I guess I'm just not talented in the arts of fighting."

"That's fine," he said with a sigh. "Hopefully, we'll see some improvement over the next few years or so."

I shrugged. "Hopefully." I glanced at my watch discreetly. I had a meeting with Caius coming up, and I didn't want to be late, as punctuality was one of few good traits that I possessed.

It was time for me to leave, according to my watch.

"Felix, I've got to head out," I said. "See you at our next meeting."

He replied, "Are you sure you don't want to stay a bit longer to practice some moves?"

I shook my head. "I've got a meeting with someone."

He nodded, looking disappointed. Now that I knew that he liked me, I knew the reason behind why he did certain things like being disappointed when I left early.

I bit my lip uncomfortably and shifted my weight from one foot to the other. After a few awkward seconds, I gave Felix a little wave and headed for the doors.

"Wait!" he called out.

I turned around slowly, wincing. This didn't seem like it would end well. Felix strode up to me and smiled.

"I've got to say something to you, Bella."

I gulped. Definitely not ending well. I cleared my throat and looked towards the doors wistfully. "I've really got to head out," I said, trailing off towards the end.

Felix shook his head. "This will only take a few seconds."

I had no choice but to stay rooted to the spot. It would be rude if I just walked out of the room without another word, now wouldn't it? Felix lost his confident disposition and began looking anywhere but my face.

He stuttered out, "Well, the thing is that I may l-l-ike you."

In any other situation, this would've been hilarious. The ever confident Felix was nervous? Unheard of! But in this situation, it was just terrible. I would have to turn him down, and I didn't know what that would do to him.

The room was silent. And then, Felix did something that surprised the heck out of me. He leaned down and kissed me. I tried to pull back. I really did. But his strength was too much, and unfortunately for me, he took my struggling as a sign of eagerness. This painfully reminded me of the time that Jacob had kissed me forcefully.

I shoved Felix's chest. He still didn't budge. He continued kissing me, but all I was concentrated on was getting him off of me.

"Get away from her, now."

Felix pulled away from and I almost cried out of joy. It wasn't a bad kiss, but it was an unwanted one, and I didn't know which was worse. I looked towards the direction where the voice came from. Caius was standing in the doorway, looking furious. His eyes were dark red, and his mouth was set in a thin line. I was a bit frightened, in all honesty.

Felix backed away from me and bowed. "Master."

Caius was suddenly in front if Felix. "What do you think you're doing, Felix?"

Felix looked confused and I couldn't help the onslaught of pity I felt for him.

"Kissing Bella?" he offered.

I almost died right there.

Growls erupted from Caius's chest, and Felix looked even more scared than before. He could take Caius on easily, but he wouldn't. That was the thing. Caius was on a higher level than him, and if he chose to fight Caius, he risked the chance of being expelled from the castle.

Felix nervously asked, "What's wrong, Master?"

Caius didn't answer. He lunged at Felix, and I screamed. I didn't want anyone getting hurt because of me!

I jumped in between them and took the brunt of Caius's attack. Caius immediately stopped what he had been doing and yelled, "Bella, what are you doing?"

"Let me explain," I pleaded.

Caius stared at me, still shaking angrily. I placed a hand on his cheek and he noticeably began to calm down. I began to calm down as well.

I let my hand drop, and began, "Felix didn't know we were dating. You should've known this. I specifically told you that we would keep it covert. So when he kissed me, he did so not knowing that we were in a relationship. I tried to push him away, but he misinterpreted my shoving for enthusiasm."

I looked over at Felix. He seemed to be quite embarrassed. And sad.

I said, "I feel like I owe you an explanation and an apology. The other day, Demetri came up to me and told me that you liked me. I kind of just waved it away, disregarding it as a simple crush. I never imagined you would kiss me. I'm sorry for not telling you of his encounter sooner. And in case you hadn't already figured out by now, and you probably already have, Caius and I are dating."

Felix's mouth was wide open. I could almost feel the surprise radiating from his very being. I understood why he felt this surprised. Let's face it. The relationship that Caius and I possessed was about as odd as a shark becoming friends with a shrimp.

Caius muttered, "If we had told them earlier, we wouldn't have to be doing this right now."

I rolled my eyes. "Be quiet. I'm having a conversation with Felix."

Felix mumbled, "This is crazy. And I'm incredibly embarrassed."

I sighed. "I'm so sorry."

He shook his head slowly. "It's not your fault. I guess I was blinded by my attraction towards you that I didn't even realize that you were obviously not feeling the same way I felt for you. I feel like a complete idiot."

"Don't feel like that. It's not like you knew that I liked Caius. I don't really act love dazed unlike some other girls, so I understand why you didn't notice that I liked someone else. Besides, my exact intention was to have people stay oblivious to our relationship," I reassured Felix.

He chuckled a little. "You're different, Bella."

I smiled. "Thanks?"

"It was a compliment," he confirmed.
I heard someone clearing his throat behind me.

"Bella, may I talk to Felix for a second?" Caius requested, sounding incredibly bored now that there was nothing to be emotional about.

I nodded and stepped back, letting Caius take my place.

Caius started the conversation, "I extend my sincerest apologies. I was too angry to think straight, and I almost forgot that you had every right to kiss Bella. You hadn't known we were together, and if you had, I know you wouldn't do what you just did."

Felix looked relieved. "I forgive you. Thank you for understanding."

Caius nodded, and Felix looked at me for a couple of seconds before rushing out of the room.

I embraced Caius. "Thanks for not killing Felix."

He chuckled. "I wouldn't have killed him, Bella. You're being ridiculous."

"Really. I'm the one being ridiculous," I muttered.

"Yes, you are. I may be a bit temperamental, but I'm not crazy," he said.

"I know," I reassured him.

He rolled his eyes. "Come on, I've got to show you something."

I let out a yelp of surprise as he grabbed my hand and tugged on it. I gave in to his eagerness and let him drag me to wherever he wanted to take me.

2 minutes later, we were deep in the forest. It was a gorgeous day. The sun was shining, the sky was cloudless, and the breeze was soft and gentle. Birds were chirping melodiously and I could hear a stream flowing. I turned to Caius.

He looked serene, and I didn't want to bother him. I turned back around and waited for him to initiate conversation.

"I dragged you here so I could show you something," Caius said suddenly.

I raised an eyebrow. "And what is that?"

He let out a low whistle. What was he doing?

A couple of seconds later, a fawn trotted out of the trees and near us. She or he approached us slowly and nuzzled Caius's hand softly. My jaw practically reached the forest floor.

"Meet Minnie," Caius said warmly. "A fawn that's not afraid of our kind."

So it was a she.

"She's beautiful," I murmured. And she really was. Her brown eyes shined with innocence, and her brown fur was glossy and clean.

"Yes, she truly is," Caius replied. "I first met her a couple of weeks ago. I was going to show her to you, but was afraid that if I did, she would become frightened and run away from this area eternally. But now, I'm sure that she isn't afraid of us. When I first met her, I didn't think she would even come close to near me. But she did. She trotted right up to me and nuzzled me just as she is doing now. I was truly astonished. An animal was approaching me. It seemed almost alien."

I nodded. "This is a first. Animals are wary of us."

"Yes, but Minnie is different. She didn't show signs of fear. She's extraordinary, and even though you drink her kind's blood, I felt like you should be aware that our species doesn't completely deflect animals," Caius explained.

I felt sick. I did drink her kind's blood. Almost all the time.

Caius must've sensed my horror, because he was fast to say, "Oh, don't feel like I'm trying to make you feel bad. We all understand that what we eat is a part of who we are. But in the future, maybe you can try not to drink Minnie. I always recognize her by a little heart shaped marking on her forehead. Come, look closer."

Despite my revulsion, I moved in a bit closer and peered at Minnie's forehead. True to Caius's words, on her forehead was a perfect heart. It was diminutive, but it was visible. In the future, I would look out for that heart.

Caius whistled a different tune, and Minnie galloped away.

I embraced Caius again. "Thank you for that."

He looked a bit taken aback. "Oh, it was my pleasure."

I grinned. "Were you and Minnie secretly dating behind my back? Your relationship did seem a bit intimate."

He rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha. Very funny. But no, we were not."

"Good, because you're all mine," I replied.

"Yes, I am."

Aw, Minnie is so adorable! I should know. I'm the author.

Anyway, what'd you think of that half-dramatic, half-fluffy chapter?

See you soon!