Hey everyone, I'm back with another chapter!

PS: There are some references to other fictions in this chapter... anyone can spot them? ^^

It was raining just like that time. It made him feel to go back all the way back when he stood in a place like this, looking at a similar scene. There were people dressed uniformly in black, some combined it with white, but nothing besides the two, not even grey. It was as if anything in between and outside was prohibited; as if there were only two possibilities: black or white. Alive or dead.

He frowned at the headstone; it was placed at the middle, serving both who lied beneath it.

Pierre and Daphne Delacroix

Beloved Parents

Together in Life and Death

He was not exactly superstitious, but he had no other explanation for this. This couple had kindly taken him into their family and treated him like their own son, being neighbors, and now they became neighbors yet again with his parents. This time, for all eternity.

He marked it on his skin so he would never forget: an eagle guarding a golden cross on its heart, surrounded by a wreath of black roses. That would mark the first of his markings.

Ever since Eda's death, Klaus seemed to take it upon himself the duty to lift up Raelyn's mood. The young woman had looked up to the senior farmer like her own grandmother, and he could identify the hurt in her eyes when they spoke right after the funeral. True, Eda had entrusted him with Raelyn, but he would admit that there's more as to why he dedicated his time to accompany her.

The fact that he enjoyed the time spent in her company would be one of them, of course.

They sat nearby the lake in silence, simply watching the frozen lake. Raelyn had never been a talkative person, he realized, and he had no problem with that. As such, their silence was usually not an awkward one; it was one of comfortable silence, simply knowing that they existed next to each other. However, he could sense that there was something different with her silence today.

Would it be appropriate to ask her?

From what he had learned, women tend to value their secrets even more than men. He had heard someone even saying that secret made woman woman. Nevertheless, he wanted to know what was bothering her.

"Raelyn," he finally called.

She looked at him, surprised. "Yes?"

"Is there anything that is bothering your mind?"

She shook her head quickly, but her cheeks turned bright. "No, nothing in particular."

Klaus nodded. He was not convinced, of course, but what could he do if she refused to tell him?

He didn't need to wait long, though, for she changed her mind.

"Actually…" she paused, hesitating. Klaus turned to look at her deep wine colored eyes, which he found to be captivating. "I was thinking about you."

"Me?" he echoed.

She nodded and blushed even more furiously. "More like… my feelings."

Klaus held his breath. Such honesty from such a usually shy person, and such a timing to reveal it to him. It wasn't like he was completely oblivious to her affections; he had realized from some time ago but chose not to say anything about it. He had his reasons, of course, but now that she had brought it to light, he couldn't evade it anymore.

She looked away. "I initially thought I love you the way I love my brothers," she admitted. "But… I was wrong."

His heart raced as his memories caught up with him. He brought it upon himself by asking her, yes, but still…

"What you think of your feelings towards me," he said, colder than he thought it would sound. "It might not be what really is. Being as young as you are, it is not uncommon to mistake a simple admiration for love."

Now, it was her turn to hold her breath. She turned her head to meet his eyes again, but his time hers showed a look of utter disbelief. He stood up, but unlike any other days, she didn't follow suit. She stayed on the ground, sitting with her legs put aside under the cover of her skirt and apron.

"I don't think that this matter should be discussed any further."

He lost count of the number of glasses, but there was still some left. Nevertheless, he was not sober enough to hear the knocking.

"Klaus, I'm letting myself in."

Klaus looked up; Iris was the last person he wanted to see right now. Maybe second last, after Raelyn.

"Anything you need from me?" he asked, his usual composed demeanor slowly being chipped away by the wine.

"I heard from Raeger you purchased a whole bottle of wine," she said, walking towards where he sat and took the bottle from him. She inspected it, frowning. "I'm just making sure you don't drink beyond your limits… and maybe I'm already too late."

"Stop it, Iris, you're not my family." He didn't slur, but the choice of his words told Iris of his conditions enough.

Her fingers clenched around the neck of the bottle. "What we lack in blood we made it up with bond… that's what you told me."

Klaus chuckled wryly. He remembered that childhood—childish—saying. He couldn't believe how naïve he had been back then.

Iris looked at the man sitting in front of her, his face flushed from alcohol. Klaus was fond of wines, and he had slightly above average tolerance due to his… exposure, but now he was very careful about drinking so that he would never reach—much less surpass—what he could handle. There were extraordinary circumstances, of course, and it was clear to her that this was one of them.

Iris watched Klaus carefully. At this state, perhaps he would tell her what's bothering him.

"She said she loved me," he finally admitted.

"And you drove her away."

He nodded.

Iris sighed. "When I first teased you about her, it really was just a teasing," she admitted. "However, I looked how happy you are with her around—and you can't fool me. I really thought… that she would be the one you let to bloom."

"Well…" his voice was hoarse. "There's no place for a cold winter in a blissful spring."

"How could there be a blissful spring when you nip at the bud before it blooms?"

Klaus looked away. "You should know better, Iris," he said. "You should know better than doing this."

"Doing what?" her tone escalated slightly at the last word. "You made several stupid decisions, but not as retarded as this."

"Retarded?" he laughed wryly. "I'm not reaching for something I don't deserve and you call that retarded? More like sensibility for me."

"Niklaus Yves Adler!" Iris exclaimed, the vibration of her voice echoed in her head.

"You surely know, Iris," Klaus replied, his tone still relatively even. "That Yves—the yew tree—especially the male ones are toxic. Don't you think it really suits me?"

Iris bit her lower lip and he continued: "I could never have a family… they all die after taking care of me… right…?"

Klaus looked up. His golden eyes, usually exuding his composed and calming charm, were now filled with the dark intensity of a long withheld burden. "You should know better… Miss Iris Delacroix."

Iris began to weep. "It was an accident, Klaus… an accident. We—Mistel and I—never blamed you. You have nothing to do with it… you weren't even there!"

"Exactly," he replied. "I wasn't there when it happened. It was like that too with my own family. I was never there when I could have helped. I cursed you and Mistel to suffer the same fate as I do."

Iris carefully put her hand on his arm. Coincidentally—or not, perhaps—her hand was directly above his well-hidden tattoo. She gave it a gentle squeeze.

"You were not there," she admitted. "But, if you had been, I might have lost a brother, too. You were not there, and now I can see you alive, and I'm thankful," she said. "Why don't you have some faith, Klaus?"

Her squeeze incited a burning feeling on his arm. Klaus gently pushed her hand away and shook his head. "I won't bet on her."

What do you think will happen next? BTW, since we're already at this point, I'd like to ask your opinion about the story progress. Do you think it's too rushed? Or too slow? Was it too abrupt?

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

Thanks for reading! Please rate and review ^^