Happy Thursday. I'm off due to spring break, which is nice. So I've had some time. Enjoy!


Chapter Fifteen

Edward never rushed me; he allowed me to cry. When my sobbing finally subsided to sniffles, he started purring.

"Why didn't you do that earlier?" I asked as I attempted to make a joke, but it seemed as though neither one of us was in the joking mood.

"You had to heal. You had to let it out. I did not want to force you to calm down when you were not ready for it," He said as he stroked my head and looked down at me. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm better than I was." I said as I sat up. "I'm sorry I screamed at you. It wasn't right."

He nuzzled his head against mine. "Do not apologize. You had to let it out."

"Yeah, but it's still not okay for me to yell at you. You were just trying to help."

"I am not angry," He said. "You said you saw the Goddess?"

"Yeah. I saw her." I shuddered, remembering her massive, intimidating and enchanting appearance.

"Please tell me about her. What did she look like? Did she speak?"

"She was… she was enormous," I said. "She was able to pick me up in one hand. And she kind of looked like a weird version of me and you. She had my hair, my voice, my skin. But her ears and her eyes were like yours. And she had a tail."

He smiled widely, his tail moving energetically. "This is why you are the chosen one! She chose you to speak through and embody! Not even my own mother has seen the Goddess. She's only ever heard her speak."

I shook my head. "Don't get too excited. I'm not even sure if I want to be the healer. Or whatever it is the goddess wants me to be."

His smile and tail both dropped. "You… you do not want to be the healer?"

"I-I don't know." I said. "Edward, I don't know anything. I can't heal anyone. I'm still just a child, according to your people."

"It does not matter. My mother didn't know anything either, but she learned. You will learn too. She will teach you."

I sighed heavily. "You have too much faith in me Edward."

He rubbed his nose against my face. "Please do not lose your faith now. Please. You survived. You are meant to be here."

"I'm not… Edward please."

"What can I do?" He asked, his tone slightly panicked. "What do you want me to do?"

I placed my hands on his cheeks. "Shh, don't be upset please. I'm sorry. Why don't we just move on? How about we head to the beach to get my stuff. We can deal with this later."

He placed his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. Exhaling deeply.

Four Hours Later

The walk to the beach was a very silent one. I knew Edward was working everything out in his head and I didn't want to bother him. I had offered to walk myself, but he was hellbent on carrying me. I just hope he didn't feel obligated to take care of me, like he felt obligated towards Tanya.

"Oh hey," I smiled. "The watering hole, I remember this place."

I wiggled off of Edward's back and walked towards the soft sound of the waterfall. I smiled widely when I looked at it.

"This was the first place I saw you," Edward said.

I turned from the beautiful little freshwater pond to face him. "I think I remember that… you made that purring noise. But I don't remember hearing it as much as I do now. It felt like a weird vibration."

Edward looked down bashfully. "That wasn't a purr…"

"What was it?"

"The first time I saw you, my heart opened itself to you." He said as he continued to stare down at the ground. "I know you do not want this, but I couldn't stop myself. I made a heartbond with you. That was what you felt."

I closed my eyes and exhaled softly. "Edward… it's not that I don't want to… to have a heartbond with you. And it's more than just where I grew up. This is all just so… so strange. I can't wrap my head around any of it."

"What are you afraid of?"

I bit my lip, my arms instinctively wrapping around my chest. Of course he'd feel my fear. I remembered he said he could feel my emotions. "I don't really know."

Even though I heard his soft footsteps coming closer to me, I still jumped when I felt his hand on my back. I had to try my hardest not to lean into him, even though I desperately wanted to.

I looked up at the tree, avoiding his gaze that I could feel on me. I jumped when I felt his hand on my back. I looked up at him.

"Why don't we walk back to the beach? We can grab my stuff and head back to the village."

"Unfortunately we will have to stay on the beach tonight." He said. "I do not want to travel at night. It is mating season for the drilzod. They are extremely dangerous. If it were just me, I would risk it. I will not risk your safety however."

"Sounds good." I smiled before tugging his hand towards the beach; I knew the way now. "I think it'll be kind of fun. Like we're camping. I don't have much to offer, but the boat is pretty comfy. I don't think it'll fit both of us, however, so we might have to figure something out."

"I brought enough supplies to last us through the night."

I smiled and bumped my shoulder against his arm in a playful way. Edward was extremely sweet. As we headed towards the beach, I suddenly realized how Edward reminded me of my father.

My father always took care of me, and he made sure he was prepared to care for me. There was never, ever a time where I didn't have a winter coat, or boots, or food, or anything else I ever needed. I truly can't think of a time where I didn't have something I needed. My dad always took care of my needs before I even had them. Edward did that.

We made it to the beach about forty-five minutes later. My boat was still in the same place where I had left it. The only difference now was that there were plants starting to grow around it.

"Oh wow," I said. "It hasn't even been two days and the plants are already starting to grow."

"Everything grows fast," Edward said as he dropped my hand and walked to the spot in front of the boat. "I am going to make a firepit. Then I will make us a proper shelter for the night."

"You don't think my boat is a proper shelter?" I joked, hoping to lighten his mood. I didn't like that he was upset. And I definitely didn't like that I couldn't make him feel better. I didn't want to lie to him, but I was close to it. I just wanted the fun, childlike Edward back. Not this sullen one.

"It is good for you alone. But I will be here. I need more room. Not much more. But more than your boat offers."

I sighed heavily. "Edward, what can I do to make you happy again? I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. And I'm sorry that I don't want to be the healer."

He sighed but continued to dig the firepit. "I am sorry if my mood is upsetting you. What can I do?"

I walked over to him and grabbed his arm, stopping him from digging. He sighed again but tilted his head to look into my eyes.

"I just… I don't know. I'm sorry that I don't want to become the healer of your people. I don't know what to tell you."

"If you do not wish to become the healer, then that is your choice and I accept it."

I dropped to my knees. "Okay. Then what are you sad about?"

He fell backwards onto his bottom, so he wasn't towering over me. He stared at the ocean for a bit before letting out a sigh.

"I am not sad because you do not want to be the healer. Truthfully, I am not sad at all. I am just lost in several thoughts."

I nodded. "Okay. I get that. It happens to me."

"I will try to lighten my mood." He said before turned to face me. "Allow me time to create a pit and a shelter for us. I will feel better afterwards."

I looked down, sighing softly. "Okay. I'll let you get to work."

I moved away from Edward to allow him to fix the pit. Since he was going to fix a new shelter as well, there wasn't much for me to do besides thump down with my sketchbook and draw. I decided to fix the sketch I had made after the first time I had seen Edward. Or rather, his red eyes.

I drew a line down the middle and began sketching him. I decided to just sketch Edward now as he built a pit. It was hard to capture the right color of his diamondlike skin and his golden eyes, but I think I got close enough. I couldn't help but smile at my work when I was finished.

I finished sketching just as he finished creating a fire. He stood and wiped his forehead, smearing black soot across it. I held up my sketchbook for him to see.

"I finished too," I chuckled. "What do you think?"

Edward walked over and grabbed the book, cocking his head to the side as he looked at it.

"This is your drawing?" He asked as he examined it closely.

"Yep. It's you. The first time I saw you the night you fixed my leg. And then this is you now that I've seen you better."

"Hm," He said as he gave the book back. "I have never seen myself before."

"Really?" I gasped.

"Well, that is not entirely true. I have seen myself in the reflection of the water, but I have never taken the time to truly look at myself."

"Are you surprised by how you look?"

"I am not surprised by myself. I am surprised by how real this looks." He said. "The beach is here, but it is also there."

I giggled. "Art and science were my favorite subjects in school. When I wasn't learning about science, I was sketching. I got pretty good at it."

He nodded and smiled at me. "Do you have others?"

"I do," I said as I started to flip to the next page.

"Show me once I finish building our shelter." He said. "It is important I finish that before I relax."

"Do you need me to do anything? I kind of feel like a bum just sitting here. Can I help you."

"You may help me if you wish." He said as he knelt down beside the boat. "I am going to rip apart your boat. I hope you are not too upset."

"No it's okay," I smiled. "Rip away. Maybe I can help."

He smiled. "Would you like to try first?"

"Sure," I said as I scooted closer to the boat. "Okay, so I just grab a piece and pull?"

"Mm hm," he said.

"I feel bad about tearing up—err—the boat since—grrrr, it's tight—the flowers are now—ugh! I just can't—,"

Edward had now fallen over and was holding his stomach from his laughter. I huffed and let go of the boat, now realizing that there was no way I'd be able to break it without some sort of tool.

"I'm glad it was amusing to you," I said as I wiped the sweat from my forehead.

He sat back up and shook himself. "I am sorry. It was just funny seeing you try to pull the wood apart."

"Alright well since you're such an expert—," Edward cut me off by grabbing the wood and effortlessly pulling it away. He didn't even really splinter the wood it broke off in large pieces.

I made a face. "You're a lot stronger than I thought."

"I am very strong," He said as finished pulling the boat apart. "All of the men are strong. We have to be so we may hunt and protect our family.

I nodded. "Are there many dangers?"

"Not too many," He said as he started arranging the wood pieces. "We're fortunate enough to have lived passed the time of the waring families."

"The waring families?" I asked.

"Yes," He said.

"Can you tell me about it?"

"I do not know the story very well. My mother does, however. She would tell you later."

I watched as he placed the wood side by side before tying it all together. Once he was satisfied with how tightly it was tied, he started to look up at the trees.

"What are you doing now?" I asked.

"Look for the best tree," He said. "Once I have found it, I will make us a nest. It will keep us safe."

"Will the nest look like the hut? How does the wood from the boat factor in?"

"I will cover it with leaves so we will be hidden," He said as he grabbed a rope. "It will not take me long to finish."

I followed behind Edward as he started to retreat back into the jungle. He looked over his shoulder and chuckled very softly as he spotted me following him.