3
Perfect Picnic Spot
Perfect Picnic Spot
Lola
I never see Willow outside of the castle, and I want to have a picnic, so I convince her to have lunch with me one day. She’s reluctant at first because she doesn’t like leaving the books alone, but I tell that the books will be fine for an hour. They can’t get up and run away.
Emory isn’t feeling well that day and is resting in her room. She tells me not to stay cooped up with her, so Nellie is there to make sure I don’t get lost on the castle grounds. Sometimes, I get lost in the castle because it’s way too big. Emory doesn’t agree that we should move to a smaller castle or at least install an elevator in this one. I point out to her that she’s going to have a tough time with the stairs once she gets a big baby tummy, but she just laughs at me.
Nellie carries a picnic basket with us as we make our way to the rose garden. She and Willow know each other as they used to work in the kitchens together. They are making idle chit-chat as I look for the perfect picnic spot. Once I find the best place, Nellie lays down a blanket for us to sit on. She opens the basket and takes out the food.
There are sandwiches, fruit, and a pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice, as well as some blood for the vampires. Willow nibbles on some strawberries as I eat the sandwich Nellie had made. The sandwich is layered with chicken, bacon, veggies, and mayo. It’s very tasty. I’m glad that Willow and Nellie eat some of the food and not just their blood. It’s still gross to me to see people sipping on something that might’ve came out of someone just like me.
The weather is nice today, not too sunny and not too cloudy. It’s a little windy which keeps the temperature cool. I want to climb some trees, but Nellie insists I finish my food first. She and Helga are very strict when it comes to food and cleanliness.
I’m halfway done with my sandwich when Rainer appears past the copse of trees. He’s wearing his military jacket, but it’s unbuttoned, revealing his white undershirt. Willow instantly stiffens when she sees him.
“Hello.” He smiles a very charming smile at us, especially for a vampire. “Am I interrupting something?”
“We’re having a picnic,” I declare.
“I can see that. It is perfect weather for a picnic.”
I’m wary around most vampires because they’re mean, but Rainer is always nice. Emory-likes him. She says he’s a friend. He is always smiling and sneaks me sweets out of the kitchens.
“Do you want to join us?” I ask. “I think we have enough food.”
“Tam actually famished,” Rainer replies. He takes a seat on the picnic blanket between Willow and I. Nellie hands him a sandwich, and he takes a big bite out of it. With a mouthful of food, he says, “This is really good, Nels.”
Willow has stopped eating. She looks down at the picnic blanket and scoots away from Rainer. He notices and smiles at her. After swallowing, he leans closer and whispers something in her ear. She doesn’t react to whatever he tells her and ignores him by pulling out a library book she brought with her and beginning to read it.
“What are you reading?” he asks.
+25 BONUS
Perfect Penic Spot
She covers her face with the book so we can’t see her expression. I can tell from how stiff she is that she’s annoyed. Any time Rainer is around, Willow tenses up. I don’t know why that is. I should ask her
later.
After failing to get a response from Willow, Rainer looks to me and asks, “Where’s your sister?”
“The baby’s making her feel sick,” I answer. “She’s staying in bed today.”
He looks worried. “Has she gone to see the doctor?”
“She has. The doctor says it’s normal pregnancy stuff.
“That’s good.” He picks a blueberry from a bowl and bites it. A bit of juice stains his fingers. “You’ll tell me if there’s something unusual, right?”
“About Emory’s pregnancy?”
He nods. -“We all want to make sure she and the baby are healthy.”
“Okay,” I agree. “How would I tell you? You’re usually busy.”
“You can ask a s**nt to send me a message, or you could come to my room.”
“That’s inappropriate.” Willow finally speaks again. “You can’t have her going to your room. She’s a child.”
He waggles his eyebrows at her. “How about you show up at my room then, Willow? Or is that too inappropriate for you? I know exactly what inappropriate things I’d like to be doing with you-”
Nellie loudly clears her throat. “Maybe you shouldn’t be saying such things around a child?”
Rainer gives an innocent smile that makes me think he uses that when he wants to get out of trouble. I’ve seen my brother Coit do the same thing back home.
“Lighten up, Nels,” Rainer remarks. “Lola is too young to understand what I’m saying anyway.”
“I’m ten,” I tell him. “Emory already told me where babies come from.”
He erupts into a coughing fit. “That’s… that’s good to know, Lo. Um, how about we don’t tell your sister what you heard me say to Miss Willow over here?”
Willow hides her face behind her book. “Don’t drag me into this. You were the one being inappropriate.
I
“I’m not supposed to lie to Emory,” I point out. “But I could forget to mention it to her if you get me cake.”
“Cake?” he repeats.
Inod. “Chocolate cake. The one with the raspberry filling that the cook bakes.”
He offers his hand, and we shake on it. “A deal’s a deal, little wolf.”
Willow smacks him on the arm with her book. “Don’t make deals with a child!”
“She made a deal with me,” he says. “I just agreed to it.”
“You’re the adult,” Willow whispers vehemently. “You’re supposed to say no.”
He winks at her. “I can’t help that I’m easily persuaded, which you should totally take advantage of,
+25 BONUS
Perfect Picnic Spot
Willow. I will not fight you for anything if you just ask.”
Willow grimaces in disgust. “You’re filthy.”
“Not filthy enough yet. Just say the word, Wils. We can get filthy together.”
Nellie loudly clears her throat and gestures toward me by nodding vigorously. “Again, the child is right there.”
He points to me. “I know, I know. I’ll get you the cake.”
I giggle, amused at Rainer’s behavior and Willow’s annoyance at him. Curiously, I ask, “Do you like Willow? Is that why you tease her?”
He leans closer to me and whispers loudly so everyone can hear, “I like her a lot, little wolf. I don’t think she likes me though.”
We look at Willow, and she hides behind her book again.
“Maybe she thinks you have a girlfriend,” I state. “Are you single?”
“I’m very, very single.”
“Why? Do you not want to be with anyone?”
With a more serious tone he explains, “It’s not that I don’t want to be with someone, but I’m really busy these days. King Kane is dealing with a lot, and he needs all the help he can get. Ruling a kingdom is a lot of work”
“King Kane managed to fall in love with Emory while doing all that, so what’s stopping you?” I ask him. I’m not fully comfortable with the king yet. He is always polite and nice, but I can’t look at him and not remember that bad day when my father almost sold me off to him. I can see how he takes care of Emory, and it makes it easier to not dislike him. And he’s having a baby with her, so in a way, he’s family now. I will have to learn to accept him eventually.
Is he part of the pack? I thought only wolf shifters could be pack members. I need to ask Emory.
Rainer rubs the back of his neck uncomfortably. “That’s a good point, Lo. The king has always been good at multitasking. I’m a one task at a time kind of guy.”
“Maybe you should tell the king you need more time off so you can get a girlfriend then.”
He laughs, a boisterous sound that even makes Nellie smile. “You are so smart. Maybe you should be ruling a kingdom.”
I frown. “Not if I have to live in a castle. They’re too big. There’s too many stairs. Not enough elevators.” “Those are all good points,” he concedes. “But I do have to tell you that I enjoy my job even if it keeps me from dating. I like to be of service to my kingdom.”
“You can be of service and find love. It can’t be that hard.”
I don’t understand why adults have to make everything so complicated for themselves. They tell themselves they can’t do something when they obviously can. They won’t do something which is completely different. I think they should be honest with themselves more.
25 BONUS
Perfect Picnic Spot
“I could try. Or maybe I just need to be more like Kane and fall in love with my own feeder-”
Willow gets up abruptly, nearly knocking over the pitcher of juice. “I have to go. Sorry, Lola. I’ll see your later at the library.”
She walks away quickly and is out of the rose garden before any of us can react. Rainer gets up and follows her.
Rainer
Willow moves faster than I expect. I have to run to catch up to her. She doesn’t acknowledge me, and is dead set on getting back in the castle before I reach her. She speeds up once I’m walking beside her, trying to lose me.
“What’s wrong?” I ask. “Did I do something to upset you?”
“No,” she answers, briskly.
“Are you sure? Cause it feels like you’re trying to run away from me.”
1 am not.
“Slow down then.”
She doesn’t. “I have to get back to work. Not all of us are close friends with the king and can do whatever
we want.”
Annoyance makes me speed up, and I block her path, preventing her from moving forward. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” she replies, agitated. “Just let me get back to the library.”
“If it’s nothing, you wouldn’t be acting this way, so it’s clearly something.”
She tries to duck past me, but I continue to block her way. I’m bigger than her in every way. She can’t move around me that easily. “Willow, just tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.”
“There’s no fixing anything.”
“Is the flirting too much? I can tone it down. Do you prefer courting? I can do that. Just tell me what you want.”
I grab her waist to keep her still. She viscerally reacts and starts pushing me way, dropping her book in the struggle. “I want you to leave me alone!” she exclaims.
Her eyes are wide and terrified. Something about her expression feels familiar. I can’t remember why. When have we done this before?
She takes advantage of my stunned silence and rushes around me. Her skirt billows around her as she makes her way to the castle and back to her safe haven. I pick up the book she dropped from the ground. Absent-mindedly, I wipe dirt off the leather cover.
I’m trying to catalogue all my past interactions with this woman, and I can’t remember anything
until recently, so it’s not like we interacted much before her promotion. significant. I avoided the library
+25 BONUS
Perfect Picnic Spot
When she had been a maid or a cook, she had mostly stayed out of my way and quietly did her work. She never drew any attention to herself.
She’s a pretty face amongst a sea of pretty faces. With her brown hair, blue eyes, and red lips, she is undeniably attractive, but so are many of the female vampires in the castle. She had just been another face in the crowd until recently when I got to know her a little more. I only noticed her when Lola started frequently hanging out at the library. She’s smart, helpful, and very good with Lola. All of those things make her attractive to me.
The question I can’t find the answer to is what did I do to make her hate me? And why is she scared sh**s of me?
