It was foolish of him.
He’d fallen asleep. It hadn’t been too long, he didn’t think. So, there was no harm done. None at all. The otherworlders and their guide were in the same place that he left them, as far as he could see.
But he shamed himself. If he’d been asleep for too long, he could’ve lost them. Or worse, he could’ve froze and he’d never get back to Seraphina. It was a stupid thing to do, and he would punish himself for it until Seraphina had the otherworlders.
“Oh, hello!”
He turned his head. And there stood the little girl. He never even noticed that she was missing, he’d thought that maybe the boy and the girl had hidden her in the shadows, to ensure her safety. But he’d been wrong.
“Hello,” he spoke, he pretended as if he didn’t want her around. Though, truthfully, he didn’t. She had a smile on her face. She approached him and held her hand out.
“I’m Octavia,” she told him. “But I want you to call me Tavia, or Eight if you wanted to be like Aria, but she might not like that. You’d have to ask her. What’s your name?”
“Eddie,” he answered. She liked to talk, he hadn’t known that before.
“Oh, Eddie, you just have to come down. I can’t bear knowing that you’re all the way up on this hill, in the dark freezing. I almost didn’t see you, but then you moved and I knew that it had to be a person.” Octavia spoke as she grabbed his hand and nearly dragged him. “Come on then, you should get warm by the fire.”
She dragged him down the hill toward where the girl and the boy were sitting in complete silence, both of them were just watching the flames.
“Aria! Alex!” she called. He watched as the boy’s head turned, his brow furrowed.
“Who is that?”
Octavia laughed. “Don’t be so silly, this is Eddie.”
He must’ve looked a fool. Weeks of being in the snow, unprepared for the winter would make him so. Not to mention that he’d been sleeping which would make him even more of a mess. The boy was watching him carefully, but the girl seemed to see him as more of a threat.
“Are you human, boy?” Aria asked.
“Yes,” he answered. “I awoke on a lake a few weeks ago. I’m just trying to find my way back home.”
“Where are you from? Maybe we’ve met before.” Octavia spoke. She was excited at the idea of another friend, but she didn’t know. She couldn’t know.
“Belle Vale,” he answered. “Or at least, that’s where I was born.”
“Alex and I are from Woolton,” Octavia spoke. “And oh, I’ve forgotten, silly me.” she pulled him toward Alex. “This is my brother, Alex Hayes.” The boy, Alex held his hand out toward Eddie, who shook it. He didn’t know if the boy thought him to be suspicious or not.
“It’s nice to meet you, Eddie.” he spoke. He still watched the little redhaired boy carefully.
Octavia then pulled him toward the white-haired girl. The one that looked similar to Seraphina. He noticed that Seraphina’s hair was softer in color compared to this girl whose hair was slightly silver. Seraphina also had a gentle look in her emerald-colored eyes whereas this girl’s eyes were sharp as steel, and the same color as steel as well.
“This is Aria,” Octavia told him. “She’s a real hero, you’ll see. She killed one of the hyenas and injured the others, it was wicked cool.”
Eddie held his hand out for her to shake. But Aria eyed it up like it was some sick trick.
“Is it common for you to ask for hands to be cut off?” Aria questioned. “Why else would you offer your hand to strangers?”
“No, Aria,” Octavia told her. “That’s just what people do when they meet new people.”
“Don’t tell me you pee on people when you introduce yourselves?” Alex questioned. Aria furrowed her brow and looked at the boy.
“No, we patronize them,” she stated. “And Eight, you must stop pulling on this child’s arm, it’s going to fall off.”
“Can he come with us?” Octavia asked, shrugging off Aria’s strange statements. “After all, he does belong to our world.”
“Of course,” Alex stated. “He’s just a kid, we can’t leave him here.”
“Isn’t it entirely possible that he’s not actually from your world, and that he’s been conjured by the mage?” Aria questioned. “She is vile enough, believe me.”
“He is not,” Octavia defended. “He’s a boy, a real living boy. Just like us.”
Aria sighed and relented. “Very well.”
Eddie glanced back up the hill. The urge to get back to Seraphina was eating him alive. There was a feeling in him as if she was his lifeline.
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