Chapter Eleven: Tied Paths
Ellan's Point of View
Lexander looked hesitant to step forward. I remembered reading a storybook once about vampires—it said they couldn't stand under sunlight.
I asked my mother about it after I finished reading. She told me sunlight was indeed one of their weaknesses. But she also said that some vampires—only noble and royal ones—could create a barrier to protect themselves.
Lexander was a noble vampire, right? I had seen him touch sunlight before. So why was he afraid now, even though he had a barrier?
It wasn't like he was trembling from pain. It was more like he was… thinking. Waiting. Measuring something in his head, the way adults do before they decide if something's worth the risk.
I turned to him and asked gently, "Do you want to stay in the shadows forever?"
I made sure my voice was soft, so he wouldn't think I was teasing him.
He still looked unsure, but after I spoke, he looked straight ahead—and suddenly, the hesitation disappeared.
I cheered for him silently in my heart.
As he stepped out from the shade, I walked beside him. Ellyn, seeing us, quickly joined too.
We didn't show it outwardly, but Ellyn and I were trying to support him. It was the least we could do, especially since we still didn't fully understand vampires ourselves.
As time passed, we started to enjoy ourselves.
Ellyn made a flower crown and placed it on Lexander's head. At first, he refused—not angrily, just with the kind of polite refusal you hear from people used to saying "no" in formal situations. But after Ellyn kept pleading with him, he finally accepted it, lowering his head slightly like it was some kind of ceremony.
We played together, laughed together, and took turns asking and answering questions.
Even Lexander didn't realize he was controlling his barrier so well.
"You're holding it well," I said to him.
"Holding what?" he asked, while holding a leaf bowl in his hands.
"Your barrier."
He froze, and his eyes widened—not in surprise exactly, but in a way that made me think he'd been caught breaking a rule.
"How are you controlling it?" I asked. That snapped him back to focus.
"I just think of it as my second skin," he said simply, as though it was obvious.
"Congratulations!" Ellyn beamed, handing me a leaf bowl filled with dirt-made cupcakes.
Her hands were clean—she used spirit magic to make them. As a high elf, she wasn't allowed to use magic that relied on inner magical energy.
---
From a distance, under the canopy of a tall tree, Flora and Vallen watched the children play together. They looked happy.
"He's never lasted this long before," Vallen said, eyes fixed on his adopted son.
"Maybe he's found a way to hold it longer," Flora replied knowingly. "And he has those two supporting him."
"Yeah. He rarely smiles or laughs like that."
"I have an idea. Want to hear it?"
"What is it?"
"Where are your children going to school? Let mine attend the same school. Let them be friends. It'll help build a positive image of your race too—my children, a high elf and a human, and your child."
Vallen nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm, you're right. Let's talk about it right away."
"I agree."
---
Ellan's Point of View
"What is this?" Lexander asked, peering into a leaf bowl filled with flower petals surrounding several rounded balls of dirt.
"I think… they're biscuits?" I guessed, though I wasn't confident. They looked more like squished mud balls than anything edible.
"Weird-looking biscuits," Lexander muttered, poking one with the same skeptical expression I'd once seen on my uncle when he inspected an old book.
I stifled a laugh.
He suddenly changed the topic. "By the way, this won't be the first and last time we meet, right?"
His voice was casual, but there was something in it—a careful tone, like he didn't want to hope too much.
"I'm not sure," I said, thinking back to the conversation I overheard between Mum and the man named Vallen. There was a heaviness in their words, like something was about to shift. "But judging from how serious things felt… maybe."
My chest tightened a little. I didn't want this to be the last time. Not when we were finally starting to understand each other.
"Do you know what it's about?" he asked, his tone lower now.
"My father said it's about a peace agreement between the elves and the vampires," Lexander explained. "The Chief of Stalen is representing the elves, and my father's representing the vampires."
A peace agreement. That made sense. It explained the tension and the strange looks. But hearing it out loud still made me uneasy. If they needed a peace agreement, it meant there must've been war… or something close to it. What happened between them before?
Lexander looked at me again, his expression suddenly thoughtful.
"So… your father's from Stalen, and Dark is your mother's family name?" he asked.
I nodded. I had no reason to hide it. "Yeah."
I decided to ask him something in return. "Does your father hold an important position?"
"He's the mayor of the vampire city. He's a noble."
Ah. That made sense. Everything about Lexander felt… refined, but also lonely. Like someone who always had to act proper but never got to play.
"Does that mean your race has a king?"
"We do," he said after a small pause. "But right now, the throne is empty."
"There'll be a new king soon?"
"In the near future, yes." His gaze drifted briefly toward the trees before returning to me. "But the one suited for the throne is still a child."
The way he said it… it didn't sound like he was talking about some faraway boy in a castle. It felt closer, heavier, like he was carrying a secret in the space between his words.
I almost asked him who the child was, but something about his eyes told me he wouldn't answer.
Lexander didn't say more, but there was a brief flicker in his eyes—like someone remembering something he'd once known too well.
Then we heard the adults calling us. It was time to head back.
I felt something tug in my chest, a quiet regret that our time had ended so quickly.
"We'll meet again, Lexander!" Ellyn said brightly, waving.
"Call me Xander," he replied with a small smile.
That smile—just a flicker—made something warm settle in my chest.
"Okay, Xander!" Ellyn laughed.
I gave him a small wave. "Bye."
As we walked away, I kept glancing over my shoulder. Lexander stood under the trees, watching us. The flower crown still sat crooked on his head.
I didn't say anything else, but inside, I was wishing that this wouldn't be the end.
Because even though I didn't fully understand him yet, I wanted to.
Because something told me that our paths were tied together now.
And I hoped, just as Ellyn did, that we'd meet again.