Louisa's POV
Akela's tent was in the western part of the camp, which was close to the mountainside. A stream was flowing down the mountain, through the aqueduct, and into the camp.
All the bushes of plants around the tent were maintained neatly, but only a small bush of sedge adjacent to the back of the tent looked a bit messy.
As soon as I walked into Akela's tent, I smelled something salty and fishy. It reminded me of the fish market that I had been to.
"Did you smell it?" I asked Zackery.
"Yes, and it's like a shark rotting inside of a puddle of water," Zackery said. "Soldiers, open the window right now. I can't stand the stench of this place."
"Wait!" I stopped the soldiers and said to Zackery, "Let me take a look at the window first."
Zackery walked towards the back window of the tent with me staying in his arms.
The window was completely shut, but I noticed that it had been tampered with because there was a piece of cloth stuck between the window and the frame.
With this cloth, the window will look like it was fully closed, but actually, it could be easily pulled open from outside.
When I pushed it open and removed the cloth, I saw it was a piece of silk soaked in water. It looked as if it was torn down from someone's handkerchief.
Then, as the soldiers walked towards us with torches, I could see the trail of footprints on the ground.
It was a mess, with too much mud and dirt overlapping one another, so I couldn't tell if it was a man's or animal's footprint.
I looked out of the window and saw the messy sedge bush.
"The person got out of the stream and hid in the sedge bush for a while. Then, he jumped into the tent through this window but bumped into Akela. So, he somehow hypnotized Akela and then walked all the way across the tent towards the door," I mumbled. "Where is he going...?"
Zackery followed the muddy footprints on the floor and walked out of the tent. Then, I saw it. Right in front of the tent.
A well.
I suddenly remember my dream. The one with a giant snake hissing something...
"It's in the water," I mumbled. "They're in the well."
Zackery looked at the soldiers. They tried to approach the well.
I waved my hands violently to them, so they stopped.
"What happened, little girl?" Zackery lowered his head and asked in a low voice.
"That thing might be dangerous. He can hypnotize others," I said in a quiet voice.
"What are you all doing here...?" Akela walked out of the tent and asked. She had already changed into a hunting suit.
Zackery covered her mouth.
"Don't make a sound," Zackery said.
Akela looked confused but nodded with her eyes wide open.
"Put me down," I told Zackery.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
I nodded.
After Zackery put me down on the ground, I took a few steps in an attempt towards the well. Nothing happened. Lucas must be sleeping right now, so I didn't feel the pain anymore.
I picked up a stone on the ground and threw it into the well.
I didn't hear the splashing sound of stone getting into the water. Instead, I heard a low voice coming from the well.
"Ouch! Damn it! Dickhead! Stop knocking on my head!"
Then, another voice said, "I didn't knock on your head! Potty mouth!"
"Shut up! You're doing things like this all the time ever since we got off the boat!"
"You shut up! You've been paranoid ever since we got off the boat!"
"Don't even start with me, dickhead!"
"What?! Are you threatening me?! Now I am knocking on your head! What are you going to do with that?"
Then, I heard some ruffling sound coming from the well.
I looked back at Zackery and asked, "Did you hear their conversation?"
Zackery looked confused and asked, "What conversation? I can't hear a thing."
He couldn't hear their conversation or the ruffling sound, but I could. That's strange. It must be because of my enhanced vampire hearing.
"Oh, wow! That servant girl's crazier than I am, right?" Akela said in a muffled voice with her mouth still covered by Zackery.
Then, Lucian showed up.
"Did Akela get assaulted? What's going on?" He asked.
I covered his mouth and pointed at the well.
"The assailants are in the well," I said in a low voice.
"Assailants? You mean there more than one of them?" Lucian frowned.
I nodded and said, "I've heard two voices. Akela said she saw a four-legged creature. But actually, there're two people. "
Lucian asked, "What are they doing in the well?"
"I guess we have to ask them. But first, we need to find a way to catch them. Where does this well lead to?" I asked.
"To the canal over there." Lucian pointed at the other side of the tent.
"We need some soldiers waiting at the entrance of the canal with some webs and sacks. Then, I need some hot boiling oil here," I said. "As far as I know, they got into the camp by swimming through the stream. There must be at least fifty miles from the mountain to the camp, so they must be good at swimming. When I pour the oil into the well, the surface of the water will be sealed by hot boiling oil. So, they have no other way to go, but to submerge in the water and swim all the way to the entrance of the canal. When they pop up, let the soldiers catch them with the webs. Cover them immediately with sacks and don't look at their eyes. They seem to be able to hypnotize others by looking at them."
Lucian nodded at the soldiers and they immediately walked off. Within a few minutes, they brought back a pot of hot boiling oil.
I looked at Lucian and said, "Your soldiers are highly efficient. They seem to be ready for everything."
Lucian said, "It's what they do for a living, Miss Louisa. So they'd better be good at it."
I remembered the conversation between Lucian and my personal guards.
I didn't know exactly what happened, but it seemed within 10 minutes, he successfully convinced two grown-up men that they were nothing and they would never get what they wanted unless they reported to him on a daily basis. And in the end, they were so happy and ready to get shouted at by Lucas.
It seemed that he knew everything about how to manipulate others, but he just didn't want to use it on women.
What a mysteriously, hopelessly, tender gentleman.
Lucian noticed that I was staring at him and asked, "What's on your mind, Miss Louisa?"
"Nothing." I lowered my head.
He was there when I kissed Zackery.
Even though I didn't feel apologetic for kissing Zackery, I did feel a bit ashamed in front of Lucian.
"Where did you learn tactics like this, Miss Louisa?" Lucian asked.
"Back in the Crimson Pack, I used to hunt rabbits in the same way." I rubbed my nose and said.
When I lifted my head, I saw Lucian looking at me with admiration. But as soon as our eyes met, he turned his head away.