Louisa's POV
"We talked to him..." Mata said and immediately shut up.
He poured a whole cup of tea into his mouth and then swallowed the cup.
Mana had to bash his head to force him to cough the cup out.
"We talked to him through mimes. He somehow understood us and said we could stay with you, miss," Mana said.
"We're not lying, because liars will be turned into pickles," Mata said.
I knew they were hiding something from me.
There was no way Lucas could understand what they said except...
He was one of the Gifted Ones?!
No way! I thought to myself. There's no way he could be one of us. But when you think about it, he did kill the traveling druid last night because he was about to say something.
I remembered the traveling druid was pointing at Lucas and said something -
"You! It's you! You're..." The druid said. And then, his throat was slashed open by Lucas.
He must have recognized Lucas, so Lucas immediately killed him to conceal his true identity.
So now the question is -
Who is Lucas?
It seemed that everyone I met knew him as the Alpha of the White Walkers, but nobody knew what had happened to him before that.
Lucian must have known it, but he obviously wouldn't tell me anything.
"Sorry, miss. We must have said something wrong."
"Please don't make us into pickles. We will never say bad things like that ever again."
I patted their heads and said, "Don't worry about it. You haven't done anything wrong. You stepped up for me against Lucas last night. You were very brave. I want to thank you, but I don't know what you need. Do you want anything other than food?"
They looked at each other and said, "We want to have some clothes."
"The one with some hoodies to cover our ugly faces."
"Maybe a mask, you know, so people won't see our bad teeth."
"OK, no problem. I'll make them for you. Don't worry!" I smiled at them and said.
"Are you going to make some clothes for us by yourself?" they asked.
"Yes," I said. "I used to make clothes for others all the time back in Crimson Pack. I'll take your measurements after breakfast. Then, I'll go to Mountainside village to exchange some ham for cloth. By this time tomorrow morning, you'll be wearing some new clothes!"
"You're so kind, miss!" Mana said.
"We'll never ever lie to you again!" Mata said.
Then, they held each other and cried again.
I sighed. For honest people like them, telling lies must have been the worst feeling in the world. I shouldn't have forced them to tell lies to me.
"Louisa, I'm starving now!"
I heard Will's voice. He was walking towards me, rubbing his eyes.
Snow was sitting on his head, looking at me.
"Ahhhh! Fishermen druids!" Will had sparks in his eyes. "I've always wanted to keep one as a pet, but my father just wouldn't get me one! Now I have two! Louisa! You're the best mom in the world!"
"Will, these are Mana and Mata. They're not pets. They're our friends." I said.
But Will didn't seem to care about what I said. He jumped up and down and picked up Mana in his arms.
"No! No! That vampire kid is taking my brother! And he's my favorite brother!" Mata jumped up and tried to get his brother back.
Will picked him up as well.
"Oh, look at you! So cute! Can you play with me?" Will stroked his face against their heads and said. "Let's go to the woods! I'll feed you some carrots and radishes for you!"
Mana and Mata looked overwhelmed.
"I just love vampires," Mana said.
"They are the only creatures that think we're cute," Mata said.
"Let's go! Let's go!" Will shouted excitedly.
"I can't go with you, Will. I have to go to the Mountainside Village first. I'll trade for some cloth to make you a small cloak as well as some hoodies for Mana and Mata. In the afternoon, we have to pay your father a visit. Do you remember?" I said. "Plus, Leo is here. He's Lucian's brother."
"Really?! Great! I'll have so many friends!" Will clapped his hands and said. "But I'm really hungry now. May I go to the woods with Mana and Mata? I want to do some hunting and get some food for them!"
"You don't need my permission to go anywhere, Will," I said. "But you have to come back in an hour, because we're leaving for the Mountainside Village. And you have to leave Snow with me. I need to change the bandages on her legs."
Snow jumped off Will's head and landed on my shoulder.
"My legs are fine." She stroked her head against my face and said. "It's not painful anymore."
"But you can't run around like those bad boys in the woods." I stroked her back gently. Her fur was so fluffy and soft.
"We'll be back in an hour! I'll bring some food for you, Snow!" Will rushed out of the tent with Mana and Mata.
"Did you find those druids in the woods?" Snow asked as I changed her bandages.
"Yeah. But they were all killed, except these two fishermen druids," I said.
"My father said it's bad luck to see a dead druid. He has an opinion about pretty much everything," Snow said.
"Your father loves you very much," I comforted her.
Snow lowered her head and curled up in a ball in my arms.
"Do you miss your father, Snow?" I asked.
"Yeah, I guess so," she mumbled. "I have never been away from him for such a long time. And when I close my eyes, the only thing I can see is his face."
"I wish I could have a father like yours." I whispered.
My own father was locked up by Lucas in someplace, but I really didn't want to see him.
I stroked the back of Snow's head and said, "After the wounds on your legs healed, I'll take you back to Mr. Weasel."
"But Will is going to cry. He doesn't like people leaving him," Snow said.
"Will loves his father, so he'll understand," I said.
"OK." Snow said and licked my hand.
"Why does Will call you 'mom' all the time?" she asked.
"His mom passed away a long time ago. He's missing her," I replied.
"And why don't you stop him calling you 'mom'?" she asked.
"Because being loved is the best feeling in the world," I said.