Piercing My Heart

59

Zena was surprised to wake up in France. It broke my heart that she didn't remember anything about my country. Nevertheless, we made our way outside the train station. Tae was patiently waiting for us by the Range Rover. Z tensed at the new addition, but Mila calmed her down and assured her that Tae was a friend.

Tae moved out the way of Zena, so that she'd feel more at ease. He went to the driver side while Hailey sat in the passenger's. Mila and I sat on opposite sides of Zena. Tae drove through the town so that Z could view the storybook place. Z's eyes widened at the buildings and vibrant flowers.

"You like the town?" Mila asked.

"Yes." Z smiled at her mum.

"I'll take you down there, biquette." Hailey turned to smile at Z.

Tae continued driving until we were on the chateau grounds. Z turned in her seat to memorize every detail of the palace. Tae stopped and opened the door for us. Z immediately jumped onto the snow and started scooping it up in her hands. She wasted no time throwing a ball at Hailey and Mila's face. I laughed since they were caught off guard. The two retaliated by pelting me with snowballs.

Tae stood back while the four of us had a snowball fight. Z appeared to be in high spirits as she jumped around in the snow. Something tells me that she didn't experience snow during her imprisonment. When Z tired herself out, we walked inside the chateau. The guards immediately bowed as we walked past.

"Why are they bowing?" Z whispered.

I found it cute that she forgot the vampires could hear us. Actually, she did know that everyone here was a vampire, right?

"We are in a chateau which is French for castle. Umm... royalty tends to occupy the quarters." I awkwardly said.

I didn't know if I should tell her about her royal lineage just yet. Z hummed and continued following along. I saw Hailey looking at me skeptically. She never liked when I hid secrets from people. I'm not really keeping a secret from Z. I'm just waiting to tell her when she's mentally ready for that. The guards led us to Alec's study before leaving us alone.

I smiled and walked in to see Alec and Sophie speaking. Well, it was more like Sophie was chatting his ear off while he smiled and nodded at her. I think Sophie was rambling about a reality show that Alec had never heard of. When they sensed our presence, Sophie squealed and jumped off the desk. She then sped over to give me a tight hug. She then moved onto Mila, Hailey, and cautiously approached Z. Z smiled and gave Sophie a tentative hug. Hmm... that's progress.

"Lara." Alec directed my attention to him. "It's been a while." I smiled and hugged my brother. "And you finally brought the beauty." He gave Z a gentle smile. "I'm Alec, your uncle." He held his hand out to which Z shook. "I've been anxiously awaiting your arrival to reintroduce myself to you." Z was still shy, so she subtly scooted behind Mila.

"She's a bit shy." Mila smiled and wrapped an arm around Z.

"As to be expected." Alec wasn't offended. "I hope we can make her fall in love with France."

"Well, if the snow is any indicator..." I turned to give Z a teasing smile. She blushed and hid her face in Mila's arm. "I think she's gonna like it." I walked over to his desk to see the supplies neatly laid out. "Is this everything?" I glanced at Alec.

"Yes." He beckoned Sophie to walk to him. "Nick and Tae got it from the boutique sorcière." He knew Z couldn't understand French anymore.

"Okay." My eyes scanned the different spells littered across the desk. "Little one." I motioned her over. "I have to do a few assessments to make sure you're perfectly healthy." Her face scrunched in confusion. "Like I need to know if you're made out of pasta since that's all you used to eat when you were younger." She giggled when I tickled her. "Is that okay?" She smiled and nodded.