The Witch and Her Vampire

Four

Once in the forest, Carina was climbing trees, swinging from branch to branch as though it were the easiest thing she had ever done—which, it probably was, because of the fact that she had grown up there. It was frightening, watching this.

Currently, she was hanging from her knees near the top of a tree, arms hanging limply as she swung back and forth, whooping in delight. I knew without a doubt that I could catch her in the blink of an eye, I trusted in my abilities enough to catch her should she fall, but it still worried me to no end.

Catching her would mean revealing the secret, and I didn't want Carina to think she was crazy—I couldn't do that to my little mate, not now, not ever.

"Carina!" I called. "Come down from there, before you fall!"

"I won't!" yelled back Carina, not stopping her play in the slightest. "I've done this thousands of times! I can even do something cool—watch this!!"

And, before I could protest, Carina suddenly reached up, grabbed the branch, and managed to free her legs so she was hanging only from her arms; she swung back and forth again and again, until finally, she gained enough momentum to flip herself forward and released the branch, sending her sailing through the air.

If it were even possible, my heart would have stopped, and a surge of panic shot through me as I shouted frantically. She was going to fall, and get hurt, and I couldn't allow that to happen. After my split second of hesitation I almost immediately rushed forward, vampire speed, to catch the girl.

"NO!!!!"

But, Carina didn't come down. Instead, she had latched onto the branch of another tree and was now hanging there, looking down at me with furrowed brows.

"Come down," I repeated shakily. "Please, come back down." As quickly as she had gotten up, Carina climbed back down, pausing on the bottom branch as the I rushed over and held my arms. "Now, come here." Slowly, Carina lowered herself from the branch and into my arms, and I tightened them around her immediately, holding her securely to my chest, my undead heart clenching painfully at what could have happened.

Carina wrapped her legs around my waist and leaned back, so that we were face to face, and frowned, gray eyes swimming with confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Never do that to me again." My voice came out as slightly harsh at first, and I winced, and gave her an intense gaze, eyes full of worry. I attempted to keep my voice softer, now, so she wouldn't be afraid, or hurt. "You scared me, Carina. You really, really, scared me."

"I did?" Carina appeared surprised, but then she looked ashamed, and ducked her head. "I didn't mean to. I just thought you would like my trick.."

"It was....cool—" I managed to choke out, trying to reassure her, before reaching up to brush aside a stray lock of hair from her face. "—but from down here, it made me think you were going to fall and get hurt. Do you understand?"

"Oh!" Carina quickly nodded, seeming to realize exactly what she had done, and leaned forward, placing her chin on the my shoulder and throwing her arms around my neck. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again, Rosalie."

I buried my face in her hair, and whispered, "Good."

I held her there for the longest time, and she didn't protest a bit, seeming to sense just how frightened I had been. I don't know how long we stayed in that position, but I knew for a fact that I didn't ever want this moment to end.
I could feel her arms tighten around my neck, and when she spoke, her voice was so quiet that had I not been a vampire I would have missed it. "I'm really sorry, Rosie."

I lightly stroked her hair. "It's alright." Noticing that it was nearly dark, and that we had been out here for quite a while, I regretfully pulled back some, to get a better look at her. "We need to get back to the house, so Alice can take you home."

She frowned, but then her eyes lit up. "I can come back, right? We can play together again?"

I smiled at her. "Of course."

She grinned back at me.

When we reappeared at the house, it was as though nothing had happened, though I resolved to keep Carina under a close eye from then on.