-Cara- 

The next day Keegan and Cara were walking down the road in the direction of the village. They walked in silence but she didn't really mind. It was nice being just the two of them and not surrounded by his family, and the conflicts that often came with their company. 

Ever since last night, Keegan had been the main target for low-blows coming from every which way by his family members. They hadn't gone easy on him for the accidental punching of Cara. He had finally had enough and left to hunt and Cara sensed that he needed some time alone to try and deal with his guilt over almost fracturing her nose. While he was out all night, she got to sit with his parents, listening to their bickering over what he had done and how his father blamed Miriam for manipulating Keegan. That had escalated into a loud verbal fight until Georg had put his fist down to mark the end of it. Miriam had then walked straight into their bedroom and slammed the door behind her, leaving Cara in the kitchen with Georg for the rest of the night.

Orla and Flynn had returned home before their older brother and then Cara was in for another ride on a roller coaster she would have rather just skipped when they heard what had happened. It was hard to stay mad at Keegan when his family was coming down so hard on him for something that had been an accident, the rest that had happened, was just as much his mother's fault as it was his. 

The only sound she could hear now, was the sound of the dirt underneath their feet, little rocks rolling over as they walked. A faint but soothing wind caressed the fields around them. They hadn't said a word since they had left the house and yet, she didn't mind. She felt so at ease walking with him like this. There was just something so calming and pleasant about being around Keegan that even in complete silence, she enjoyed his presence. 

She glanced quickly at Keegan when he wasn't looking; His gaze was fixed on the road, then moving quickly up to the sky and then back to the road again. There was something bothering him... he wasn't his usual self. He looked like he was overwhelmed with guilt. The calmness he normally exuded, was buried beneath the slightly saddened eyes, the concerned lines in his forehead and the occasional clenching of his jaws. 

Cara felt bad for him. The blow had been a complete and utter accident but she still felt a little cranky about the witch thing so she didn't say anything to make him feel better. She felt torn on the inside, struggling with feeling bad for him in one second, and wanting to slap him across his face in the next. 

"Is something wrong?" Keegan asked when he suddenly looked at her, noticing that her eyes were fixed on him. 

Shit! Fuck! She thought but maintained a calm expression even though she had been made. 

"Where are we going?" She asked and looked around them. And why are we going alone? She wondered cheekily and mentally pouted her lips at him.

"The lake." Keegan answered her and she narrowed her eyes when she didn't recognize the word. He smiled faintly when he saw the confusion in her face. "You will see." He said and looked away. 

"Is it far?" She asked. 

"It is outside village." Keegan answered and nodded ahead. "But no, it is not that far."

Cara pressed her lips together. In lack of anymore questions to ask him in order to keep the conversation alive, she decided to just stay silent. 

-Keegan-

Cara stopped talking to him just as they reached the village square. He hoped she wasn't still upset with him for the whole witch thing... He had asked her if she'd want to come with him and to his own surprise, she had accepted his invitation. She wouldn't have said yes if she was still upset... Would she? He pondered but figured that she couldn't be fuming mad at him if she agreed to come, perhaps she was just a little cross. Cara had looked very surprised when they had left the house and made aware that it was just going to be the two of them. Still she came... He tried to comfort himself and his nerves. 

As they walked out of the village and into the fields, he remembered that there could be others by the lake and his stomach churned. It didn't matter apart from the fact that his intent to bring Cara there, was to spend some time alone with her. Not to have his friends drool over her. 

Why did I not think of that before we walked almost halfway there? He groaned mentally and tried to prepare for what was to come. He would most definitely have to keep his friends away from her and it would be a handful. He remembered how taken they had been with her at the tavern. Fergus is going to be a pain if he is there... not to mention John. God! I really hope they will not be there. 

-Cara-

Keegan led her out of the village and into the fields. They walked in the direction of the woods  but instead of entering them, he took her along the outskirts of it. After another ten minutes, Keegan slowed down in front of some birches with low hanging branches. 

"It is in there." He explained and pointed into the foliage ahead of them. 

Cara nodded and smiled nervously at him. Where was he taking her? "You go first." She said, swallowed as he started walking. "I don't know the way." 

"True." He sighed and grimaced, a little embarrassed. He then took the lead without another word. 

She walked carefully after Keegan as he led the way through bushes and birches. It didn't take long before she could hear the faint sound of water splashing, laughter and playful shrieks. 

"For fuck's sake..." Keegan growled when he heard it as well. "I should have fucking known..."

"Is something wrong?" Cara asked. Keegan stopped and turned to his side. The green eyes exuded annoyance when she could see them, but the frustration in them wasn't directed at her. "What?" She urged him.

"I wanted to..." He scratched his neck. "My friends are here." He sighed, ignoring what he was going to say first. "And I..." 

He hadn't planned on people being here. He wanted to bring me... to be alone. Cara tried her best to hide how she wanted to smile at him. It was very sweet that he had wanted to spend time with her, without any others around them. Judging from the look on his face, he was extremely disappointed by the presence of his friends, which made her heart swell a bit for him. 

"We can just leave." He said and turned his whole body towards her. Cara shook her head.

"No! No, show me where we are going." She said. "We came all the way..." She crossed her arms over her chest and shot him a pair of pleading eyes. And from the look of this place, it looks like a damn fairy tale. She thought and studied the beautiful ocean of low hanging branches. "I want to know what 'a lake' is." She said curiously. 

Keegan inhaled deeply, taking a quick look into the see of green and biting his lower lip. "I'd rather just..." He hesitated. "I wanted to  be alone with you. I don't want them there with us." He confessed. 

I knew it. 

Cara smiled. "You do not want them to see me?" She wondered even though she already knew the answer. Keegan raised an eyebrow at her, conveying without speaking that he wasn't going to answer such a idiotic question. She shrugged her shoulders playfully. It earned her a roll of the eyes and one of those handsomely crooked smiles of his. 

"Let's go." He said darkly and led the way. 

.  .  .

About three minutes later, the sound of people shrieking and laughter was close. Cara felt her stomach churn a little, both in excitement to see this place and in anxiousness. What if Keegan's friends would think she was a witch? Had he told them how he and his siblings had found her buck naked in the woods? Had he even told them about her? 

Well, at least two or three of them knows about me... They have to, since Keegan threw himself at that creep... Cara thought to herself while she walked behind Keegan. If not then at least Jared knows who I am... She thought, it didn't bring her any sort of comfort though. If she could avoid it, she'd rather not speak to him. 

Finally, Keegan stopped. Cara could see through the thick foliage and branches that there was something ahead. Something big. The sound of water splashing told her that there was either a lake or a river behind those branches. Or could it be the ocean? No... there wasn't enough wind for that. 

"Here we are." Keegan said and moved away some branches for her, holding them open for her, like a curtain. "This is the lake." He explained and let her go first. 

As Cara walked through the last thing keeping her from their destination, she lost her breath for a second. 

Keegan had taken her to a lake! It was quite small compared to others she had seen before, but it was extremely beautiful; it was completely surrounded by trees, only leaving about two or three meters around it with grass where there was room enough to lay down on. It felt like she had stepped into a god damned fairy tale! The sunlight glistened in the water and there was practically no wind, just the softest of breezes that made the branches move slowly. 

"It's beautiful." Cara breathed when she felt Keegan take his place next to her. She looked to the right and noticed a group of people about twenty meters away. They were all sitting or lying down in the grass, partially covered in the shade of the low hanging branches. 

Out of nowhere she heard a playful scream coming from the water and saw a light haired girl and a guy playing in the water. He had her over his shoulder and then threw her into the water. To Cara's surprise they were almost completely naked; they only had their equivalent of underpants on, and those poor drenched pieces of clothing did their best in covering the vital parts. 

I'm not dressing down if that was what he had in mind... She thought but a part of her knew that wasn't the case. At least not with other people around. 

"Hey!" A male voice burst out. "Ember!"

"That is Fergus." Keegan explained to Cara when the guy who had called out got in his feet and headed towards them. If she hadn't misheard him, she wanted to make a guess and say that there was a sliver of disgust in his voice. 

"Ember?" Cara asked him while her eyes were glued to the guy running their way. 

"It is my father's name." Keegan explained to her. So, it's his surname?  "It is my family's name to be precise. Well, my name." Cara nodded but kept her eyes on their approaching company. 

He had long light brown hair, tied in his neck with a rag. The summer sun had  obviously lightened it a little because Cara could see strands that were both lighter and darker in it. He was strongly built, almost like Keegan but not exactly. 

The other's quickly noticed their presence as this Fergus came closer. Cara stood still but saw how Keegan took a step closer to her. She smiled mentally and watched as he placed himself closer and closer to her left side. 

"He can be somewhat of an arse." Keegan whispered to her which caused her to chuckle quietly. He smiled warmly at her but as his eyes transferred from her to his friend, the smile died. "He is a good friend of mine, but he is still an arse." 

"Ember." The guy said in a breath and stopped in front of them. 

"Fergus." Keegan answered and nodded politely at him. Kind of like how the sexy guy does when he really doesn't want to speak to the newcomer, but does it to avoid conflict. Cara found it strangely arousing since she got a feeling that Keegan was indirectly telling his friend to back off. Why she didn't know. Maybe she was just imagining it. 

"So." Fergus said, crossing his arms over his chest with a content look on his face. His eyes went straight to Cara. "Who is this?" He asked. Cara frowned and then raised an eyebrow at him. Even though they had never met, it was clear as day that he had already heard of her. He must have seen her that night at the tavern... 

"Cara." She answered and didn't let Keegan answer the question for her. "My name is Cara." 

"So you are and so it is." He said smirking. Out of nowhere a girl appeared next to him. She was soaking wet. It was the girl that had just been in the water, although now she was dressed. There was something else about her... Cara knew this girl from somewhere else...

"Keegan." She purred and deliberately pushed her chest out a little. It's the girl from the tavern. Cara realized when she was clearly fishing for Keegan's attention with more than just the use of his name... 

"Kay." He answered darkly. 

"So, this is the little thing that snatched your heart?" The girl named 'Kay' said and shot Cara toxic look but with a fake pout on her lips as she studied her. 

"You're going to introduce yourself?" Keegan snapped back. "I thought you were already tired of her?" Tired of me? We've never even met... 

"This is the first time we-" Cara began but Keegan shot her a look telling her that he wasn't being serious. There was something underneath his statement that she didn't understand. "Oh." She mouthed and looked back at the girl. 

"Rude." Kay replied, sending Keegan a sharp look. "I am Kayleigh." She said and smiled a little too much at Cara. 

Kay must be her nickname then. Keegan moved his weight from left to right, deliberately grazing Cara's arm with his to gain her attention. But he never got a chance to say what he wanted. 

"... and you are?" Kay asked Cara in a mocking tone. "Does she speak the common tongue yet?" She quickly added when Cara didn't answer fast enough. Kay's eyes flickered between Keegan and Cara. She knew perfectly well who Cara was, just like Fergus did, and she was trying to beat her down the first thing she did. 

Oh, I know this game. She purred in her thoughts. Two can play that game. 

"Play nice, Kay." Fergus chuckled. "We wouldn't want a rivalry between-" 

"Cara." Cara answered and enunciated her slowly for Kay. This was obviously a pissing contest for one of them, but she would play along if she had to. 

"I am not dumb." Kay laughed quietly, trying to make Cara look like the one who was stupid and rude. She might not remember her own life or much about it, but she did remember how to handle girls like Kay. "I just wanted to know you name." 

"I am sorry." Cara answered with a fake smile and empty eyes. "I thought you might be, since everyone else seem to have heard of me, and my name, before meeting me." She answered and shrugged her shoulders. "Must have only been you who haven't." She added and blinked at Kay who's eyes had narrowed with every word that had slipped out of Cara. 

Fergus burst out into laughter. Kay looked at him with pure and dark displeasure. 

"I take it back." He laughed and smirked at Cara. "Play as you wish. You finally seem to have met your match, Kay." He chuckled. 

"Mmm... Charming." Kay muttered and walked away. 

"Should I not have said that?" Cara whispered to Keegan. When she looked at him she almost blushed; his eyes were glowing and his lips were slightly parted. 

"That was perfect." He said and chuckled. "Kay needed to be taken down a peck." Cara narrowed her eyes, and felt her nose wrinkle when she didn't understand him. She was just happy Kay wasn't here to witness her failing their language. 

"You did good." Fergus told her and started walking away. "Come on! Meet the others!" 

Cara hesitated and waited alongside Keegan. "Is something wrong?" He asked when she didn't follow him. "Do you want to leave?" 

"Are you sure I wasn't too rude?" She asked quietly and nodded at Kay whom had gone back into the water - topless - again. "She just-" 

"She had it coming." Keegan assured her and smiled warmly, placing himself between her and his friends behind him. "Kay needed that." 

"Alright." She exhaled and prepared to meet the rest of his friends. 

"And..." He said and took at step closer so she had to look up to see his face. "I would love to see you do it again." He growled and there was arousal in his voice. 

"Why?" She chuckled quietly and covered her mouth with her hand. 

"Because it was fucking brilliant." He answered and watched her with those glowing green eyes again. 

-----------------------------------------

I hope you liked this chapter! 

All the best,

Jenny