Harper

  Lou had his eyes closed. He sat between my legs and leaned against me. As usual, he didn't smile. He rarely did. Very rarely.

  My left hand rested on his stomach. The fabric of his tunic was soft and cool. Perfect for the hot weather. We sat outside the cave in the sunlight. A white cloth protected Lou's face from the sun, while I stroked his cheek with my other hand. A few of his snow-white hair had been blown out of the cloth by the wind. They shimmered in the sunlight. Like stardust.

  "Hm." Lou leaned his face into my hand.

  "What's wrong?" I asked. But I didn't get an answer. "Vivi?"

  "Hm?"

  "You know how much I like you, don't you?"

  "Hm."

  "More than just friends? So much so that I would like to eat you?" I ughed at my own joke. Of course, I didn't want to eat Vivi. No matter how good, how delicious, he smelled.

  "Hm."

  "Are you asleep?" Again, Lou didn't answer. He ignored my joke. Grinning, I pinched his nose. "May I eat you?"

  "HM!" Vivi pushed my hand away from his nose and then held it tightly so that I didn't pinch him again.

  "So you're not sleeping."

  "No", he murmured.

  "You're so quiet today. What's wrong?" I freed my hand effortlessly. Now I pinched his cheek lovingly.

  "Harper!" Grumbling, Lou leaned away from me. "No."

  Laughing, I wrapped my arms around him and pressed a kiss on his cheek. On the healthy cheek. Not the one with the burn scar. My Vivi didn't like it when I touched the old injury. "You're so cute!"

  "No."

  "Yes."

  "No!" Lou shook his head. "Why do you like me?"

  "What? Don't you like me?" I tried to avoid the question. Lou asked me this many times. And he just didn't want to believe me. This conversation seemed endless.

  "Harper!"

  "Vivi!" I ughed.

  "I... like you... You know that. Very much", Lou murmured now. "Why me?"

  "Why?" I grimaced. "Why shouldn't I like you? I want to... Be your boyfriend! I want to be yours. Am I not allowed to? Vivi?"

  "Hm..." Lou sighed. "Yes. Harper?"

  "Yes?"

  "Aren't we already... Um... Together?" Lou blushed. Even his ears were red. "I don't know how something like that works. Are we?"

  "Yes? Unless you don't want to?" Which would surprise me, after all, I was allowed to kiss him.

  "Hm..." Lou snuggled up close to me again. "My Harper." At st, he smiled. With his flushed cheeks and the matching red bow in his hair, he looked incredibly cute. However, I had to pluck the cloth aside to enjoy the sight. The sparkling stone he always wore, and also the piece of my eggshell, sparkled in the sunlight.

  "My Vivi." Smiling, I pulled him as close to me as possible.

  The moment could have been perfect if Connie hadn't interrupted us. 'Harper? I've got something for Lou!' I heard her voice before we could see her. But it didn't take long for her to nd in front of us and take on human form. In one hand she held a sack full of fruit. That's what she had flown off for. But in her other hand, she held something shimmering.

  "How cuddly! May I cuddle with you?" My sister grinned. Her sharp teeth sparkled and a mischievous, malicious fire bzed in her eyes. Full of schadenfreude. Fortunately, Lou couldn't recognize it. It would have frightened him. "Am I disturbing you? My cuddly little brother?"

  "No, and yes", I growled. "What do you have there?"

  "Oh! That?" She held up the chain, which Lou couldn't see. He frowned. I often wondered what the world looked like to him.

  "It's a neckce. I met Louise and Nina at the river. Louise said the neckce would belong to Lou. I promised to bring it back."

  Lou fidgeted confused in my arms. "Neckce? What kind of neckce? How are my sisters? Are they okay?"

  I, on the other hand, looked at the chain. Was that a heart? Who would have dared to give him such a neckce? A HEART! I snorted softly. But Lou didn't seem to notice this.

  Connie came up to us and handed him the audacity. Lou held the pendant close to his good eye, and then he smiled. Tears shimmered softly and finally rolled down his cheeks.

  "My..." he whispered. The first tear fell on his clothes.

  "Lou?" asked Connie.

  "Vivi?" I asked at the same moment.

  "It's from Remy. It's a promise. But... The chain had been stolen. How?" Lou hugged the golden piece of jewelry. "Where did Louise get the neckce?"

  Connie sat down next to me and stroked Lou's head. "Someone gave it to her. What did Remy promise you?"

  "This..." Lou sobbed briefly, then shook his head and smiled. "That we will always remain friends. And that no matter what happens, he's always on my side. That I can rely on him. But, now he is gone. Just like Narcisse. Renan and Basil. I miss them. Narcisse is... funny."

  "Funny? You're confusing that with annoying", I grumbled. Remy. I didn't like him. Not in the least. Narcisse, on the other hand? He was a pain in the neck, but not as arrogant and imperious as the wizard, though very conceited. They were gone, but they were still pursuing us.

  "Maybe they're fine. And they'll be back soon!" my sister tried to comfort Lou.

  He nodded. "If they were doing well, wouldn't they have been back long ago?"

  Neither I nor my sister had an answer to that.

  Vivi nodded again.

  sasi