Eve stared into those beautiful gray eyes that oddly filled her with a desire that she couldn't start to comprehend. She was drawn to the strange man like a moth to a candle flame. But the bovine's nervous breathing kept her afloat. Fighting the urge to bow before the man, she took a deep breath.
"Yes." She replied, her voice quivering with her mental strain.
At her answer, the man's brows creased. Eve licked her lower lip, unconsciously forgetting to breathe. In the blink of an eye, he was right before her, making her gasp in surprise as he reached out a pale hand towards her. Before she could move away, his fingers clasped around her shoulders, locking her in a painfully tight grip. Her hands dropped from the bovine's neck, reaching out to the man's sleeves in a silent plea.
Suddenly the world around her crumbled, disintegrating into nothing as a blanket of darkness enveloped her senses. It rushed to her like the wind, slithering over her mind and body like venomous snakes, ready to bite into her flesh at any moment. Eve stilled, the fear pulling her from every inch of her skin, keeping her hands hovering in the air helplessly.
For a second, she felt nothing, saw nothing, heard nothing than the weight of the darkness that clung to her like a parasite. Then, without a warning, it hit her with a force so furious that the wind was knocked out of her lungs. Eve lurched forward losing her footing.
She screamed, her insides exploding with a pain so bright that it blinded all her other senses. She felt like her skin was being peeled over and over again until she could take it no more. She could feel someone's hand pushing through her flesh slowly until it reached her heart. As the searing hot hand squeezed her heart, a blur of something gold flashed in her eyes. A familiar gold from years ago.
Suddenly it all stopped. The darkness faded and her vision cleared. Eve found herself falling towards the ground before she could shield herself. A muffled grunt escaped her chest as she hit the mud-paved floor face down. She closed her eyes in agony, tears slipping down her face as her shaky hands reached out to her bleeding chest.
The moment it touched the fabric of the dress, her eyes widened. She looked down at herself in wonder as the illusion of pain shattered. The fabric of the cloth looked completely untouched without even a trace of the gaping wound she had imagined would be there. Not a single drop of blood nor a loose thread.
It was his melodious laugh that drew her attention away from her confused state of mind. Eve stared at the man with her mouth slightly parted, not understanding how he could still be so gorgeous after what he had done to her. But what exactly had he done to her? She wondered, her eyes lingering on his peach-colored lips.
"Oh my! What a treasure!" He exclaimed, finally putting an end to his laughing spree. With a very pale finger pointed towards her, he turned to Emilya. "How could you miss this, Mila?" He asked, his voice filled with joy.
Eve turned towards the woman with a frown. What was he talking about? Did he just address her as an object? What was happening? She wondered. But Emilya looked as confused as she was. So did every other soldier around them.
Her frown deepened as she turned away from her to the silent crowd that was now looking towards their direction in horror. Their gazes shifted between the man and her anxiously. Feeling a pair of eyes on her, Eve turned in the direction, her gaze immediately locking with a pair of pale blue eyes.
Hugh Tarleton did not bother to hide his rage. She could see the blazing fire in that clear blue ocean even under the dull light of the soaring cauldron. But underneath that rage was a concern a question that he seemed unable to express.
"Sorry." He mouthed, his eyes tearing up all of a sudden.
"Men!" The blonde man's voice boomed across the square before the young Tarleton could say anymore. Eve's head snapped towards the direction anxiously. He had a wide grin on his mouth as he thundered. "Tonight we celebrate! Pick a human of your choice! We found more than what we had set out to take." He said, his voice lowering as it finally landed on her crouching form.
Her eyes widened as she watched his eyes flash silver for a second before settling back into a clear gray. He smirked at her expression, displaying a pair of growing sharp canines. Her heart dropped at the sight, her mind throwing images of the two visitors she had twelve years ago.
The question in her mind died out with the deafening sound of the soldiers' hoot that echoed through the square as it mixed with loud wails from the crowd. Her eyes drew back to the villagers in fear. Some were praying to God with their hands raised while some were cursing their luck.
Neither the crosses they drew on their foreheads nor their tears did much to save them as a few soldiers barged into the crowd, grabbing whoever was at their reach. Most of them were young, boys and girls alike, screaming for their mothers as they were dragged away from their families.
She spotted Dodie and her stepsisters arguing with a soldier, the mother pointing towards their direction angrily. Viola's gaze was fixed on the man beside her, her mouth agape as Pavia tried hard to pull her mother back from the man garbed in purple. Eve pushed herself up from the ground, taking a step towards the man anxiously.
"What are you going to do with them?" She croaked, her throat still sore from all the screaming.
The man's smile vanished in an instant- his mood changing in the blink of an eye. he quickly turned away from her, ignoring her question as he raised a hand in the air. Suddenly, the crowd fell silent, all activities ceasing as their eyes turned towards him like metal pieces drawn to a magnet.
"This girl's keeper." He asked, his voice oozing power. "Who is it?"