Arriving at the venue, Aria experienced nerve-wracking. Her heart was beating like crazy, and the chills were endlessly making her spine tremble in fear.
Calm down, Aria. Calm down! That was how she encouraged herself in her mind as if she was chanting a spell.
How could she calm down?
As soon as she entered the hall, all pairs of eyes looked at her as if she was a magnet attracting everyone's attention. She never wanted to stand in the spotlight, and she only wished to be treated like the others... as a friend... as an equal being.
"Did you see her gown? It's the most beautiful dress I've ever seen."
"I know, right. Who is she? Is she our friend?"
Luckily, everyone here was wearing a mask so no one would recognize Aria. Even though they knew Aria, no one cared about her, so they wouldn't recognize her behind her mask.
"Chin up. You have nothing to be scared about." coaxed Quinn while circling Aria's arm to walk deeper into the crowd.
"How can I not be afraid? This is the first time everyone has seen me?! What if I embarrass myself?"
"Chillax. You're doing great."
"No, I'm not."
"Well, you will embarrass yourself for acting like a servant. Think of yourself as a mysterious princess right now. That's your image. Would it help?"
"I don't know, but I'll try."
"Good. Come on. I won't leave you here alone. Just enjoy the night, okay?"
Aria sighed in resignation as she couldn't refuse her friend's request. "Okay. What about your friend? Iona, isn't it?"
"I'm still looking for her. It looks like she hasn't come yet. Hey, you see that group of girls over there? Are they from an all-girls academy?"
"Could be."
"Let's go there."
Aria agreed without a second thought. After all, the purpose of coming here was to find human friends.
"Hi, nice to meet you. By any chance, are you all from the North district?" Quinn was the first to greet the group with a friendly and approachable tone.
"That's us. Nice to meet you, too. My name's Eunike Ward, and these are my friends, Demi and Paige."
"I'm Quinn Harrowcroft, and this is my friend, Ariadnne."
Aria and the three girls shook hands, and her previously restless heart was now replaced with excitement.
As Rousell said, the girls from the North district didn't know her past and treated her friendly.
"Call me Aria. I'm so pleased to meet you."
"Pleasure is mine, Aria. You have a fabulous dress. You're incredibly awe-stricken."
"Thank you. You look magnificent as well."
It took only a short time for the girls to get closer. The North girls welcomed Quinn and Aria and vice versa. Not long after, they heard a commotion from the direction of the main door of this room.
"What happened? Why are there so many people out there?" asked Demi curiously.
"What else? The werewolves boys must have arrived. Do you want to see them?" Paige's question earned a nod of approval from Quinn and Demi.
The three girls immediately joined another group of girls to welcome their long-awaited idol. They didn't even notice that Eunike and Aria were still standing without leaving their spot.
Aria knew that the only girl in the South district who didn't like werewolves was herself. But she didn't think that Eunike was not interested in a handsome young man who has a sexy and masculine body that only the werewolf kid has.
"You… don't want to join the others?" asked Aria in a low tone.
"No. You?"
"Me neither. I am not interested. If the werewolves didn't come today, I'd be happier."
Eunike laughed at that. "But, if the werewolves didn't come to the mortal realm today, we wouldn't have come here. And maybe I won't be able to see you again, Princess Aria."
"Stop teasing me. I'm not a princess."
Eunike walked over to Aria and stretched her hand to grab a strand of Aria's long hair.
Aria was flabbergasted by her new friend's behavior but allowed the girl to do whatever she was currently doing. Plus, Aria found herself couldn't move a muscle once Eunike walked toward her.
Eunike brought her hair up to her nose to smell the scent making Aria feel her body shudder in horror. Why is this girl kissing her hair?
"Your scent is as intoxicating as him. I wish I could drink your blood."
"Wh… what???"
Aria felt her heart jump right then and there when she saw the pair of black eyes behind Eunike's mask turning red.
Vam… vampires!? This girl is a vampire!?
"You… You are a vampire?!"
"Yes, a noble one. But it's a secret, though." Eunike put her finger to her lips as if telling Aria not to tell anyone.
If that girl's identity was a secret, why would Eunike tell her!?
Not that matters. Isn't Eunike's life in danger amidst a group of werewolves? Even though the two races had formed a peace treaty, that didn't mean they had stopped hating each other.
"Aren't you afraid you will be killed? There are too many werewolves."
"What a sweet girl. Are you worried about me? Aren't you afraid of me?"
"I… I don't know."
Eunike giggled at her honest answer. "When will you turn eighteen?"
"In eight months." strangely, why couldn't she take off her eyes of the vampiress? She felt hypnotized and answered whatever the vampiress wanted to know.
"Hmm. Still, a long way to go. But we will look forward to your awakening, princess." her words were like a devil whisper that disappeared into the air.
Aria blinked her eyes several times as soon as she realized her mind was distracted. She tried to remember what had made her lost in a daze, but she couldn't.
She only remembered meeting Demi and Paige from the North district and the two of them and Quinn running to join the others to see the handsome alumni.
Aria felt she didn't want to linger in the same room as the werewolves, so she walked out through the back door.
She was completely unaware that she had forgotten about Eunike's presence and the memories of Eunike Ward in her memory vanished in an instant.
The same thing happened to the girls. Neither Quinn nor Demi and Paige recalled they had a friend named Eunike.
After all, Eunike was a gifted noble vampire.