A sky full of stars,
And he was staring at her.
—Atticus
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
As Eva's eyes fluttered open, she found herself back in the castle, in the King's room where she had been staying for a day. Fear crept up her spine when she realized that this was not her home and she was back in that place. She placed a hand on her chest and felt an uncontrollable emotion of sorrow as if what she was desiring was not there.
She looked around and she did not know who or what she was searching for. Her eyes darted around desperately and her shoulders dropped with a heavy burden of heartache.
Her feet moved towards the balcony and she pushed open the door not knowing why she did that. The sky was looking beautiful just like it always did, the Moon was in the farthest corner of the sky and she had to crane her neck to get a glimpse of it.
Click, click, click.
Her heart stumbled to a halt and she trembled to look behind her. The faint scent of ash, spice and sin invaded her senses and she found herself leaning into that warm fragrance. Her lips parted as she inhaled the surrounding scent and felt herself wanting more.
All the despair and loneliness vanished into thin air as her body craved the warmth that was filling up the cold room.
Finally, she found the strength to turn around and the sight made her catch her breath.
It was him again. Leaning casually against the wall in partial darkness. He looked at her with the same darkness he was made of, born of the shadow. His hands were in the pockets of his slacks, and he had removed his jacket. The sleeves of his black shirt were rolled up, and the top two buttons were undone, exposing his well-muscled forearms and chest.
Eva unconsciously took a step near him. Closer and closer. Her steps halted just as she saw her feet just a centimeter away from his. They were near each other, and she could feel his warm breath falling on her face. She didn't know what this unknown feeling was called but she yearned for more. Desired more than that.
All she knew was that when his arm snaked around her waist, she leaned further in tilting up her head to meet his heated gaze.
She caught his gaze when it fell on her lips, and his finger brushed her bottom lip, sending fireworks throughout her body. His head leaned in closer inch by inch and she closed her eyes waiting for him to descend on her-
Eva jolted up in her bed and sat up straight. Her chest heaved up and down and she felt that the dream was as real as it could be. She could still feel his touch everywhere and something warm and liquid-like pooled in her belly. She touched her dry lips remembering what was about to happen before she suddenly woke up.
Shaking her head, she fell back on the mattress and closed her eyes wanting to sleep. Her body felt restless as she switched her positions again and again and still, her mind remained awake. Pulling the blanket up to her head, Eva closed her eyes tightly and tried to forget her dream and erase it from her memory.
Soon her drowsy state returned, and she fell asleep. The next morning, the memory was still faintly there and Eva busied herself with various works to keep her mind occupied. Meeting that man was nothing but a disaster, she thought to herself feeling frustrated.
After they had finished eating breakfast, Mrs. Blythe rose and kissed her daughters cheeks before departing and asking them to come back before dark.
"Let's go, Eva!" Vanessa's voice came from her bedroom and after cleaning up the kitchen, Eva went to put on her bonnet. Soon both the sisters exited the house, locking the door behind them and leaving in the direction of the market.
A raven crowed from a nearby house and Eva's ears caught the unfamiliar noise. She spotted the raven coming close to her and she approached it cautiously.
"Eva, that is a raven! They're dangerous." Vanessa tried pulling her back but Eva gently assured her that she would be careful.
From her childhood, she had loved having pets, and animals always came to ask her for food knowing that the girl would never reject them. She was used to feeding animals whenever they were hungry but she had to stop since Vanessa had started getting scared of the animals she brought home.
Eva stopped outside a house's door and the raven looked at her from the roof. With a soft smile, she entered her hand in her pocket to see if she had anything to give the beautiful dark raven. There was something unique about this animal, and it had a bluish shade in its feathers.
Opening her palm, she showed the blueberries to the raven and saw its eyes sparkle. It was her habit of carrying something in her pocket or bag. If she ever got hungry, she had something to eat and to feed animals such as this raven. Eva stretched out her hand upward towards the roof and the raven nibbled on a berry with its long beak. He seemed to like the taste since he quickly finished all of them in her hand and made a gurgling croak in his throat.
Beaming, Eva gently patted his head with her fingers and he croaked loudly in satisfaction.
"What is your name? Are you hungry anymore?" asked the girl, accustomed to talking with animals even though she didn't understand their language.
The raven shook his head before nodding it once in farewell and opening his wings to take flight in the air. Eva waved it goodbye and walked back to where her sister was still waiting.
"Quickly! There will be so many women in the shops and we need to take the good dresses before they all get sold away," spoke Vanessa in a hasty manner and grabbed Eva's hand before she started dragging her in the direction of a famous gown shop.
Eva followed her and together, they stepped into the shop which was surprisingly less crowded than they had expected.