You changed my life.
You changed my ways.
I don't even recognize myself these days.
It must be a reflection of you, only you.
—Keith Urban
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
Steadying her body, Eva didn't have enough time to stable her racing heart. The maid left her with a bow and she quietly stood in front of the door, thinking whether she should open it or not. She was afraid of his sudden tricks and now that she knew he was a vampire, Eva remembered their thirst for blood and a bad reputation.
How had she gotten herself stuck in this situation, she asked herself and didn't know the answer. Climbing trees should be considered lethal from now on...
"Come in." she flinched when she heard his voice from outside the room and wondered how he knew that she was standing out the door.
Reluctantly Eva twisted the door knob and stepped inside. The King was seated at the head of the table, twirling a glass of red substance in between his long fingers and veiny hands.
Eva swallowed, bowing her head. "Good morning, Your Majesty." her voice was louder than a whisper but lower than her normal tone.
"Take a seat," he spoke, tilting his head to a chair placed beside him.
The dining room was big in size and could accommodate more than thirty people at a time as Eva observed. A silver chandelier dangled from the roof and the wall behind the King was made of glass, displaying the gardens outside.
Just as Eva was about to pull the chair to sit down, Theo placed the glass down and stood up.
"Let me." pulling the chair, Eva sat down and felt his hands push it forward. He went to take his place once again but didn't touch the blood.
"What do you like for breakfast?" he asked, staring keenly at her.
Eva did not know what to tell him. The normal breakfast she had was sometimes a few fruits on the way to the markets or a small piece of toast with a tiny lump of butter. What else could they afford to eat?
"Anything that would be served, is fine Your Majesty," she spoke but Theo wasn't the one to let her easily off the hook.
"Apart from water, what do you like to eat? Your favorite food?" he asked, not breaking eye contact with her.
"Toast, and uh-" she paused, considering. "I prefer fruits since they are rather easy to eat." she had told him the truth and unexpectedly, it felt good to be telling someone something she hadn't told anybody.
Eva had acquaintances in the village but no close best friends except for Vanessa who spent most of the time outside the cottage. There had not been much to do except help her mother and stare at the sky wishing for some sort of miracle to happen.
Theo nodded. "Blueberries?"
She started and her eyes widened accordingly. Could vampires read minds too?
He chuckled as if enjoying a private joke. "Vampires can't read minds except for on a few special occasions. The glass of blood might have suggested to you that I am one of the night creatures."
"How do you know that I like blueberries?" she couldn't help but question, a curious expression on her face.
"A little bird told me."
Eh? Could he talk to birds? That must be a fun thing to do, Eva thought in her mind and suddenly wanted to ask him to show her.
"After breakfast, I will take you to tour the castle. Eat, that slam of the door must have drained you of energy." a small smirk came to take place on his lips and Eva turned her head away, blushing.
"I apologize. I was not suitable to look at back there."
"Naked or not, I know you're beautiful in both ways. It doesn't matter if you are not, I don't mind," said Theo, taking a sip from the glass and licking his lips clean.
Eva gulped feeling her body getting warmer with every second. "Talking in such a way is considered disgraceful." If he was not holding back in his speeches, why should she?
"Disgrace doesn't matter to a King. People say whatever they want to whether or not the man is a good person or not," he told, filling a plate up with fruits (blueberries...) and toasts and many other delicacies she had never had the pleasure to consume.
"This is too much. It will go to waste if I don't manage to eat it all," argued Eva, pushing the plate back towards him.
"It won't. I promise."
"You make promises too easily." the words escaped her mouth before she could stop them but it was the plain truth. He made promises without batting an eyelash. Did they matter nothing to him?
"Promises are meant to be broken," he said and Eva felt her heart drop. As expected of him. "But I would never break the promises I made with you."
Thump.
Thump—Am I having a heart attack?
Not knowing what to say to his words, Eva shifted her attention to her plate. One by one, she tried a little of everything and soon felt her stomach getting full. All the time while she was busy eating, Eva was aware of two dark eyes watching her intensely.
"Are you not going to eat?" she asked, seeing that he kept filling his glass with blood again and again after it emptied.
"I do not need to eat. It doesn't matter if I eat or not," he spoke, and Eva couldn't help but feel bad in her heart for him.
"You don't have to feel sorry for me." came his words as he licked his lips once again and Eva caught a glimpse of his fangs.
"Don't vampires have red eyes?" she questioned.
"They do. I seem to be the exception as you might have noticed." his voice was a little stiff as she spoke out the words.
Eva did not question further on and ate in silence. She feared getting too attached knowing that she had to think of escaping as soon as possible. Getting curious about the King wouldn't end well for her.
"Do you not have to go to court?" she asked, looking up at him and finding that he was already busy staring at her.
"What do you think I prefer? You or the court?"
"Your Kingdom should always come first," she stated though Eva did not agree with her statement fully. She had always wanted a King to love his family more than his Kingdom, though his people should matter too.
"What does a Kingdom matter, when the King doesn't have his Queen by his side?"