The king watched their entire interaction. Her Peachy lips, soft as petals, move with ease. Her eyes sparkled as she speaks. He wanted to steal her away from the world and the way she smiles makes his heart feel like a leaf. He was captivated, bewitched even. He only saw her a few times yet the impact was so strong. He stared at her from where he was standing, where no one could possibly see him. Raziel was so fragile that he wanted to cherish her deeply. The occasional flutter and the tremble of her fingers made her look so pure and innocent making him want to taint her with every little thing he has.
Her peachy lips moved effortlessly as she converse with the man next to her. He wonder who the man was, that he could make her laugh genuinely. The lightening of her eyes made him confirm something. He wanted her, he desire to possess her, bewitch her even.
"Such a pretty little prey," He mused. Yet there she stood, smiling widely and genuinely with a man. That's fine, he would have her running to him soon. He ran his tongue over his fangs. He would have his way with her body, soul, and heart. He would make certain of it.
.......
"It seems like the party is coming to an end," Raziel said to the man beside her. The king's grandmother has already started receiving gifts from her guest, indicating that the party would be concluded in a little while. She stared at the king's grandmother and saw how she smile as she receives her gifts from her well-wishers. She was sure it felt good being a vampire. Yes, just take a look at the royal grandmother, she was still so young and energetic and she could even pass as a 50 year old, although Raziel heard she has lived more than a thousand years already.
She wondered how she managed to stay this young. Her hair was so long and shiny and her skin glows like that of a baby. It even glows more than hers. The Royal grandmother was capable of making young girls of Raziel's age jealous and shitty. Seeing the old vampire's skin and beauty, Raziel made a mental note to work towards having that kind of skin and beauty when she gets old.
"Yes, it is. The king didn't make a farewell speech nor did he show up at the ballroom. I don't think it's appropriate for the king not to attend his grandmother's birthday party. Well, this is a normal occurrence," John complained.
"Y-yes it's not appropriate," Raziel stuttered. She didn't know why she felt goosebumps at the mention of the king. It was good he didn't show up as she would get more scared than she already is, standing among some vampires. Thank Goodness John is just a human.
"Since the party is coming to an end, I guess I should take my leave now," he said, taking her hands and placing a kiss on them.
"I'll see you some other time, lady Raziel," he smiled, before walking away.
Raziel stared around the ballroom. She should start looking for her family so they would all go home together. It was good that she met John at this party else, she didn't know who would have kept her company. Her sisters were nowhere in sight, not like they would leave the men and come keep her company. And her parents would probably be greeting the king's grandmother or going around and greeting the other guest. It would be almost impossible, to walk with her parents and follow them to greet the guests. Firstly, she would feel awkward greeting everyone in the ballroom, and secondly, her mother would rather force her to dance than she following her around like a stray cat.
She finally spotted her family in the crowd and made her way toward them. The king's grandmother was giving a speech and everyone's gaze was focused on her. "Mother," Raziel called, stooping to stand beside them.
"Did u dance with someone?" Rachel asked and Raziel's eyes widened. She should have expected that this was going to be the first question her mother would ask.
"Y-yes I did."
"You're lying. I watched you the whole time. You didn't move from where you were standing all through the time the music played. You just stood there like a statue," Jaria exposed.
"It's not that I didn't want to dance. No one asked me for a dance," Raziel defended.
"How would anyone ask you for a dance with this moody face of yours? And how you were standing in a corner like someone who is here to steal. I doubt you'll captivate any man's attention with this pouty look on your face. Just pray they don't start running away from you," Rachel scolded.
"They won't."
"They will if you don't change. Just look at your sisters, they are the talk of the party today," she said and Raziel only sighed. Sigh! Maybe it's now an achievement to dance with some guys in Daxtan.
......
After the ball, they all went home with Raziel's mother still complaining about her all through their journey. She had felt suffocated in the car and badly, her sisters instead of supporting her, laughed at their mother's complaints about her. She wondered what was so funny in it. At a time, she wanted to cover her ears from the rough sound of her mother's voice, but she thought of it as a disrespectful act. She had stared at her dad through the review mirror, expecting that he would at least say something in her defense like he always does. But he said nothing, he didn't even spare her a glance. He just focused on driving. Ahh, maybe she was at fault this time. It's just dancing, not like she murdered someone.
Raziel entered the mansion, heading to her room in anger but she knocked over Rani who was carrying a stack of clothes in her hand and they all fell from her hands. Raziel intended to continue her journey and walk past her but Rani quickly held her hands.
"What's wrong? Why are you frowning? What happened at the ball? Is it your dress? Did someone annoy you?" Rani bombarded her with questions at the same time and Raziel burst into laughter. All her annoyance and anger vanished the moment Rani started asking those questions. She didn't even breathe while asking as if she wanted to go fight who offended her. Not like she could fight her superior.
The thought of her dress being out of place didn't cross Raziel's mind because well, she had also seen many ladies at the ball wearing yellow so she wondered why her sisters thought it was a dull color.
"Calm down Rani, don't stress yourself too much. It's nothing."
"Don't tell me it's nothing. You were frowning as if someone beat you up. Come on, tell me who offended you," Rani persuaded.
"Oh, so you also think I have a moody face?"
"No, you don't. I've never seen you frowning like this before. And who told you that you have a moody face?"
"Mother did. The birthday party was so dreary. I desperately wanted to leave there and that was why I was frowning. When mother saw me, she said I have a moody and pouty face and that men would run away from me. Not only that, but she also said it was because of my face that no one asked me for a dance at the party."
"That's not true. You're very beautiful and I'm sure no one would even like to run away from you," Rani said as they both bent down to pick up the clothes which had fallen off Rani's hands.