Eve sat in the carriage, alone and in thought. The beauty of the lush carriage didn't help in distracting her from the self argument. She was finally leaving her hell-in-earth of a home, but to only end up in the real pit of hell.
Sebastian Oliveheart.
The name helped in heightening the anxiety and fear of the unknown world she was stepping into. She breathed out heavily and pulled the white curtains covering the window. The carriage was moving in a surprisingly fast pace making some of the view blur to her eyes. The sun was starting to set and she pulled the curtains close. She sighed again, and closed her eyes, deciding to sleep till they would arrive at the Kingdom.
Eve snapped her eyes open to the knock on the door of the carriage. Did they arrive? So early?
She drew the curtains again to the sky that was dark with no hint of stars or the moo. Her eyes widened a bit, it was night already. The Knight was waiting beside the door and she opened it, and stepped out of the carriage.
Strong wind gush over her and she shivered lightly at the chilly air while holding her breath at the huge white castle in front of her. It was a grand and lavish building with lights all over, Eve could hear the music drifting in the wind from the magnificent building which stood tall and proud.
"Milady?" the Knight called her attention and she nodded, walking pass the gates. There were four maids in waiting at the huge doors of the castle.
"Dress the Lady up for the party," the Knight instructed the maids who curtsied a bow.
"Yes Lord Leif."
Lord? They have a Lord and a King? Eve thought as she followed the maids into a room. There was a large chandelier hung on the high ceiling with two lanterns fix on the wall.
A red voluminous gown was spread on the bed with black thigh high socks and a black gloves. The gown Grace gave her looked nothing compared to the gown that she changed into. It was soft like feathers and had pretty thread patterns on the gown. She slipped her hands inside the glove as her was being dressed in a beautiful bun.
All the time her heart was racing in her chest, she was feeling nervous with the thought of meeting the King. Lord Leif told he was impatient to see her, how true were those words? When the maids finished dolling her up, they led her through an open pathway to the main hall. There were gardens of beautiful flowers on both sides of the path. They were beautiful to look at but at the same time left some eerie feeling when stared at too long.
It was like the castle which looked beautiful but also have an imposing forlornness when one continue to stare at it. It all made Eve uncomfortable as she remembered this was going to be her new home.
Two men stood on the balcony of one of the rooms, far away from the event in the castle. One had a drink in his hand as he stared up at the night sky finding some comfort in it. The other stood behind with a grin on his face.
"I tell you Seb, she would be easy to discard when the time comes," Lord Leif said. He knew his brother wanted nothing to do with the humans than drink from them. He had agreed to the peace treaty to have a personal blood bank but he suddenly changed his mind on marrying the human.
Leif also wanted a personal human to be at his beck and call and he knew he could have his brother's for himself since he was disinterested.
"After the party is over, I would take her to my room and you won't have to bother about seeing her," he continued to his brother to attend the party.
Seb continued to gaze at the sky not bothering to reply to his younger brother words. The calmness and blank look of the night reminded him of someone that had etched into his mind.
The stubborn human he met the day before had stubbornly taken a place in his mind.
Her defiance amazed him, and he strongly wanted nothing but to own her and see for how long she would defy him. The thought slightly irritated him that he could feel that way for a mere human.
His gaze dropped to the ground below, and he stared at the lady in the red gown. A black veil concealed her face, and he could see her rub her gloved hands together out of nervousness.
When the wind blew, the veil gently swayed, and moved away from her face for a second. In the split moment, Sebastian's lips pulled up, as the wind revealed the innocent beauty hiding beneath the veil.
"Have the maids bring my clothes and silver mask," he said to Leif, as he watched the Lady disappear behind two large doors.
His words raised a brow on Leif's face, he sounded excited, and Leif wondered the cause of the switch in his thoughts as he walked away.
When the maids arrived, Sebastian shrugged off his black shirt and slipped the white shirt the maids brought on his body. He was helped into his black royal robe and his black hair that disheveled because of the wind was combed back. He put on the half silver mask, and tied the rope behind.
His grin stayed, that widened with each seconds and when a thought crossed his mind, he chuckled. The maids slightly panicked at the sudden laugh that sounded uncanny.
He stepped out of his room and walked to the down hall with his shoes making thud sounds on the marbled floor. He stepped out of his chamber, with a daunting smile and his majestic and powerful aura intimidating the guests who stood in the corridors.
They curtsied a bow, greeting the King as he walked past. His red eyes searched through the crowds when he stepped on the stairs and when he found who he was looking for, he walked towards her, ignoring the other guests.
"Bow to the King," someone announced his arrival.
Eve stood far away from the crowds, she was feeling nervous standing in the same room with the vile creatures. They were all standing in groups, no one bothering to spare more than a glance at the veiled bride-to-be.
When the King's arrival was announced, Eve's heart skipped and her hands turned sweaty. Her eyes beheld his majestic self, his large steps covering two steps at a time.
His red eyes settled in her face as he walked towards her. He stopped, one step away from which was when Eve realized she had been staring at him without bowing while everyone did.
She bent her back, ready to dip her head when his hand shot up to her face. The quick action surprised Eve who closed her eyes, ready to feel the strangle in her neck for the disrespect. But, instead of her neck, she felt his hand on her chin, and he raised up her head.
Eve stared at him through her veil, he was half masked and his lips were pulled up in a smirk. Suddenly, the music changed to a slow and soft song, one she wasn't expecting the vampires to be listening to.
He held her hand in his gloved ones, bringing it up to his lips.
"Care for a dance with me, my fair Lady?"
"I'm sure you know how to," his red eyes glittered in mischief as he asked.
Which Lady doesn't know how to dance? It was all the Ladies spend their time to do, learn to attract a man and always ready to be with one. Eve thought.
Except, She wasn't an elite Lady who was ready to attract men of the higher society. She had learned how to dance by chance from Mrs Coope and Sir Rogers. But no one know this, except for herself. And maybe, the vampire with whom she would be dancing, of which she was unaware of.