Queen Rohesia stepped into her room, with Oriana following behind her. Her mind was filled with various thoughts as she stood facing the wall for a few moments, her hands clasped behind her. She could feel her grasp on the throne slowly slipping away, especially with the knowledge that Sebastian had started to get intimate with the human girl.
"It seems you are not really interested in the throne, Oriana," she finally said to Oriana, who stood quietly, watching the old vampiress wallow in her thoughts.
"No Que-" she started to say.
"I didn't ask for your opinion," Queen Rohesia interrupted. If it hadn't been for her son allowing himself to be used as a pawn by Sebastian, she would have persuaded this woman to bear his heir. According to Oliveheart's tradition, this would have secured his claim to the throne. These days, he hardly even confided in her.
"Tell me, do you know any lady who looks like that human?" She suddenly questioned.
"Human? Evelyn?" Oriana paused for a second and then answered, "No, Queen Rohesia."
Then why did it feel like she knew this woman who had become a thorn in her side? Not only had the mother brought a curse into her life, but her son had also proven to be a problem, causing another prickly issue she was finding difficult to remove. It was no news she didn't like Sebastian.
"Bring me a parchment and ink from the top drawer," she said, and then went to sit behind her desk. Oriana moved to the drawer to bring what she had requested. Placing it on the table before her, Queen Rohesia picked up a black quill, dipped it in black ink, and started writing on the parchment.
Oriana, standing beside her and watching, slowly widened her eyes, reading what the queen had written down. The queen picked up the royal stamp and stamped it on the end of the parchment.
"Mo-Mother Queen? King Sebastian will be furious if he finds out you're behind the rogue vampires' attack on the human kingdom," she whispered, panic evident in her voice as she watched the woman who lazily dropped the quill on the desk.
"Don't you dare breathe a word of this to anyone except if you want your head hanged at the gates of the castle," Queen Rohesia warned, sending a glare at the vampiress who gulped in fear. She watched as Oriana slowly nodded, agreeing not to speak of it to anyone. Unknown to them, someone stood outside the door, eavesdropping on their conversation. After a few seconds, the figure walked away softly.
"....Vampires who cast spells are not as knowledgeable about magic as people think. They are more pompous creatures who think they are superior to both us and the humans. They are taught only a few basic spells, so they won't turn and use it against us…" Eve closed the book she was reading, sighing in frustration. She had three large books placed in front of her on the desk.
She had developed a sudden interest in magic, and that's why she had decided to read up on it. However, all the books she had read only talked about witches. There was nothing about what magic or spells could be used for. The books seemed similar to the ones in her kingdom, with limited details, only these weren't folklores.
And like every other book, this one also had nothing about magic, she flipped continuously, yet it was only about the creatures that existed. Each page tells something different about the heading. Once she had opened a page 'The two realms,' but it was empty, nothing written on the back or front. The books were useless, she realized and, dumped it along with the ones she had piled. The vampire who had bitten her talked about knowing the reason she was a human and she had hoped she would find something on it in one of the books.
Standing up from her chair, she carried the books to return them to the shelves and checked up another. Filling up the spaces between the books, she trailed her fingers in the books as she read the title from the sides. As she walked to the end of the shelf, she heard a light thud on the ground and she turned, to see a small book that had fallen on the floor.
Confused as to how the book had dropped from the shelf, she crouched to the ground and picked the book up. It was dusty and she wiped it with her hands to see the title.
"Split Souls," she read the title aloud and opened it, letting the rusty smell of old books hit her nostrils. Without reading the lone page inside, she closed it and continued searching through the shelves for more books. She selected two additional books, returned to her seat, and placed them on the desk, with the one she had picked up at the bottom.
Just when she sat down and opened the book, the door was opened and she looked up to see Sebastian walking inside.
"Seeking more knowledge, what are you reading on?" He asked as he got closer and walked behind her to look at the books.
"Spells and Magic."
"Why are you reading this?" Came the question from him as she was expecting.
"To pass away the boring time," came her prepared answer.
"You've only seen your family after such a long period, you can sit and have a wonderful chat with them" he proposed.
"I would rather dwell in the boredom," Eve muttered and she heard him chuckle above her, his warm breath hitting her hair.
"It seems we both share quite a similarity, like having a family you want nothing to do with," he said, staring at the bare back of her neck as she had pulled her hair to rest on one shoulder. He raised his left hand towards her neck, his index fingernail lengthened. Eve turned her face to look at him, and he quickly retracted his hand.
From what she knew, Sebastian do call Queen Rohesia 'stepmother' which means she wasn't his biological mother.
"Can you tell me about your family?" She asked and Sebastian noticed the familiarity in her voice as she spoke to him and he idly plucked a few strands of her hair, playing with them.
"I am going out and only came to inform you, we would be talking about this some other day," he said.
"How about tonight?" She asked. Curious mouse, he thought.
"You wouldn't want to stay up all night, would you?"
"I would be arriving late," he added.
Tucking his hand into his pocket, he pulled out and showed her the pearl necklace he took out.
"You don't seem to enjoy wearing jewelry. I assume it's because you're not accustomed to using expensive things, so I bought this for you," he said, seeing her admire the necklace in his hand. It was a simple jewel many ladies won't bother spare a second glance, and here she was appreciating the simplicity.
He unhooked it and brought it around her neck and fixed the hook and before he withdraw his hand, he used his finger to tear her skin and he hear wince.
"Ouch. What was that for?" Eve asked.
"Checking the sharpness of my nails," he smirked at her, and she glared. Just a few seconds ago, she thought he was being good and now, he was tearing into her skin.
Sebastian brought his hand up and stared at the little blood that in his nails and he put his finger into his mouth, licking the blood on it. She tasted sweet and he instinctively closed his eyes before opening them to see her staring at him with flushed face.
"You taste so sweet," he complimented and he saw her cheeks redden more.
"Why are you so red-faced? I'm talking about your blood."
"Have you been reading other books?" The smile on his lips stretched as he couldn't resist teasing her.
Upon hearing his question, Eve quickly looked away, concluding in her mind that the man was not only shameless but sick. Sebastian moved his face towards her neck, just in time to witness the tear in her skin closing together.
His eyes narrowed, and his tongue peeked out of his lips to lick the small amount of blood off her skin, revealing her repaired skin as if there had never been a cut in the first place.