After dinner, Eliana and Georgina were walking beside each other back to their rooms when Damien suddenly showed up before them.
"Good evening, ladies" he smiled sheepishly at them and whispered, "Can we talk?"
"I don't know-" As usual, Eliana was interrupted by her dear friend. "Weren't you supposed to show us around tomorrow morning? Couldn't this wait until then?"
Georgina's questions earned her another nudge in her rips by Eliana. Her side would probably turn blue if she kept up her mischievous comments, but she didn't care, and nobody would be able to shut her up. With a sigh, Damien tried to think of something so that he could speak to Eliana by himself. Maybe if he annoyed Georgina enough and she reacted, Eliana would send her away.
"Why are you always so suspicious toward everyone around you? Haven't I proven myself yet? I kept all my promises until now."
"Ah, you lied to us about your identity! Of course, we don't trust you." She moved one step closer to him with her chin held high and was about to yell out impolite things when Eliana stepped in between the two and, as Damien had predicted, gave her a sign to leave. Georgina was unwilling to listen to Eliana's request. She knew her friend was attracted to Damien and, during their journey, had grown very attached to him. Eliana wanted her to get along with him as well, but since she could not assess him objectively, Georgina had to take over that part. Nonetheless, she knew Eliana needed a moment with Damien alone to clear her doubts, and so after contemplating a few seconds, she said her final words to Damien for the evening:
"Don't think I have forgiven you only because I am leaving. I am tired and not in the mood to fight. That is the only reason you and I are not continuing this conversation." and left, glaring at Damien to show her disapproval.
"She is quite the character," Damien said while giggling and following Georgina with his eyes. When he turned around, though, his smile faded immediately because Eliana was looking at him with a disappointed look.
"Ah – I- Well, I am sorry about today. Truly. Please give me a chance to explain." His puppy eyes were challenging to say no to.
"You do realize this is a Deja-vu? Just a week ago, you demanded the same. Maybe you should improve on that so we have no more misunderstandings? Anyways, I am not still standing here because I like the corridors so much…." Her daring tone and arms crossed before her chest showed Damien that he had to bring some good excuses.
"You are right. Hmm, but can we talk in your room? My mum will pass by here to return to her chambers soon."
Although Eliana was initially reluctant, she agreed, and Damien followed her into her room. Once inside, her heart started to pound fast, and she wasn't sure why. What was going on with her body? But conscious of them being alone in her room excited her, and unbeknownst to her, Damien could hear her increasing heartbeat confusing him as well.
To not lose focus, Eliana motioned for him to sit on the sofa, and she sat on the bed to create more distance between them. Unfortunately, that didn't make it more relaxed for Damien because seeing her sitting on the big bed brought indecent ideas to his mind, making it difficult to concentrate. Her voice brought him back to reality. "Tell me why you hid all this from me?"
"I have huge trust issues. Many women have tried to use my position to their advantage and didn't necessarily care for me. Although you passed the test when crossing the border, I still had to ensure you meant everything you said during our journey." While Damien was applauding himself in his head for the great lie he came up with, Eliana thought that what he said made sense.
"But why didn't you explain before we arrived? At that point, you must have trusted us because otherwise, you wouldn't have introduced us to your mother?"
"Yes, in the end, I missed the window and forgot. It wasn't on purpose; I simply was thinking of my duties the closer we got to the capital; hence it just left my mind." Eliana was about to say something more, but there was a knock on the door. Her eyes widened in shock, and she gasped.
Getting up, she whispered hysterically. "Oh god, no one can see you here! They would misunderstand! You need to hide right away!" Her petrified expression amused Damien - he would have loved to tease her, but she was right. It was too soon for people to gossip about them, so he stood up to hide in her bathroom.
Once Damien was out of sight, she went to open the door and was surprised to see the queen. "Hello dear, I hope I am not disturbing you." She didn't wait for Eliana to invite her in and entered her room.
"Of course not, my queen. How may I be of service?" Eliana followed her into the middle of the room, where the queen stood still, observing her surroundings, and spoke to her, with her back facing Eliana.
"You may answer an important question: Did you have a lover back in Paxos?" That was not the question Eliana would have expected. "Huh?"
The queen turned around to face her, tilting her head. "Which part was unclear?"
"Ah, all of it was clear. My apologies. I didn't expect this question, but I didn't have a lover."
"Hmm, good, because I wouldn't want trouble due to you having some jealous boyfriend. - I am very pleased about your answer and bid you good night." And so, the queen left a perplexed Eliana behind, who went back to sit on the bed, not knowing what had just happened.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Damien had been annoyed when his mother appeared out of nowhere and didn't want her to get involved in his love life. But he was satisfied with Eliana's reply and happy that there was nobody else. Emerging in the bedroom, he saw her staring at the door, lost in her thoughts.
"I guess there is another thing I have to apologize for…" His sudden reappearance made her cringe. "I apologize for my mother's peculiar behavior."
"Why would she ask me such a random question?"
"I guess she wanted to ensure that no one would follow you here." He should win an award for his performance. It was unbelievable how he came up with all these ridiculous lies. "Our conversation was interrupted. Will you forgive me for keeping all this a secret from you?"
"You were kind enough to take us in and help us out of Paxos. There is nothing to forgive. I am not in a position to judge you for what you did, so don't fret about it."
Furrowing his brows, Damien misunderstood what she said. "Why does your position matter? Does that mean, as a prince, I am above apologies and don't have to admit my mistakes?"
What Eliana meant with her remark was that she was keeping her identity a secret, making her realize she had no right to be angry about the same mistake. But his mentioning his station in the Agoran society made her understand further how far out of her league he was. There was no way for him ever to be interested in an orphan with nothing to her name.
"Technically, yes it means you are free to do as you please, and no one can contradict you. But of course, you trying to make amends shows what a great king you will be one day."
A little disappointed about her perspective, he thought it best to let it rest for now. There was no point in explaining to her how wrong her point of view was. He would have to teach her by showing her.
"Well, it isn't like that, but I think you will have to see that for yourself. For now, I appreciate your forgiveness and promise to do better. - I should go back to my room before someone sees me here."
"Yes, you should go." Her aggrieved tone bewildered him further. Was she sad about him leaving, or was there another reason? Searching for an answer in her eyes, he almost got lost in them. They looked like the ocean's depths in the dimmed light, and there was an emotion hidden in them that he couldn't figure out.
Diverting his gaze to other things in the room, he wished her good night and left. "Good night," Eliana whispered, although he had already disappeared through the door. It had been a beautiful illusion thus far, believing their friendship could become more. They had shared many stories on their journey, and his kindness toward her touched her heart, but the reality was cruel. She had to face the fact that he had to look for a future queen for his people, which wasn't a position she could take on as a so-called "human" or, even worse, as a vampire.