The room had settled into calm quiet. Kat was close to finishing her book, while Lucian had picked his 6th book for the day. Kat's eyes scanned the text. "Night Creatures..." she murmured.
The book described some creatures as nocturnal beings, unable to walk in daylight - vampires, she thought. But as she read on, the descriptions changed. "These later accounts don't sound like vampires at all," she said, her brow furrowing in confusion. She paused, and titled her head. "The descriptions are now tangled and monstrous... I don't understand," she muttered again to herself.
Without lifting his gaze from his book, Lucian spoke in a low, measured tone. "The term 'Night Creatures' was originally a catch-all for all creatures humans feared in the dark. Humans are frail creatures, and their understanding were limited. They didn't know what vampires were, only that they were predators of the night, so they lumped them in with the monsters that roamed the darkness."
Kat looked up from her book, her eyes narrowing slightly. "So, the first references were vampires?" she asked, her finger tracing a circular motion in the air. "But these others... they're something else entirely?" She further inquired.
Lucian nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed on his book. " The Night Creatures were feared by humans, calling them predators. But in truth, they're nothing but mindless, destructive parasites. They feed on human flesh and blood, no better than vermin. But now they are simply scary bedtime stories told by the villager's to scare kid's, to stay indoors before the sun set's"
Kat leaned back, processing the explanation, it was in no doubt fascinating to hear about something new, she was intrigued. "Oh, I see. But wait, how can you walk in the sun? Well I mean, in my world, most vampire story says vampire's get burned by the sun, thing's like they have pale skin, no heartbeat, and can be repelled... with garlic, holy water, or running water of some sort. And according to this book, my world isn't that far off with the whole 'can't walk in the sun' thing...I think. But yet you...you're nothing like that."
Lucian lifted his gaze to from is book, his expression was a mix of irritation and something else Kat couldn't quite catch. "The information you have isn't entirely wrong. Vampires have adapted to the sun over centuries." He said in a flat tone. He paused, his expression unchanging. "Mortals are ridiculously delusional. Skin tones are simply genetic." He continued to say...
" just last night, You were enjoying listening to my heartbeat, were you not?" Lucian added, his head titled to the side.
Kat looked away briefly, embarrassed, before regaining her composure and looking back at Lucian, awaiting the answer to the rest of her questions.
Lucian lips parted "I like garlic. Vampires aren't exactly fond of churches, They're always trying to bind us with the name of their Messiah. It no doubt trouble for low level vampire to handle" He let out a small sigh.
Kat paused and her expression suddenly to disgusted look. "You like garlic?" she repeated. " Ugh, I'm starting to rethink if you're one of those supposed Night Creatures. That is just wrong"
Lucian's eyes flashed with distaste. "Don't you ever compare me to those parasites" he warned, his tone sharp yet still calm.
Kat could tell Lucian didn't really fancy the so called Night creature's, whatever they were, it made her more curious about them, but she bit back her next question, changing the subject.
"Well, I'm done with the book," Kat said, closing it and placing it in front of him. Lucian hummed, already back to reading his own book, making Kat wonder if he never got bored of doing the same things every day.
Though she couldn't judge, knowing she loved reading, and back home she was a workaholic, always busy with one thing or another, but here she had more free time than she knew what to do with. Reading was nice, but she needed more activities in her daily life, she thought.
With the ball coming soon, she had something to look forward to, but it would end soon, leaving her with boring days and barely anything to do, or anyone to talk to. It made her wonder if she should try asking Lucian if they could go out of the castle.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Kat's eyes glued to Lucian, expecting him to discuss the book's contents with her. Instead, he merely hummed and continued reading.
She continued to stare at him, waiting for some acknowledgment or question about the book she had just finished. But Lucian remained silent, his eyes fixed on his own pages.
Sensing her gaze on him, Lucian finally took his gaze off his book, "What is it?" he asked impatiently. Kat was taken aback by his tone, but she pressed on. "Aren't you going to ask me anything about the book? Or clarify some points?" she asked, folding her arms.
Lucian's response caught her off guard: "Do you really think yourself to be so incapable?" Kat's lips parted to say something, then shut back. Was that an insult or a compliment? Her lips set in a straight line as she pondered his words.
Despite her confusion, Kat still had questions to ask. So, she picked up a new book and started reading, in between her reading, she asked Lucian each time the questions popped into her head.
But Lucian annoyance grow with each question, it was increasingly difficult to concentrate with Kat's continuous questions, disrupting the silence, and he couldn't quite understand why he kept responding to her in the first place.
Kat continued asking questions, her mind buzzing with the lot she had read from the Syllanthian book. Initially, Lucian attempted to disregard her, but eventually, his patience wore thin. "Katherine," he snapped, "be silent."
She paused momentarily, taken aback by a side of Lucian she'd never seen before. For a brief moment, she kept quiet, pressing her lips together in a thin line and burying her gaze back in her book.
The room settled into a brief silence, but it didn't last long. Kat's curiosity soon got the better of her, and she began to fidget, moving her gaze around the desk and picking up a random object. She twirled it in her hand, another question already brewing in her mind.
"So, can I ask—" Before she could finish, Lucian abruptly stood up, his chair scraping against the floor. Kat flinched at the suddenness, her eyes darting up to meet Lucian's intense gaze.
He walked around the desk, walking towards her with a cold and emotional less expression, that made Kat gulp nervously.
Confused as to why he suddenly stood up like that, 'Is he going to strangle me?' she thought to herself worriedly, 'He's crazy, he could do it.' She consciously braced herself for the unknown, but was surprised when he just walked past her. She had no clue where he was going, but he continued walking, heading straight towards his closet.
Kat watched, both confused and nervous, as Lucian opened the closet and pulled something out. His back was to her, so she couldn't see what he was holding. Was it a knife? she thought.
When he turned around, there was a strange intensity in his eyes as he walked back towards her. She hoped he would walk past her. "Lucian, what are you..." Kat trailed off, watching him walk back towards her, his expression now blank and unreadable yet the intensity in his eyes stayed put.
Finally reaching her. His hands went on either side of her head, his movements slow and deliberate.
"Lu... Lucian...?" Kat stuttered, meeting his gaze. Lucian's hands wrapped around the headrest of her chair, pulling it forward with a screeching noise. Kat craned her neck up, but never expected what happened next.
The next moment, she was being tied to the chair. The action was so sudden and decisive that Kat didn't have time to react. "What are you doing?" she demanded, when she regained herself, struggling against the bindings.
Lucian's expression remained blank, his eyes fixed on hers as he secured the final knot. Kat's heart raced, She tried to wriggle free, but the restraints held tight.
Lucian pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and stuffed it into her mouth, using another to tie it securely.
Lucian turned her chair slightly to the side, cutting off her view of him. Then, without another word, he calmly walked back to his desk, sat down, and resumed reading his book as if nothing had happened.
Kat finally realized the absurdity of what had just happened. Lucian had actually tied her to a chair and gagged her. She began to struggle, thrashing her legs and making muffled screams through the gag. She was upset, no, she was more than upset. She was furious.
'How dare he tie me up like some out-of-control animal!,' she thought, her mind racing with indignation. She tried to speak, but the gag muffled her words, reducing them to mere sounds of protest.
Lucian, however, remained entirely relaxed. He kept his eyes on his book, calmly flipping the pages as if Kat's noisy protests were no more than background noise. But her muffled sounds grew louder, and more frantic. "Make one more sound, and I promise I will throw you out the window," he threatened coldly.
Kat's next sound stuck in her throat, and she finally went quiet, her body slumping in the chair. She sat there in silence for what felt like an eternity, the minutes dragging into hours, with her just glancing around the room. She could only see the silhouette of Lucian, thanks to him turning her away from him. She was angry and exhausted and could only foam silently.
More time passed and Kat's eyes were slowly shutting and fluttering open every now and then. 'I can't believe he tied me up like, I hate him so much.' Kat thought to herself, her body slumped to the side, her eyes fluttering shut again.
A knock came from the door, disrupting the silence, and it made Kat jolt from her mid sleep. But the next second, she was worried and embarrassed, what if it was one of the maids. She didn't want anyone to see her like this, it was just too embarrassing to think of.
Lucian glanced up briefly as the door opened, and Sabastian stepped in with the usual calm smile on his lips. He bowed as he entered, but when he raised his head, his eyes widened briefly at the sight before him: Kat, tied to a chair, gagged, and staring at him with big pleading eyes, looking like she had been suffering in silence for ages. Oh my what has his majesty gone and done to the poor thing? Sabastian thought worriedly.
Sabastian's gaze shifted back to Lucian, seated behind his desk, who still appeared calm, if slightly bored. "Good evening, my lord, Miss Kat," he greeted, walking toward her and just standing beside her also before Lucain.
Lucian shut the book he had been reading, taking the documents Sabastian handed to him. "The main issues have been cleared, and the construction should go smoothly," Sabastian informed. Lucian nodded and hummed in response taking a look at the documents.
Sabastian paused, hesitance for a moment. "My lord," he began, choosing his words carefully, "why is Miss Kat... tied to a chair?"
Lucian looked up from the documents and responded calmly, "She needed a bit of quiet time to reflect."
Sabastian glanced back at Kat, who gave him a desperate look as if silently begging him to free her. But before Sabastian could say anything more, Lucian spoke, "You can untie the squirrel, I think she as enough time to reflect." Even though Kat's gaze wasn't facing Lucian, they could still feel the intensity of her glare.
Sabastian moved to untie Kat, and she was quick to pull the handkerchief away from her mouth, which was left still tied loosely around her neck.
She walked to the desk, picking up some books, including the one Lucian was presently reading, and he didn't stop her. She glared at Lucian but was too tired to say anything to him. Once she picked up the books, she turned around to leave. "How was your day, Miss Kat?" Sabastian asked as she walked past him. "Productive," she responded, not turning around, and walked straight to the door and left.
Sabastian turned back to Lucian with a worried expression. "What did you do to Miss Kat, my lord?" he asked, due to her behavior just now. Lucian's gaze moved to the door, and back to Sabastian. "She's fine; she's just drossy," he dismissed.
"How was her studying?" Sabastian inquired as he placed the seat back in its place. Lucian leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes briefly, feeling the tension of the day easing just slightly, and by tension, that meant Kat. He had never had anyone frustrate him as she does, at least not without being decapitated. With a lazy gesture, he motioned for Sabastian to pick up the books on the table.
Sabastian's eyes scanned the books. He was quick to recognize both volumes in particular. "Did Miss Kat... read a chapter from these?" Sabastian asked curiously as he held up one of the books.
Lucian opened his eyes, glancing at the books in Sabastian's hands. "No," he replied, his tone even. "She read the entire thing. And she wrote the other in Syllanthian."
Sabastian's hand froze mid-air, and he looked at Lucian, surprised. "She read and wrote the entire thing?" he echoed, like he was still trying to wrap his head around it.
Lucian nodded nonchalantly, but Sabastian's eyes widened in disbelief. "Even seasoned scholars take weeks, sometimes months, to grasp the contents of one of these books. And she did it in two days?" He looked at the volumes in his hands, incredulous.
Lucian nodded, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. But Sabastian knew better "Even seasoned scholars take weeks, sometimes months, to grasp the contents of one of these books. And she did it in two days?" His disbelief was evident as he looked back at the volumes in his hands.
"Lucian hummed, his gaze fixed ahead. "The little squirrel is more capable than she realizes. If only she wouldn't try to... redecorate the royal courtroom with her fists, she would have made an excellent diplomat." He paused "Well, it's good to know she can at least handle the identity of the Grand Duchess," Lucian added.
Sabastian smiled, "Miss Kat is indeed intelligent and remarkable, I have no doubt she would make a wonderful Grand Duchess – level-headed and well-refined." Sabastian commented, making Lucian raise a brow. "Is that so?" he said.
Sabastian nodded in response. And continued to say "However for some reason, Miss Kat gets... riled up around you, and you are yet to come across the refined version of her."
Lucian didn't comment and instead said, "You smell a lot like blood and not the good kind. Fix that."
Sebastian paused, taking a sniff of himself. "Indeed, I will go fix that," he bowed before exiting the room.
Meanwhile back in Kat's room, she sat in the warm bath, her eyes closed, but her mind still replying being tied to the chair. She was still fuming about Lucian's behavior, she felt unbelievably annoyed.
She clenched her fist, and her anger simmered just below the surface. "Arrogant, rude, Intolerable, controlling , cold-hearted, not to talk of Condescending...ugh" she muttered aggressively under her breath.
As she soaked in the bath, her thoughts continuously drifted back to being tied up and lucanid calling her a squirrel, she released her fist takin a deep breath and sunk deeper into the simmering water.
After a while, Kat emerged from the bath, her skin brown and warm as her feet's padded out the bath. She changed into comfortable clothes, her movements slow and calm.
As she approached her bed, her exhaustion caught up with her. She fell onto the bed, her body surrendering to her tiredness, she was hungry, yet she felt to tired to eat. "I will get back at that devil man, for making me miss dinner again" she muttered to herself, and turned on her side, staring outside the window.
The soft light of the moon shoon through the window, illuminating her with a soft slow. She was exusted and a yawn escaped he lips. It didn't take long for her eyelids to droop, and she fell into a deep sleep, the remnants of her anger fading away with the night.