บท 4: Rules of Night's Courtship
"Wake up!"
Eve sprang up like a startled deer.
She woke up feeling disoriented, her mind clouded with confusion.
Almost immediately, her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the room. She frowned.
This room looked like a simple dormitory. It was sparsely furnished with about ten bunk beds arranged in two rows, each with clean white sheets.
Her clothing caught her eye— it was a pristine white sleeping gown that the original Evelynn would never have worn.
"Hey!"
Eve's gaze landed on the red-haired woman from the opposite bed. She looked at Eve with a mixture of curiosity and concern.
"The Mistress is about to come in. You should make sure that your bed is fixed to avoid punishment," the woman smiled. "Name's Willow. What about you?"
Eve said nothing. Instead, she started fixing her own bed.
She kept on thinking about the man that she met under the moonlight. Clearly, he was a vampire. His pale features, incredibly handsome face, and abnormal speed were enough testament to his race.
Did he bring her here?
After fixing her bed, she sat down and started observing the other women in the room.
Aside from her, there were eight other women. All of them looked scared, lost, and confused.
She frowned.
Before the war started twenty years ago, the vampires would kidnap human women to join the Night's Courtship.
They did it for fun, for entertainment.
The rules changed when Evelynn Rosetta changed it. She waged war against the King of the Vampires, freeing thousands of women who were about to become their meal.
The woman who accompanied her to the Kingdom of the Vampires clearly stated that her family had given her up to the vampires. She could not remember the details of it, but she could guess that the family sold her to the Vampires.
If that was her current circumstances, then… what of the other women inside the room?
"Are you going to tell us your name?" one of the women asked as she turned towards her. Eve met her gaze. Among everyone around her, this woman was the tallest. She had beautiful long black hair that reminded Eve of Evelynn's own hair.
"Eve," Eve said.
"Then you should probably fix yourself. Once the Mistress comes, she will check your appearance and punish those who are not decent enough."
"Thank you." Using a piece of clothing that was handed to her by Willow, Eve attempted to arrange her long blonde hair in a more presentable manner.
"You are new. There is no need to thank us," another woman said.
"So, where did you come from?"
Just as Eve was about to tell them that she did not know, footsteps echoed outside of the door.
The women instinctively positioned themselves into a row. They stood tall, their chins raised as if they were anticipating the arrival of whoever was approaching.
Upon seeing this, Eve rose to her feet and followed suit.
She was still confused and a little bit shaken from what happened before she lost consciousness. She could not help but wonder what had transpired after she fainted. What about that vampire in the carriage?
A woman in a full-length black dress entered the room. Her calculated, slow and gentle steps immediately caught Eve's attention.
She glanced at the girls lining up in front of her and then gave them a scrutinizing look with a hint of contempt.
"The Prince will come tonight."
Prince?
Eve frowned.
She thought she came here to join the Night's Courtship for a Duke?
Why was it a Prince now?
"I presume you are the new one?" the woman stopped in front of her. She stared at Eve from her head to her toe.
"Answer me when I ask a question." The woman narrowed her eyes. "A proper woman should answer when asked. Do you understand what I am trying to tell you?"
"Yes," Eve said with a blank look on her face.
"Raise your chin, show me your face."
She complied.
"Your face is pretty and so are your eyes. However, I think your forehead is a little wide. Nothing a good hairdo cannot fix. Skin is good, probably from a noble household."
Eve said nothing. She knew that this body was very attractive so there was nothing new about hearing the woman's words.
"Follow me, I will tell you the rules of the Night's Courtship."
The woman did not wait for Eve to answer as she turned her back and looked at the other women.
"Some maids will arrive with your clothes. Make yourselves presentable. The Prince will be seeing everyone tonight. He will witness the official presentation of the ones who will be joining the Night's Courtship."
The woman left, with Eve following closely behind.
"The others arrived yesterday so they already know the rules. You, on the other hand, arrived last night." The woman stepped out of the room. Eve found herself in a long hallway illuminated by candlelight that flickered along the walls.
Eve's brow furrowed in confusion as she took note of the dark hallway, despite it still being daytime outside. Without the candles, visibility would be scarce.
"No windows," the woman said as if she could read her mind. "You are in a vampire's estate. What were you expecting?"
Eve said nothing. She recalled Lucious, the vampire Duke who betrayed her.
She had been to his lair countless times, and each time, the same dark hallways greeted her. He had covered the windows, ensuring that no light could filter through.
This one, however, did not have any windows at all.
She did not expect that she would be staying in a vampire's lair. She expected the place to be in another mansion, perhaps a place where humans lived.
"The Prince is very particular with the rules of the Night's Courtship," the Mistress said as she walked inside another room. This time, it had windows.
Sunlight streamed through the windows of the room, casting a warm and inviting glow over the space.
"Call me Mistress Ophelia. Tell me if I am wrong. Your name's Eve Lucrecia. A daughter of a fallen noble sold by your stepmother to save her debts."
"You are not wrong," Eve said. Although, she could only vaguely remember some details of Eve's life.
Eve avoided looking at the outside. Instead, she focused on the human mistress who found a parchment of paper on the wooden table inside the room. Then she handed it to Eve.
"I'll give you a moment to commit it to memory," she sternly said.
Eve's eyes landed on the script writing on the parchment.
Ten rules of the Night's Courtship.
1. The Vampire Prince's decrees are absolute and are not subject to dispute.
2. The winner of the Night's Courtship competition would be crowned as the bride of the vampire Prince, and should she desire it, be granted the gift of eternal life.
3. The competition shall last for 100 days, during which, the competitors shall be tried with various tests to prove their mettle, intellect, and fortitude.
4. No participant shall have the sight of or exchange any correspondence with the vampire Prince outside the realm of the Night's Courtship competition.
5. Participants are enticed to use any and all means at their disposal to sabotage their contenders secretly, but those who are caught would face severe punishment, including death.
6. She who unveils the identity or abode of the vampire Prince to any person outside the competition shall be immediately disqualified and punished by execution for treachery.
7. The Night's Courtship challenges are designed to test the competitors' physical strength, mental acuity, and strategic thinking. The weapons provided are merely one tool at their disposal. Cheating is encouraged but those who are caught would face severe punishment, including death.
8. Any participant who departs the competition before its culmination shall be penalized severely.
9. Committing acts of murder or causing irreparable harm to their competitors is strictly forbidden. The punishment for any transgressions is death.
10. The women are forbidden from leaving their rooms or interacting with anyone outside Night's Courtship without explicit orders from the Mistress. Anyone caught disobeying would face the penalty of death.
....
A/N: If you like the novel please add it to your library and maybe add some reviews. It will really help me a lot! Thanks
A/N: What do you think about the rules? :) More rules are coming!
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