"Miss Zoya, I am not too sure about having some snacks in the dining room alone. The table is already so big there. It feels already lonely with the prince. How awkward it's going to look with me alone?" Elliana murmured.
She was sitting with her hands dangling from the bed as she flailed them and talked to Miss Zoya.
"If you want, I can sit with you. I don't know how you eat, but I have read that humans do have evening snacks," Miss Zoya said like she was talking about some animal, and Elliana thinned her lips.
"Don't tell me you read some kind of journal about humans created by vampires," Elliana narrowed her eyes, and Miss Zoya looked away awkwardly when it was exactly what she did.
"I seriously can't believe you. We guys are just like you. Just without those powers and craving for blood," Elliana commented before taking a deep breath.
"Fine. Let's eat something. I was honestly thinking about eating something. I am glad you came and asked," Elliana grinned, and Miss Zoya, who had initially thought the princess might feel bad, sighed in relief.
"Great. Let's go," Elliana said, and they walked to the door.
As they walked out, Elliana stopped before turning to her right, where her eyes met nothing.
Was it just her? Why did it feel like someone was standing here? Even when the prince and his secretary came earlier, she had felt a shadow of someone else. Was she hallucinating now? Elliana shrugged before following Miss Zoya to the dining room.
Blue, who had rushed behind the window hastily, breathed a sigh of relief. She was distracted by her text message. She can't afford such mistakes on her first day.
Once Elliana sat on the chair, since the prince was not in the palace, the chef personally came to place the dishes in front of the princess.
Elliana noticed dishes arriving on the table and raised her eyebrows before looking at the guy bringing them. Don't they think there were too many plates and food for a human only eighteen years old?
Honestly, when the chef heard Prince wasn't in the palace and the princess would have the snacks alone, he was so happy that he kept cooking until he realized he cooked too much.
Though the food on the plates wasn't much, the number of dishes on the table was enough for Elliana to smile at the man.
"You are not trying to make me fat, are you? Can you call the chef? I would like to talk to him. This is too much for me alone, and I -"
"I am the chef, princess," The chef said, feeling a bit nervous now.
Was he too hasty in his decision and a little too judgemental of the Princess? What if she doesn't like it and gets angry? The chef thought, looking at the princess with a little wariness.
"You are? Why are you bringing the dishes yourself? Please sit," Elliana widened her eyes like she had met some celebrity, and the chef looked around awkwardly.
How dare he sit at the same table as the princess?
"I insist. Besides -" Elliana looked around and motioned him to bend to hear her words.
The chef bent his body so his ears were near her mouth, and she could easily say whatever she wanted to.
"The prince is not here," she spoke like it was the biggest secret and gave the chef her best smile, and the chef looked at her, amused, before nodding.
This princess was seriously like a kid trying to be mischievous all the time.
"Do you like the food cooked by me?" The chef asked as he daringly sat on the table, leaving a chair between them.
"Mmmm, it's good. I have never tasted such good quality and tasty food. I won't lie, but the food is one thing I look forward to in this mansion now," Elliana blinked her eyes, and the chef clapped his hands before beaming at her.
"Wonderful,"
"However -" Elliana started.
"Don't you think this food is too much for me? I can barely eat half of it. It will get wasted. We can do one thing. We can decide what food you will prepare for me the next day and if I have any cravings. You can add something you want to try or showcase your skills with. Sounds good?"
Elliana looked at the chef as if she had come up with the best mastermind plan, and the latter nodded with a smile. If anyone met her, they would never believe she was from the same bloodline who caused such an uproar in the vampire kingdom.
Blue and Miss Zoya, who weren't too far from the dining room and heard her pretty clearly, looked at each other before sighing.
Was Prince seriously wary of this girl? Blue questioned herself.
"Can you - " Elliana motioned for the chef to move closer, and he did again.
"Prepare some midnight snacks too? The one I can sneak and eat in the middle of the night? My stepmom back at home never let me eat anything," Elliana bit her lips at the sour memory of when she was beaten at the age of eight because she sneaked into the kitchen.
"Don't worry, princess. You have me now. I will prepare anything for you. Don't worry. Even if our prince looks cold, he will never blame or scold you for a thing as small as a midnight snack," the chef said, and Elliana's lips stretched into a full smile, making everyone sigh in their heart.
For some reason, she didn't doubt that. The prince has been only good to her since she arrived here.
After having her midnight snack and not having anything to do, Elliana decided to explore the forests.
"Can I go alone?" Elliana asked Miss Zoya at the entrance of the forest.
Miss Zoya knew Blue would follow the princess to monitor her movements and see if she was worth suspecting.
"If you want to explore it alone, I won't stop you. Please be careful," Miss Zoya acted like she was letting Elliana go with great difficulty, and Elliana nodded at her with a smile before she turned around and started walking inside the forest.
Miss Zoya nodded at Blue, who was already sitting on the branch of a tall tree to keep a close eye on the princess without letting the princess find out her whereabouts.
Since Elliana would be out alone, this might be one of the times she might show her true colors or what goes inside her head.
Miss Zoya wanted to believe Elliana, but Prince's suspicion could be right too. Too many people have tried to win his heart and get close to him, including both vampires and humans through evil means, and she won't let anyone do that for their benefit.
Innocent or not, Elliana belonged to a bloodline well-known for its cunningness and hatred for vampires. The one that took away Sebastain's mother and killed her in cold blood.
Miss Zoya gets easily attached to people, but she wasn't a complete fool.
If Elliana is really that cunning to hide behind this innocent facade, she is bound to leave this pretense at some point, sooner or later, and it's better to catch her sooner if that's true.
And if she is really innocent, Miss Zoya hoped this girl could bring some happiness to Sebastian too.
Elliana, on the other hand, started walking inside the forests and opened her fists. She looked like a little Alice in a wonderland, taking everything in with big wide eyes.
The smile on her face immediately dropped and was replaced with a serene neutral expression.
She looked at the golden glow in her hands and walked further into the forests, feeling strangely calm.
'Is there anywhere in this world,
Can I hide? Anywhere where I can bribe?
Bribe the gods to give me a beautiful life,
Is there any place I can hide?
Hide from my demons, control my eyes.
Protect me from peering gazes,
Light up my world tonight,' Elliana sang slowly, letting her senses take her in a random direction.
Even if she gets lost, the vampires will find her, right?
Blue, following her, jumping from tree to tree, felt stuck in Elliana's voice. As soon as Elliana hit the high note, her entire body felt like it was electrocuted with pleasure. It was magical for Blue.
Elliana's voice was beautiful. Scratch that. She sounded almost angelic.
Blue stopped when Elliana closed her eyes and twirled like she was on some kind of dance floor. She quickly hid behind the trunk and watched from a little distance when she saw Elliana looking at the sky.
The girl was only dancing. There was nothing wrong with that. Even if the princess decided to dance in the middle of a forest out of nowhere, it shouldn't be questioned, right? Maybe it's because the princess felt too bound in the palace and was letting her soul free in this forest where she thinks she is alone, right?
Blue asked herself when she looked at her own hands.
What kind of energy was the princess radiating? Why did she feel every word the princess sang deep in her bones? Why did it sound like a lullaby and an enchanting one? Can someone's voice have that kind of effect?
Blue widened her eyes when she looked down again and didn't find the princess anywhere.
Elliana had moved ahead long ago, a happy smile on her face again. She concentrated on her hearing, following the sound of the flowing water.
She was sure there was some lake, waterfall, or river somewhere near. Elliana ran in the direction of the sound, ready to bask in some of nature's coldness as the glow in her hands started to turn red.
'G' had told her. Whenever she sees the glow turning red, the first thing she should do is find a water source and try to calm herself through it.
Elliana looked around, feeling suddenly lost before she ran in another direction to get to the water. She was still unable to figure out what kind of glow it was in her hands and why it changed color.
She only knows that it relates to her psychic powers, and she needs to keep meditating from time to time if she wants to keep it in control and stop others from finding out about her chakra development.
The people around her already suspect her because of her bloodline. She doesn't want to give anyone more reasons to be wary of her, right? Elliana hummed at herself.
How will she explain to the vampire prince how a mere human developed psychic powers? Elliana shook her head, already imagining the disasters that might come with it.
As she walked towards the waterbody, her eyes widened in shock when her leg slipped on the slippery stone, and she fell face-first into the cold chilling water.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" She screamed as loudly as she could, her whole body shivering, and the Prince, who was in the backyard, scrunched his eyebrows when he heard the weird scream.
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
"Something isn't right," Sebastian said to Lucas and Garry as they followed him back to the mansion.
"What do you mean, sir?" Garry asked cautiously.
"The presence of the royal guards from the main family right before we reached there, even when the place was closest to us. This doesn't fit. We left immediately after receiving the information, right?" Sebastian paused and looked at Lucas, who nodded.
"Yes, sir. We left immediately. The spy who gave us the information even confirmed the time when he saw the rogue entering the kingdom. We took only thirty minutes to reach the location. The royal palace is almost 50 minutes away from the place. It's strange how the royal guards -" Lucas paused when he saw the prince walking to the backyard.
"It's not a coincidence, Lucas. There is no way the royal guards can reach there before us. It only leaves one option. The royal guards had been following the rogue since earlier. Or should I rephrase it? They were trying to capture the rogue before anyone else could find out about it," Sebastian said before he pulled out his phone.
"Grandpa is hiding something from me about the kingdom. I am not sure if he wants to use that information against me during the throning ceremony by providing the information to Stephano and others, or if he is trying to protect the kingdom from something bigger," Sebastian dialed Blue's number and was about to call her when he remembered another thing.
"Did you notice the way he was looking at us? I want you to send our best spy in the royal Kingdom to try to capture the face of that rogue. I feel like we know him. And even if we don't, we can find more information about him through his face. Once we get to his background information, we can search more about what is turning these vampires into rogues," Sebastian looked at Lucas, and the latter immediately nodded before writing it on his tablet to keep records.
"Garry, I want you to look for Witch Madonna. If there is anyone who can tell us what is happening in the kingdom without us risking our plans, it's her,"
"I will do it right away, sir," Garry said, and Sebastian hummed.
"Regarding the matter with this rogue vampire, I want you guys to keep this secret among us. And by that, I mean you shouldn't even reveal the information to your team members," Sebastian turned to look at Lucas and Garry, who nodded back.
"There is something I wanted to report, sir," Harry walked to Sebastian, and the prince quirked his brows at the subordinate.
"I think there is a mole in the palace. From what I heard, the royal palace was given the information about our arrival. According to your instructions, I checked the whereabouts of the royal guards. They were mostly the ones who were already in the area. Princess Scarlett and Victoria were shopping in the area," Harry reported, and Sebastian scoffed inside his head.
"It's faux. The presence of the princesses in the local market when they never set foot there is already suspicious. This makes me even more confident that they are deliberately trying to mislead us," Sebastian said.
"Good work, Harry. Keep a keen eye on Stephano's guards," Sebastian dismissed Garry and Harry before walking to his garden.
He looked at the plants his mother grew, feeling strangely calm in their presence. It was as if he could feel his mom's presence through them.
Sebastian remembered that he was about to dial Blue's number and took out his phone again.
"Aaaaaaaaahhh," he heard a scream coming from the forest and turned to look at Lucas, who looked back at him with wide eyes.
"Was that -?" Lucas started.
"Where is the Princess?" Sebastian asked everyone in the mansion through the mind link.
"She has gone into the forest, sir," Miss Zoya's voice came through, and Sebastian closed his eyes in frustration.
"And where the hell are the guards, which are supposed to guard her?" His voice roared through the mind link.
"Blue is following the princess as instructed by you, sir," Miss Zoya replied again, one of the only people in the palace who could answer the prince in his angry state.
"Where is Blue?" Sebastian looked at Lucas before they started running toward the forest.
Meanwhile, Blue ran across the forest to look for the princess too. She also heard the scream, and her body shook with fear of what would happen if the prince heard or found out that she lost the Princess's trail on her first day.
Thankfully he wasn't in the palace.
Blue reached the water body and saw Elliana sitting at the edge of the lake. Her legs were pulled near her chest as she supported her head on her knees with her hands extended in front while she touched the water, mumbling something incoherent.
The princess was completely drenched and shivering from the cold. It was obvious what had happened here.
Blue sat on the tree, looking at the princess. Her only job was to protect her from danger and spy on her. The description never said caring about her cold and minute things like that.
'Huh,' Elliana took a deep breath, feeling like crying. Nothing was right here. Elliana felt alone. Her eyes brimmed with tears told her to look away from the water, but she couldn't. She thought she might feel calm with nature like she always does. However, even after singing and dancing, she didn't feel good today.
Was it because she fell into the water, or was it because she felt lost? It felt like there was no meaning to her life at the moment. A puppet who was constantly waiting for their master to move them, or worse, a pet that was there to appease her master. She felt conflicted, and the misleading urge to jump into the water again and let the water take her away was clouding her mind.
The otherwise sound of the flowing water that always calms her was making her sad and overthink everything around her.
She wasn't like this. Elliana was sure that her mindset wasn't this negative. There was something about this place that didn't feel right. There were vibes of sadness as if the environment was filled with silent wails of people or cries for help. She shook her head to erase the weird images forming in her head.
She wanted to go back already, but how to do so? She lost her sense of direction when she was running and swirling mindlessly. She can only wait for the prince or the guards to come and look for her now. Elliana bit her lips before hiding her face between her knees.
"Elliana?" Elliana heard a voice, and she looked around, confused.
"Who is it?" She whispered.
"I am you. What are you doing sitting here? You should get out of here. It's dangerous here. The glow in your hands has turned blue. It will start feeding off the power of the lake, and if that happens, you won't be able to control it," The voice said, and Elliana looked at her hand over the water. The needle-like glow in the middle of her palm was glowing blue now.
"The sadness you are feeling right now belongs to this water body. This water has seen many deaths, and none have been good. Your energy is channeling the pain to you. The longer you sit here, the more you'll feel the sadness," the voice said again, frustrating Elliana.
First golden, then red, and now Blue? What kind of mysterious tyranny was this? Elliana gritted her teeth, not liking the element of surprise.
"You are not me. Who are you? If I knew everything, I wouldn't be here. Tell me what's going on?" Elliana confronted the voice in her head like G had asked her, feeling a bit scared as she removed her hand from above the lake and placed it on her chest instead.
After a few minutes, when she didn't hear anything, Elliana finally relaxed.
G was right.
It was indeed one of her delusions again. However, it didn't change the fact that what she said was true too. Maybe it was her subconscious thinking. But what if -
Elliana felt scared at the thought of another what-if in her life.
Creek!
Elliana's ears perked when she heard the sound of leaves rustling behind her.
"Elliana?" Sebastian asked cautiously when he saw her looking at him with pitiful eyes.
"What happened?" Sebastian asked.
It was clear what happened judging from her current condition, but he wanted to hear it from her.
As if she was wronged by the entire world, Elliana stood from her place and walked to the Prince in slow strides.
"I... I wanted to take a stroll. I was enjoying the environment, singing and dancing, when I heard the sound of the water. I followed it and got lost," Elliana's lower lip trembled, and Sebastain's eyes darkened.
"Then I heard some strange rustling of leaves when I turned around, my foot got stuck in that uprooted stem, and I fell straight into the cold water," Elliana looked up at the prince like a small kid who was waiting for their parents to tell them everything is going to be alright.
Sebastian looked at the girl in front of him with complicated emotions. He didn't know whether he should laugh at her because of how cute she looked, feel relaxed that she wasn't hurt badly, or get angry that she got lost and made him waste his time when he should be using this time to devise plans against Stephano and those rogue vampires.
"Why did you run off like that? Let's go back, okay?" Sebastain's voice was extra soft, and Elliana nodded like an obedient child.
Sebastian turned around, pausing abruptly, when Elliana suddenly grabbed the material of his overcoat.
It looked like she was really scared this time.
With a complicated look, Sebastian removed her hand from his overcoat and grabbed her hand instead.
Elliana was shocked to see the prince holding her hand like this, and she tightened her hold around him, moving towards him subconsciously that didn't go unnoticed by Sebastian, who sighed, unsure of what he should do in a situation like this.
Elliana's cheeks turned red as she felt warm in her heart while Sebastian's jaws squared because of the annoyance of this pretense.