NIGHTS OF HALLOW

”Don’t you just look so lovely?” Sthena complimented with a smile as he let go of Perdita’s hair.

Perdita averted her gaze with a small blush that slowly crept up her cheeks as her heart shuddered in her chest. Her flushed face added color to her face making her look more beautiful with her green orbs that shone in the slightly dark room.

When she had asked the maids about Sthena, she had turned confused at the way the maids reacted as if she said something grave or something someone had never uttered before. Was it not his name?

She was about to ask the stuttering Emily the reason behind their gobsmacked expression when the man she was looking for stepped inside the room without knocking.

What if she had been naked?!

The intense gaze of Sthena made the question slip out of her brain as she watched him approach and now stood in front of her.

At that moment, she looked like a Lady who was dressed up waiting for her lover to arrive. But the problem here was that Sthena was no lover of hers. In fact, she didn’t know what to call it. Were they friends? Friends with benefits? Perdita questioned herself.

Of course, they were not friends neither were they friends with benefits, because right now, she and her brother were the only ones taking the benefit of Sthena’s help.

Perdita watched as Sthena took her hair in his hand and a smile slowly etched on his lip and she heard him compliment her.

”Thank you,” Perdita said and turned her gaze back on Sthena whose gaze never left hers.

Meanwhile, the maids who had not been dismissed were more than surprised.

The shock they got from the green-eyed Lady calling the King by his name was still there, and now seeing and hearing the same king who must have probably heard the Lady call him by name, praise her looks without uttering a word of punishment made them question if the years of their experience in the castle were not as it was before.

Perdita cleared her throat to break the silence. She said, ”I’m done. Can you now tell me what I did? The memory I can’t seem to remember?”

”No,” Sthena replied and stepped away from her. He walked to the couch and sat down. His gaze was still on her.

”No?” Perdita repeated, trying to understand the meaning of Sthena’s answer. ”You promised that once I did as you ordered, that you will tell me what I did. Don’t tell me you’re going back on your words.” She subtly glared at him as she spoke.

”Go back on my words?” Sthena questioned back in confusion.

”Yes. Isn’t that what you’re doing now by saying no?”

”Ah!” Sthena exclaimed dramatically. ”I think you are wrong here. I said you have to do my orders for me to tell you the memory you forgot.” He stressed ’orders’ to get his point through.

”Orders?” Perdita quizzed in confusion.

”Yes, orders,” Sthena confirmed. ”We spoke about taking care of you and the first thing on the list was for you to bathe, which you’ve done and you’re now looking all beautiful.” Sthena paused to let his words sink, as he expected, a small smile threatened to stretch on Perdita’s lips which she tried to tone down.

He continued as if he hadn’t complimented her again, ”So, now you’ve completed the first order, we shall go ahead with the next one which is for you to eat.”

”Eat? I’m not hungry. Besides, there’s nothing like the orders as you’ve called it. Don’t renege on your promise.”

”You’re the one who is going back on what you said. You said you will do all I ordered in exchange I tell you what you did.” Sthena replied with a relaxed expression. He crossed his leg over the other and further spoke,

”Such a good timing. I haven’t had my breakfast and now it’s time for lunch, why don’t we eat together?” It was not a question and Perdita knew it was another ’order’ as he called it.

When did he start ordering her? And she was obeying too? Perdita questioned herself and made to refuse but the look on Sthena’s face challenging her to say a word of refusal had the words stuck somewhere in her brain, left and forgotten.

She knew her limit when it came to testing and pushing ones button. And this red-haired vampire with an evil glint in his eyes, would readily devour her if she tried to act smart with him. So she kept quiet. It was not like she was not hungry anyway. In fact, she was famished.

”Theresa set a table for two,” Sthena ordered with a wave of his hand without looking at the maid.

”Yes,” Theresa bowed and left the room with Emily and Maria trailing behind her to get the food as ordered by the king.

The was silence between Perdita and Sthena as each of them regarded the other with their interrogating gazes.

Perdita’s eyes squinted as if in thought and she moved her feet to walk towards Sthena, that was when she noticed she was barefoot.

”You will be provided with shoes,” Came the words of Sthena who noticed her line of sight.

Perdita nodded. At that moment she didn’t want to worry about how expensive the shoe would be because now, she had a more important question she wanted to ask Sthena.

She continued to walk toward Sthena, one slow step at a time. She said, ”You seem to command so much respect with the maids?”

~•~•

At the same time, outside the castle building where the snow had earlier started to in gentle drops picked momentum and was now dropping its heavy flecks, making the houses and everything in the kingdom look white, and this was with no exception for Woodbridge village where Headchurch Donovan and Churchman Theodore just arrived in the village as they had earlier promised that they would come to address the people.

Head warden, Humphrey had earlier summoned the villagers to make it easier for the churchmen once they arrived. And despite the snow that was falling, the people of Woodbridge village all came out to hear and know the reason behind the curfew they were asked to observe the day before.

Donovan walked forward, accompanied by Theodore, and stood to address the people. He began,

”Good day to the people of Woodbridge village. Like Head warden Humphrey had told you, we are from the church and we have come to clear you on your confusions concerning yesterday’s event.”

”I am Headchurch Donovan Walter, and I must begin by thanking you for adhering to the orders of the church by staying in your houses the day before and I know it was hard for you all because of your businesses.”

”The reason why you were asked to stay back in your houses is because of the missing Mr. and Mrs. Perkin who you all know.” There were murmurs among the people as Donovan said this.

He raised his hand to quieten them, ”Please, I’ll ask you all to stay calm and allow me to finish speaking. It will save us time in this cold weather.” The murmurs of the people gradually died down until everywhere became quiet before Donovan continued.

”As I said earlier, Mr and Mrs. Perkin are missing and we have conducted and are still searching for them. But right now, they haven’t been found. But be rest assured that the church will do everything in their power to bring them back to the village.”

That is if they are still alive. Donovan added in his mind.

”My reason for telling you this is because, we have carried out investigations on who might be the abductor of the two villagers, and this is the reason why we decided to conduct exorcism in the village.”

”We did that so that we can know if the culprit is in the village.”

”By saying you conducted exorcism in the village, does that mean it was the work of a vampire?” One of the villagers voiced his question.

”We don’t know yet as we haven’t confirmed it yet. But once we confirm who the culprit behind the abduction is, we the church members promise to punish the person according to the laws of the church.”

Donovan paused and turned to look at the villagers as if he was still searching for the culprit. He went on to speak,

”Please, if you find anything suspicious or anyone suspicious who may not be from this village, please do not hesitate to bring it to the notice of the church as we strive to make sure there is peace in the kingdom. Thank you for sparing your time to answer this call.”

Donovan finished speaking and gave a slight bow to the people which they returned and began to disperse from there with heavy hearts. The words that rang in their minds were, ’We are no longer safe’

Just as the people were leaving the place to attend to various businesses, two women discussed in hushed tones that made Churchman Theodore who happened to be passing them halt in his steps to listen to their conversation that piqued his interest These women were none other than Mrs. William and Mrs. Castor.

”Did you hear what that church member said, that Mr. Perkin and his wife had not been found? I told you that they must be dead!” It was the hushed voice of Mrs. William.

Mrs. Castor nodded her head and responded in a whisper, ”You’re right. There’s no way they would be alive and have not returned. And not to forget, they have not been found by the church.”

Mrs. Williams’ head bobbled as she spoke and her voice dropped an octave lower when she said, ”Have you noticed, that the Kartar’s siblings were absent in this meeting? Also, I haven’t seen them since the day before when the church members left.”

”Are you sure?” Mrs. Castor questioned in doubt. Though she gossiped with Mrs. Williams, she knew how the woman can spread false news around.

”Of course I’m sure! Do you doubt me?!” Mrs. Williams shrieked with a huff.

Theodore who stood not far from them and listening to everything they said couldn’t help his ear and his interest piqued to hear more of their conversation when he heard the familiar name they mentioned.

Wasn’t that the name that green-eyed Lady gave him and Donovan when they came to question the villagers? The Lady who he had been suspicious of?

Was she abducted too or had his suspicions of her been right all along and she ran away knowing she would be caught?