NIGHTS OF HALLOW

”Do you still have any feelings towards, Mark? Answer me truthfully, Perdita.” Sthena asked, his voice barely above a whisper as his eyes locked onto hers.

Perdita hesitated, cut off guard by the unexpected sudden question, her gaze drifting away from his. ”Why do you ask?” she replied, her voice guarded.

He leaned in, his eyes filled with genuine concern. ”Because I need to know. I care about you, and I want to understand what’s in your heart.”

The silence that followed was palpable, the only sound was the beating of their hearts. Finally, she spoke, ”No, I don’t. Whatever I had with him is all in the past.” Her reply was straightforward, with no hint of hesitation that could form a possible doubt in the mind of Sthena.

Sthena smiled, his expression soft and understanding. ”That is wonderful then. I hope it will remain that way or is there room for a possible reconsideration?”

”No,” Perdita replied, knowing that anything she once had with Mark was not something she wanted to relieve. They were better off as friends than lovers or even wedded couple. The thought alone made Perdita inwardly shiver.

”Mm,” Sthena nodded, his eyes still on Perdita as if studying her. He further said, ”It is good he is out of the window and also—” Sthena paused to get Perdita’s full attention, ”Any thought of another man should also be a thing of the past.”

”Isn’t that demanding?” Perdita furrowed her brows. She resumed eating as the food on her plate was hard to ignore given its delicious taste.

”Maybe, it is, or maybe it is not. What can I say?” Sthena shrugged his shoulders with a mischievous smile, ”I don’t like to share. Be it your laugh, smile, tears— I don’t want to share with anyone.”

The tension between them was palpable, but also a sense of relief, as if they had both been holding their breath waiting for the truth to be spoken.

”Are all vampires this way? Possessive I mean.” Perdita couldn’t help but question. The way Sthena spoke, made it look as if they were already courting. The thought warmed her heart but at the same time scared her.

”You can say that, but then, I have heard that the possessiveness of females is even greater. You might have not experienced what and how I felt when Mark hugged you, but trust me, you would want to kill if you saw me in the same position one day.”

Perdita paused in her eating again, her green eyes carefully gauging the confident look on Sthena’s face. She voiced her thoughts, ”You speak as though you are so sure I am going to reciprocate your feelings.”

”Why speak when I know you are already halfway there?” Sthena tilted his head in question, a teasing smile on his lips. ”You deny what and how you feel, Perdita. But that’s alright, I just know the best way to sweep you off your feet. Or wait, don’t tell me you are waiting for Prince Charming to do that?”

Perdita rolled her eyes, forcing the smile threatening to stretch on her lips back, ”What prince charming?”

”You are right,” Sthena nodded in acknowledgment. ”What prince charming when you already have king charming?” He grinned at her, causing a blush to form on her cheeks.

”You’re unbelievable,” She shook her head at the display of cheekiness and affection Sthena displayed. He always found a way to spin her words to fit in his context.

To Perdita’s words, Sthena responded with a smile still on his face, ”You can call that the unique perks of me.”

”Go on and eat, darling. You will need the energy once we start with your training.”

”Training?”

”Yes,” Sthena affirmed with a nod of his head.

”But I want to get to the root of my lineage. I want to know everything there is to being a witch and a vampire, and also about the abilities and powers you speak of.” Perdita voiced her thoughts as she chewed on the food she put into her mouth.

”All that included, green eyes. That is the training I speak of. We don’t want you bringing down the castle building or yet, set yourself on fire, do we?” Sthena raised an eyebrow with a knowing look on his face.

”Oh...” Perdita nodded, understanding the depth of Sthena’s words. It scared her, to say she had so much power as Sthena had told her. What if she ended up one day conjuring something that might kill people or even herself? Oh, dear heavens. The thought caused her body to jerk in fear.

Sthena took the glass of blood before him, stared at it, and casually questioned Perdita, ”When last did you drink blood, Perdita?”

”Huh? Blood?” Perdita turned surprised at the question. Her face held a contemplative look as she searched her brain for the date. She began, uncertainty laced in her voice, ”I think it is the day you gave your wrist for me to drink from?” Her cheeks turned pink at the memory.

Oh goodness, she had done so many embarrassing things with Sthena. Or was it when she had unconsciously sank her fangs into his neck?!

Hide me! Cover me! Cleanse me! Perdita screamed in her head while at the same time, she avoided looking up to see Sthena’s face.

”That is quite a long time,” Sthena mused. A wicked thought to taunt Perdita slipped into his head when he noticed the blush on her face, obviously aware of the reason behind it. She looked red like tomatoes. But this evening was not the evening to tease.

”Drink up before the blood turns stale,” Sthena remarked and gulped down the blood in his glass. He licked his lips clean, and Perdita caught sight of his sharp fangs.

Perdita took her glass and skeptically eyed it, she blurted the question that had been on her tongue since she saw the blood, ”Is this human blood?”

”What do you think?” Sthena questioned back.

It is a human blood. Perdita confirmed warily looking at it.

”Don’t ask me how we got it though,” Sthena interjected before she could open her mouth to ask the question. ”You should already know humans are our food. The food laid out on the table is just to satisfy our taste of having the human food.”

”But isn’t that...”

”Ruthless?” Sthena completed her question and saw her shake her head to a no.

”I was going for the word absurd.” Perdita paused, trying to get her next words in order. She said, ”I can’t help but think that all this hierarchy is one-sided. Pureblooded vampires at the top of the chart, then the normal vampires, and then the humans. I don’t think it is necessary though. Everyone should be treated equally.”

Sthena chuckled as he leaned back on his chair. He regarded Perdita for a while before saying, ”You would be surprised to know that even humans have the same hierarchy going on in their world.”

”The rich and the poor?” Perdita quizzed, still holding her glass without drinking from it yet.

”You got it right, darling.” Sthena smiled, his red eyes appearing more glacial as the evening slowly wheeled into the late hours where darkness had started to cover the land.

”You see—” Sthena continued, maintaining his regal position on his chair, his shirt slightly open which always caused Perdita’s gaze to flicker in that direction before she would quickly avert her gaze lest Sthena caught her staring and tease her once more.

”There are things that cannot be changed, things that have always been since the beginning of the world. This system has been in practice that no one can change it.”

”Just like how human blood serves as food to us vampires, the witches, and some other extinct creatures like the demons, and socceres. You would be surprised to know that we are also food to some creature.”

”Food to other creatures?” Perdita probed confusion in her eyes.

”Mmhmm,” Sthena nodded in confirmation. ”Have you heard of the term territorial hierarchy?”

”No,” Perdita answered.

”Very well then, I’ll briefly explain it,” Sthena said and wiped his mouth with the napkin as he was done eating.

He began, ”A territorial hierarchy is more like a social structure in which individuals occupy and defend specific territories or resources within an area.”

”It is often characterized by wealth, dominance, power and so many more. Pureblooded vampires being at the top simply shows the wealth, and power they own, making other creatures less in power succumb to us.”

”So because the humans appear less in power, they are considered to be at the lowest?” Perdita asked, her brows furrowed into a frown.

”That is correct,” Sthena affirmed. He further said, ”Drink up, you are not a human neither will anyone ask you for your blood. You are a Vampire-witch, darling.”

”I know,” Perdita pursed her lips. This was the first time she was going to drink human blood. Well, she couldn’t change what she was but to blend in. Remembering something she paused her hand mid-way to her lips as she questioned Sthena, ”How was I able to drink your blood? I thought human blood was the only available source of food for vampires.”

”Not really,” Sthena replied with a thoughtful look on his face, ”Human blood is more pleasurable and addictive than when you drink your fellow creatures’ blood. Though not all human has this special potent called the exlixir, you would find those whose blood taste like water.”

”So it is all about the pleasure,” Perdita mused and finally brought the cup to her lips. The smell of the blood immediately intoxicated her senses. When the blood slipped into her mouth and down her throat, everything in her body seemed to heighten.

When she brought the cup down, Sthena was greeted with the red eyes of Perdita that shone back at him.

He stared at her in awe as he had never seen anyone being a vampire and witch at the same time where the person could change the color of their eyes at will. This was a very advantageous asset.

”Want more?” Sthena asked the now Vampiress in front of him.

”No, I’m good.” Perdita shook her head. She nabbed the napkin on her lips, indicating she was done eating too. She said, ”Thank you for this evening, Sthena.”

”My pleasure, darling,” Sthena replied as he got to his feet. He said, ”The royal tailor will be coming to take your measurements tomorrow.”

”Why? I have enough dress already,” Perdita interjected as Sthena held out her chair for her once more.

”I don’t think so, darling. Besides, there are ones which I want to be made according to my descriptions.” He stated as Perdita came out from in between the chair and the table.

Perdita walked forward only to stop in front of Sthena who seemed to trap her between himself and the table. Her red eyes had returned to their green eyes which held questions of what Sthena was doing.

He walked forward, closing the distance between them, his body slightly pressed against hers. ”I was thinking,” He began, his eyes giving off a predatory look in them.

”Thinking what?” Perdita uttered, her breath caught in her throat as her eyes darted to Sthena’s open shirt again where his smooth chest lay bare for her eyes to stare at.

”Maybe you could thank me in another way without words. Hm?” The smile on his face was long gone as he put his two arms behind Perdita, securely trapping her in his arms.

”What kind of a—action?” Perdita stuttered to get the words out. Oh, dear heavens, now is the time to help me!

”I don’t know...you choose what it’s going to be.”

”I thought you said it was going to be another day?”

”I thought you promised not to back out? Hm, My sweet girl?” Sthena countered back.

Oh well, she did say that. But now? She might want to be regretting it.

Sthena exhaled and suddenly stood straight, he said in a disappointed voice, ”You break my heart, Perdita. You say one thing and then do another, might as well go and see who would tend to my broken fragile heart.”

Just as he finished speaking and made to turn to go, Perdita’s stretched-out hand caught his arm to stop him, slightly shocking Sthena.

He watched her stand on her tiptoes, her eyes partially closed, and in the next moment, her lips met his cheek in a sloppy kiss.