NIGHTS OF HALLOW

”I see he has given you the heirloom,” Princess Sarah, staring at Perdita, whose attention had spun in the direction of Sthena, who equally turned to meet her gaze, said to her.

The question caught Perdita’s attention as she turned, and her hand instinctively went to touch the necklace. ”Yes, he did. Before we left.” She softly replied, acutely aware of the significance of the necklace as it weighed on her, especially with her standing before the princess. What would she say? Especially Lady Rosamonda, who never saw any goodness in her.

”I was wondering when he would finally give it to you. It took him forever to do so,” Sarah murmured as she took another sip of her wine. ”It looks lovely on you, and no one else would have worn it like you do except for you alone. Congratulations to you both.”

Perdita’s brows squinted in surprise at the words of the princess. Of all those she had encountered in the castle, she hadn’t expected her to accept her or offer such kind words.

She heard the princess continue to say, ”I had always wondered why he had suddenly decided to invite the commoners, not that I see them any less than us, but it was a rare sight. Now, I know it was to invite you and your brother to that hallow ball without raising any eyes on you.”

Sthena had done this? Perdita turned to stare at him this time to notice him smile, and he turned to briefly look at her. Wait, was he listening to their conversation?

”I didn’t know he did all these,” Perdita drawled. It now made sense of how everything happened almost simultaneously before she came to live in the castle.

”It was part of his plans,” Sarah continued, ”But he did that for another thing too. It was his strategy of getting what he wanted at one go. I remember now you were the one whom I met inside the castle who had not only annoyed me but also refused to listen when I said to go back to the ballroom. No wonder you looked familiar when my brother brought you to the castle.”

Perdita bit her lip in an attempt to stop herself from smiling. Her face flushed out of embarrassment at being discovered. ”I didn’t know you were the princess then. I had come out to clear my thoughts only for me to hear someone’s stern words behind me. I didn’t mean to appear rude. I apologize for my behaviour that day.”

Princess Sarah suddenly laughed. She held her chest in an attempt to hold herself back, the sound of her laughter, though not loud, reverberated from deep within her chest. ”I have to admit, I was quite rude too. Thinking about it now makes everything funny. That was my undoing. I’m sorry to have spoken to you in that manner.”

A wide smile played on Perdita’s lips, and somehow, without knowing it, her heart felt lighter having a conversation like this with the princess. She noted how her earlier impression of her wasn’t as she thought now. It all takes one conversation to know how someone truly is.

Perdita and Princess Sarah continued conversing, happy for the time alone away from the political talk going on in the background. At some point, they were joined by other women who made the conversation merrier.

Mid conversation, Princess Sarah got called away by her mother, Lady Rosamonda, and Perdita rejoined by the side of Sthena, who had continually met with different people all wanting to state their request or curry favours from him.

Excusing himself, Sthena met Perdita halfway, her coming to join his side. He stared at her face and quizzed, ”Are you enjoying your time here, my love? You look somewhat tired.”

Perdita shook her head with a smile. ”That is because I have been talking, but I enjoyed every bit of the conversation I had. Surprisingly, I didn’t imagine I would have.”

”I’m glad you are enjoying your time,” Sthena replied. He asked her, ”Do you know what else I want to do now?”

Curious to know what he was asking, Perdita questioned back, ”What else do you want to do?”

Sthena bent towards her and, only to her hearing, whispered in her ear, ”To run my tongue in and taste your sweet lips.”

”Why haven’t you done it?” Perdita challenged, not shyly backing away like she always did, while a subtle smile threatened to break from her lips.

Sthena’s brows rose in question at her, his mouth curved in a mischievous grin. He said, ”Promise not to run away when I start?”

Knowing Sthena, he would kiss her in front of everyone without batting an eyelid. Perdita cleared her throat and hastily spoke, ”I need to use the restroom.” And she fled from there before the crazy vampire would kiss her in front of everyone.

Sthena, amused by Perdita fleeing from him, chuckled to himself. Perdita’s steps on the hard floor echoed gently behind her as she tried to still her heartbeat, which Sthena was bent on making race each time. Instead of heading to the restroom as she had earlier mentioned, her feet took her to a nearby window that overlooked the mansion’s scenery.

Taking a deep breath of the evening fresh breeze, she felt her body gently relax. She stayed there for some minutes before deciding to head back to the room where everyone else was. On her way back, she met Mark, who walked from the opposite passage.

”Mark,” Perdita beamed with smiles as she stopped to greet the young man. ”It’s so nice to see you. How have you been?”

”Likewise, Lady Perdita. I’ve been good.” Mark replied, the smile on his face widening every second. ”You look absolutely beautiful as always.”

”Thank you. You look good yourself,” Perdita returned the compliment.

”Before I forget, I enjoyed the buns you baked. They were really delicious.” Mark said. ”You wouldn’t mind if I asked for another?”

Perdita laughed, ”I’m glad you enjoyed them. I’ll make sure to save some for you next time I bake. Where are you heading to?”

”Ah, I was just on my way back to the room. I went to get some air.” He answered, and then his eyes went to Perdita’s neck. ”Congratulations on you and the king, even though it saddens me to say it. I still wish we had a chance...”

”Mark.”

Mark shook his head negatively, a longing look on his face he tried masking with a smile. ”I know what you want to say. To stop me from going on about us of the past. I understand, and I wish you nothing but happiness. If not for anything, I am happy you found a man who loves and cares for you.”

”Even though I’m not particularly fond of the king, I know he truly loves you. I’ve seen the way he looks and attends to you.”

”Thank you, Mark,” Perdita smiled reassuringly at him, her heart at ease he had finally made peace with everything. ”You’ll definitely meet the woman to love, and who will equally cherish you.”

Suddenly, Mark embraced Perdita, surprising her. Instead of pushing him away, she patted his back and then slowly disengaged from the hug.

”I know what you are about to say,” Mark interrupted before Perdita could speak. ”I know if the king finds out I touched you even, my head would be on the scaffold the next morning.” He joked and further said, ”Take it as our last hug, as I wouldn’t get the chance to be that close to you again. Can we at least be friends?”

Perdita nodded. ”Of course, Mark. I thought we were friends all along. At least I have one more person who cares for me and I can call a friend.”

”Thank you, Perdita. This means a lot to me,” Mark responded and gestured towards the soiree room. ”I have kept you for too long. Allow me to walk you back.”

Re-entering the room, Perdita saw Daemon speaking with Sthena, who at the same time noticed her walk in. His brows knitted into a frown on sighting the person she walked in with, and she bit her lips in nervous anticipation of what was to come next.

”Milord,” Daemon called out to Sthena, whose attention had wavered for a second, and informed him, ”It’s time for you to address the people.”

Sir Edward stepped forward, clinking his glass of wine to gain the attention of everyone. He began, ”It is with great honour we have all gathered for a reason that has undoubtedly plagued our minds for weeks now. In respect to that, I invite His Majesty, the King, to address us.”

Sthena stepped up to the podium, which had been put in place for him. Everyone simultaneously bowed deeply at him before he began to speak, ”Firstly, I would like to thank each and every one of you that honoured my invitation to this gathering.”

He paused, turned briefly to look at everyone to see everyone’s full attention on him. He continued speaking, ”With the recent horrific and still unsolved mystery death that happened in this town some weeks ago, I know we all have questions. One of safety, and two, of why and how such a death came about.”

”Even I, as your king, seek answers to what happened, which is why I have made it my utmost priority to investigate everything to the very end and provide you with the answer to your questions that you also seek.”

”However, one of the things I assure everyone living in this town and in the kingdom of Vamlone is safety, as I will and will continue doing everything in my power to make sure peace is maintained even though sometimes deaths like this might be inevitable. As for the recent happening, the investigation is actively ongoing, and very soon we will get to the root of everything.”

”Again,” Sthena turned to everyone once more, saying, ”Thank you for putting your trust in me. I will always do my best to serve everyone to the best of my power. And thank you too, Sir Edward, who made his home available to host us. Everyone, enjoy your evening.”

A round of applause sounded from every corner of the room as everyone nodded to the words of the king, who had availed himself despite his busy schedule to address them.

The second and minute hands of the clock continued to tick away, and soon, it was time for everyone to retire to their homes.

Sir Edward, as usual, stood outside bidding people farewell, among whom were the king and Perdita. ”Do not fail to visit,” he had told them as they made their way to the carriage.

Settled inside, Sthena turned to Perdita, the earlier frown returning. He questioned, ”Did he hug you?”