He knows me?

'An edit has been made to the former chapter, please kindly read again. Thank you'

......

Evelyn's days in the castle multiplied as the weeks passed. One fine midday, Eve strolled along one of the corridors, wearing an olive gown that grazed the floors with each step. She paused before a large portrait hung on the wall. She had seen all the portraits in this part of the castle already, but this one caught her attention differently.

It was a group portrait where the entire family stood together. The queen mother was the only one seated, while the others stood on each side of her. The artist was evidently skilled, as Sebastian still maintained his stoic, majestic countenance. Leif stood on the left with the Vizier, a known confidant of the queen mother.

A lady stood next to Sebastian, but only the side of her face was visible as she had turned towards Sebastian, perhaps to whisper something in his ear. From her red eyes, Eve initially thought it was Lady Oriana, but upon closer inspection, she noticed the woman's hair was chestnut brown, not black like Oriana's.

Who was she?

Eve knew only of Lady Oriana as the woman who wished to marry the king. As she continued to scrutinize the portrait, she noticed a shadow on the glass covering the picture. She quickly spun around, but there was no one behind her.

Suddenly, the castle bells rang out in a continuous toll. Eve peered out from the nearest window. A crowd had gathered, shouting and hurling objects at a man tied to a scaffold. A deep frown marred her forehead as she wondered what the man had done. This was the first time she had witnessed the vampires punishing one of their own. She strained to hear their words.

"He is a witch!' 'Kill him."

A witch? Eve's frown deepened.

She watched as they continued to throw things at him. Suddenly, they all fell silent and looked in one direction, bowing. Following their gaze, she saw Sebastian walking towards the scaffold. He approached the man with a grave expression. The man on his knees looked up to meet Sebastian's gaze. They locked eyes, and it seemed like an unspoken conversation was taking place between the two.

The man looked away first, bowing his head as Sebastian took the sword from Leif. Eve thought she noticed a hint of restlessness in Sebastian, as if he was reluctant to execute the vampire

Did he know him before?

The condemned man suddenly looked up at the same window Eve stood at, locking eyes with her. She shivered at the intensity of his gaze and saw his lips move, draining the color from her face.

"Evely-"

Sebastian unsheathed the gleaming sword and swung it in a single motion, beheading the man. He looked up to see Eve still staring at the man's headless body in shock. Gradually, she shifted her gaze towards him. Her eyes, honey-colored in the sunlight, were filled with questions.

As he watched her walk away from the window, he returned the sword to its sheath and handed it to Leif, ordering, "Have him buried in the forest." Then he walked back into the castle, his face as impassive as ever.

As Eve rushed away from the corridor, she didn't look back. A shadow appeared again in front of the portrait, staring at the picture before slowly turning towards the window where Eve had stood just moments ago.

Eve confronted Sebastian in the hallway, his eyes looked cold like never before and he reeked of blood that had spilled on him and it made her feel nauseous. Even before she asked, he knew exactly what she was going to say which was why he spoke first.

"Don't bother yourself with things that are of no concern to you."

"It is concerning," she retorted. "The man called my name."

"He did?" She could tell from his voice, he was mocking her and it made her infuriated. He was once again trying to discard her like he always did when he wanted nothing from her.

"Evelyn," he had never called her with such a commanding tone before.

"He is a vampire who practice magic. He could know your name. Now don't worry about it and let the maids dress you up. We have been invited for a party," he said, and with that, he walked away.

"Your Highness-" she tried to follow him but two maids appeared before her, one holding a neatly folded dress in her hands in her hands.

"Milady, the mother Queen has summoned you at the front door and she wants you ready in this dress," the other maid said.

Eve paused and tried to collect the dress from the maid, "I'll get dressed and meet her," she said. But the maid moved away, not releasing the dress to her.

"I'm sorry, milady but she wants us to get you ready and bring you to her. The carriage is ready."

Eve pursed her lips, even with all the days she had spent here, she was still not used to the maids bathing her, especially touching her womanly parts. But she didn't want the maids to be punished because of her so she agreed. The family were going out to celebrate even after killing someone like they were unfazed but of course they would. They were cold blooded creatures.

As Sebastian made his way into his room, a different one from the one he shared same quarters with Eve. He ran his hand through his hair like he always did when frustrated. He knew he had been harsh on Eve, she never liked it when she wasn't listened to but he had no choice. He didn't have better answers to her questions. To think the man had try to manipulate her mind.

When Evelyn returned to her room, she couldn't help but think about the man again but Sebastian was right. He could know her name as he practiced witchery. It was the first time she had heard of a vampire who is a witch at the same time.

But unknown to Eve, there was more that met the eye and her presence in the castle was bringing back things that had been lost and forgotten.