Blueberries

I love her, and that's the beginning and end of everything.

—F. Scott Fitzgerald

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The next morning when Eva's eyes blinked open, she hid her face with her arm from the bright sunlight that shined in through the window. The first thought that entered her mind was: She didn't dream of Theodore.

With an aggravated sigh, she straightened up and placed her feet on the ground. The room was empty, with no sign of the King anywhere and she felt relieved that he didn't have to see her waking up with sandpaper eyes.

She heard a knock on the door and went to open it. Three maids emerged and bowed their heads as a morning greeting. Eva bowed back without any hesitation and saw the surprise on their faces.

The one who was standing in the middle was the first one to speak. "We have been sent by the King to get you ready before breakfast, Lady Eva."

Eva was aware that the royals got ready with the help of the maids but nobody had touched her body except for her mother after she had grown up. She knew she would feel uncomfortable with unknown hands touching her in private places and she thought about how to politely reject the women.

"I think it will be better if I get cleaned myself, I wouldn't want to burden you all," she spoke with a small smile on her face so that they wouldn't get offended.

"My Lady, the King will punish us severely if we don't follow his orders." one of the maids spoke shivering as she uttered the King's name.

Eva frowned. "Has he ever hurt you?" she asked.

"No, milady, the maid is new here and just misses her family. However, we can't leave you to dress by yourself, the King has not allowed it." said the women in the middle in a firm tone.

"He wouldn't know if you don't tell him."

The maids' eyes widened simultaneously as they stared at the brave lady with admiration in their eyes. This lady was bold to be talking behind the King's back like this, they thought.

The woman was about to speak again but Eva quickly smiled at her before gently shutting the door, making sure that they wouldn't be hurt because of how abruptly she closed the door on their faces.

Breathing out a tired sigh, she looked out the balcony and felt cold air hit her cheeks with pressure. Looking down, the distance didn't seem too much, and Eva wondered if she would be able to jump down without breaking any bones.

Eva let her thoughts wander aimlessly as she absently entered the familiar-looking bath with less excitement than before.

So many things had rapidly changed in a few weeks and she leaned back against the cold marble walls feeling the hot water wash over her body, relieving the stress from her shoulders.

It had started even before she met the King so she couldn't let all the blame fall onto him. Taking care of her mother and sister, along with dealing with the moneylenders and the Lord who had arrived to disrupt her calm, stress was the obvious result. She had never been the one to be scared but the King's aura made her tremble as she thought about all the times he was so close to her. Darkness surrounded him as if he as its master and hung around him like a dark cloak.

As she approached the closet, Eva chose a simple gown with a light pearly hue to it which reached a little above her wrists and covered her body well. The only problem was that she was having problems having to tie the strings from behind. She tried her hardest to do it herself but the strings were not willing to cooperate so easily.

Just when she had decided to ask a maid for help, the knob of the door turned around indicating that someone was trying to come in.

Eva held her dress from the shoulders so that it wouldn't fall and approached the door slowly. Placing her ear flat on the surface, she tried to hear any sort of noise but there was none.

"Are you going to open the door or should I?"

Eva jerked back, startled. Theodore was standing outside the door and she was not even decently dressed yet. The scene resurfaced in her mind when he had walked in on her having a bath.

"I am not properly clothed." she told in a slightly raised voice so that he could hear her and stressed on "not properly dressed." Assuming from the King's character, he'd burst into the room without caring whether she was naked or not.

"Why did you send the maids away when you knew you were going to have problems with getting ready on your own?" she could now hear the impatient tapping of shoes on the floor.

"If you remember clearly, Your Majesty, I had informed you that I was uncomfortable with the maids touching me. I am not used to it."

He was quiet for a moment.

"I could help if you let me in," he said and Eva's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when she saw the door opening an inch.

Rushing towards it, she slammed it shut with the force of her shoulder which ached because of the sudden hit. She didn't want to imagine the King's reaction right now, she already knew he would be furiously angry and would take his anger out on her when she came out.

Revenge.

Punishment.

A game.

A pause again before his cold voice penetrated into the room. "I will be sending a maid to assist you." And with that, she heard him leaving as his footsteps grew fainter after each second.

She backed away from the door and didn't bother waiting for the maid to arrive. Eva tried her best to tie the strings as securely as she could while continuously tilting her head to look at her back in the mirror. After combing her hair hurriedly, she planned to leave it open and opened the door to the room.

Eva closed it behind her and surveyed her surroundings which seemed different compared to last night. The torches had been blown out but some of them were still glowing with a flame to keep the corridors better lighted. Not knowing the directions to the dining room, she felt lost as she looked around to find anyone to ask.

A maid approached her and looked surprised at seeing her out of the room.

"Milady, I was sent by the King to help you." she started speaking but Eva patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"I managed to do it myself but thank you. Can you show me to the dining room please?"

The girl bowed and Eva followed her with a smile on her face which soon dropped after she felt realization hit her.

"Has the King eaten?" she asked, hoping that he had already departed to the court.

"No, My Lady. He has been waiting for you and hasn't touched his glass of blood yet." informed the maid and Eva couldn't have been more stunned.

"Blood?—The King is a vampire?" she cried out a little louder than she had intended and the servants stared at her as they walked by. The maid stopped and looked at her in confusion.

"Did you not know, milady? You might have not known since outsiders rarely know about it. His Majesty also has black eyes rather than red ones which conceals it sufficiently." her tone had a tinge of pride in it as if she was proud to know so much about the King.

Eva had heard about the night creatures from her villagers and her mother's stories. She only knew about the King of Derkov being a vampire but she never heard about the King of Xandria being included in the night creatures.

Maybe she hadn't been focusing since she was very little when her mother had told her stories about vampires with her father by her side. Things started making sense as she connected the dots together one by one.

That was why he was called a monster... a demon.

It was the reason why people were so scared of him. He seemed to be a more powerful vampire than the rest of them.

Was that why Vanessa was so worried about her safety?

"We have arrived, milady."