Chapter-14 A lullaby

"Miss Zoya, I am not too sure about having some snacks in the dining room alone. The table is already so big there. It feels already lonely with the prince. How awkward it's going to look with me alone?" Elliana murmured.

She was sitting with her hands dangling from the bed as she flailed them and talked to Miss Zoya.

"If you want, I can sit with you. I don't know how you eat, but I have read that humans do have evening snacks," Miss Zoya said like she was talking about some animal, and Elliana thinned her lips.

"Don't tell me you read some kind of journal about humans created by vampires," Elliana narrowed her eyes, and Miss Zoya looked away awkwardly when it was exactly what she did.

"I seriously can't believe you. We guys are just like you. Just without those powers and craving for blood," Elliana commented before taking a deep breath.

"Fine. Let's eat something. I was honestly thinking about eating something. I am glad you came and asked," Elliana grinned, and Miss Zoya, who had initially thought the princess might feel bad, sighed in relief.

"Great. Let's go," Elliana said, and they walked to the door.

As they walked out, Elliana stopped before turning to her right, where her eyes met nothing.

Was it just her? Why did it feel like someone was standing here? Even when the prince and his secretary came earlier, she had felt a shadow of someone else. Was she hallucinating now? Elliana shrugged before following Miss Zoya to the dining room.

Blue, who had rushed behind the window hastily, breathed a sigh of relief. She was distracted by her text message. She can't afford such mistakes on her first day.

Once Elliana sat on the chair, since the prince was not in the palace, the chef personally came to place the dishes in front of the princess.

Elliana noticed dishes arriving on the table and raised her eyebrows before looking at the guy bringing them. Don't they think there were too many plates and food for a human only eighteen years old?

Honestly, when the chef heard Prince wasn't in the palace and the princess would have the snacks alone, he was so happy that he kept cooking until he realized he cooked too much.

Though the food on the plates wasn't much, the number of dishes on the table was enough for Elliana to smile at the man.

"You are not trying to make me fat, are you? Can you call the chef? I would like to talk to him. This is too much for me alone, and I -"

"I am the chef, princess," The chef said, feeling a bit nervous now.

Was he too hasty in his decision and a little too judgemental of the Princess? What if she doesn't like it and gets angry? The chef thought, looking at the princess with a little wariness.

"You are? Why are you bringing the dishes yourself? Please sit," Elliana widened her eyes like she had met some celebrity, and the chef looked around awkwardly.

How dare he sit at the same table as the princess?

"I insist. Besides -" Elliana looked around and motioned him to bend to hear her words.

The chef bent his body so his ears were near her mouth, and she could easily say whatever she wanted to.

"The prince is not here," she spoke like it was the biggest secret and gave the chef her best smile, and the chef looked at her, amused, before nodding.

This princess was seriously like a kid trying to be mischievous all the time.

"Do you like the food cooked by me?" The chef asked as he daringly sat on the table, leaving a chair between them.

"Mmmm, it's good. I have never tasted such good quality and tasty food. I won't lie, but the food is one thing I look forward to in this mansion now," Elliana blinked her eyes, and the chef clapped his hands before beaming at her.

"Wonderful,"

"However -" Elliana started.

"Don't you think this food is too much for me? I can barely eat half of it. It will get wasted. We can do one thing. We can decide what food you will prepare for me the next day and if I have any cravings. You can add something you want to try or showcase your skills with. Sounds good?"

Elliana looked at the chef as if she had come up with the best mastermind plan, and the latter nodded with a smile. If anyone met her, they would never believe she was from the same bloodline who caused such an uproar in the vampire kingdom.

Blue and Miss Zoya, who weren't too far from the dining room and heard her pretty clearly, looked at each other before sighing.

Was Prince seriously wary of this girl? Blue questioned herself.

"Can you - " Elliana motioned for the chef to move closer, and he did again.

"Prepare some midnight snacks too? The one I can sneak and eat in the middle of the night? My stepmom back at home never let me eat anything," Elliana bit her lips at the sour memory of when she was beaten at the age of eight because she sneaked into the kitchen.

"Don't worry, princess. You have me now. I will prepare anything for you. Don't worry. Even if our prince looks cold, he will never blame or scold you for a thing as small as a midnight snack," the chef said, and Elliana's lips stretched into a full smile, making everyone sigh in their heart.

For some reason, she didn't doubt that. The prince has been only good to her since she arrived here.

After having her midnight snack and not having anything to do, Elliana decided to explore the forests.

"Can I go alone?" Elliana asked Miss Zoya at the entrance of the forest.

Miss Zoya knew Blue would follow the princess to monitor her movements and see if she was worth suspecting.

"If you want to explore it alone, I won't stop you. Please be careful," Miss Zoya acted like she was letting Elliana go with great difficulty, and Elliana nodded at her with a smile before she turned around and started walking inside the forest.

Miss Zoya nodded at Blue, who was already sitting on the branch of a tall tree to keep a close eye on the princess without letting the princess find out her whereabouts.

Since Elliana would be out alone, this might be one of the times she might show her true colors or what goes inside her head.

Miss Zoya wanted to believe Elliana, but Prince's suspicion could be right too. Too many people have tried to win his heart and get close to him, including both vampires and humans through evil means, and she won't let anyone do that for their benefit.

Innocent or not, Elliana belonged to a bloodline well-known for its cunningness and hatred for vampires. The one that took away Sebastain's mother and killed her in cold blood.

Miss Zoya gets easily attached to people, but she wasn't a complete fool.

If Elliana is really that cunning to hide behind this innocent facade, she is bound to leave this pretense at some point, sooner or later, and it's better to catch her sooner if that's true.

And if she is really innocent, Miss Zoya hoped this girl could bring some happiness to Sebastian too.

Elliana, on the other hand, started walking inside the forests and opened her fists. She looked like a little Alice in a wonderland, taking everything in with big wide eyes.

The smile on her face immediately dropped and was replaced with a serene neutral expression.

She looked at the golden glow in her hands and walked further into the forests, feeling strangely calm.

'Is there anywhere in this world,

Can I hide? Anywhere where I can bribe?

Bribe the gods to give me a beautiful life,

Is there any place I can hide?

Hide from my demons, control my eyes.

Protect me from peering gazes,

Light up my world tonight,' Elliana sang slowly, letting her senses take her in a random direction.

Even if she gets lost, the vampires will find her, right?

Blue, following her, jumping from tree to tree, felt stuck in Elliana's voice. As soon as Elliana hit the high note, her entire body felt like it was electrocuted with pleasure. It was magical for Blue.

Elliana's voice was beautiful. Scratch that. She sounded almost angelic.

Blue stopped when Elliana closed her eyes and twirled like she was on some kind of dance floor. She quickly hid behind the trunk and watched from a little distance when she saw Elliana looking at the sky.

The girl was only dancing. There was nothing wrong with that. Even if the princess decided to dance in the middle of a forest out of nowhere, it shouldn't be questioned, right? Maybe it's because the princess felt too bound in the palace and was letting her soul free in this forest where she thinks she is alone, right?

Blue asked herself when she looked at her own hands.

What kind of energy was the princess radiating? Why did she feel every word the princess sang deep in her bones? Why did it sound like a lullaby and an enchanting one? Can someone's voice have that kind of effect?

Blue widened her eyes when she looked down again and didn't find the princess anywhere.

Elliana had moved ahead long ago, a happy smile on her face again. She concentrated on her hearing, following the sound of the flowing water.

She was sure there was some lake, waterfall, or river somewhere near. Elliana ran in the direction of the sound, ready to bask in some of nature's coldness as the glow in her hands started to turn red.

'G' had told her. Whenever she sees the glow turning red, the first thing she should do is find a water source and try to calm herself through it.

Elliana looked around, feeling suddenly lost before she ran in another direction to get to the water. She was still unable to figure out what kind of glow it was in her hands and why it changed color.

She only knows that it relates to her psychic powers, and she needs to keep meditating from time to time if she wants to keep it in control and stop others from finding out about her chakra development.

The people around her already suspect her because of her bloodline. She doesn't want to give anyone more reasons to be wary of her, right? Elliana hummed at herself.

How will she explain to the vampire prince how a mere human developed psychic powers? Elliana shook her head, already imagining the disasters that might come with it.

As she walked towards the waterbody, her eyes widened in shock when her leg slipped on the slippery stone, and she fell face-first into the cold chilling water.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" She screamed as loudly as she could, her whole body shivering, and the Prince, who was in the backyard, scrunched his eyebrows when he heard the weird scream.