20. Cowardice

"Come in,"

The door opened and a servant walked in with a tub. Mauve tried to keep her expression bland but the fact that he was carrying the tub all by himself and with such ease was shocking. He looked young but knowing how slow vampires aged, he was probably twice her age or more.

He was followed by two servants who were carrying all her belongings. It wasn't that she had a lot but still, it shouldn't have been something two servants would carry so easily.

The young servant met her gaze and threw his face away and as soon as he dropped the tub he fled the room. The rest of the servants followed after him without saying a word to her. 

"Thank you," she yelled out to their retreating figures.

She slowly took off her clothes as she prepared to submerge in the water. She lifted her legs and went into the tub one leg at a time. She sighed with satisfaction as the warm water seeped into her tired body.

Mauve resisted the urge to remain there but she did not want the water to get cold, so even though her hands ached like crazy she proceeded to give herself a good scrub.

She finished and got out of the tub, dripping water onto the old carpet. She wiped her body clean and wrapped the towel around herself. She searched in her belongings for something to wear. She settled for a night dress. 

She was hungry but sleep was topping the list and having to ask anyone anything here was not something she intended to do. Besides, she probably won't have much of an appetite considering how tired she is.

No sooner was she dressed that she heard a knock on the connecting door. Mauve froze and her system immediately went into overdrive. "Just a moment!" She yelled out as panic set in.

She began to search for an appropriate dress, anything she could wear that was less revealing than the outfit she had on. She couldn't find anything as the seconds dragged on. 

Suddenly, a dress popped into view, and without checking she tossed it over her head and yelled, "Come in," she was still adjusting the hem of the dress when the door opened.

She dropped her hands and Jael eyed her oddly. Mauve frowned and looked down at her dress and that was when she realized she had worn it backward. She reddened immediately and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, looking down at her toes.

"No," he said and crossed his arms.

"Oh then um, what can I do for you?" Her throat felt tight but Mauve was not sure if it was because she wore her dress backward so it was a little tighter around the throat or if it was because Jael was zapping all the air from the room. He made her weirdly uncomfortable.

"Where are your attendants?" 

Mauve jerked her head up to look at him, he had not moved from the open door. His face was a little hard to read and it didn't help that the room was dark. "I have one, you saw her. I should be asking you where she is?" 

He took a step forward, "One attendant seems a little too small considering your father is sending you to the Vampire Regions."

She froze and for a couple of seconds, her mouth forgot to talk.

"The Evan I know is extremely paranoid and cautious, it is almost cowardice but yet he would send his only daughter to me with nothing but a measly maid."

"The king-my father trusts that you will not harm me as I am the proof of the treaty. Unless you consider the treaty unimportant and you intend to go against it." Mauve hands fell to the side as she tried to stand tall, she could only imagine how ridiculous she looked with her dress on backward.

Nobody could find out that she was the king's illegitimate daughter, the daughter of a mere maid, a peasant, the lowest class. The Aristocrats treated her worse than garbage; she could only imagine the treatment she would get here considering they had no regard for humans. 

"Of course, nothing is more important than my word and even though you humans think vampires are vile creatures that only rely on their instinct, we have our pride. However…" Jael said and brought his hand to his chin.

Mauve shoulders fell at the sound of his voice, it was no longer neutral.

"I find it odd that Evan, who is so distrustful, will send his daughter to a strange land without a single guard. If he didn't trust me with his guards, why his daughter?"

Jael raised his brow and Mauve's head fell. She had to say something to defend her father, the man who never wanted her but try as she might she could not think of anything to say.

"No matter, come with me." He said and turned around to leave the room.

"Where are we going?" Mauve asked softly.

Jael looked over his shoulder and Mauve felt her heart skip. He ran his hand through his hair and Mauve bit her lips as her cheeks reddened, she immediately bent her head.

"You are hungry or aren't you?"

"Not rea…" The words were barely out of her lips when a loud growl escaped her stomach, it echoed in the dark room. Mauve prayed the ground would open and swallow her. How would she fool them? There was nothing princessly about her.

Jael frowned, "Don't worry if I intended to poison you, I wouldn't have dragged you all the way out here to do it, or is it that you think Vampire food isn't worthy enough to pass the throat of the human princess?"

Mauve felt cold, she would have sworn the temperature dropped a few degrees. "No," she said softly. "I just did not realize how hungry I was. Give me a few minutes."

The only response she got was the door closing behind him. The silence echoed.