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As always, I kept out of it, as her father, a mix of excitement and pride, spoke of the grandeur and splendor that would accompany the ceremony. He envisioned a celebration befitting their royal lineage, filled with regal traditions and opulent festivities. His words carried a sense of joy and anticipation, his gestures illustrating the grand vision he had for his daughter’s special day.
Lilith’s future husband was also caught up in the enthusiasm of the moment, adding his own ideas and suggestions. He spoke of the plethora of guests who would be attending, of the arrangements, and the exquisite details that would make an already special occasion even more memorable. His voice resonated with delight, as he shared his vision of the union of their two families and the beginning of their life together.
I observed their interaction keenly. My eyes had been trained to detect even the subtlest of hints in someone’s eyes and facial expression, and I instantly caught the flicker of hesitation that crossed Lilith’s face. Her eyes, though polite and attentive, held a glimmer of wistfulness. It was as if her thoughts had wandered off somewhere else, contemplating the weight of theimpending commitment and the notion that her life would never be the same after that day.
After what seemed to be a small eternity, the dinner ended, and everyone retired to their rooms. Mine was located right next to Lilith’s, and from the first day of me being here, I kept leaving my door open, so I could hear hers. She hadn’t noticed me before, because I tried to keep myself out of sight for as long as I could. That allowed me to watch her uninterrupted, to see the kind of person she was and in turn, to know what the best approach would be with her.
I believed that this evening, she would remain in her room. I believed it even when I heard her door open. I straightened in bed and headed out into the hallway. She was still tiptoeing away from her room, when I voiced myself.
“Another nightly adventure?” I asked, and almost gasped upon seeing her.
She looked like a being that did not belong to this world. The soft fabric draped gracefully around her curvy form, catching the ethereal glow that spilled through the windows, creating a halo of radiance around her.
As she stopped moving along the polished floor, the moonlight played upon her features, highlighting her delicate beauty. Her golden tresses cascaded down her shoulders, glimmering like strands of spun silver in the moon’s gentle embrace.
Get it together, man, I told myself silently.
I had no idea why I was so mesmerized by this woman. It had to be my exhaustion, and it being the middle of the night. And that form of her body, wrapped in that thin satin nightgown. No man would be able to resist her. No man or vampire.
“No,” she frowned. “I’m just going downstairs for a glass of water.”
Alright. A plausible enough excuse. Then, I looked at her feet and she was wearing light ballerina shoes. In other words, shoes for outside. Not for inside.
She immediately noticed I was looking at her feet and she tried to hide one behind the other. “I couldn’t find my slippers,” she offered this explanation.
“Of course,” I nodded.
I didn’t believe her. I didn’t think she’d learned a lesson. I should have let her sweat it out a little more in the cemetery, but I felt bad for the two girls crouching behind that tombstone. I could hear their heartbeats even from afar. Cassandra was more frightened than her sister, but Lilith was close behind.
Even after that, she was still contemplating going out into the darkness again, outside the confines of her father’s castle, which was the safest place on earth for her. I couldn’t understand women like this. What was she missing so desperately that she wanted to risk her life for it?
“Should I prove it to you?” she asked, looking at me defiantly. “Come downstairs with me and you’ll see that water is all I want.”
“I’ll stay here,” I told her. “I am your bodyguard, but that doesn’t mean that I get to follow you around, leaving you no privacy whatsoever.”
She seemed stunned by my response. Her eyes widened, as the shadows around her danced along the intricate carvings and the ornate tapestries on the wall.
“Well…” she started, but she didn’t know how to finish, which was sort of amusing. “In that case, I will uhm… go down… for water. Yes.”
“You do that,” I nodded, as she took one step back, then another.
As she did so, she passed by an open window and the gentle breeze that flowed through it carried the faint scentof night blooming flowers, intertwining with Lilith’s delicate presence.
I didn’t watch her go down the stairs. I went back to my room and listened. A few minutes later, she returned. I didn’t go out to check. She didn’t peek into my room to show me that she was telling the truth. I heard the sound of her door closing, but even then, I didn’t fall asleep. At least, not at first.
Besides, I never slept soundly. It had been like that since I lost my mother, since I knew that no one would watch over me while I slept, so I had to keep one eye open at all times. That meant that deep sleep was not an option.
Chapter Five
Lilith
It was a good thing that I left my coat downstairs by the door. But the shoes were a mistake. That was why I had to wait until the middle of the night to try and get out again. This time, I wouldn’t venture all the way to the cemetery. I learned my lesson… at least up until a certain point. Not as well as to stay inside during dark.
This time, however, I would stay close to home. The lake was my destination. Even the vampires knew that it was one scream away from the castle, and they didn’t dare come close to it. That was at least what I believed and what I was told.
I needed some time alone, to clear my head. I felt that ever since this sham betrothal and the upcoming marriage to Luke, I hadn’t been myself. I started to feel like I was slowly losing myself in this mess and I hated what it was doing to me.
Maybe spending some time alone, in the darkness, without anyone there to judge me, would do me some good. I might remember that I was doing this for the good of the entire kingdom. I couldn’t be selfish. That was what I kept repeating over and over again. As the princess, I had privileges, but I also had a duty to my father, to the kingdom.
