From what Eve had learned about Noah Sullivan, even though he belonged to a high-class family, he wasn't a frivolous man and was a man of good character. She could only come to believe that as they were friends, the news about her had worried him, and in reflex, he now hugged her.
Eve didn't know if it was his heart or her own that she could feel beating. She heard him whisper, "I don't know what I would do if something were to happen to you. Are you okay?"
She took a moment to gather her thoughts before she nodded. The Duke released her from his arms, and she saw him not take a step backwards. Instead, he stared at her.
Noah asked her, "What happened to your face?" his eyes were fixed on her swollen cheek. Eve was about to answer when the door she had earlier closed opened and out stepped Vincent.
"That would be the head guard of the dungeon. Look how harshly they treated Eve in the dungeon," Vincent clicked his tongue. He hadn't bothered to dry his hair, and his hair had been pushed backwards since earlier. The vampire smiled at the werewolf and said, "It's good that you visited us now, else you would have caught us at the wrong time in the room."
What was Vincent doing, saying something like that?! Only a few minutes ago, he had been nice to her.
Did he slip and hit his head without her knowledge?
Eve hastily explained to Noah, "What he means to say is that we were going to rest. Separately."
Noah's eyes slightly narrowed at Vincent. Not just because he found out who hit the woman but also because the vampire calling her 'Eve' didn't go unnoticed in his mind. His words were polite when he said,
"I heard you were the one to find and bring her out of the dungeon. Thank you for helping her, Mr. Moriarty."
Vincent's eyes twinkled, and he replied, "Why wouldn't I? She is the governess of the Moriarty family."
"Is the head guard held in the council for his unsolicited actions?" inquired Noah.
"If I am not wrong, he's either in the process of being buried or is already resting. It is good to see that Ms. Barlow is so well cared for by people," Vincent hummed.
Eve turned to Noah and asked, "Were you working until now?"
Noah nodded, "I was. I was about to leave, when I found out and decided to see if you were here. I am going to head home, would you like me to drop you at your home?"
Eve was eager to return home but wanted to sort her rattled emotions. She knew once she met Aunt Aubrey and Eugene, she would break down, worrying them. Offering a smile, she said,
"That's fine. I want to make sure my name has been cleared from being the accused. I won't be able to sleep until I know."
Noah nodded understandingly and said, "I will talk to the Head of the Inner Circle about it so that you can leave here quickly, and you will be pardoned. If you will stay back, allow me to accompany you."
The Duke of Woodlock wasn't keen on letting Eve spend the night alone, especially not in the company of this vampire. Though they were outwardly polite to each other, Noah was well aware of Vincent's reputation that wasn't a secret--a bloodthirsty pureblooded vampire who was used to killing people.
"I wouldn't want to burden you, Noah, and Master Vincent is here with me," said Eve, and a subtle frown appeared on the Duke's face.
Vincent placed his hand on Eve's head, and at the same time, a chuckle escaped from his lips. He said,
"Duke Noah, you do not have to worry about her and instead go home and rest yourself," Vincent's smile only broadened. "She's my responsibility and I will see to it that she reaches home safe tomorrow morning."
Noah looked at Vincent with an unwavering expression. He stated, "It is good to see vampires showing humane emotions, after all most of them shun not only lower class but also the existence of humans even if they are dear."
The smile on Vincent's lips faltered for a second before returning. Eve sensed the air turn thick around them, not knowing what happened as the men stared at each other. When she turned to her employer, he said to Noah,
"Call it repentance for the past. I have decided to treat all my employees with kindness from now on, especially the governess," declared Vincent without missing a beat, and he then added, "Not to mention, if you can, we vampires should be able to do it just fine."
Eve's eyebrows furrowed at Vincent's words, and she said, "Noah is good with everyone. Not all humans are nice to other humans. There are people of every kind who don't like us humans. He has been a good friend of mine. Isn't that right?" She asked the Duke, who stared back at her.
Vincent's lips twitched. He said, "I will be in the office. Need to look into some documents." Pushing the door, he stepped inside the office while leaving the door open.
"Genevieve, would you like to take a stroll with me? Only if you are feeling well," Noah watched the slight confusion in her eyes, but she nodded.
Together, they left the corridor where Vincent's office was located, walking on the other side of the building, which was quieter with not a single council member in sight. They took a seat on the bench, and Eve was the first one to start talking by asking,
"How long has it been since you started coming to this place?"
At a distant she heard a crow caw, and the sound echoed where they sat.
"More than five years. My father wanted me to take over his position as quickly as I could. I used to come here along with him, and now I come here by myself," replied Noah while they stared at the stars in front of them in the open side of the corridor. "Your employer is getting along well with you. I say it because I have heard people complain that he's someone hard to work with."
She smiled at Noah's words and replied, "He is a little odd at times, but he's fine. Or I think I am getting used to him," a sigh escaped from her lips.
Eve's eyes fell on a black bird that sat at the nearest tree. She didn't know why, but it gave an ominous feeling. She then looked at the Duke, who continued to stare ahead of him. She wondered if perhaps he didn't her mentioning about them being friends and she started, "I think it was strange saying we are friends in front of--"
"I consider myself to be fortunate to have you as my friend, Genevieve, and I value it more than anything else," said Noah, before looking at her and continuing, "I am sure everyone who has known you feels the same. There is a slight misunderstanding. The question never came up before explicitly."
Eve listened to Noah's calm and slightly deep voice.
"What is it?" She asked him, curious.
"I am not human, Genevieve. I am a werewolf," Noah revealed to her.
A... werewolf?
Eve had mistakenly believed that Noah was a human. He was right, the question had never been raised, and they had never spoken about it.
Eve wondered if it was in her fate to be entangled with the kind she was not supposed to mix. People who could pose a threat to her life.
She remembered Aunt Aubrey's words when she was still young and growing up. The wise woman had advised her--
'A mermaid cannot be replaced even by a diamond. Your heart is kind, but that doesn't mean everyone has a kind heart. Choose your friends wisely, Eve. Because a wrong friend will drag you to death, be it a human who will sell you for greed, a vampire to quench his thirst and a werewolf who will eat you until your very bones.'
'I will have no friend...' a young Eve had replied.
'No. You will have people who will care for you, because there are exceptions to the rule. But this will solely depend on your ability to identify the exceptions.'
Though Noah had cleared the little misunderstanding, Eve couldn't do the same on her side. She couldn't bring herself to let him know that she was a mermaid... a creature that was favourite meat to his kind.
Eve heard Noah say, "I thought you would know by now, considering most of the people from Woodlock are werewolves."
A nervous laugh escaped from Eve's lips, and she said, "I wonder why it never registered in my mind...even though I do know," She had believed that as he belonged to a high family, he was one of the few humans living in Woodlock.
Their conversation was cut short when one of the men arrived in the corridor, calling him, "Duke Noah, oh thank God you haven't left." The councilman came before them. Eve and Noah stood up from the bench. The man bowed and quickly said, "Mr. Adolphus said he would be in Thresk Hills. I don't think he will be there for long before he returns North."
Noah gave a slight nod to the man and said, "Tell Kieran to ready the carriage." He then turned to Eve and said,
"Please take care of yourself, and don't let that one bite you. Some vampires have no control over their thirst." He was talking about Vincent.
Eve offered a slight bow and smile, watching Noah and the other man leave the corridor.
Internally, she was nervous with this newfound information. Or more rightly to be said, corrected information. So far, she had to worry only about a vampire, but now a werewolf was added to the list. But then again, it wasn't like Noah would take a bite to see how she tasted, unlike a certain vampire working in the office.
She sighed, "What am I going to do?"
Eve's eyes fell back on the blackbird on the tree, which now instead of sitting on the branch, it was upside down for her to realise it wasn't a bird but a bat. And soon, the bat dropped and transformed into Vincent, almost scaring her.
She placed her hand on her chest and said, "I didn't know vampires had the ability to transform into bats." One day this man would bring her heart out of her chest.
"Did you think it was a folklore that vampires are associated with bats?" Vincent raised one of his eyebrows.
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