His Queen

1. A New Beginning

Aliya's POV

"That'll be 5.75 dollars," I smiled at the gentleman after taking his coffee order. His warm eyes met mine as he pulled out his card to pay, I waited patiently while he completed his transaction.

I looked at the line of customers who were waiting their turn, it has been a surprisingly busy evening at the Café I was working at. We were nearing the closing time and I was trying my best to manage the coffee orders along with my coworker, Sophia.

"How long have you been working here? I didn't notice you here before," the customer I was currently attending to said.

"I started about a month ago," I handed him the receipt.

He grabbed it and said, "thank you... Aliya."

He must have seen my name tag as I don't remember introducing myself to him.

"You're welcome," I said politely as he stepped aside, and I greeted the next customer.

***

I closed the register and worked on my closing tasks. I was starting to get familiar with all the things I need to take care of while closing the café. I organized the cashier countertops while wiping down the surface, I was in the zone that I didn't notice when Esther walked in.

"Ladies, it's almost dark outside. Why don't you both head home and I will take care of the rest, it seems like you both are pretty much done anyways," her icy-blue eyes scanned the room. She had her brown hair in a messy bun with curls falling flawlessly around her face.

Esther was the owner of the small café that Sophia and I worked at, she was the sweetest middle-aged lady that I had ever met. She reminded me so much of Maria from the Vampire World.

The Vampire World... I felt a shiver down my spine as I pictured that place for the tenth time today. It was so different than the human world that I was currently residing in. For once, not everybody looked at me like I was some piece of meat they could enjoy for dinner. I felt more at ease, my heart was filled with hope as I thought about what the future held for me. A future in the possibilities of the human world, which I am still trying to explore.

"Aliya," Esther's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry, did you say something?"

"My child, get some rest. You've been working since the morning," she rubbed my arm, probably noticing my pale expression.

"But I..."

"No buts, you've done enough for the day. Thank you for all your help, I truly appreciate it. I've never seen such a strong hard-working young lady like yourself. But you need to learn how to take care of yourself too, tell me did you eat dinner yet?"

I heard Sophia scoff; she still hadn't completely warmed up to me yet.

I nodded but then realized that I haven't, "I was planning on grabbing something on the way home."

"Ah, I see. Well grab your stuff then and go eat!" Esther urged me.

"Okay, I will see you tomorrow then?" I gave her a quick hug.

I was glad that I met her two months ago. I had stopped by the café to grab a drink on the way to the library. She made me feel so welcomed, as if I had known her my entire life. Then one conversation led to another, and we ended up becoming close. I was looking for a job at the time and she was kind enough to hire me to work at the café.

I stepped out into the cold night and pulled my jacket on. My home was just a few streets down from here, so I usually walked to work. I worked and lived in the heart of downtown so everything was walking distance, like grocery stores and restaurants.