This is back in Evelyn's POV !
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Above is the dining hall! Pretty fancy indeed...
"You're lucky." Mary said as we stepped through two double doors that revealed what looked like a giant fancy restaurant situated in a ballroom. Low lighting and round tables covered in red satin table cloths. There were only a few people spread around the tables.
"Most are off campus for the weekend, so you can get accustomed to the school without all the mayhem."
"With the exception of Mara of course." Ryder chimed in with a charming smile.
"She hardly counts." Mary replied sending a sideways glance towards him as we all took a seat at one of the tables. The room had two levels, the top apparently reserved for Royals and special occasions.
"What can I get you?" A charming young waiter said as he approached our table. Of course a human would be the server.
"Sweet Tea!" Ryder chimed instantly and glanced immediately at Mary. She pooched her lips glancing at me before quickly saying she wanted a water. Ryder frowned glancing her way.
"And for you love?" The waiter said drawing my attention away from the strange encounter.
"I'll take a water too." I said offering a small smile which he quickly returned before disappearing to get our drinks.
"Ryder, I said I'm fine. I had some earlier, now drop it." I heard what seemed to be the end of their conversation as Ryder sighed heavily and sat back in his seat. Now it was my turn to frown as I glanced between the two. They had to be talking about... blood.
She wasn't refusing because of me was she? My stomach churned suddenly thinking about her sipping on the thick red liquid. I couldn't stop my thoughts from drifting to that hideous woman leaning over Sibel's lifeless body. I shut those thoughts out quickly before they could escalate.
"Are you alright? You look a little pale..." Mary said and quickly cast an angry glance at Ryder. Maybe it was a good thing she only got water. Come to think of it... Not even Ella has drank blood around me since the accident...
"Uh yeah I'm fine!" I quickly said with a nervous laugh as the waiter set our drinks down in front of us. I grasped the cool glass and took a timid sip thankful when it helped to ease my nerves.
"Who exactly is Mara." I said to change subjects. I had been curious since the encounter, but hadn't found the right time to ask. Ryder smiled leaning forward seeming all too happy to gossip about someone.
"She is what we call a Royal Wannabe." Ryder said glancing around as if this were top secret stuff. I raised an eyebrow waiting for him to continue.
"Her father stepped up as Mayor after the last one. She has been on a high horse ever since. Follows Royals around like a lost puppy trying to get in their good graces." This bit of information made me frown. If Ryder had any clue as to who my father was, he barely showed it. In a way though, I found myself grateful. It was really getting tiring for people to continue to tiptoe around me about what happened. "Last year she tried cozying up to Prince Jamison, but he brushed her off, so now she is working her claws into Prince Winston." He finished and Mary scoffed.
"Anyone with eyes can see that he is the one toying with her. It's only a matter of time before he drops her and moves on to the next one." Mary said with a small laugh and roll of her eyes.
"That's right." Ryder said a little uneasily, placing his arm around Mary. "You better be Careful Evelyn. He likes pretty new things." He said to which I laughed. But Ryder didn't laugh. His eyes darted to Mary with an almost bitter frown. Why would a royal vampire be interested in a human?
That thought made me frown for obvious blood related reasons. The waiter came back by to which I ordered nothing having suddenly lost my appetite. It wasn't exactly fair, just because I was born human, I was automatically below any vampire, especially royals. This societal norm didn't exactly make liking vampires any easier. Apparently, someone in the Royal family didn't feel that way, because they saved me, a mere human. my mind flashed to the gorgeous Caribbean colored eyes of the one who saved me.
For a breath of a second, I felt a light tingle along the scar on my shoulder as if warm fingers had lightly brushed against it. It was surprisingly pleasant enough to chase all thoughts. My eyes wondered the room until they landed on a tall sturdy frame on the second floor, the man from the roof.
I found it slightly unnerving to see that he had already been looking at me, his eyes surprisingly vibrant despite the distance. I refused to look away this time. It seemed that in itself surprised him, though he hardly moved an inch. I stared on curiously as he sent an annoyed glance to the man beside him; I had only just took notice of him now. Though they both gazed upon me, it was easy to tell he was superior. He had this air about him that screamed of it. The sadness was still there, though diminished now. He seemed just as curious, a determined look spread across his features as he turned and sat down giving me the chance I needed to break away from his intense gaze.
"Making friends already?" Mary said in a knowing voice that for whatever reason caused a blush to rise to my cheeks; they give me away so easily. I quickly cleared my throat and took a sip of my water.
"I met him earlier on the roof, sorta." I said casually. Could I even call it that? I introduced myself and he... Didn't.
Come to think of it... I still don't know his name. I gave a look to the second floor and found myself slightly disappointed to see him no longer there.
"That's the prince. He has a way of catching everyone's eye." Mary hummed in a casual matter-of-fact way. Ryder suddenly got really sullen and merely harrumphed.
"Him and the whole royal family." Ryder mumbled under his breath with a scowl. That was weird.
"You better be careful, he's known to be a little cruel." Mary said with a sigh to which Ryder scoffed.
"Don't dramatize it." Ryder said bitterly. "Only one of them has had any sort of serious relationship with anyone here, all the others just fell for him on their own. He didn't return the flattery." He finished sitting back in his chair looking the farthest possible direction away from Mary. She noticed it too with a frown. For a moment I wondered if Ryder had once fell for him too, but Mary quickly changed my perspective.
"Oh, don't tell me you're still upset about it. That was before you." She said leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder and slinging her arms around his waist, his resolve quickly crumbling. "No one will ever be good enough for me now that I've met you, you know that." She said kissing his neck lightly to which he finally folded into with a sigh. I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth as I subconsciously leaned forward intrigued.
"I know. He still has this soft spot for you and you for him-" he was cut off by Mary leaning back to look at him.
"Well of course we do, you can hardly be mad because of that. We grew up together, our affections towards each other are merely the kind of siblings." She said and placed a small kiss on his jawline.
"But they didn't used to be." He shot back stubbornly. Was Mary the one that had been in the relationship with the prince? I was flabbergasted.
"No they didn't." Mary agreed. "But then my eyes met yours and my whole world changed. I will never be able to look at him the way I look at you." She said with so much intimacy and honestly I felt the utmost need to look away. I felt as though I was invading a very private moment, and the information I found out was not mine to know.
I felt like that a lot around them.
"Who is he exactly?" I questioned awkwardly shifting and looked anywhere but at them. They met my eyes with a confused cautious look. My eyes darted back upstairs before meeting theirs again. The prince was no longer in sight, but it was obvious we were talking about the same person, right?
"Who? The prince upstairs? Did you not say you met him earlier?" Ryder spoke up breaking the awkward stare off. I shifted in my seat again. Who else would I be asking about?
"Well, yes but he wasn't quite so hospitable. He never introduced himself." I mumbled taking a sip of my water regretting asking them. Knowing Mary had a relationship with this guy and Ryder didn't like him just made me too curious to know.
"That's Prince Jameson." Mary said casually and I couldn't help but choke on a small amount of water at the news. The eldest prince?
"What?" I rasped through coughs, my mind reeling at my absolute lack of knowledge on the who's who around here. My mind drifted to our previous encounter on the balcony. I'd hardly offered him a single shred of respect because I simply didn't know. Ryder nodded glancing up at the balcony with curious eyes. There wasn't a single ounce of annoyance or hostility in his gaze as he peered up to the second floor. It was jarring so soon after he had just been spitting venom over him.
"Well, I think that is enough excitement for me." I said standing briskly needing to escape to the confines of my room to process all of the new information.
"Oh no, please stay!" Mary said quickly.
"Yes, I didn't mean-" Ryder stood as well.
"I still have some things I need to unpack." I lied easily finally glancing at them. "And I'm feeling quite exhausted from all of the excitement today... uh, or night I should say."
"Oh... Okay..." Mary said with a disbelieving frown but didn't seem to push it.
"I just really need to get it done before it's too late, but I'll see you at breakfast, yeah?" I added as cheerily as possible. That being if sunset really counts as breakfast... The last thing I wanted to do was upset the only two people who have been nice to me so far. I was just feeling a little socially drained from everything.
Mary brightened considerably.
"Definitely! I can give you a proper tour tomorrow evening!" Mary said excitedly to which I quickly let out a grateful breath.
"That would be perfect." I said and turned to Ryder who was already standing beside Mary with a sheepish smile. "It was really nice meeting you." I said softly and awkwardly stuck out my hand. He laughed at the gesture and quickly pulled me into a big hug.
"Any friend of Mary's is a friend of mine." He said and released me only for Mary to take his place. I laughed, heartened by the warm gestures. I've really grown to like them in such a short time.
"Goodnight!" I said finally after being pulled into another 10-minute conversation. They smiled and I turned exiting through the large doors feeling slightly heavy on my feet.
This day turned out way different from anything I expected it to be. What my expectations had been... even I was uncertain now. For that, I found my mind running circles around itself. Now I've just got to make it through a couple more years.
No biggie. It's all for dad.
I rounded the corner a little too forceful and slammed right into someone falling straight to the ground with a graceless thump. My eyes darted up with an annoyed scowl meeting a pair of vibrant blue eyes with striking familiarity. Pale smooth skin and disheveled black hair framed a flawless face; one brow raised in slight irritation. Something in his eyes seemed to register as he took me in, and a small smirk pulled his lips.
"Are you just going to stare at me or are you going to help me up?" I huffed with narrowed eyes.
"So, you're the one everyone has been whispering about." He said with a playful glint in his eyes. I frowned and stood up moving to walk past him when his arm snaked out stopping me pushing me back to stand in front of him with a tsk tsk tsk.
"Look, I've had a long night. I don't know who you are, and I really don't think I care, I just want to go to my room." I was genuinely tired at this point and this arrogant prick was the least of my worries. He looked down with an unamused smile before meeting my eyes with deadly force as he stepped forward nearly and inch from my face. I had no choice but to look up as I refused to break eye contact first. The hair on the back of my neck rose as an uneasy feeling settled like a rock in my belly.
"Careful." He said as he reached up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear causing me to freeze as he settled his hand on the side of my neck. "Someone might just mistake you for a snack." His cool breath fanned my cheek as he gave my neck a quick squeeze before disappearing leaving only a sick laugh lingering in the air. I didn't hesitate to rush off to my room.
What a night.