I was shaken awake in a less than gentle manner by a guy who's manners I had long since stopped holding out for.
"Thanks for that," I grumbled to the man responsible for my unglamorous entrance to consciousness.
"No problem," Joe smiled.
He took a seat opposite me, drumming his weathered fingers steadily on the heavy wood. I focused on his arms, scared to look at his face unless he attempted to flirt with me. His arms were darkly tanned and criss-crossed with scratches from his work on the cars. The silence was beginning to get awkward and eventually I tore my eyes away from the fair hairs on his arm. Joe was smirking, amused.
"I'm not going to jump over the table and stick my tongue down your throat, if that's what you're worried about."
"No, it's...no!" I stammered, although that was a worrying thought.
Joe snorted into his hand at my hasty denial. I giggled as well, hesitant at first but then I laughed in earnest. My head was pounding from the dehydration of sleeping in the claustrophobically warm room but still I laughed. I realised then that the last time I had laughed a real laugh, the sort that had me clutching my sides for breath, had been before my kidnap. And I wasn't even wholly sure what I was laughing about.
"What's so funny?" A voice interrupted us.
I wiped tears from beneath my eyes so that June's suspicious face was no longer blurred. Her green eyes darted between us and finally settled on the diary.
"Oh, you've been reading that?" She asked.
I nodded, pleased for the subject change. The last thing I wanted was for her to suspect that something was going on with me and Joe, especially now that there wasn't.
"It's weird, though. In the last entry Helena writes as though a member of her family survived."
"Whoever he was, he's dead now." Joe dismissed it.
"Hmm..." I murmured but for some unexplainable reason something was bothering me about the last entry, this relative.
I discreetly stood up from the table and made a swift exit from the room, leaving June and Joe alone; my presence with Joe seemed to have caused June some discomfort. The cool air of the entrance hall hit like a tidal wave. I hadn't realised just how hot the kitchen had been but it had left me in desperate need of a cool shower. On the way to the staircase I glanced over at Helena Sancruor's white face, regarding me hauntingly from the very first portrait. In her portrait she had a blood stain down the left side of her face, obviously to show that she was proud of being a vampire. Scanning the wall, I saw that the portrait next to her belonged to 'Joshua Sancruor'. So she had persuaded, or threatened, her childhood crush to drink blood for her. That thought was nearly as shocking as the murder of her family.
Abriella's appearance tore through my unpleasant thoughts of cold-blooded murder. She was walking gracefully down the stairs, her dark hair still wet from the shower and her maid's uniform showing a lot of flesh but still managing to look classy in a way that only she could achieve.
"Morning, Lizzy."
I smiled at the use of my nickname. Joe had persisted in calling me 'Lizzy' until, eventually, the rest of the servants had surrendered into calling me that too.
"You are on your way to Ashley's room, no?" She asked and continued without waiting for my response. "I can make him some breakfast and bring it up?"
"Oh, you don't have to do that." I said quickly. Although she didn't show it, I knew that Abriella was slightly intimidated by Ashley.
"I insist!" She smiled brightly.
"Well, who can argue with that offer?" I smiled, already carrying on up the stairs.
It was on the second floor when I next thought longingly of my shower. My eyes flitted subconsciously to the door to Ashley's room, behind which Ashley was probably just waking up, preparing to have a bath in his large, white bathroom. Tempted, I changed my route from the servants' showers to his room.
"Hey Ashley," I greeted him, my voice saturated with happiness at seeing him.
"Good morning, Elizabeth." Came his gentle reply, less formal than usual.
He always looked gorgeous in the morning, his blond hair more dishevelled than usual and his green eyes shining brighter in comparison to his tired face.
"I'm using your bath, do you mind?"
I was already in his bathroom before he could reply, turning on the hot water tap. Ashley's laughter floated through the open door and I remembered the last time I'd taken a bath here; I'd definitely not made a good first impression. I locked the door and stripped my clothes off until they lay in a miserable looking pile on the floor. Smiling as I did so, I lowered myself into the water that seemed to soak through my skin and heat my insides.
With the quiet sound of the water, gently lapping against the sides of the tub, I allowed myself to think of the past. That was something I'd abstained from doing since Goliath had brought me to the house a number of weeks, or was it months, ago. My days here had seemed like a lifetime.
Lathering shampoo into my hair, I thought of my Grandma who, to me, had always appeared so strong. She hadn't been strong enough, though, to protect herself against the vampires who had surely cast her aside as easily as the rest of the village. Tears stung my eyes but before I could succumb to them, I submerged my head in the water.
I resurfaced to the sound of muffled voices, coming from Ashley's room.
"I'm Abriella," her voice made me smile.
"Nice to meet you," Ashley replied politely.
I smiled to myself as I towel dried my hair, straining to listen to their conversation. They were still speaking although too low for me to hear. I fastened my dress and glanced in the mirror. My reflection had changes so much that I barely recognised myself. My cheekbones were more prominent, my brown eyes shining with an odd seriousness that seemed too old for my eyes. It was weird that, after all that had happened, I still looked happy. That, I supposed, was largely down to the person talking to Abriella.
I folded the towel and, wondering if Abriella would be shocked that I'd bathed in Ashley's bath, pushed through the door into his bedroom. There was nothing flirtatious about the scene that met my eyes, nothing at all. Ashley was merely eating his breakfast, Abriella was chatting away in her Italian accent. She did look a little overwhelmed, but I doubted that any female could talk to someone who looked like Ashley without being dazzled. Nothing to suggest flirting. It still didn't stop knives of jealousy attacking my stomach. I'd never been a jealous person before. But prior to meeting Ashley, there had never been anyone to be truly jealous of. Seeing beautiful Abriella talking to Ashley for the first time chewed my insides.
"Lizzy," greeted Abriella, evidently not shocked that I'd been in Ashley's bathroom.
I forced a smile onto my face. I knew that my doubts were beyond stupid. Ashley was just being friendly and polite. He was always polite.
"Abriella was just telling me that my father and Dane are hunting today." Ashley said, looking pointedly at me.
I understood what he was insinuating. The word 'hunting' held different connotations to us than it did to Abriella. The suspicious glint in his eyes told me that Ashley too was wondering if Dane would be leaving the castle tonight for a reason other than hunting; the only time he could position the car beneath the tunnel was when he'd been permitted to drive the car- tonight.
"I should go; June is too busy talking to Joe to cook anyone breakfast. If I don't hurry Daniel might attempt to cook and he's almost as bad as you, Lizzy!"
"I'm not that bad at cooking!" I lied, unconvincingly.
"Right," Abriella raised her eyebrows at me doubtfully. "Well, ciao."
When she closed the door behind her, Ashley approached me and wrapped his arms around my waist. His chin rested gently on my head and I breathed his scent in, treasuring it. I leaned against his hard chest and the irrational jealousy that I'd felt moments previously was all erased. He kissed me sweetly on the lips and when he pulled away, a smile appeared on his face- one of his real smiles that always left me breathless.
"What was that for?" I asked him, for there was usually some reason behind his shows of affection.
"No reason." He replied. "Have I told you how beautiful you are recently?"
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I'm sorry that very little is happening, I just want Elizabeth and Ashley's relationship to grow stronger and not move too fast... Things will get more interesting soon hopefully.
Votes really motivate me to upload :) That's not a bribe; the amount of votes/ comments I get is subconsciously linked to me uploading... so press that button!