NIGHTS OF HALLOW

Just as the tower bell sounded in the distance, indicating the break of the dawn, so did the activities all over the kingdom and beyond begin.

A gentle breeze like whispers on the skin, accompanied by the rising of the sun that cast its warm rays on anything it touched was enough to rejuvenate the spirit of anyone to start the day’s work as the white and blue clouds danced in harmony while the chirping sound of the birds sounded as they flew about in the sky.

A knock on the door followed by the door clicking open was heard as Emily walked into Perdita’s room with four other maids trailing behind her with a trolley of food they had brought with them.

Two maids out of the four carried a box which they kept on the small table just as Perdita stepped out of the bathroom having heard the noise inside the room.

”Morning greetings, My Lady,” The maids including Emily bowed in greeting to which Perdita acknowledged with a small bow of hers.

Her green eyes bore curiosity in them as she stared at the maids and the box, and also the maids who were busy arranging the plates of food on the table farther into the room near the window.

”May I help you, Milady?” Emily politely asked as she took the towel Perdita was holding to dry her hair. ”Please sit, My Lady,”

Turning to the other maids, Emily instructed, ”That is all, you may leave now.” Well aware that Perdita didn’t like being in the company of too many people, especially those she didn’t trust.

The maids bowed at Perdita and then at Emily before departing the room.

”His Majesty ordered for you to be gotten ready in that.” Emily clarified the presence of the maids while gesturing towards the box placed on the small center table.

”What’s that?”

”Your dress,” Emily replied. She went on to speak, ”Your breakfast is ready, My Lady. I apologize for the rush, but His Majesty seems to be in a hurry to see you.”

”Oh,” Perdita mouthed, wondering why Sthena was in a hurry to see her. The memory of him kissing her goodnight the night before suddenly flashed in her memory, causing heat to quickly rush up her face.

Shaking the thought off lest Emily noticed, Perdita walked to the breakfast table and sat down to eat.

Emily had gone to keep the towel inside the bathing room and on coming out, she heard Perdita say, ”Come eat with me, Emily.” And without a word of refusal, she quietly joined her to have breakfast.

Without further ado, Perdita finished her breakfast to which another glass of blood was presented for her to drink.

”Another blood,” She murmured, her mind swiftly recalling what Sthena had said about today going to be a long day. The curiosity of what awaited her gnawed on her while Emily helped her wear the dress inside the box.

Once they stepped out of the room and into the hallway that led to where Sthena waited for Perdita, the sight of her caused a muffled uproar amongst the maids and everyone who saw her.

Everyone including Princess Sarah and Prince Regan who were just stepping out of the dining accompanied by their mother were unconsciously left awestruck by her presence.

”Isn’t that a male’s dress?” Princess Sarah questioned no one in particular as they all stared at the green-eyed lady whose dress was starkly different from other female dresses.

”She looks lovely in it,” Regan added, equally drawn to Perdita’s attire. She was a refreshing sight to see.

Sparing a bow at the Royal family members, Perdita and Emily continued down the hallway to where Sthena stood with his back facing them.

”Hmm,” Perdita cleared her throat in an attempt to gain Sthena’s attention. ”Good morning, Sthena.” She voiced, once Sthena turned to finally face her, and on the other hand Emily respectfully bowed in greeting, ”Greetings, Your Majesty.”

For a moment, silence ensued between the duo. Sthena neither acknowledged Perdita’s greeting nor the curious look on her face.

”Is everything alright?” Perdita couldn’t help but question, her gaze faltering upon Sthena’s intense gaze on her as she couldn’t decipher why he looked at her in such a manner that struck a cord in her heart and made her want to melt under his scrutiny.

”Everything was alright until you came. Now I want to take you back to where only I can see you,”

Just these few words were enough to ignite the flames that had been extinguished the night before during the late-night drink between them. Perdita’s cheeks burned as red as would a rose ready to be plucked.

”You look lovely, darling,” Sthena complimented her, a charming smile adorning his handsome face that made him look more mesmerizing for a pureblooded vampire.

”Thank you,” Perdita responded with a smile of her own she couldn’t hide. ”The tailor did a good job,” She acknowledged the craftsmanship of the royal tailor to get the dress done in just two days.

”And I did the perfect job of introducing the style,” Sthena remarked, a proud look on his face. ”Shall we?” He gestured with his hand as he took a step forward and Perdita followed suit with Emily trailing three steps behind them.

Perdita’s dress at a glance would be called a male’s dress but the distinct features of the dress made it stand out from the usually worn men’s clothing.

Her dress, a high-waisted silk pant with, a loose fit throughout the leg and wide, flared shape at the hem gave a flawless androgynous feel to her demeanor, however, it didn’t overshadow the charming air she effortlessly always carried around her.

At the waist area, the pants had bell buttons down to the knee length, which aided the dress from slipping down as it accentuated the dip of Perdita’s waist and the curve of her hip.

The pants paired with a V-neck blouse with a relaxed peasant sleeve, and a soft gathered cap whose loose fit draped elegantly down her arm. The front of Perdita’s blouse was the corset meticulously tied into perfection, giving room for her cleavage to show in the deep of the V-neck of the blouse.

”You did?” One could hear the astonishment in Perdita’s voice when she asked the question regarding Sthena’s remark earlier about the dress.

”Mmm hm,” Sthena nodded. ”The first of its kind,”

Perdita smiled. An unconscious smile she didn’t know was on her face knowing she wore a design thought out by Sthena. But then, the thought that another person must have also worn a dress he designed brought a pinch of jealousy in her heart. And before she knew it, she blurted,

”Have you always designed a female’s dress?”

Sthena caught the sniff of jealousy wafting in the air from the question and tone of Perdita. He grinned, mischievousness in his red eyes as he turned his head to look at Perdita. He questioned back,

”What do you think?”

Now outside, at the entrance of the castle was the carriage of the king awaiting him. Immediately the Coachman saw the king approach, he was quick to jump down from the driver’s seat and opened the carriage’s door.

Perdita pursed her lips as her steps came to a halt. She looked up at Sthena, trying to gauge his expression. But the jealousy which she didn’t understand where it came from that had already slipped in clouded her eyes from seeing the playful smile on Sthena’s face.

She replied, rather grouchily, ”Wearing your masterpiece, it’s no lie you must have mastered the art of designing by always bringing up styles for other...s.” A slip of the tongue almost made her say other females, but knowing it was defaming the name of the king, she had chosen to keep it at ’others’ alone.

”Is that jealousy I smell?” Sthena teased, coming to stand in front of her, close enough for her to smell the perfume he wore.

Perdita scoffed, trying hard to mask the look on her face with a nonchalant one, ”Jealous? You must have had a weird dream the night before.”

A chuckle broke out from Sthena’s lips that added to Perdita’s frustration about what was funny about what she said. Ready to walk past him, Sthena drew her back to his front. He leaned in and whispered, ”It makes me glad that your jealousy is fanned because of me.”

Perdita blinked, shock evident on her face that was soon replaced by embarrassment. She quickly tried to school her expression and tried to change the topic,

”Where are we going?”

”To many destinations but the first on the list is Blackfang Town,” Sthena replied. Turning to Emily, he said, ”You’ll ride with us,”

”Come here, darling,” Perdita heard Sthena call out to her. He held out his hand for her as he assisted her to enter the carriage before he followed her in.

Emily joined the Coachman in the driver’s seat just as he closed the door and returned to control the horse’s reins.

Inside the carriage where Perdita had her face turned towards the small window of the carriage, she heard Sthena speak.

”It is time to address our jealous Lady here, hm?”