Days had passed since the PE class and Evelyn's vivid dream about Ivan on that stormy night. Since then, Eve has been extremely cautious and hyper-aware of Ivan.
She spoke to him only when it was regarding any assignments and left the classroom immediately after each session. She also avoided spending time with Damien and Cece, since they were Ivan's cousins and he was often with them.
She went as far as having meals at odd times when there weren't many people in the dining hall, just to avoid him and the siblings.
Evelyn knew that she was being silly and couldn't possibly avoid them forever, but she wanted to put enough distance between them so that Ivan's gorgeous face would stop haunting her almost every night.
Yes, she still dreamt of him. Recurring dreams, to be exact and in each one she vividly felt him inching closer, ready to sink his fangs into her, and she was all too willing to offer herself, as if it felt so right.
Disturbed by her own thoughts, she sighed as she rubbed her temple with her fingers and let the pencil slip through them.
Currently, it was the weekend, and Eve was sitting at her desk in her room, trying to complete her assignment so she wouldn't have to worry about it tomorrow. The day of the Blood Moon Masquerade Ball at the academy.
Evelyn would have easily skipped it if it hadn't been a compulsion for all the freshers to attend. Releasing a soft breath, she thought about the balls held in her own Kingdom of Luminear and how everyone was dressed so extravagantly.
She had only been allowed to attend the ball with her parents while her mother was still alive, which was when she was five years old. After her stepmother entered the castle, she practically banned Eve from all social gatherings, telling everyone that due to her poor physical constitution, she fell sick easily and wouldn't be able to attend the events frequently.
Of course, her father didn't object, because he was more than okay with not seeing her every other day. Since then, all she ever saw of the balls was through the creak of a window above the grand ballroom in the Palace of Light.
A sudden knock pulled her back into reality, effectively snapping her out of her depressing thoughts.
She gracefully got up from her chair and went to check who it was. She cautiously opened the door and found Cece, who was dressed in a simple olive green dress with her blond hair tied up in a neat ponytail. She wore an black robe over it, with the hood pulled down.
She smiled at Eve, allowing her to see her pretty and soft feminine features. Cece was a beauty in her own right, it was just her strong and blunt personality that made people feel intimidated by her commanding presence.
"You aren't planning to ditch us today, are you?" asked Cece in a slightly accusing tone, her eyes roaming over Eve to confirm what she asked as she wasn't ready yet.
Eve was surprised to see Cece at her door, to say the least. She hadn't expected Cece to personally come to seek her out for the city outing, the one she had decided to sit out, despite having looked forward to it just a couple of days ago.
She gave Cece a sheepish smile and said, "I am so sorry, Cece. I didn't mean to stand you up. I was just busy completing the assignments since we have to attend the ball tomorrow."
"Really? And what exactly are you planning on wearing to the ball?" Cece asked, narrowing her eyes at Eve.
"Ahem… I'll just pick something from one of my dresses-" she was cut off abruptly by Cece.
"Do you even know that it's a masquerade ball? Meaning it requires a mask and it also has a dark theme." She asked, with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh.." was all Eve managed to say.
Cece sighed and invited herself into Eve's room. She walked over to the sofa by the window and took a seat., "Evelyn, I think we need to talk."
Eve gulped softly, having a slight idea on what this talk might be about, but she nodded and took a seat next to Cece.
Cece looked Eve straight in the eyes and said, "Evelyn, as you know, I am a very straightforward person and I don't like people hovering around me, especially those who are always trying to butter me up or my brother. We siblings like to stick together because we've been through the consequences of choosing the wrong company."
She paused to let her words sink in, then continued, "Damien and I weren't really looking to make any friends at this academy because we know better than to get involved with people. We don't pretend to like anyone if we don't, let alone make an effort to maintain any form of communication. But you… we like you, Evelyn, because we find you to be kind and sincere in the way you do things."
Cece looked down and held her fingers together before she added, "I personally enjoy your company,.. I've never had a woman as a friend so.. I don't know how to do this perfectly. If I said or did anything wrong for you to be avoiding us for the past few days..."
She pressed on, "If it's something that can be fixed, please let me, and I'll see what can be done…unless you don't want to be friends with me at all, then.."
Evelyn was speechless after hearing such genuine concern in Cece's voice and guilt washed over her. She quickly said, "I am so sorry Cece! I really want to be friends with you guys too. Both of you have been so good to me, I really didn't mean to avoid you…. I just.. I…"
She struggled to find the right words to explain her situation.
Cece saw her hesitation, so she gently took Evelyn's hands in hers and said, "Evelyn, like I said, I genuinely enjoy your company, so I really would like us to be friends. That means, being able to share whatever is bothering us without holding back. I give you my word, in the name of Silvercrest, that I'll never disclose anything meant to stay between us. Nothing will get out of here to reach Damien or Ivan."
She gave Eve an encouraging nod and silently urged her to continue. Seeing how sincere Cece was, Eve finally decided to let go of some of her reservations. With a soft sigh, she said, "I wasn't trying to avoid you… it was your brother I was trying to keep my distance from."
Cece's eyes widened with realisation, "Oh my, what did Damien do to you?" she asked, her expression suddenly turning fierce.
"What? Oh God, no! I didn't mean Damien." Eve said quickly, then paused before adding in a soft voice, "It's Prince Ivan."
Cece sighed, as if not surprised by her answer, and said, "Ivan has a knack for making people run away from him, I'm so sorry, Evelyn, did he bully you that much?" Then she added, "Though I must say, he doesn't really bully people. He just has a pretty straightforward method of dealing with them." She pressed her lips together.
Eve didn't really need to know what this method was, 'To the grave it is' she muttered to herself.
She pursed her lips, briefly considering whether to confess about the dreams, but quickly decided against it. The last thing she needed was Cece thinking she was some sort of Ivan-obsessed lunatic. 'Let's stick to the surface.' she thought dryly.
Clearing her throat, she said, "He didn't really bully me, as such. I was just trying to stay out of his way as much as possible. We do have to study together, so I thought if I stay away from his circle, he wouldn't be so bothered by my presence everywhere."
Cece was surprised by Eve's reasoning. Had it been any other woman in her place, she would have jumped at the opportunity to cozy up with the beloved crown prince of the strongest kingdom on the continent. But Cece knew Evelyn was different from those opportunistic women.
When Ivan had warned her and her brother about Evelyn the day after the potion-making class incident, she was careful about what she said in front of Evelyn, especially since it was Ivan who had personally warned them.
But deep down, she never really suspected Eve of any ill intent. She knew Eve was still very reserved when it came to interacting with them, but that was understandable, as any other normal person would be like that around new people.
Cece could also tell that Eve was still hiding the real reason for avoiding them, but she decided to let it go. The most important thing was to make her feel comfortable and build mutual trust, something that cannot be forced and would only come with time.
Cece responded, "You really don't have to worry about Ivan. Though he's rough around the edges, if he truly had a problem with you being in our company, he would've done something about it right away."
Cece gave Evelyn's hands a gentle squeeze and continued, "I truly want us to be friends, regardless of what my brothers think, and I hope you'll give me a chance to be someone you can trust."
This melted Evelyn, and a genuine smile began to form on her lips. She gave Cece a firm nod and said, "I'd like that too Cece. I am really sorry again for my actions. I never meant to hurt anyone."
"Hm.. so to make up for it, I need you to get ready to go to the market, as we'd planned earlier!" Before Eve could say anything, Cece added with a smile, "Don't worry, it'll just be us this time. Damien and Ivan are busy with some work, so they might join us later, but for the first half, it'll just be us."
"But when they do join us, I hope you won't be too bothered by their presence." she said.
"Of course not, I won't let that happen. I was just being silly, I guess." Eve smiled sheepishly.
Cece's smile widened, she said, "Okay, let's get you changed into something that doesn't attract too much attention. Although I really doubt that's possible with you involved." She added in a teasing tone.
Eve chuckled at Cece's playful antics and finally decided to get dressed in a simple light blue gown with a navy blue robe over it.