The Unexpected

Slowly, their features softened upon seeing me. What did they think? That I was a monster? How ironic?

"We thought you were Diana."

One of them muttered, placing her palm over her probably racing heart. They looked to be in their early twenties, but again, I will never know.

"Who is Diana?"

I asked, walking to their station.

"The head here, after that werewolf."

The other said, rolling her eyes dramatically. Werewolf? I think they meant him.

"Oh, Nathan?"

I said, standing opposite them, with the counter separating us.

"Oh, you know him already."

The same girl spoke, and I nodded my head, smiling. I should see him and thank him for being nice to me.

"Yeah, he's my friend."

I declared, and they peered at me as if I had gone insane. Then they mumbled a 'whatever'. One of them began to make me a salad, even though I insisted that I would cook for myself. The other kept on taking care of her work, but she kept glancing at me occasionally. Yesterday I was unsuccessful at socializing, but not today.

"So, what are your names?"

I asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

"Rosalie."

It was the young girl who was making my salad. She was short with brunette hair and fair skin. She was a vampire, obviously, but one could undoubtedly confuse her with a human. She always had a bright smile on her face.

"Eva."

It was the other girl. She was taller, with earthy colored skin and dark hair. She sounded more mature than her looks, but I still like her.

"Don't you want to know my name?"

I blinked at them, faking innocence, and Rosalie burst out laughing. Eva had a small upward twitch on her lips as well. Rosalie pushed the plate of greens at me and shook her head in amusement.

"We all know your name. Everybody's talking about how fortunate you are to be Master's mate."

My smile vanished instantly as his name was brought up. Eva hit Rosalie on her shoulder hard and yelled at the brunette through her eyes.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have spoken that way."

Rosalie apologized immediately, and I felt bad for her. She didn't know what I was going through.

"That is alright. It's just that I don't feel so fortunate. Anyway, leave it. Tell me more about you guys."

I clapped my hands in excitement, and the tension was reduced. They told me that they were training servants under Diana, a bitchy woman who doesn't tolerate indiscipline. She was out of town to visit her sick parents and would be back soon. They thought I was her when I came in, and Rosalie almost had a heart attack.

I felt like a schoolgirl right then, chuckling and snickering over senseless things. I should say that these two are a bundle of surprises. They were making funny comments about everyone, including Ryan, which I enjoyed more. I learned a lot about them in that little time. The two of them are cross-species, lost their families at the time of partition, and ended up here. It seems like Rosalie has a secret crush on Nathan. We advised her to confess, but she's scared of the law. Eva is a kind of feminist and always talks about giving more priority to women. She's not against marriage or anything, but still, you know what I mean. Now I have made two more friends. Keep going, Atty. We were laughing loudly while I helped them with the chores when a female voice blasted through the kitchen.

"WHY AREN'T YOU BRATS WORKING?"

We all jumped up from our seats and came face-to-face with the angriest-looking lady I have ever seen. Both Eva and Rosalie apologized in unison and headed to work hastily. The hot head then turned to me.

"Who are you? And what are you doing in my kitchen?"

Didn't she know who I was? Right, she was out of town. But that doesn't give her the right to mistreat me or anyone else.

"I thought it was Ryan's."

My reply was unexpected for her, and I could literally see smoke coming out of her nose.

"How could you call my Master by his name?"

Her face turned paler, her eyes glowed red, and I saw fangs popping out of her red lips. Before I could move, she cornered me, and her ridiculous teeth were right above my shoulder skin.

"If you touch her, consider yourselves dead."

She froze upon hearing his voice. It was calm yet full of warnings. She released me carefully, as if I were made of glass, then looked at him, scared. What a quick change in emotion! Only he can make that possible.

"I am extremely sorry, Master. I didn't think this young lady was of any worth."

Her words were laced with fear and guilt.

"Do you value me, Miss Diana?"

His tone was dead serious.

"Of course, my lord, more than my life."

I thought her head would touch the floor if she bowed a little more.

"Then you have to value her too, because she's my other half."

I am double, no, triple sure that he was smirking in the end, but he hid it quickly.

"Your mate..."

Diana was murmuring in disbelief. Then she looked at me, horrified.

"I am so sorry, my ladyship. Only if I knew. Only if you told me."

Is she crying? Oh, god, she is. Are they this afraid of him?

"It's fine, Diana. I can understand."

I know she has been a bitch, but the way she looked right then was so heartbreaking, and I wanted nothing more than to escape from the receiving end.

"Oh no. What an unfaithful servant I am."

She was sobbing, which put me in a very hard situation. Why do I feel like a bitch now? I gripped her shoulders tightly and made her look at me.

"Actually, quite the opposite. You are really dedicated to your Master. That's the reason you attacked me in the first place. So don't feel sorry for doing your duty."

She cried some more and murmured another apology. After that, she hugged me and left the kitchen, leaving me, Rosalie, and Eva with wide eyes. I turned to find the arrogant vampire, but found none. Show off much.

.........

That afternoon I, Marg, Rosalie, and Eva were sitting near the garden, enjoying nature. Even though I called it a garden, it was actually a mini-forest. There were all kinds of birds and wild animals in the woods that acted like pets. When I found Eva petting a tiger, I was shocked and climbed onto the nearest tree. I guess vampires have a way with animals, too.

Our little chatter was going well when we heard a loud roar from deep inside the garden. The sound was approaching as time passed. We were expecting some really wild animals, but in came much worse than that. It was a wolf bigger than me—no, bigger than anyone. It came barking, which we thought was roaring, and advanced towards us. I wanted to run like the others, but my legs were glued to the ground. It came leaping, but stopped dead in its tracks when it looked at me. Something passed in its eyes, a look of recognition, I guess. He slowly paced towards me and bowed his head. Something captured me when I made eye contact with it. We stood looking at each other for a long time but were soon interrupted.

"Enemy!"

Out of nowhere, several guards surrounded it, and then a big fight started. The wolf was battling its best before one of the vampires infused something into its body. The wolf fell down, and right before my eyes, 'it' turned into 'him', and I am not even joking. The transformation happened right in front of me. He was an elderly person with white hair and a wrinkled face. He was staring at me intensely when a guard took out a silver dagger. I don't know what got into me as I rushed towards the werewolf and defended him. The vampire was yelling something, but I didn't listen.

"My ladyship, you are doing a crime by protecting the enemy."

"Cut the crap, will you? If anyone tries to harm this man, I swear I will not leave them unpunished, and if I can't do that, then I will hurt myself."

I snatched the dagger from him and placed it near my neck. I don't know why I was being dramatic and protecting this man, but right now, that seems very important. No one moved from their position except one. Ryan. From where did he come? Was he here all this time?

"Remove the blade, Atarah."

He was calm. Hell with his calmness.

"Promise me you will not hurt him."

I said, trying to strengthen my voice.

"And who is he to you?"

I was asking the same question to myself, but I don't know. So I looked down, still holding the knife.

"I don't know. But you can't kill him."

It was barely a whisper, and I wet my lips absentmindedly.

"I know. After all, he's your grandfather."

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