Banished

The moment Evangeline stepped into the grand palace, she felt like she'd walked onto the set of a period drama except in this one, everything was a little too dramatic.

The central hall was massive, with glittering chandeliers that dripped crystals and the walls were decorated with stunning tapestries and golden designs giving the place a saturated aura of wealth.

People were gathered in the space and they were all so well dressed like they were competing to see who could look the fanciest.

And judging by the way everyone's eyes turned to her, she was already the center of attraction.

A woman in a simple red gown strolled toward her. She had a stern face, the kind of face that told you she had opinions about everyone.

"Miss Evangeline," the woman said, her tone was clipped. "You've arrived just on time— for once."

Evangeline blinked. "For once?"

The woman gave her a pointed look, like she was used to saying this. "We're already behind schedule. Let's move along."

Evangeline's stomach twisted. They knew her real name. And apparently, in this timeline, she had a reputation for being late. Great. Some things never changed, no matter where… or when she was.

As the woman led her deeper into the hall, a group of girls standing by the corner snickered. They whispered loud enough for Evangeline to catch fragments.

"She's so… odd."

"Always late, always so… different."

"Doesn't even look like she belongs here."

Evangeline shot them a look, and they immediately froze. Her beauty alone was enough to silence them, and when she tilted her head with the faintest smirk, they looked ready to skitter away.

Silly rats always think they have the right to talk down on anyone, she said to herself and turned to follow the woman.

Evangeline was led to the front of the hall, where a raised platform held two thrones. Sitting on the larger one was the king.

He was handsome— disturbingly so. His blonde hair had streaks of white running through it, and his face was sharp, regal, ad one could tell that he was far older than he looked.

She couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something unnerving about him. His piercing eyes looked right through her, and his scowl was sharp enough to cut diamonds.

Evangeline remembered when Hadley told her the king of Macedonia was the vampire King. Was he truly a vampire of was that just his title. It was rather silly of Evangeline to still have doubts that mythical creatures existed after everything he had seen in the past few days, but her mind found it difficult to wrap around these broad concepts.

I'll surely believe it when I see him sucking blood.

She dipped into a low bow, mimicking what she'd seen in movies and hoping it was the right move.

The king nodded in approval, but his scowl remained.

"You're late," he said, his was deep and authoritative. "As expected."

Evangeline bit back a snarky reply and instead forced a smile to her lips. "Apologies, Your Majesty."

The kings' expression remained the same.

"Unfortunately," he began, his tone dripping with disdain, "the anniversary ceremony is canceled. My son has disgraced me."

Before Evangeline could process that, a mangled, bloody cat was suddenly thrown in front of her.

She screamed. A loud, unfiltered scream that echoed through the hall as she stumbled back.

The king's scowl deepened. "My son," he said, his voice filled with venom, "had the audacity to keep this as a pet."

Evangeline gaped at him in disbelief. "It's a cat."

"A man should not have emotions," the king declared in a loud voice that echoed.

Evangeline's hatred for him burned so brightly she thought she might actually explode.

Before she could say anything that might get her executed, the doors to the hall opened, and guards marched in dragging someone behind them.

The crown prince… it had to be.

Evangeline's breath caught.

He was a mess, but in the most devastatingly attractive way possible. His blonde hair was plastered to his forehead, his shirt ripped open to reveal a chest that looked like it belonged on a marble sculpture.

Blood that was not his stained his clothes, but his sharp blue eyes burned with hatred as he glared at his father. He looked like an utterly broken man.

"He killed my men in a useless fit of rage," the king declared, his voice booming. "And that is an act of treason. He is banished from Macedonia, never to return."

Evangeline's jaw dropped. Banished?

The prince didn't say a word. His piercing gaze never left his father as the guards dragged him away.

Evangeline didn't know him, hell, she didn't even know what was going on,but the sight of him being treated like this made her blood boil.

The king stood, grabbing a jug of wine and drinking straight from it like an unhinged frat boy. Wine dripped down his chin, staining his pristine clothes, but he didn't seem to care.

"The ceremony is over," he announced, slumping back into his throne.

Evangeline took that as her cue to leave, but while everyone was distracted and preparing to leave, she grabbed the mangled cat, luckily for her, she was still breathing, she just needed a little warmth, rest and food.

Evangeline was well versed in animal care thanks to her courses she took in freshman year on vertenary medicine, yes, she loved animals that much.

Outside, she spotted the prince being shoved into a carriage. Her gut twisted as she watched him, his shoulders slumped in defeat as the door slammed shut behind him.

"Follow that carriage," she hurriedly told her footman the moment she reached her own carriage.

The footman raised a brow. "My lady?"

"Just do it," she snapped, her voice sounded much firmer than she intended.

The footman didn't argue, he simply climbed onto his seat and moved the horses.

Evangeline leaned back in the velvet chair as she caressed the barely breathing black cat in her arms, her heart raced as the carriage began to move.

She had no idea what she was doing or what she would even say to him.

Hi! I'm Evangeline, you probably know me because we're bethrothed— um here! I have your cat?

Yeah, he was probably going to hate the shit out of her.