Chapter 68: Befuddled Mind
Arawn glanced out of the corner of his eyes as he drank from the crystal cut glass of wine. Evanna sat there almost motionless, staring at her surroundings, looking slightly lost. Her shoulders, which were bare, and looking delectable in the dress she wore, were slightly slouched from her otherwise perfect posture; the only other sign that she had been affected by what he did in front of her. She quickly corrected herself, setting her shoulders back and reached for her own wine glass, taking a tentative sip as her face once again became composed.
Arawn placed his glass down carefully and clicked his fingers for a servant to clean the blood, hand and Evanna’s plate up. Evanna looked away when the servant picked up the hand from the floor and carried it towards the door that led to a back room, only meant for servants. Arawn, on the other hand, chose that moment to openly observe her. He tilted his head to the side and leaned his elbow on the table, resting his head in his hand.
He watched in between the motions of the servant’s wiping the blood away and removing the plate. Arawn had been testing her to see the extent of her nobility. Was she a daughter of a Duke or a Lord? Her reaction to such brutal violence made him believe she had seen much more than what she was capable of when fighting. Most women would grow faint or be sick; her reaction was coolly breezed over with composure.
Was this because she was a prisoner in unknown territory, or maybe because she was someone of a much higher rank? Someone who had seen the wrath of a king before? He narrowed his crystal blue orbs at her just as the servant finished cleaning and left. But scoffed and looked away from her stunning ethereal green eyes; why would a princess leave their palace and travel such dangerous roads?
While the prince debated with himself over the many questions, he seemed to keep wondering about the dark-haired beauty sitting next to him; Evanna had finished the last of her wine after looking away from the prince’s icy blue gaze. She tried to guess the time and how long she sat at the dining table between the elven king and prince and when it was appropriate if it was, allowed to leave the room. Her gaze went up to the ceiling; it seemed this was the only room she had been in so far that had a closed roof and looked somewhat similar to her palace in Dunhurst.
Either this room looked similar to the one in Dunhurst, or the ’wine went straight to her head’. Or so she thought. Evanna had merely heard that expression and accustomed it to clumsiness from drinking too much. It was, after all, her first time trying the liquid, and she couldn’t help but compare it to that ghastly stuff Ger drank in Kuramji. The thought saddened her by the memory of her friends and now at her lack of freedom.
Evanna accidentally let out a sigh, and she covered her mouth, glancing around. Fortunately, no one had been watching her until she glanced to her right and saw the prince still looking directly at her. She swallowed lightly as she watched his eyes wander from her face and down her outfit once more. Evanna felt herself becoming heated from his openness to look at her in such a way; she looked away, suddenly feeling cold from his earlier brutality.
"Are you finished?"
Evanna turned her head back and saw Arawn standing, his hand extended towards her. She couldn’t help but eye his hand before hesitantly placing her own in his. The moment her fingers touched his hand, she felt a shock pass through her, and she shivered. Even after being so merciless, the slightest touch from him made her body react in such a way towards him; she couldn’t understand it.