Chapter 69: Answers In The Rain
"Maybe he is dealing with some official work, he is the crown prince of this kingdom, after all. I heard he is very much involved in internal affairs, even while his father still rules." Oliver said, almost in admiration of Ivan. His words made Eve think that perhaps something serious must have happened for him to be away and here she assumed the worst about him. She silently reprimanded herself.
"Your Highness, do let me know if you ever need any help, I will always be happy to assist," he said with a kind smile, his eyes shining with sincerity.
"Thank you, Lord Oliver, I’ll keep that in mind."
They stopped as they reached the door to her room.
"Well then, I will leave you to rest." He gave her a slight bow and added, "I’ll see you around."
"Yes, take care." she replied. With that, he left her, and she stepped inside her room.
Night came quickly, and it was starting to get a little chilly with the continuous heavy downpour from the sky and the wind sweeping across the land. Evelyn had finished her dinner and decided to take a warm, relaxing bath to ease the tiredness out of her body.
She let her dress pool at her feet, and gracefully stepped inside the steaming water, letting out a soft sigh when she settled. As she stared at the ceiling, her mind replayed the scene that took place back in the cave. How he had kissed her so passionately, making her heart feel so many things that she never imagined she could feel from anyone.
She had always been alone her entire life, with only High Priest Septimus guiding her and her late nanny, who had passed away in her sleep two years ago.
Though she deeply appreciated and loved them for their care in the lonely castle, she knew they were still somehow bound by their duty to look after her, as she was a royal. Yet, Evelyn still felt the glaring absence of unconditional love in her life.
Only her mother loved her like that, but she left her too soon, and her departure plunged Eve into a world of darkness she didn’t know how to escape. The constant bullying and punishment from her stepmother and half brother left a gaping wound in her heart at a tender age. Her brother would often add dirt to her food and force her either to eat it or go hungry that day. His mother, Queen Elara, would lock her in her room or hit her if she ever dared to question her. The royal staff never breathed a word about it to her father, as they were all terrified of the queen.
Her father had abandoned her, leaving her at the mercy of them. He never knew what the new queen did to her, or he simply turned a blind eye to it. Eve had cried so much that her tears had eventually dried up, and her heart had grown a thick skin against everything and everyone. She had learnt over time that people always leave, no matter what, so it was better not to expect too much or get overly attached.
This was another reason; no man had ever caught her attention as she grew up, until she met him. Ivan was an enigma to her. He was cold, yet his gaze burned her. He was indifferent, yet he was one of the few people who truly protected her, something that her own father had never done. She felt a connection with him that she had never felt with anyone else ever before. How? Why did she feel like she had known him all her life, when she had no memory of ever meeting him before their unexpected encounter in the lonely corridor of this academy?
The pull towards him was so strong, like he was the centre of gravity which she could never defy, for if she did, it would be going against nature itself.
"Ivan.." she whispered his name longingly and sank further in the water until she was fully submerged. As she stayed there for a couple of seconds, as if trying to wash away any kind of yearning she felt towards him.
Knock Knock
Her eyes that were shut under water, suddenly snapped open at the sound of a knock on her room door.
When she resurfaced, she ran her hands through her hair to push it back, and that’s when she heard another soft knock on the door, something she heard clearly this time. With a crease on her forehead, she muttered under her breath, "Who could it be this late at night?"
Slowly stepping out from the tub, she quickly dried herself and put on her robe. She stepped out of her bathroom and walked to her door, and with a soft click, she unlocked her room to take a peek. When she did not see anyone immediately, her frown deepened, and she opened her door a little wider to inspect, only to find no one there.
She wondered if she was imagining things, when she was about to close the door, her eyes drew to an envelope on the floor. Bending down, she picked it up and shut her door before she padded inside her room. Turning the envelope over, she saw cursive handwriting, "To Evelyn." The writing looked like it was Ivan’s, as she had seen it many times before. Her heart picked up as she slowly opened the neat little letter inside the envelope, which read:
"Come to the back gate of the academy, you’ll find all your answers there. I’ll be waiting.
-Ivan"
She turned the page around to see if anything else had been mentioned, but that was all. She narrowed her eyes as she studied the handwriting, which very much looked like his, yet with so many mysterious attacks happening on her lately, she couldn’t help but doubt if the letter was really written by him, and why would he leave it out like that in front of her door instead of directly speaking to her here? As questions swirled in her mind, she placed the letter on her desk and started to get dressed. Once she was in a pale blue dress, she combed her hair and decided to ask him directly. Holding the letter in her hand, she stepped out of her room. There was still half an hour before the clock struck ten. The corridor was almost quiet as there were barely any people on this side of the wing.
She walked in front of Ivan’s room and knocked; her heart thudded against her chest at the thought of finally seeing him again. When he didn’t answer, she knocked again.
Once more, when all was met with silence, she contemplated whether to check with Cece or Damien to confirm if he was really back in the academy. But then she would need to show them the letter and explain things between her and Ivan that she herself didn’t have any answers to yet.
She pressed her lips together, unsure of what to do. What if it wasn’t him, but a plot to ambush her? But if it was really him, then he would be waiting for her there, and if she didn’t show up, it would give him the impression that she wasn’t interested in whatever it was?
Throwing caution to the wind, she decided to quickly take a look and see if he was really there or not. And if not, then she would just run back to her room. She quickly returned to her room and wrote a note addressing to Cece:
"If you don’t find me in my room, know that I am most probably in trouble and at the back gate of the academy."
She folded the paper, wrote Cece’s name on top and left it on her desk.
She then went to her bedside, pulled a sheathed dagger from under the pillow and strapped it to her waist before slipping on a robe to cover it. "This is just for safety," she murmured to herself, trying to convince herself that it wasn’t foolish at all.
Evelyn knew she was taking a big risk, but despite the danger and the overwhelming need to see him to finally get answers to her questions, it made her believe that maybe Ivan had sent her the letter, not anyone else, as no one knew what had happened between them in that cave. Still, a doubt lingered at the back of her mind, which was why she was exercising this level of caution.
With that, she grabbed her umbrella and headed towards the back gate of the academy. It was quieter than usual, as most of the students retreated to their rooms because of the heavy rain and with the curfew approaching, the campus seemed almost deserted.
Once she reached the back gate of the academy, she looked around but found no one there. Her brows creased as she clenched the letter in her hand, crushing it in the process.
"Something doesn’t seem right," she muttered in a breathy whisper as she started to retreat her steps backwards. Her gut was telling her that she needed to get out of here as soon as possible. But just as she took another step, her back hit against something solid, making her umbrella fall from her grip.
Before she could turn, a hand flew to her face and covered her nose with a cloth. "Mmm.." she whimpered under pressure. Instinctively, she held her breath, refusing to inhale whatever might be on the cloth.
