“So you finally had the courage to come back to me?” Hazel stared hard at her sister who always swore to support her but betrayed her when Rafael came begging for help.
“Are you saying that you are not happy about it? The hickeys on his body and your neck are telling otherwise. I am sure the night was hot!” she raised a brow when Hazel mumbled a few cursed under her breath and then turned to look out of the window.
“So you are my lady in waiting. What happened to Diana, she did not want to see my face anymore?” Hazel chuckled when Rafael rolled his eyes and then took out some papers.
“These are the names of the nobles that were close to Rafael. You have met two women out of these when you saved them from fire.
Others are a few corrupt officials in higher posts. Your sister and empress have left for their maternal family as they pleaded innocent and claimed they have no idea about the corruption spread by their husband and son.
You might bump into them at the party. Anne would be a perfect choice to help you and.. You never liked Diana in the first place!” He passed the papers to Hazel who took the file and flipped the pages while scanning all the information.
“Why did he always ask you to cover the field while he just attacked while hiding in the bushes?” Anne looked at Rafael with disdain as she stood up. She snapped her fingers and words came flowing to her and entered her mind directly, leaving Hazel and Rafael stunned for a second.
“Because humans take women as weak and let their guards down easily.” said Hazel with a look of wonder in her eyes, “you have to teach that trick to me later.” She stood up holding the files in her hands and then waved goodbye to Rafael who was still not sure if they should go alone but knew that both were not going to listen to him.
“What do you know about hickeys when you have spent a hundred years alone! Do not tell me you are going to be a nun in the end.” where Hazel was dressed up as a princess, Anne was wearing the uniform of a maid as they both walked out and went towards the carriage.
Just as they reached in front of other staff, Anne took a step back and bowed her head while following Hazel like a maid.
The maids gave her a glance but did not think much about it. After the death of their crown prince and emperor was dragged to the prison, Rafael had changed a lot of staff for safety reasons.
Just as they both sat in the carriage and it started, Anne relaxed her straight shoulders and leaned on the chair.
“No! But I am worried that I would not never settle for a human or a vampire and I am still waiting for a perfect witch that could defeat me in sparring. Only then I would be able to give my heart to him.” she said with a smug look on her face when hazel shook her head.
“I am not sure if you are looking for a lover or a fighter but best of luck. I know a town of witches where you can find a few that will match your criteria.” her tone turned from teasing to serious when Anne raised a brow with a curious smile. “If you want, we can go there and meet a few while we are here!” she nodded her head in the end when she felt Anne was looking at her differently.
“You are trying to hide this from your lover and you did not want vampires to follow you because you are going to meet witches?” Anne tilted her head, “have you lost your mind? You know that he did not like witches and tried to annihilate them from ages, right?”
The teasing hint and mischief vanished from her face as she stared hard at Hazel who scoffed in return.
“You are forgetting that we both are witches too!” her voice was harsh as she glared at Anne. “I know my parents thought that I was a demon and tried to kill me with their whole coven.”
Her voice sank and she looked out of the window and wetted her lips from her tongue, “I even know that they sold me to the dark market where I was tormented for a long time. It would be a lie if I would say that I am not affected by bad memories of the past.”
A bitter smile forming on her face, “it still haunts me whenever I hear or see anything that triggers my past. But then.. Wasn’t Vincent a cruel human that killed many of his species and then there is Diana and Scarlet too.”
Anne shook her head with a look of disappointment as if she had heard a great joke.
“I have met Julia, a greedy but kind witch and Lucian.. He was better at some point. And Asher, James! There are many that are kind. So, I don’t want to lose faith in my own species.” she declared in a solemn tone, “let Rafael think what he wanted but i do not support mercilessly killing of witches or war.”
Anne stared at her sister with disbelief but she knew that she was not going to listen to her even if she tried.
“What if they wanted to kill you again?” she asked with a look of worry when Hazel chuckled, “that is still a mystery? I am still not sure how they killed me but I am sure I will know soon.
This time I am not that naive and helpless.” sparks started to form on her fingers as she looked at the carriage’s wheels and snapped her fingers. The carriage started to run faster than even the horses were not able to keep up. They neighed loudly with a confused coachman.
“This time I would find them first and kill them.”