The Heart Of A Vampire

chapter thirty: a friend

"Ah, of course- I knew that," he responded hastily.

She didn't say anything back, her smile slowly fading as she looked up at him. Suddenly, they both heard Vlads name being called from deep inside the castle.

Evangeline's brow furrowed and a confused expression appeared on her face. "Who's that?" She asked him. "I thought you said you were all alone here."

"I am, of course I am- it's simply a guest. An old friend who's come to stay with me at the castle for the next week or so. She'll be leaving soon enough."

"Oh. Then maybe you should go back to talking to her. I wouldn't want to keep you out here when she clearly wanted something from you," Evangeline responded.

"Of course," he quickly said, though he made no move to return back inside.

Taking advantage of it, Evangeline spoke. "Before you go- do you think you'd like to come over to my home tonight for dinner? Since we didn't get to talk much before she cut us short? And I'd like to thank you for the gifts- I figured perhaps serving you a meal would serve as a way for me to do so"

"I don't think I'll be able to make it," he said quietly. "As I said, I have a guest, and it would be quite rude of me to leave her all alone in the castle without my company, yes?"

"Oh," she murmured, feeling a little bit embarrassed by Vlads rejection of her offer. "I see," she murmured quietly, appearing unsure of what to say next.

"Well.. I mean, anyways. Alright. I'll let you get back to your friend now. I'll see you later, okay?"

His only response was a single nod- a short, quick and sharp one, not making eye contact before he took a few steps backwards and stepped back into his castle, leaving Evangeline alone on the doorstep.

Her cheeks burned brightly with embarrassment. Never in her life had somebody declined such an offer- Vlad was a noble, a Count, he knew very well what an insult it was to decline an invitation to one's home. Any noble would.

His refusal was a blunt break of a social code that had been developed for centuries, and her initial reaction was to assume that it was his way of saying that he no longer wanted anything to do with her.

And so without another word, she silently trudged back to her cottage, stepping through the door, closing it behind her, then taking a seat on the couch.

TIMESKIP: 11 PM

Evangeline was only just now cleaning up after her dinner. She knelt outside in front of a bucket of water which she was using to wash her dishes.

(A.N: Bye idk how people washed dishes without sinks 😭)

Her mind was completely on the task of hand, and Penny was fast asleep on her lap. Suddenly, she felt a presence- somebody was making their way towards her, she could tell.

The sound of footsteps grew louder as they drew nearer, and soon enough she could just barely make out the faint silhouette of someone- a woman by the looks of it, slowly approaching.