The Hidden Orphan (The Chronicles of Mistar - Book 2)

Eight · · · Evangelene (.2)

Eva stood up from her seat on the bench when they were gone. Her heart was beating so fast she didn't know what to do. She was only relieved that it wasn't the same feeling she had when she had been with Siend. With him, Eva had felt scared. Just now, Eva knew that her heart had been racing but she didn't really know how to feel. She wasn't frightened. She just felt... sad.

Smoothing the wrinkles out of her dress, Eva watched the double doors in front of her. She had to go back in. People, mostly Siend, were probably wondering where she had been. Her only hope, though, was that people didn't hear Tapalla cry. If they did, there would be questions, and rumors around the castle were never good.

Putting a smile on her face, Eva pushed the doors to the grand ballroom open. A few girls stared but turned away within seconds. After all, Eva wasn't the main event. One person did catch Eva's eye though.

Siend.

Eva didn't walk over to him when he smiled at her, starting to come her way. Instead, she went the opposite way. Pulling up her large dress so she could walk easier, and found herself walking up the grand staircase that led to her throne, her sister's throne, and most of all, her father, the king's throne.

When she got to the top, there was no talk of crying or loud screams in the hallway, so Eva moved her attention away from her father to the crowd below. She could see Eve and her betrothed laughing as they shoved food in their faces like a married couple. It disgusted Eva so she looked away and found a couple kissing at the entrance to a balcony. If she listened closely, Eva sound here the woman's sound of laughter when she pushed her loved away and ran into the night, his smile not far behind her.

Everywhere she looked, Eva saw love in the air. After all, the ball was to promote the marriage of a new king and queen. With the talk of marriage, there was bound to be marriage proposals and midnight walks in Castle Starlight's magnificent garden. It also meant that there was bound to be talk of politics. Fathers and mothers of the smaller, not prominent, families wound scheme and beg for a betrothed marriage to someone of higher status. Eva was glad those days were over and her father picked out someone for her who wasn't too bad and was actually a decent human being.

Most of the people in court were ruthless and arrogant, always thinking they were better than the person in front of them. Eva never cared, so when she spotted the groups of families on the outskirts of the ballroom, watching the more noble families pass by, eyeing their children, she looked away in disgust.

That's when her eye caught his again.

Siend now stood leaning on the bottom edge of the stairs. Still smiling, even though Eva had totally blown him off at his first invitation, he bowed and stuck out his hand for her to take. Snarling, Eva marched over to the other side of the staircase. When he realized what was happening, Siend quickly righted himself and pushed through the crowd of people who were blocking his way.

When Eva was quarter ways down the set of stairs, Siend had finally made it to the base waiting for her. The people he left in his wake looked as they had gotten trampled by an elckon herd. They all eyed Siend with distaste and were probably muttering to themselves about how wrong they'd been about his goodness and that he would become a bad king. By the look on Siend's face, Eva could tell that he didn't care.

Eva stopped in her tracks, smirking, daring him to come get her. Siend took one step up the stairs and waited. After a few seconds, Eva took a step back up the stairs. Shaking his head as he laughed, Siend took two more steps up the stairs. Biting her lip, Eva turned around and did the same. She stopped there and looked over her shoulder. By his body stance, she knew Siend could tell what she had planned.

In a matter of seconds, Eva bolted up the stairs. Siend was faster though, not stuck in a giant dress like Eva, so he caught her around the waist when she was all the way up the stairs and only a few steps away. When Eva turned to look at him, she laughed when she noticed that his clear glasses had fallen off his nose and onto his lips.