When Vincent reached Meadow, darkness had fallen upon the lands. Most townsfolk were inside their houses, while some walked on the streets, heading home. And then there were people who were continuing their punishment in the centre of the town--sitting in shame and humiliation.
The people responsible for hurting Eve earlier, continued to kneel on the ground with their hands up and a tired expression on their faces, as hours had passed since they were in the same position.
"Hands higher!" One of the guards demanded from Mrs. Humphrey, who, out of pain in her arms, had lowered her hands.
"My arms are aching," Mrs. Humphrey complained with her face scrunched in pain. "How much longer are we supposed to stay here like this? We have begged for forgiveness."
"Mrs. Humphrey, you should feel grateful that your body is still intact and not broken," the man whose finger had been crushed glared. After being slammed against the metal pole, he had woken up after an hour of unconsciousness before joining everyone else to kneel with them.
Mrs. Edwards was exhausted even though Vincent hadn't broken her bones or slapped her. She wheezed in exhaustion, "I will never look at the Dawson's residence ever again. I don't want to do anything with their matters. Nothing at all."
Noticing the pureblooded vampire appear out of nowhere, one of the men shushed everyone from complaining. Patrick started to sweat, and moved to the side so the vampire wouldn't wash him like a dirty cloth.
Vincent didn't bother to spare a look at the townsfolk and walked past them as if they didn't exist. He reached Dawson's residence and knocked on the door, while feeling his mind racing with his thoughts.
The lantern hanging in front of the house burned with a low flame.
In the past, Vincent's doubt had surfaced because they were both mermaids, but his memory of the girl had been suppressed. It wasn't that he was in love with the little girl, as he was too young and too proud to have feelings for a being who was below his pureblooded lineage. But he had been fascinated by the girl who cried pearls.
He couldn't tell what exactly his young self had been enamoured about her. If it was her appearance or if it was her tears. Somewhere he had wanted to find her again as if he had lost something in the crowd. Knowing there was something more, after all, she was the first and only person to bite him. The thought made him narrow his eyes as he stared at the closed door and knocked on the door again.
The woman Eve had turned out to be, what Vincent was familiar with, she pulled out actions from him that he had never shown to people out of his family, which was also rare. Though he found joy when it came to annoying people in general, it was her reactions that he enjoyed the most.
Vincent frowned when Eve didn't open the door. He walked around the house and stood in front of the living room window. Looking inside, he noticed it was dark, and his eyes narrowed.
Hearing footsteps outside the gate of Dawson's residence, Vincent turned, hoping to find Eve, but it was the town's magistrate.
The magistrate held a smile on his lips, as if he had perfectly done whatever Vincent had ordered him to do. He greeted the pureblooded vampire, ready to receive the praise,
"Mr. Moriarty, good evening. I followed all your orders and helped Ms. Barlow to get a carriage--" it took only a second for Vincent to wrap his hand around the magistrate's neck.
"I told you to keep a watch on her, not send her away from here," Vincent's gaze turned furious, as he glared at the magistrate, who started to cough and tapped his hands on the vampire's fingers around his neck.
"M--Mr. Moriar--arty," the magistrate panicked, "I can't b--breathe!"
Vincent let go of the magistrate's neck, knowing time was slipping like sand through his fingers and he demanded, "What time did she leave from here?" The human coughed and gasped for air.
The magistrate noticed sparks of anger spilling from the vampire's demeanour, and he nervously answered, "I--I don't remember the exact time, but it was before the sky had turned completely dark. I remember asking her why she was lighting the lantern if she was leaving."
'I don't want it to be dark when he comes here. If he comes by... please tell him that I am sorry,' the magistrate remembered Eve's words before she had climbed into the carriage.
Vincent ran his fingers through his thick lock of silver hair and an irritated sigh escaped from his lips. He had hoped she would rest after what had transpired today. He had told her he would be there for her, didn't he? That he would return to her.
The pureblooded vampire's anger that had lowered earlier increased tenfold. Noticing the intimidating aura coming from Vincent, the magistrate turned fearful.
Having never come across these feelings before and with the attention to visit the Council, Vincent had missed conveying the words that could have made Eve stay back.
But Eve had left Meadow and him.
Vincent turned away from the door. She couldn't have gone too far, he thought in his mind. Soon black wings emerged from his back, and the magistrate's eyes widened in shock, as he noticed the wings spread wide behind the vampire's back and with one flap of the wings, the devil-like vampire shot up in the sky, leaving Meadow.
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Far away from Meadow, Eve's head rested against the side of the carriage as the horses pulled the vehicle through the forest path. She looked outside the window, where the trees passed in the darkness.
Eve knew she wouldn't have been able to leave Meadow if Vincent had been in front of her. The resolve she had built would drown, and so would she.
There was a heaviness in her heart as she moved farther and farther away from the person she had feelings for. Only two days had passed since she confessed to Vincent and he had rejected her. She didn't forget the kindness he had shown her.
"Excuse me," the woman passenger called the male passenger, who sat next to Eve. "What time is it now?"
The man pulled out his pocket watch and brought the device closer to the window. He answered, "It is going to be thirty past seven, milady."
Earlier, the town's magistrate had got the local carriage in front of her house before loading her luggage and picking up two more passengers on their way.
"Thank you," the woman offered a small bow before her curious gaze shifted to Eve as she sported a wound on her forehead.
Eve offered a bow to the blonde woman, and the woman realised she had been staring, and she returned the bow before looking outside the carriage. Before leaving her house, Eve had changed her clothes and combed her golden-blonde hair that had been pulled by people earlier. She had then wrapped a scarf around her face as if wanting to hide the wound on her face that could attract attention.
When the carriage reached Thresk Hills, the local coachman got down from the driver's seat and opened the door for the three passengers inside it. Once both the woman's trunks were brought down to the ground, the woman who had earlier asked for the time asked the local coachman,
"Where are the carriages for Berkshire parked?" It seemed like this woman was going to ride along with her too, Eve thought.
The local coachman turned back, pointing in the direction, "You will find it on the right corner there. The carriage must be on its way and will move at eight." The woman murmured a thank you, who only had a small bag with her and walked in the direction where the carriages would arrive.
Eve's blue eyes looked at people still walking up and down the streets of the town. She wondered if the inn where they sold the cakes was open and had cakes left. There was still time before the carriage she was going to travel in would arrive, and a little snack would ease her nerves.
Picking up her trunk with one hand and carrying the smaller bag over her shoulder, she started to walk towards it. But when she arrived at the inn, the couple were closing the place as if they were done for the day.
Eve bit her lower lip. It seemed like she had run out of luck today. How unfortunate, she thought to herself. She turned around to go back to the local carriage stop when she saw him standing a few distances before her.
Her feet stopped, and she stared back at him.
"What are you doing here, Genevieve?" Noah asked her with a frown when his eyes fell on her forehead.
