The First Glance

*Illyria's POV*

"Oda, have you heard anything from Emperor Basilius yet?" I asked my handmaiden, as I softly tugged the petals off the white daisy in my hands. Each petal floated slowly to the ground, and as it settled into the grass below my heart sank more and more.

"Nothing yet my dear." She spoke gently, clipping laundry on the line that was hanging over the garden corridor. She hummed as she worked, her red shoulder length curls becoming messily scrambled in the wind.

Eventually I tossed away the empty daisy stem and leaned back into the grass, spreading out my limbs comfortably and letting out a loud huff. The dark silk skirt I wore blowing gently with the wind as it blew around me. We had spent a good half of the morning tending the gardens right outside my bedroom, and completing the few chores we saw around us.

There were so many beautiful flowers and berry bushes in the garden. I wasn't sure if any of them were poisonous, though, Oda had told me of the few she read about on one of her journeys to the library. She had promised to bring me a Forager's guide next time she went, maybe eventually I could go too.

I truly doubted that anyone would put a poisonous plant within the palace, but with those bloodsucking beasts here... only one can guess it seemed. I wasn't sure if it was okay for me to feel so **OK** with being here... but I really didn't have any choice. I really needed to get over my irrational fears, and just... enjoy the scenery.

*'How much longer will I be holed up here, just waiting?'* I thought sadly. *'After awhile... this place just seems so quiet and **boring.**'*

I felt so *lonely*, I missed my family and my home. I knew I was never going back. And I had so many questions to ask the emperor... if he would give me a few moments of his day.

Though my adventure to the gardens with Oda had helped clear my struggling mind, all I could focus on was trying to get answers.

I looked up at the clouds, taking in a deep breath of fresh air. The sky was a bright baby blue, and the clouds looked so perfectly animated... it was as if they had been painted into the sky. *'At least I can enjoy the beauty of the skies here...'* I thought to myself, just enjoying the view above me.

*'Mom, Dad...'* I let out a long sigh, closing my eyes and letting the sun soak into my light skin. *'I could have done more to help you.'* A few stray tears ran down my cheeks, I attempted to wipe them away, but the warm sun made them evaporate as quickly as they had appeared.

I flopped my arms down in the grass, listening to its soft crunches as it was crushed under my weight. *'The sun is so warm..'* I thought as I turned onto my side.

Suddenly something bright shined right on my face, through my closed eyelids. "Ugh..." I groaned somewhat startled.

Under the window beside my bed was a beautiful golden bench, Covered in shade by two incredibly tall dark oak trees. And seated on the edge of the bench, with his elbows relaxed on his knees, was a strikingly handsome stranger. His pure black blazer sood out among the brightly colored atmosphere, a sparking golden pin on the fold of his blazer shining in the sun.

*'Who is that?'* I thought, sitting up on my elbows to get a better view. He ran his hands through his messy brown curls, his black blazer folding tightly with his every move. He gazed around in the distance, searching for something.

He.. had no shirt beneath his dark jacket. The breeze suddenly got stronger, blowing his curls around and away from his face. Instantaneously his ice blue eyes met mine, as if I was what he had been looking for. We both froze, staying like that for a moment. My heart picked up pace, fluttering lightly. *'He is so... handsome.'*

I turned to Oda, who had her back in his direction as she sang under her breath and hung the wet clothes in her basket. "Hey, Oda... Who is that man?" I curiously asked her, sitting up and gesturing in his direction.

"Who?" She looked over her shoulder in the direction I was referring to, but by the time we had turned back to the golden bench it sat empty. "I don't see anyone.." she looked around, confused. She was right, as I looked around I saw no sign of him.

"Huh.. strange." I muttered, staring back to the empty bench. The wind blew around carrying loose leaves and petals with it, making the trees sway with its minimal force.

"Well..." I stood up, "How about I help you finish up here?" I smiled, taking some pins in my hands. "Oh no Princess, you don't need to do that." She blushed softly, ushering me back to my place in the grass. "You have helped me more than a Princess should already!!"

"Oda, Please! I'm so bored! Besides, I always helped with chores and housework at home. Mother felt it was good life skills..." I trailed off to a whisper, feeling my face go blank again. I walked to the basket and began to clip a wet sheet to the line, immediately trying to block out my painful thoughts.

"Princess..." she sighed, "Alright. but please don't overwork yourself." She smiled, ultimately defeated.

"Please... Just call me Illyria." I laughed softly, my heart breaking a little. "No need for you to use a dead formality."


****
*Rowen's POV*

*'Finally... She's close.'* I thought to myself, as the sweet blood scent I was following became stronger. As I walked through the garden I heard a woman talking, her voice soft and delicate with every word.

"Oda, have you heard anything from Emperor Basilius yet?" I slowed my steps, attempting to quiet them. *'What would a palace woman want with father?'* I thought to myself, becoming more curious about the woman speaking so gently.

I looked around, for a place to rest.. and eavesdrop. I used to play in this garden with my mother as a child, It was still just the same as she left it... as if she hadn't ever gone.

My eyes found a familiar spot, *'Ah mothers bench.... I can rest here and listen in. Maybe it will give me a clue on where the Vestal may be.'* I thought, walking quietly to the shaded seat that my mother used to sit and read on in my youth.

I used to be such a curious child, hiding and watching my mothers eyes as she read her world-altering books. I had always found her so beautiful, especially when she was escaping into a well-written universe.

*'I miss her terribly..'* I thought to myself, as an old ache in my heart arose, re-familiarizing itself with my senses. *'Time sure passes much slower now that you're gone...'* The wind began to blow my annoyingly curly hair into my face, so I fingered them back into place until the wind slowed again.

I was quickly pulled from my thoughts when a second voice answered the first, "Nothing yet my dear." A short redheaded woman dressed in a dark green dress spoke, resuming her humming as she hung clothes out to dry.

*'So she wasn't the one speaking earlier?'* I looked around for the other person, confused by the particularly gentle voice I had heard moments before. I heard some sounds, like rustling in the grass, followed by a soft huff.

"Hmm..." I searched the areas around the servant, growing more curious as my eyes found nothing. *'Maybe it's a child?'* I wondered to myself, unsure which direction the shuffling came from.

I took a seat on the ornate golden bench, and took a deep whiff of the air that swirled around me. *'She must be here.... it smells so...'*

*'Enchanting.'* As I completed my thoughts, my eyes met with the two most beautiful violet Irises I have ever seen.

I froze. It felt like my heart stopped, time stopped. *'She must be...'* I held my breath at the thought. Her Irises glimmered, as if she mirrored my inner thoughts within her own.

Her rosey curls swirled around her softly, melting into the air. She had propped herself up on her elbow to see me, meaning she was aware of my presence... Interested in it even. The silk of her deep red dress fluttered in the wind, matching my heartbeat. Her chest and neck just exposed enough to reveal some of her secret places within her black corset, but not enough to satisfy.

"Hey Oda..." Her words trailed off as she gestured in my direction, and I panicked. *'If father knew I was here... he would have my head.'* I needed to disappear before anyone else knew I had come here.

I darted for the edge of the garden, using my vampiric speed. *'I won't be caught this way.'*

I hoisted myself up and over the fence separating the large women's hall building from the rest of the world, and knelt on the ground. Just enough to where I could see her stand from the other side, through the bushes in front of me.

"She's Beautiful... she must be the Vestal." I took a deep breath again, filling my lungs with the smell of her gratifying blood.

I could still feel the flush of red in my cheeks from the few moments we had just shared, and covered my smile shyly. I felt like a young boy again, sneaking around and taking pleasure in the small things.

"I... have to see her again." I murmured, watching her as she smiled, laughing with the young servant now standing beside her as she helped hang clothes. *'Even if she isn't the Vestal...'* I thought to myself, my heart still racing. *'She **must** be mine."*