Mauve's back came in contact with the carriage seat and stayed there for the first time since the journey started. She sighed in relief and even Vae looked happy that the journey had ended. She moved the carriage curtains a little to check out why they had stopped suddenly and Danag's face popped into view, she yelped.
She would have sworn he smirked at her scream. He quickly opened the carriage and didn't even bother apologizing for scaring her. Mauve frowned in displeasure.
"I apologize for the abrupt stop but unfortunately, we cannot continue this journey for now." He muttered staring her straight in the eye.
Mauve was still terrified of vampires and even right now, her fear was not hidden. She half expected him to jump at her at the slightest provocation.
"Wh-Why not?" She stuttered.
"Why not?" He asked sarcastically and glared at her like she had asked the most absurd question ever. "I am a vampire, the sun is out. Do the math. Your tent would be ready in a few minutes unless, of course, you don't mind staying in the carriage for a couple of hours."
"The tent would do just fine, " she replied, matching his contempt. She knew vampires couldn't come out in the sun but she didn't exactly know the consequences.
"Well then, we'll get it ready for you." He said the last word with attitude and walked out of view, leaving the door open behind him.
Mauve frowned wondering who the other person was but she already figured they weren't alone after all someone else had to ride the second carriage. It definitely wasn't riding itself. She stood up slightly and grabbed hold of the carriage door sides and pushed herself out.
The first thing she noticed was how green it was. It was an open field and there were wildflowers everywhere. Mauve closed her eyes at the nostalgic feeling that hit her in the guts. She had been here, a vague memory pushed itself to the top of her thoughts.
Mauve's stomach growled suddenly, reminding her that food should be her next agenda. It was loud enough for Vae to hear but the maid acted like nothing out of the ordinary happened. Mauve rolled her eyes and frowned at her hunger but she would rather die from it than ask Danag. He was likely to say something humiliating.
She walked towards the tent Danag and another vampire was setting up. Mauve didn't think the other vampire looked familiar. They looked to be about done. She stood inches away, hands akimbo as she watched.
She wasn't going to be intimidated by Danag and even if she was terrified of vampires she figured they would transport her safely to the castle else they wouldn't bother with the tent.
"All done Princess!" Danag muttered and spat.
She glared at him, "Thank you." She replied through closed teeth. She would worry about the rest of the details later but right now her brain needed a break. She was sleepy as hell even more than she was hungry. She needed to rest.
She bent to get into the tent without another glance at Danag or the other vampire. Vae followed closely behind her. She stood to her full height and had to force herself to not gasp.
The tent was bigger than it looked from the outside. She had thought she would sleep on the ground but there was an actual bed in the tent. Well, it wasn't exactly a bed but she had slept in worse conditions and if it wasn't for these four weeks, she would have never known it was possible to roll in bed and not fall off.
She appreciated the bed, she couldn't help but wonder when they had the time to set this up. She wasn't complaining, a good sleep was better than no sleep.
"Food!" Cried Vae.
Mauve turned her face to the direction Vae was pointing and indeed there was food. A bunch of fruits and two flasks laid by the side of the tents. Mauve didn't think, she rushed towards it and dug her teeth into a huge apple. It was quite juicy.
She moaned softly as she chewed. She didn't think she had ever eaten an apple so good but it was probably her hunger talking. She lifted a flask and opened it, the contents showed water. She drank some.
Halfway through the apple, she looked up to find Vae staring at her unmoving. She almost rolled her eyes but she didn't blame the poor girl, it was tradition. Since she was in charge, Vae couldn't do anything without her permission.
"You may join me." She muttered and kept munching.
Vae looked as if to protest but she didn't and quickly sat on the floor as she ate with Mauve. Mauve ate quickly as she ate a lot. She often wondered where all the food she usually ate would go but even as much as she could eat in one sitting it took a lot for her to get hungry again.
She took another sip of water and burped loudly, having gotten a little too comfortable as she sat on the floor. Vae jerked in her direction, looking at her oddly. Mauve didn't say anything, just acted as though nothing happened.
She was a princess for just four weeks, she was allowed to revert to her old ways once in a while. Standing up slowly, she took off her shoes and threw herself onto the bed. There was only one, the other just looked like a sheet was placed on the ground but she didn't think about it too much, she was sure Vae had slept on worse. Now that she had eaten, her body was slowly shutting down. She was asleep in less than a minute.
"Princess," a voice softly said, shaking her.
"Hmm," she muttered, rolling to her side as she got more comfortable.
"Wake up Princess Mauve!" Vae yelled.
"Damn!" She screamed and immediately sat upright. She found Vae staring at her. "You scared me."
"Sorry Princess but one of the vampires was here. You need to get ready, we leave in a few minutes." Vae said, standing up to her feet from where she was kneeling.
Mauve threw her legs to the floor, she already missed the castle and servants being at her beck and call, and most importantly being able to sleep for as long as she wanted to. "How long was I asleep?" She asked as she retied her hair.
"At least eight hours, the sun would set in less than an hour," Vae muttered but made no sign to help Mauve with her hair, rather she remained standing.
"Eight hours?!" She screamed in shock.