Valerian Empire

After the awkward incident that took place in the Lord's room, Katherine avoided going anywhere near the Lord or in the possible line of his sight. As sweet as the apple was, she had been caught looking and now she was utterly mortified to face him.

What would he have thought of her?

The sinful scene had gone through her mind like that of a reeling projector every time she thought about it and she felt her breath getting shallower with every single detail of what she had seen.

She had chastised herself after she had ran out of his room, thinking what had gotten to her when she could have turned away from the view. She could have saved herself from embarrassment. She could have left discreetly as if she hadn't witnessed anything without his notice but she didn't.

How could she, when the man of her dreams stood at the end of the bath hypnotizing her?

The droplets of water had moved like shooting stars from his shoulder down behind his back, his muscles flexing as he moved his hands up and down while he washed his black hair. And when he turned, oh dear God didn't the sight make her heart shudder in her chest. It still did.

His head tilted up as he ran his fingers through his wet hair. His eyes closed below his demanding dark arched brows.

He was the forbidden apple from the Eden garden, she thought picking up the dry hay in front of her with a sigh and placing it in the barrel.

Since four days instead of her regular task of cleaning shelves and cabinets Katie had switched places with another maid to work at the stables.

It was the first time she saw a man's body, that bare and close. Of course she had seen the Greek sculptured pictures of the males in the books to see how they differed from women. She had heard her friends in the town she had lived before speaking about it and it had made her curious enough to sneak a glance.

If it wasn't for the amount of smoke like steam above the water she would have seen him naked. She felt her face turn red at the thought of it.

"You all alright there?" One of the men who worked in the stable asked her and she nodded in response as he went out of the stable like shed, "It's really hot today."

Katie noticed the man was right as she felt a bead of sweat trail behind her ear. With the trees and bushes surrounding the mansion she hadn't felt the heat due to the shade.

The stable was vast to provide shelter to many horses.

"We don't have it this bad. I think summer is approaching sooner than we guessed," she heard Caviar from behind as he brought in a horse with him inside the shed.

"How was the ride?" Katie asked him.

"She's learning slowly. Steadier than last week," she saw him pat the mare's head before going to tie her, "I see you are getting used to working here at the stables," he said seeing her hands covered in mud while he tied the rope into a knot.

"Anyone could get used to this," she smiled looking down at her hands.

She didn't mind the dirt, this place reminded of her home she had grown up in. There weren't many women who worked around this side of the mansion due to the dirt, dust and heat of the sun.

Most of the men who worked in the stables were buff and tall as they carried logs or other objects. Compared to them Caviar was less rough on eyes. His short brown hair complimented the color of his eyes. He was the one who had shown her around the shed, introducing her to the people. In some ways, he reminded her of her cousin, Ralph.

When she looked back at Caviar she saw him smiling at her, "Women don't often like it here, not the heat at least. They worry about their complexion going down. Did you say you lived in the south empire?" he questioned.

"I did. A little away from the heart of Mythweald," she answered.

"The south region has the highest number of humans residing there and the least number of vampires and that is because most of them are of higher status. I am surprised that you came to work here," he said walking towards the rack where the tools were kept and picking up a shovel, "The south region isn't fond of vampires.

With what I've heard most of them stay away from the vampires, some would love to kick them out of their lands while others wouldn't mind having the vampires extinct like the witches."

"Not everyone is like that," Katie shook her head as they walked to the farthest end of the stable.

"Most of them are. Aren't you scared?" he asked, pushing his upper lip to let her have a better view of his pointed fangs, turning left and right. Instead, Katie laughed seeing him like that.

Caviar wasn't a vampire but a human yet it looked like he had fangs while he spoke.

"I am sorry. I guess I was never brought up to hate any kind or person belonging to any region. There's either good or bad in this world in any race," she shrugged her shoulders.

"The world must have more people like you," he said going to the side and digging the ground to make space for the new horse that was going to be brought in today, "What about your family?" as he moved the mud to his right.

"They aren't here," she said turning to look outside where two men stood on either side of the ground, guarding the door. She was told not to go there by the workers. It must be where they kept the prisoners.

"They are still in the south?" he asked making her wish that they were.

"They were killed," she whispered softly but Caviar heard her.

"Sorry to hear it."