Several years ago…


  The sky was clear and bright; the clouds had drifted far away from each other to the corner of the horizon, allowing most part of the lands to receive sunlight. It was the time of the afternoon, where a young woman carried a large pot of water, placing it on the side of her waist while making sure the water didn't spill.

  Her shoes were slightly tattered and the soles slightly jagged, which wavered her footing on the ground as she walked.

  "Lilian!" a woman who was not too far from where the young woman was walking called her. "Mr. William was asking if you could come in early today. We'll be needing to stay there as we are having guests."

  The young woman named Lilian nodded her head, and she walked to her house. She wiped the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand.

  Lilian made her way towards the inn with the same clothes and shoes.

  "Good morning, Mr. William," Lilian greeted the owner of the inn, who was a tall and lean man with a thin moustache above his upper lip.

  "We are having three guests, who are of great importance, make sure to change the sheets from the main drawers and put the best one from the lot. They will be staying here for a day or two and I would like to make sure that their stay has been pleasant," ordered Mr. William with a stern look on his face. His eyes then fell on her shoes.

  "Borrow someone's shoes that are presentable so that they don't think you are getting low wages."

  "Yes, Mr. William," replied Lilian, offering a small bow, and she saw the man take his leave from there.

  A fellow maid was quick to come to Lilian's side, and she whispered, "Looks like Mr. William is in quite a mood today. Fernando already got scolded earlier for wrongly placing the sign at the front door."

  "That's fine," replied Lilian with a smile, and she then said, "Let me go and see if I can fix my shoes, Eden."

  "Will that help?" asked the fellow maid, her eyes falling on Lilian's shoes. It was obvious to know that it had been repaired way too many times as it had too many patches on it.

  "I have spare shoes at home. Maybe you can use them, instead of looking for new ones," offered Eden.

  Lilian was about to refuse, but she knew she didn't have that much money or time to find the shoes quickly. She gave a nod while smiling in appreciation, "Thank you, Eden." Somewhere she was embarrassed by the fact that people noticed it, letting one know in what financial state she was in.

  "Don't worry about it. I will have someone quickly ask my son to bring them here, this way we'll be able to finish the other jobs of the inn," replied Eden.

  After an hour, Eden's son brought the spare shoes for Lilian to wear. But when Lilian tried them on, the shoe was bigger than her actual size.

  "Oh my, I didn't realize you had smaller feet than mine," Eden lightly laughed, while turning towards the window when they heard the sound of the wheels of the carriage and the hooves of the horses on the ground, which came to a stop right in front of the inn. "I think the guests are already here. Maybe you can wear an extra pair of socks to fit it in?" she quickly suggested.

  "Eden and Lilian, come quickly to greet the guests. Mr. William wants us all in the hall," came the hurried voice of another maid, who had come by the door of the room the two maids had been standing in. "Hurry now!"

  Lilian looked down at her shoes that belonged to Eden, they were clean, unlike hers that had patch work on them. "It's okay, I will manage it," she said to Eden, "It's not like someone is going to look at my feet to take a look at my shoes."

  "Alright, let us go in the hall of the inn lest we want to face the wrath of Mr. William," and saying this, both the maids quickly moved to join the other staff of the inn.

  Lilian straightened her skirt, making it right while she stood straight and in line with the others. A false smile appeared on Mr. William's face when the door of the inn opened wide, and in came three guests.

  "Welcome to our humble inn!" Mr. William greeted the three tall men, who wore expensive clothes and appeared as if they belonged to wealthy families.

  "Good morning, Mr. William," greeted one of the men who had pale grey eyes.

  "I hope it wasn't too hard for you to be able to find our inn," smiled Mr. William, trying to be a hospitable person.

  "Well thankfully it wasn't us who was pulling the carriage, but the coachman. I think you should ask about it to him more than us," came the words from another man, who stood tall and proud, his eyebrows thick that was raised and a look of arrogance in them.

  Mr. William didn't know if the guest was joking, and he said, "I will be sure to enquire it, Mr. Donovan," and he bowed his head to make his words known.

  "I am sure you will also enjoy speaking to the horses who pulled the carriage," remarked Donovan, his eyes lazily taking in the space they stood in. "I hope your services are as good as you had mentioned it to be."

  "Of course," Mr. William continued to smile, "The rooms have already been arranged and our kitchen staff will be more than happy to cook you whatever you want."

  At the human's words, the other vampire who was shorter than the two other guests who had entered in here, his eyes shifted to look at Mr. William with an utterly bored look on his face, but at the same time, it looked patient.

  "Curtis, why don't you take the luggage from the carriage," Mr. William instructed one of the servants. He then looked at the guests and said, "Please allow me to lead you to your respective rooms."

  Lilian, who stood in the line, like the rest of them, didn't dare to look up at the people who had arrived. Mr. William's inn often had guests coming in on a daily basis, and the staff here had been trained to look after the guests with utmost care. While also making sure to know that they were nothing but servants, who were not supposed to meet gazes with these said guests.

  But when the guests started to walk, Lilian didn't know why but her lowered gaze didn't stay low, and she looked up, meeting one of the guests' eyes. The person stared right at her, and she quickly lowered it as if it usually never happened.

  And though the eye contact had been short, Lilian had taken in the sight of the pitch-black eyes and the midnight black hair of the man.

  As hours passed, Lilian continued to work with the rest of the inn servants to keep the place working and make sure the guests were satisfied with their stay there. When the evening pulled itself, she had been sent to the dining room to serve food. Mr. William believed that having a woman's touch when it came to the dining room was much more pleasing than having men walk around.

  "Will you be staying here for a few more days, Mr. Marudas?" Mr. William politely asked the men, who sat at the average-sized long dining table.

  "Hm, probably for three or four days. But it will just be me, Mr. Donovan and Mr. Oscar has somewhere else to be," replied Castiel, spreading the napkin on his lap and picking up the fork and knife in his hand. "I must tell, I think I like the dining room the best out of everything that has been prepared."

  "I always make sure that everything is perfect, Mr. Marudas," Mr. William lightly laughed, even though no joke had been cracked at the table. "We always make sure to have only the elites in here. This way it keeps the class and etiquette."

  "Mm, that is true," hummed Donovan, who was looking at the maids entering the room, while they carried containers that contained dinner. "It is always good to have division so that the filth doesn't come to you."

  "Of course," replied Mr. William. "If I may ask, Mr. Donovan, what business have you come here for? If you need any assistance I would be more than willing to offer the people's names, contacts I mean. I know some of the Dukes and the Lords who are still around and haven't left or the ones who will visit."

  "How kind of you, Mr. William. I will be sure to let you know," Donovan smiled, his eyes twinkling in the light of the candles that stood not too far from him on the table. His eyes fell on the young woman, whose blonde hair looked like the warm glow of sun. Her features were delicate, but watching her carry the big container with a stoic expression on her face, he could tell she was used to labour.

  While the other men spoke to each other at the table, Donovan's eyes continued to follow the woman, who left the room and reentered the room with another container this time. There was something very odd in the way she walked, and his eyes moved to look down at her feet that were covered in shoes.

  "No, I have never been here before," replied Remy, answering something that Castiel asked.

  Lilian walked towards the table, waiting to place the container on the table. And during that time, she could sense one of the guests eyes on her being fixated. The guests often didn't look at the maids unless they had something to ask or to do.

  The more unnerving the gaze turned, the more stoic her expression turned as if her face had frozen. Somewhere between the intense stare, the shoe that she wore moved slightly in a different direction, and her hand slipped where she ended up touching the hot bottom of the utensil. The food has been prepared only a few minutes ago to keep it fresh, and the heat now transferred right into her palm. Lilian bit the inside of her cheek, feeling her heart stumble over the pain.

  Donovan caught the entire action, a faint smile coming to form on his lips whilst he watched the woman behave as if nothing had happened. He saw the young woman place the utensil at the table and ready to leave, probably to tend to her wounds, but she stopped when Mr. William spoke,

  "The meat was hunted this morning, especially knowing all of you were coming to stay here. I hope the cook has prepared it to your taste."

  "I hope for the same, Mr. William," remarked Castiel with a polite smile on his face, and this had the inn owner hold a perplexed expression on his face before he brought the polite smile back on his lips.

  "You can start serving our guests now," ordered Mr. William, and the three maids in the dining room started to serve the food to the three guests, who were vampires.

  Lilian felt the burning sensation on her hand, and she wanted to place it under the cold water to ease the burn, but knowing how refusing work would cause her harm, she picked one of the bowls while going to each of the people who were seated at the table.

  When she came to stand in front of the dark-haired man with dark eyes, she asked, "Salad?"

  "Mm," hummed Donovan, his eyes falling on the woman's hand that clutched tighter on the bowl. Lilian's eyes fell on Donovan, and his eyes met hers. His eyes shifted from her to look at Mr. Williams, to ask him, "With such large inn for people from the wealthy family, and so many servants, you must be spending quite some money on the people who work here, isn't it, Mr. William?"

  Lilian's eyebrows were quick to furrow, and she quickly turned it passive.

  Mr. William smiled at Donovan, "I make sure that they get just enough wage for what they work in here."

  "Is that so, I wonder if the maids in here would agree to it," commented Donovan with a full-blown smile on his face.

  "I am sure they will," replied Mr. William with full confidence.

  When the owner of the inn got busy with something Castiel was talking about, Donovan tilted his head to the side, staring at the young woman's shoes and questioned,

  "Did you borrow those?"

  Lilian stared at the man, wondering why he was being nosey, and she replied, "No, they are mine."

  "Did you think you would grow bigger and bought it for future use?" Donovan continued to question her, and Lilian could feel Mr. William's intense glare coming from the other side of the table.

  "I usually wear socks with them, but today seemed to be awfully hot," Lilian replied in her quiet voice, staring right into his eyes that Donovan didn't find many doing.

  The last one who did it was the witch, who had cursed the town of Willow Creek, and no one knew where it had disappeared along with the people who once used to reside there. He had watched her from afar until now, but now as she was this close, he noticed her pale green eyes stare at him for a few seconds more before she lowered her gaze to look at the vessel in her hand. And he doubted it was because she was shy, but only because she didn't want to involve herself in this mess.

  "You can leave, Lilian, Eden and Andrea will take care of the rest in here," Mr. William dismissed the woman from the room.

  Lilian was more than happy to do it, and she bowed her head before stepping out of the dining room.

  A couple of minutes passed where the dinner continued and finally came to an end. Mr. Williams had asked the servants to stay back so that they could offer help in the inn, and right now, Lilian stood in front of the sink in the kitchen, with water being collected in the glass to pour it on her burned palm.

  A shuddered gasp escaped from her lips, and she brought the palm forward to take a look at it. The skin had turned pink and red, the skin painful.

  "That looks tender," came a comment from behind her, and Lilian turned her head around to look at the guest who had questioned about her shoes.

  Lilian quickly hid her hand by taking it back to her side, and she asked, "Is there anything I can help you with, Mr. Donovan?" Mr. William didn't like tardiness when it came to the servants who worked for him, and he didn't mind kicking them out from the work, where there were many who would happily want to work in the inn.

  The pay wasn't much, but it was decent, especially for the women.

  "I was looking for a drink, but I couldn't find the right one. I thought you could help me with it," remarked Donovan.

  Lilian noticed how the man had discarded his coat and was now in his nightclothes, a pair of black slacks and a loose shirt that hung around his shoulder.

  "Is there something specific that you are looking for? I can ask Eden to help with it as she's more proficient with it," replied Lilian, and her nonchalant way of replying was something that had brought Donovan to the kitchen, looking for her with mild curiosity.

  "I was hoping you would. Is there anything you are good at Ms……" Donovan drawled to get her last name.

  "Lilian."

  "I mean in the kitchen," added Donovan, a faint smile on his lips.

  "Will water do?" asked Lilian, and the smile that was on Donovan's lips reached his eyes. Amusement filling up in there.

  "Is that what you like to drink, Lilian," he tested her name on his tongue and noticed the way there was a change in the young woman's expression.

  "It is what I can afford, Mr. Donovan. People like me try to not look for something that might entice us, we prefer to stick to something that is affordable," replied Lilian, and she pressed her palms on her skirt to remove the drops of moisture from them.

  "I guess I will taste how it feels to drink just water," said the man, and Lilian didn't know what the man wanted by showing up in the kitchen where there was no one.

  Without uttering another word, Lilian went near the cupboard, taking out a cleaned glass. She then poured water from the pot of water and walked to where the man stood, as he hadn't made an effort to move from where he stood.

  "Thank you," said Donovan with a polite smile on his lips, watching the young woman's guarded expression. Without taking a sip from it, he asked her, "How long have you been working here?"

  "Since the time Mr. Williams opened this inn. Two years," said Lilian and Donovan brought the glass to his lips, sipping the water whilst he stared at her. Lilian waited for Donovan to finish drinking water so that she could take the glass back, but the man took his own sweet time to drink it.

  "How's your hand?" questioned Donovan, and the maid stared back at him. Because the guests never paid attention to the servants.

  "It's fine," replied Lilian, and once he was done drinking the water, she took the glass from him.

  Donovan offered a polite smile to the young woman, and he then left the kitchen to head towards his room. On his way, he met Remy, who stood in front of the window in the corridor.

  "Waiting for the town to sleep?" questioned Donovan, putting his hands in his pockets.

  Remy turned his gaze to look at Donovan, "There's nothing in here. The resources for the medicines are bleak."

  "It's a small town, or maybe calling it a village would be more right," stated Donovan, before he added, "Maybe it would be better to travel with Castiel to his town. It seems to be flourishing better with the Lords and the Dukes in there."

  "The one where the town of Willow Creek disappeared," noted Remy, his expression grim-looking where he appeared to be bored and wanting to get back to where he came. Donovan didn't comment on this, wondering if there was truly nothing in this place.

  When morning arrived, Donovan, who was taking a stroll, noticed the maid he had met last night. She didn't seem to be staggering with her shoes and was walking fine. His eyes swept across her feet, and he noticed the patch-like shoes.

  By the time of noon, when Lilian was walking in the corridor of the inn with folded clothes in her hands, one of the male servants called her,

  "Lilian," and she turned to look at the person bringing a box to her. "These are for you."

  "What are they?" she asked him, and the person shook his head.

  "I don't know. Here let me take those," and the man took the clothes from her hand and replaced it with the box.

  When Lilian opened the box, she noticed a pair of shoes and her eyebrows furrowed. Her lips set themselves in a thin line, and she wondered who could have sent them to her, somewhere having an idea, she took them to one of the guest rooms.

  The room door was already open, and Lilian went to the door before knocking on it. Donovan was wearing his coat when he heard the footsteps before the knock on the door.

  "Good morning, Lilian. Come here to pick up clothes?" questioned Donovan.

  "Did you get these?" asked Lilian, and the man stared at her.

  "Hm?" Donovan had a confused expression on his face. "Are they yours?"

  "You don't have to buy me things, Mr. Donovan. I appreciate the gesture—"

  "I don't know what you are speaking about, but I think it is quite rude to not greet the guests. Especially when the guests greet you first, isn't it?"

  Lilian wondered if she had perhaps misunderstood something here, and she pursed her lips before slightly bowing her head, "Good morning, Mr. Donovan. Lunch will be served in a few minutes and the carriages have been prepared for your journey."

  "Wonderful," responded Donovan, staring at the young woman who looked like she didn't know what to say, and she took her leave from there.

  The carriages had been readied, both Donovan and Remy Oscar got into separate carriages, and they left the front of the inn. Lilian changed her shoes to the new ones, which surprisingly fit her feet perfectly.

  When the evening was nearing, the inn's front door opened, and Lilian was about to greet the person when Donovan entered the inn. Mr. William's who was present there, he caught sight of Azazel Donovan and said,

  "Welcome back, Mr. Donovan. Did you forget something?"

  "No. I thought about staying here for a few more days," said Donovan before adding, "The water here seems to be quite different than the other places."-

  For readers who have been complaining about updates rudely-

  I have a stye, an eye infection with my upper eyelid swollen and irritated because of the continuous screen type. More screen time= more irritation on the eyes…… I do understand the impatience, but I would be happier if you could see the possibility that the author is having some issues, instead of leaving rude remarks.