SPELLBOUND

"All of you men! Turn your backs!" Luc clapped his hands together as he barked out the orders and Zolan approached the men.

"Huh? Why do we need to? We are already behind a large rock." Levy complained.

"Still! Have some respect and let's give the princess the ultimate privacy she needs and deserve!" Luc insisted and with a sigh, the men turned. Some of them rolled their eyes at Luc's dramatic orders. There was truly no way for any of them to see anything of the princess bathing as the huge rock truly blocked all sight from the stream where she was washing up in.

The moment Zolan sat with them, and Elias was back from bringing her clothes over, Zolan started telling his comrades about what the princess had told him.

Seated on a small rock the stream, Evie quickly washed herself up. She knew that her men were very respectable, and they had also been so considerate to her ever since they followed her. But she knew she still needed to get things done with haste and not waste any time. Especially, knowing that this place was not entirely safe as a beast could appear at any time.

Thus, after making sure she was thoroughly clean from all those nasty fluids coating her, she left the water and changed into the fresh set of clothes that Elias had handed her. She took a while though as she still had to wash the goop off her clothes.

Evie had never done the washing of her own clothes before, so she took quite a bit longer than necessary in cleaning it up, making the men start to worry.

"Hey, Elias, don't you think the princess is taking way too long with her bath?" Reed asked worriedly.

"Well, yes… she's indeed taking much longer than she usually does…" The butler was also looking quite worried compared to the rest of them, and that just made the men even more anxious.

"Don't you think someone should go check on her?" The quiet big man said in a serious tone and Leon agreed with a nod. He too, felt that the princess was taking a bit too long compared to those times he remembered she took when he was guarding her.

"Yeah. I think someone should go check on her now." Reed butted in. "What if she slipped and hurt herself or something?"

"Y-you're right… something might have happened!"

"You go check Elias, you're the butler here!"

"B-but… I don't want to go. What if she's just taking her time? I'd never want to risk disgracing the princess by walking in on her bathing! I don't want to die yet!" Elias moaned out dramatically.

"Are you an idiot? The prince is not here so you will not die. And it's not like you're going to actually peek on her! Or are you..??"

"NO!! But even if the prince is not here, I still feel like I'm gonna be dead even if it's just accidentally. But I just wanted to make sure she's alright! You know our prince is beyond logic when it comes to the princess!" Elias rolled his eyes as the rest of the men just nodded sagely, fully agreeing to his statement.

"Sigh… Elias, just go do it. You are the most obvious choice. Close your eyes tight and just call out to ask if she's fine! Don't waste any more time."

"Then why don't I just yell from here? It is the same, isn't it? That way, I don't need to even go over and risk my life!" 

"Alright, alright… just do it now! What if she's already drowning –"

"Shut up. The water's so shallow, you idiot. So, it is not likely that she'll drown. It is literally only a few inches of water even if she just sits in the stream."

"You underestimate the fragility and frailness of a human, Elias. Don't forget that the princess is still human. I saw a human girl died just because she tripped and hit her head when she fell."

The vampires all had their eyes wide at Levy's words. And extreme worry immediately filled their eyes.

"Princess!! Are you alright?!! Are you still there?! Please say something! We are worried here!" They all suddenly start yelling.

Evie was jolted by the sudden cacophony of loud voices shouting out her name and asking if she was fine. It was then that she realized she had indeed taken much too long with her bath and washing up her clothes that it ended up worrying them.

"I… I'm fine!!" she yelled back. And all of them sighed out in relief simultaneously and loud enough, that Evie could actually hear their sighs of relief. She chuckled to herself at how much they were worrying for her. "I was just washing up my clothes! That was why I took a little longer than usual." Evie shouted back her explanation to further put their hearts at ease.

The men's eyes whipped immediately to Elias. "The princess is washing her own clothes??!!" They whispered amongst themselves and giving him looks that Elias sprang up from his seat as though he were sitting on hot burning coals.

"I know. I know… I'm going!" the butler frantically blurted out but instead of running towards the stream, he called out loudly first. "Princess! Can I come over to where you are now?! Are you already decent?"

"Oh… yes… it's alright now." Upon hearing her reply, the butler immediately dashed over to her. But to his utter dismay, the princess was already done washing her clothes.

"Where can we dry these?" she asked as she held up her dress that was dripping wet. With a regretful sigh, Elias immediately took the dress off her hands and draped the article of clothing to dry by the fire.

…

After dinner and a quick meeting with the vampires discussing the plans for their journey tomorrow, Evie finally entered her tent and stretched herself out on the cloths Elias had spread as her bed.

Her mind was full of thoughts zipping around. Wondering what will happen tomorrow. Zolan had said that they were about to reach the place of the dragons latest by tomorrow afternoon. And after they pass through that area, they would finally reach that secret place the dragons were guarding. Would these dragons listen to her and let her pass through? Or would they need to fight them to death like that serpent-eyed dragon the dark-fae had summoned? 

She remembered that amber-eyed dragon which she could communicate with and then recalled that it was dead. Evie's heart clenched in sadness and regret as she curled up on her makeshift bed. She also wondered what has happened to her father who was still under the possession of the dark fae, and her heart ached even more.

Then Gavriel's face appeared in her head. She took a shaky breath as she grabbed her necklace with both hands and clenched it hard. 

"Gavriel…" she whispered as she closed her eyes and tears fell from her eyes. "I miss you so much." 

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A/N: Just wanna say thank you for the comments and gifts and reviews spellbounders. I really appreaciate all your love and supports. Love you guys <3 <3