A distant voice kept whispering in his ear , he groaned. . swatting his hand at the annoying bee.

But the voice. .it had something in it. .so enchanting. .so alluring. .he was fighting hard to stay awake but the damn voice made him want to sleep for a century.

"Is he awake?"

"I think so. .look! His eyes are red!"

"But he's sleeping. How did you—,"

"Pfft! Mistress , he just blinked and now he's faking it!"

"Bloody hell."

Elias felt like it was no use of trying to portray a dead man. Slowly , he opened his eyes . .the lights blurred in and out , he blinked rapidly to focus but the sharp slice of light nearly burned his eyeball and he shut down again.

"Sit up , young man." A voice commanded and Elias could feel the authority in it.

He tried to sit up . .the mattress creaked under his weight—he was on bed! Elias peeled his eyes open and found himself on a royal blue bed—a pounding headache burst forth in his all around him—he clutched at his head wincing.

"Oh dear. Zillow! Fetch his food! Hurry up! Don't look at me like that! I need to replace your sorry—,"

Elias bit his lower lip in pain. "Stop."

The voice stopped momentarily and he was glad but then. .

"What?"

"Stop talking."

The hard tone to his voice silenced the chaotic surroundings. At once the feminine voices scurried into darkness but Elias could still hear the bits and pieces of furious whisperings.

He clutched at his head , pressing the pads of his thumb onto his temples. They were throbbing! Ebbing slowly. .as if wanting to torture him bit by bit. .and it was maddening! So much he didn't realize he was groaning out loud.

"Now now vampire , don't you bring shame to your legion." An entitled voice said right over his head.

And he was forced to look up , forced to peel his eyes open so he could take a look at the owner and yes indeed, she was right over his head. At first her image blurred at the edges but then . .her beautiful face came out from the clouds. The eyebrows arched to perfection , the molten chocolate eyes sparkled with intelligence and something else he couldn't point out. Her full lips were pressed into a thin line , the cupid bow of her lips reminding him of a Shelly's poetry.

Dawn mounted her golden throne.

She was that , dawn.

And the dawn was peering at him not so secretly.

"I know I'm beautiful. " She stated quite brazenly ," Now , If you have come out of your stupor , can we move on?" She raised an eyebrow.

And Elias nodded.

The woman was dominating!

"Very well." She looked over her shoulder , her neck so graceful like a swan ,"Zillow, shall I fetch his food myself? Because if I did , I might whoop your arse with the witch's broomstick and might I remind you of how I made Zelda strip naked before the court?"

"Yes, mistress. The whole town knows how poor Zelda was put under a vicious spell." A grumpy voice answered from a corner and Elias could hear the scuffing of toes.

The woman smiled and Elias noticed her clothing. She was dressed in a silk maxy that reached the floor and didn't offer anyone a peak of her skin. Her ginger hair laid over her back resembling a waterfall.

"Checking me out , are we?" She said suddenly now crossing her arms to look intimidating.

Elias offered her a weak smile. "I wouldn't dare."

She didn't answer , instead she kept looking at him , examining him from head to toe while the mumbling kept going in the background and as Elias looked at the source of commotion , he could spot the old woman moving about. Her head was covered with a white scarf and like her haughty mistress , she too was covered in a floor length maxy but the fabric was old and dirty.

"Oh come on now! She's a 100 years old elf! Why can't men stop checking out women? Why can't —,"

"I think she needs your help."

At Elias polite plea , she whirled around and her eyes bugged out at seeing the old woman trying to fit the jug and glass onto a wooden tray and trying to balance herself because her hands were shaking so bad! The tray was trembling!

Horrified, she nearly ran towards the woman before her trembling hands could give out.

Zillow begin to apologise profusely for being a "poor servant" for being a "worthless creature" but the woman very calmly , which was so unlike her , took the tray from her hand and walked towards Elias while Zillow begged her not to perform her "chores."

"That's it, you hag. You're out."

To Elias surprise , the old woman started to weep and went on to reminding her of her "golden services."

Ignoring her , the beauty placed the tray on the bed and Elias had to sit in a cross legged position. So engrossed into his surroundings he didn't realize his shadow missing. Hit with the cold truth , he looked around wildly but—

"Relax. The big guy is in the other room. No one could pick him up so I left him there." She shrugged carelessly and plopped in the bed while the wailing and sniffling of Zillow kept ringing in the background.

Elias sighed and eyed the jug of blood with distant interest.

"Don't you dare waste this. I had to slaughter a lamb for your food." She warned him.

He knew he had to get answers and the only one that held answers were her. So he chose to obey her for the sake of answers. Filling a glass to the rim , he was aware at her eyes following his moves.

Gulping down the contents , he had to ask one thing right away though.

"Who are you?"

She gave him a knowing smile.

"I thought you would know since everyone does. " She rolled those pretty eyes in defiance.

"I'm not everyone I'm afraid."

She glanced at him . "That I can see."

"And?"

Her answer had him reeling from the affect because yes he knew of her! Everyone knew of her! The poets in the court had written poems upon her!

"I'm Persephone."

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