Celeste's life is far from the enchanting fairy tale one might expect from a princess. Her father, a ruthless and self-absorbed king, leaves a trail of death and destruction in his wake. To seal alliances and maintain his power, he arranges for Cele...
The boy walks in our direction. He too is dressed in black sweatpants, a white shirt and a black vest. He doesn't look much older than me and Novak. I swallow my bite of pancake uncomfortably and follow the boy's movements. The boy stands at the edge of the cooking island and lets his gaze wander over the pancakes.
'You must have saved one for me, or am I interrupting your first date.' My eyes immediately widen. Date? I don't want a date.
'Shut up Timon.' The boy, apparently called Timon, looks quizzically at Novak. Novak doesn't even look up from the pans and just scoops the last bit of batter into a pan. The boy turns to me and studies me with his brown eyes.
'So you're the mysterious Night Rider. I'm Timon but of course you've already heard that. My existence is known everywhere.' I'm not quite sure what to say or think of this boy. He nonchalantly runs a hand through his brown hair.
'Ignore him.' Novak pushes a plate with a pancake into Timon's hands and flips the last pancake. Timon smiles like a happy child getting a present for his birthday. He almost runs to the chair next to me and sits down. Novak holds out cutlery to Timon, which he almost snatches from Novak's hands. He cuts a big piece of the pancake and stuffs his whole mouth with it.
'See, this is why you should be here more often,' he says with his mouth full. Novak scoops the last pancake onto a plate for himself and covers the pile of leftover pancake.
'You have the recipe,' Novak says as he dusts his own pancake with sugar.
'Sara has tried many times but each time they are too thick, burnt or just can't be eaten.' I have no idea who Sara is but the stories don't do her any good. As unnoticed as possible, I cut off a piece of pancake and take a bite. I listen and observe the somewhat funny situation in front of me.
'I'll teach you sometime,' Novak says and takes another bite of the pancake.
'You always say that and then you disappear again for the next six months.' Timon answers with a full mouth. It is still not clear to me why Novak is here so little.
'So what's your name and how bad is Novak in bed?' I almost choke on my pancake and start coughing. Surprised, I look at Timon, who is staring at me with a grin. I have no idea what he wants to hear. Was it Novak's intention to sleep with me? He didn't seem to have that intention.
'One, that's Maria, two, I'm not bad in bed and three, we both spent the night in our own beds.' Timon seemed disappointed at Novak's answer. I am glad that Novak answers the question for me. I look at Novak gratefully and he gives me a small smile.
'Too bad,' says Timon and crams the last piece of pancake into his mouth. I take the last bite too and drink half of my cup of coffee.
'Do you want another one?'
'Yes,' Timon answers before I can say anything. Novak rolls his eyes and looks only at me. I shake my head and am genuinely quite full from that one pancake. I don't know what Novak put in it but it fills up like crazy. Novak nods, takes Timon's plate and gives him a second one. He immediately stuffs half of that in his mouth too.
It has been a long time since I have seen such a light-hearted and funny situation. Nothing seems forced or static, rather light-hearted and friendly. Although I find Timon a little uncomfortable, he doesn't seem to have any strange intentions, especially a lot of hunger. I didn't know that vampires eat a lot of "normal" food besides blood. I knew they did but not in this capacity. Novak is apparently known as a good cook and I can attest to that after this pancake.
'Novak is home!' I look up at the door, startled again. This time a blonde lady and a blonde boy enter. The lady runs towards Novak and stands beside the pancakes, longing.
The boy walks at a leisurely pace in our direction and something about his movements reminds me of Novak. His hair is blond. He is dressed in neat trousers and a white shirt.
The lady is wearing a white dress that shows off her body beautifully. The costume is so much different here than in the castle, much less static.
Then the eyes of the two new vampires fall on me. Uncomfortably, I take a sip of coffee.
'Sorry I didn't see you there. I'm Sara.' I look at the blonde lady and make the connection with the failed pancake story. She smiles kindly and looks at me expectantly. For a moment I don't know what she is waiting for until I realise that I have to introduce myself.
'Pleased to meet you, Maria,' I introduce myself. It's still strange to introduce myself as Maria, but it seems the best thing to do at the moment. Sara smiles at me and nods her head, then she turns back to Novak.
'Novak, do you have any left?' Sara asks almost pleadingly. Novak takes the last bite of his pancake and takes the plate from the remaining stack. Sara smiles from ear to ear and takes a plate from the cupboard.
'Do we know each other?' Surprised, I look at the blonde boy at the side of the kitchen island. He studies me with his blue eyes. His gaze makes me uneasy and I look mesmerised at my empty cup.
'Not that I know of,' I reply quietly. I'm afraid he recognises me for some reason.
'Myles, be nice and introduce yourself before you make her uncomfortable.' Before I know it I lift my head and look at the boy. Myles, that means this is Novak's brother. They look alike, have the same eyes and the same way of walking. Myles' hair is a bit lighter than Novak's.
'Sorry. I'm Myles. You looked familiar to me but that could be just me,' he says kindly.
'Gee. She was on that dragon flap yesterday'. Everyone looks at Timon in surprise. Although this is a strange remark, it is a welcome one. It makes the situation less uncomfortable and shifts the attention. It feels like I've ended up as a stranger in a group of friends. On the one hand, I find the situation quite uncomfortable, on the other hand it is entertaining.
Nobody seems to react to Timon's remark. Novak takes two pancakes and gives them to Sara and Myles. Novak picks up the empty plates and puts them in a pile on the workbench.
He takes the familiar tin from his pocket and takes out a cigarette. He puts the cigarette between his lips, puts the can back in his pocket and holds a packet of matches.
'Novak not inside,' said Myles irritably. Novak didn't seem to have any intention of actually lighting the thing and sighs deeply. He takes the cigarette out of his mouth between his fingers.
'Not inside,' Novak repeats in a mocking tone. Novak's blue eyes roll into their sockets and then settle on me
'Maria shall I show you around?' he asks. I smile and nod. I jump off the stool and immediately regret it when my ankle hurts. Carefully I walk towards Novak, who was already walking towards the door.
'Ooh yes. Dad wanted to meet Maria for lunch.' Novak snorts irritably at Myles announcement, opens the door and together we walk out of the kitchen.
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