--Alaric POV--
Holding her smaller hand in mine, I led her out of the elevator once the doors slid open, and she quietly followed, not a peep of a sound escaping her as I typed in my pin code, pushing the black door open once the beep was heard.
"Come on in." Slipping out of my shoes and into my slippers, I pulled the spare slippers out from the cupboard before placing them in front of her.
But as I stared at her standing there like a statue, I wondered what to say to ease her tensions even a little bit. Whoever she'd been running away from, I knew they didn't mean well for anyone, especially her.
But to start off, I squatted down in front of her, untying the laces of her trainers as she squeaked her surprise at my actions. But still, she didn't stop me so I continued onto the other foot, putting her trainers to the side before sliding the slippers that were far too big for her feet in front of her, and I didn't move until she slipped her feet into them.
"...Thank you." She mumbled, clutching onto the end of her denim jacket which she wore over a white sundress, the sunhat on her head covering most of her face from my view. They were plain clothes, not branded, but didn't look cheap either, yet she managed to look like she'd just walked out of a vogue photoshoot.
"Do you want to eat something?" I asked, standing up straight as I turned to walk into the open space living room, slipping out of my jacket as I discarded it onto the sofa and headed to the kitchen to pour her a glass of water.
"Are you... not going to ask me anything?" She spoke timidly, in a way that made all the rumours about her sound fake, which I won't be surprised to find out.
Handing her the ceramic mug, she quietly took it, looking into it as if the water were fake.
"It's not poison." I heard myself say.
"I'm not sure I'd care if it was..." She surprised herself more than me with her bleak words. Shooting her head up to look at my raised brow, an embarrassed look overtook her face, and not being able to say anything, she simply sipped on the water.
"Thank you." She echoed for the second time within the last minute.
"So, what's your name?" I asked, leaning against the island with crossed arms as she stood in front of me, both hands on the black mug she occasionally sipped water from every now and then, her pink lips hovering over the edge.
"Ines." She whispered her answer, confirming my prior thoughts.
"Just Ines?" I asked.
"Is a surname that important?" She curiously asked, looking up at me from the top of her eyes, pausing in the sip she was about to take of her water.
"I guess not. But I'm curious." I responded in a cool tone of voice, gulping back the heat this woman was able to stir in me with such subtle actions.
"Will you tell me your name if I tell you mine?" I nodded.
"Ines Silvia Agua... is my name." Tilting her head back, she gulped down all the water that was left in the mug before standing back up straight and handing me the mug, which I took, placing it on the island I leaned against before turning back to look at her.
"Now your turn, what's your name?" She asked.
"Alaric Clemente."
"Alaric Clemente?" She tested the name out on her lips. I've heard my name so many times in this life that I've gotten bored of it, but she was somehow able to make it sound so unique.
"Thank you, Alaric Clemente, for saving me." And the corners of her lips picked up into a smile, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing as they did, the blue embers of her inhumane eyes seeming to glow as her whole being lit up with that single smile.
YOU ARE READING
The Grace of a Thousand Stars (PREQUEL)
RomancePREQUEL OF THE THREE KINGS SERIES (CAN BE READ AS A STAND-ALONE) She's the world's treasure, both cursed and graced with a voice that enchants anyone that hears it. Nicknamed as a siren, it's almost ironic how she is truly a mermaid. Ines is a merm...
