Eva closed her eyes, breathing out a calming breath and slumping back into her chair. Why did Ivy have to be like that? What the hell was with the drawing? 

She pulled open her drawer, eyeing the door as she did. Ivy was supposed to be helping out in the laundry today, so she had some time to herself. Of course, Ivy wasn't her only handmaid, and she didn't wish for any of the others to come and interrupt her, so caution was a must. 

Delicately, she picked up the drawing, careful not to smear the charcoal. It was amateurish, sloppy, and downright childish. Normally she would have been offended by the utter lack of sophistication. The drawing itself looked more like a sketch, casually scrawled across cheap paper, never meant to see the light. It was far from being a gift worthy of a princess.

Eva sighed, propping her head in her hands and dropping the paper onto her vanity. Ivy had cleaned it, she noted. She had no idea the wood was so dark--it had always been covered in a thin layer of powder.

"What the hell is with this girl?" she whispered.

A knock on the door startled her from her thoughts. She bolted upright, hastily shoving the drawing back in her drawer and straightening her dress.

"What is it?" she called. 

The double doors creaked open, and a thin figure slipped through. His face was pale, and as if on instinct, Eva checked to make sure there were no bite marks staining his neck. She almost felt guilty for suspecting Ivy when there weren't. 

"Princess," he greeted, nodding his head in a hurried bow. "The king has requested your presence in his chambers."

Eva blinked, her face quickly training itself into an expressionless mask. So that was why he was pale. The king. 

Eva would never admit it, but her father terrified her. The king was tyrannical, and she knew it, but she refused to see it. It was her duty as a princess to do everything he commanded. This was her life, and she had accepted it long ago, albeit reluctantly.

She smiled at the servant, accepting the hand he offered as she stood from her chair. "Thank you. I shall see myself there."