Letters to Romeo.

Julie saw the Elder vampire smile down at her. She doubted it was the kind of smile offered by a person with good intention. Instead, she felt it was more like he was looking down at her.

"What a pleasant surprise," remarked the vampire, standing tall and proud with his slightly raised chin. His coat hung around his shoulders, which had fur on one side of the collar. "I didn't expect to see you here."

So he didn't come to see her? Then did he come to take a look at Roman's previous room? Julie questioned in her mind.

"I believe we have met before?" questioned the Elder vampire, the slight smile on his lips not changing even for a second.

How could she forget, asked Julie.

She gave a small nod, "You are Roman's relative.. We met on the day of the football match."

"Glad to know that you remember. It would have been quite troublesome if you didn't," chuckled Elder Donovan. "You must be…"

"Julianne Winters."

"Julianne. I am Azazel Donovan," he moved from where he stood as if shifting the weight of his body from one leg to the other leg. But Julie thought he was going to do something and her body stiffened.

When Donovan's eyes mildly narrowed at Julie, she cursed for the mistake she made. Shit, don't react! But wasn't it normal to be wary of people when they showed up in front of one's dorm? May the God of deceit allow her to pass through this day, prayed Julie.

"Is there something you wanted?" inquired Julie, her tone polite, while the vampire stared at her before his eyes moved to look behind her, at her dorm.

"Yes, I heard that the previous dorm that Roman was using had been given to a girl. I thought I would take a look at it," hummed Donovan, and he said, "You wouldn't mind inviting me in, do you? It is odd and not to mention rude to make a person stand at the door."

Julie's fingernails tried to dig themselves into the wood of the door that she had been holding, but the wood being hard, she finally let it go.

Earlier, Mr. Borrell had informed them that the headmistress and the Elders had gone out of Veteris in some work, and they wouldn't be returning any time soon. But it seemed like Donovan had other plans. Knowing she couldn't refuse the Elder vampire, she nodded her head and stepped backwards.

Elder Donovan stepped inside the room as if he was the owner of the girl's Dormitorium, and in his presence, Julie looked small.

"A woman's touch sure changes things around," remarked Donovan, looking around the room and the things in there. With the Elder vampire who stood with his back facing her, Julie's eyes quickly darted to look at the cupboard where the Corvin was hiding. "There seems to be some sort of peculiar smell in here. Hmm. I used to visit this dorm before, when Roman was here and I remember how things were then, which might be why it feels a little odd."

When the vampire turned around to meet Julie's eyes, they both stared at each other, and Julie quickly said, "Would you like to take a seat?" Or maybe leave? She thought in her mind.

"That would be lovely. I have been wanting to meet and chat with you, considering how Roman has been trying to hide you as if I would tell some of his secrets," Donovan let out a small chuckle escape from his lips, and Julie smiled along with him.

"I wonder about that too," came an awkward laugh from Julie.

Donovan pulled the chair next to her table and lifting the coat, and he swiftly sat down. He leaned back against the chair, putting one leg over another, and he placed his hands to rest on top of his lap.

"I heard from the headmistress that you joined Veteris this year. A lucky one to be admitted, even after you arrived a week late. Why?" His eyes looked curious. The vampire said, "If I am not wrong, the education expenses in Veteris cost a fortune. I went through your grades, and they seem quite...average. At least compared to Roman's grades. What brought you here to Veteris?"

The person in the closet.

"When I was applying for universities, I thought to apply here too with the others and see—"

"A glass of water."

Hearing Elder Donovan's abrupt words, for a second, Julie stared at him. She then went near the table and poured water into the glass. She tried hard to keep her hands from shaking and spilling the water. The grip of her hand on the glass was right, and she hoped it wouldn't break.

Julie returned to where he was, offering him the glass of water. When he took it from her, she noticed the rings on his fingers, one of which had a dull red stone in it. The way he gave a quick look at the water, she was sure he wasn't going to take a sip from it, and he was only trying to stress her out, even though he didn't know she knew about him.

"Do you have something to eat along with the water?" questioned Donovan.

The Elder vampire was asking her as if she had invited him to her dorm to have tea with her while he held a glass of water. She had a bag of chips in the drawer, and she would have offered it to him, but the drawer was located in the cupboard where the Corvin was hiding.

Donovan's head tilted to the side as if he could smell the potato chips wafting from her cupboard and reaching his nose. Her hands had turned cold and numb, and she wanted to clench them to make sure they were still working.

Please disappear from the cupboard. Please, Corvin, prayed Julie. I will stop eating potato chips for the next one month, wait one year if the Corvin disappears!

"Ah, let me check," Julie replied with a polite smile, and the man returned it when in truth, he was scanning the human.

Julie was in her own dilemma, and the Elder vampire stared at the human, and she could feel his eyes drilling holes on her back.

On the other hand, Donovan watched the big brown-eyed girl, brown hair and maybe a cute face.

Back when he had met the girl, Donovan hadn't bothered to spare a look at the human, not because he had mistaken the girl for another one, but because she was a mere human. Roman was indifferent about a lot of things, but when it came to himself and things he cared about, it was a whole different subject. He still remembered the day when the boy had completely transformed into a vampire with the help of his blood.

What a beautiful day it was to see the maddening anger that had not settled in the young vampire's eyes.

Julie opened the right cupboard as if she had stored the stash of her snacks in there. Today was the day to show her true talent for acting. She opened the clothes drawer before turning around and said, "I must have finished them."

Elder Donovan raised his hand, pointing towards the left cupboard, "How about there?"

He didn't know, did he?

She nodded her head, "Let me check there."

She wondered how long she would be able to stall the Elder vampire. She and Roman parted from the office's main building, where Ms. Dante's office and the mailing room were present. He probably went to check the infirmary on how yesterday's body check-up of the human students had turned out.

Julie walked in front of the cupboard. She placed her hand on the handle, closing her eyes, she pulled it open while Donovan watched her behind. When she opened her eyes, she was pleasantly surprised to see that the raven's wooden skull head was not there anymore.

For a moment, Julie internally was going to let out a sigh of relief, but at the same time, she noticed the black cloak that was upright in the cupboard in front of her. Her eyes darted to look at the left side, and she saw the Corvin had placed its head away from its body.

"Well well. What's that black cloak?" questioned Donovan, seeing the time on the clock, he had stood up and caught sight of an unusual cloak in the cupboard.

"That was my costume for Hallow," Julie replied within a heartbeat.

When her eyes fell below the cloak, noticing the stems of wood, she quickly bent down and threw her clothes on it to hide it. Picking up a bag of potato chips, she turned around.

Julie tore the bag before offering it to the vampire, "This one is barbecue flavour."

Elder Donovan took it from her hand and went back to sit on the chair. He stared at the bag of chips as if reading what was written on it. Julie stealthily pushed the cupboard door to close, thankful that the Corvin had put its head away from its body.

Julie watched the Elder vampire continue to read the bag before he popped one of the potato chips in his mouth. There was no hum of appreciation to it, nor was there any comment from the Elder vampire if it wasn't up to his standard.

When Donovan picked another chip, he said to Julie, "Now as we have met each other. I think it is time to discuss some things. Sit," he waved his hand that held the wafer, pointing at the bed.

Julie walked towards the bed and sat down at the far corner to prevent him from compelling her. Till now, she had deceived other vampires, but she doubted she could do it with the Elder vampires without being caught.

"So tell me, Julianne Winters, what brings you here to Veteris? You told me you were applying for universities, why did you leave the previous university?" questioned Elder Donovan, breaking the potato chip into two pieces and putting it into his mouth.

"I lost my parents and moved to live in my uncle's house," replied Julie. In a way, she had even lost the father she once knew.

"You don't come from a wealthy family, do you? Any important relatives that I might know?" questioned the vampire, and Julie realized she was indeed in an interview.

She shook her head, "No." The man spoke as if he knew everyone, lying without blinking his eyes, she thought in her mind.

Donovan folded the potato chips bag, placing it on the side. He then stood up again. When Julie was about to stand, he waved his hand as if telling her to continue to sit. He then said,

"You see, Julianne, Roman is an important person and I cannot let him mix with the wrong kind of people," he offered her a polite smile, but Julie could see the man trying to intimidate her. "I have always thrived for class and status, and you must already know Roman is not some ordinary person. He's one of a kind, and you, dear. You are distracting him, which doesn't sit well with me. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"Are you asking me to break up with him?" asked Julie, staring straight into the Elder vampire's eyes.

The smile on the Elder vampire's face faltered before it fell completely, and Julie noticed the man looked scary without a smile on his face.

"It would be better for your sake to stay away from him, Julianne. I heard that your uncle, his family are quite small in number. Thomas Winters, who works for a car company, and then your aunt Sarah Winters, who is a confectioner. Not to mention your cousin, I think I forgot his name," Donovan clicked his tongue.

"Joel," replied Julie, her teeth slightly gritting, learning this vampire had already looked up the part of her family.

A slow smile appeared on Donovan's lips, "I am sure you wouldn't want anything bad happening to your beloved relatives."

He probably wouldn't try looking up to see about her parents as she said that they were both dead. But if he did, it wouldn't take long when the vampire would kill her for being a hunter's daughter, or worse, a witch's daughter too.

"I wouldn't like anything bad happening to either of them. It would be unfortunate if it happened. Roman is quite stubborn and it is hard to get him to listen to me. But I am hoping we could come to an agreement," said the vampire, and Julie stared at him.

Julie didn't want anything bad to happen to Uncle Thomas and his family, and as much as she was unhappy with Aunt Sarah's behaviour, that didn't mean she wanted her to die.

She was about to say something when something inside the cupboard made noise, as if something fell. She forgot what she was going to say, and her face turned pale. The Elder vampire's eyes that were focussed on her shifted to look at the cupboard.