Ch. Eighteen

                                    

                                          
Chapter Eighteen- The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend
                          
Evangeline couldn't tell if Delia was wearing black because she was in mourning or because black was mostly what her wardrobe was comprised of. She reclined nonchalantly on a chaise sofa with a glass of blood in her hand. Evangeline could smell it from where she awkwardly stood in the center of the room, trembling in her now tattered gown. Delia glared at her over the top of her glass as she took a sip; staining her already crimson lips all the more red. Evangeline swallowed hard against the dryness in her throat. It had been too long since she had any blood and she was beginning to feel weak with hunger.
                          
"So...you've come crawling back to your captor? All because of ...Seraphina?" Delia sneered as she spoke the girl's name like it was a curse.
                          
Evangeline was silent. She shifted uncomfortably as Delia became silent, staring off into the distance, clearly lost in her thoughts. Her expression was unreadable until a flash of rage surged through her. Evangeline gasped when Delia suddenly stood, throwing her wine glass at the wall behind Evangeline. Blood splashed across the floral wallpaper, the scent exploding with it. Evangeline dug her nails into her palms in a small attempt to keep herself from throwing herself against the wall and licking the blood off its surface. She was trembling with the effort of restraining herself from not breaking down completely. She was so very thirsty...
                          
"She ruined my brother!" Delia screamed at the wall, flashing her fangs dangerously.
                          
Evangeline cringed. She was almost afraid Delia might take her anger out on her. If Delia did attack her, she was far too weak to do anything about it.
                          
"Delia? What on earth is the matter?" snapped Eloise as she barged into the room. It took her seconds to spot Evangeline standing there, trembling and she assumed the reason for her friend's sudden burst of anger.
                          
"Ah. That explains it," she murmured to herself under her breath. Evangeline wondered if the blonde remembered her from Delia's party, or if Delia had told her friend of the girl her brother ran away with.
                          
Delia rolled her eyes at Eloise and straightened up, her sudden madness under control. "No, it's not her," she said breezily.
                          
Eloise shrugged nonchalantly. A curious smile teased her lips as she awaited Delia's next word. In the meantime, she stared unwaveringly at Evangeline in silence, taking in the girl's wretched exterior. Evangeline felt like she was being sized up and avoided the woman's calculating gaze.
                          
Delia exhaled slowly, her eyes flitting about the room, thinking. "We have been betrayed," she at last stated.
                          
"What makes you say that, Delia?" Eloise asked before looking to her friend.
                          
"My brother has betrayed us," Delia replied despondently.
                          
Eloise stared at her strangely, her easy smile slipping. Frowning, she looked to Evangeline accusingly. Evangeline hastily looked away, fixing her gaze to the floor. She did not wish to speak about Delia's brother. It comforted her that Delia felt as she did however. Betrayed. At least they had that in common. She hoped it was enough for her to be accepted as something above a slave in Delia's house. 
                          
"I think you two could use a drink," Eloise proposed, accepting she would never fully understand just what was going on.
                          
Delia nodded absently, and glanced in Evangeline's direction. "You look like you're about to collapse, dear. Come with us and we'll fix you right up," she said, shocking Evangeline. 
                          
Evangeline certainly felt like she was about to collapse, this time with relief. She could cry she was so relieved she wouldn't be thrown out to fend for herself with no idea where to go. Eloise sidled up to her and took her arm, grinning excitedly at her which the redhead didn't immediately view as ominous. She let the woman pull her toward Delia where they stood before her. Delia offered Evangeline a swift look of sympathy before smiling a sultry smirk. Now she was starting to feel mildly concerned in trusting the two women.