Interview

"Earl!" Evelyn called his name.

Earl turned to face her and saw her wogging towards him. She appeared to be agitated and in a rush as it was the day of the council interview.

"Why are you still here Eve? You should have been in the council building by now," Earl said, frowning at her.

"I know, Earl. Take me to the council. I will tell you on the way. Please hurry!" She replied, hopping into the carriage.

"All right, Miss Evelyn," he said as he climbed into the carriage to ride it.

Evelyn sat restlessly throughout the journey, concerned about being late.

"What made you late, Eve?" He asked.

"Slept late last night therefore my eyes did not open this morning and I overslept."

"Why were you up so late last night? Is this test anxiety again?" He asked further.

"Ah no, I was thinking about someone."

"Who is this someone?" Earl inquired, amusement on his face.

Evelyn squinted her eyes and smacked her head with her hand in embarrassment. She felt silly as she was about to disclose about the brown-eyed guy whose even name she wasn't aware of. Moreover, she was unsure about her own feelings.

Thinking quickly of a lie, she began, "Ana, Ana Mills. I met her during council exams. I'm hoping she's okay." Earl smiled and nodded.

They soon arrived outside the council building. Evelyn hopped out of the carriage and rushed towards the interview location, asking for directions from a few staff members on her way.

She took a deep breath and released it slowly in relief as she saw the candidates still waiting for the interview to begin. Nervously, she glanced around hoping to meet the familiar brown eyes. Anxiety raised as she couldn't find him.

She saw Ana, speaking to a man at the end of the passage.

"Ana," Evelyn walked up to her.

She saw her turn around in her direction and smile fondly.

"Evelyn! Glad we both passed the examination," she said.

"I agree," Evelyn replied and glanced around to recheck the passage to search for him. She was relieved to see Ana safe, but she felt hurt for him.

She wasn't able to comprehend why she was concerned about him. Despite knowing the fact that he already had a mate, she craved his presence around her. Her mind began to fill with negative thoughts. But there was something which kept on saying that he was still alive, which gave her hope.

She noticed there were a lot of unknown faces. According to uncle Admiral, there should be only around seven candidates as one of the eight was an imposter. Perhaps they were members of the council, she thought. 

To confirm it, she turned to ask Ana. Her eyes were drawn to the white bandage wrapped around her neck.

"What happened to your neck?" She inquired, knitting her brows, together. Her voice held concern for Ana. 

"Oh, this is nothing. Work of the imposter during the task. I must say he has a poor aim," she giggled as she said those words.

Evelyn gave her a rueful smile. Ana's resilience impressed her. Despite knowing and having experienced the consequences of joining the council, she decided to join.

A door to the cabin, where the interview was taking place, opened soon after. Evelyn shifted her gaze in that way, only to be captivated by the brown eyes. She felt relieved seeing him safe. Her heartbeats accelerated as she saw him approaching in her direction. Her gaze followed him, as he walked.

He walked past her and leaned on the wall, away from the crowd. Evelyn resisted the impulse to turn around and stare at him all day.

"No Evelyn, he is already taken by someone," she repeated the sentence and controlled her impulse.

One by one, the interview of the candidates was taken. She was the last one to arrive, therefore her name was called in the end.

Evelyn moved towards the cabin with confidence. When she opened the door, she found three men sitting behind a desk, each with a solemn expression, as if they were interrogating criminals rather than interviewing candidates. Their stare made her nervous and quivered her slightly. Two of them were quite young and the one who sat in the middle, appeared to be of her uncle's age. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and continued walking towards the desk.

One of the men motioned her to take the seat. She was well aware that this was all a formality and that she had nothing to be worried about.

"Miss Evelyn Walford," the man read her name from the parchment kept on the table and continued, "If I am not wrong, aren't you the daughter of Lord Walford?"

Evelyn nodded and smiled nervously. The two other men frowned at the revelation.

"It's good to see you here. Despite living an affluent life in the mansion, you chose to enter the council. I appreciate your choice," the man appreciated her.

Evelyn felt the confident raise in her, listening to him.

"How did you feel the task was?" He enquired.

"It was pretty good," she replied. She would have pointed out the deaths occurred during the council but her uncle had advised her not to revolt on the first day of her council as it might affect her reputation.

"Did you come across anything suspicious?" He inquired further.

She had the distinct feeling that they asked the same questions to every candidate who had come before her. Their expression indicated that they already anticipated the answer to be a no from her as well like other candidates.

Evelyn pondered for a moment. She had sensed something wasn't right in the forest, and suspected Felix that he knew something the other candidates didn't. The dilemma now was whether she should inform the council or keep quiet and investigate on her own later.

Her inner conflict was resolved when she decided not to inform, one of the reasons being that she wasn't sure. It can be her overthinking that made everything appear suspicious at that time.

Making a decision, she shook her head and said, "No sir."

"You took an unusually long time to respond. Are there any secrets you're keeping?" The man asked with a serious expression.

She respectfully replied, "Nothing to hide sir."

The councilman gave a nod.

"You may now exit. Ask the candidates outside to remain there until further instructions," he said with a commanding tone.

Evelyn walked out of the room with a nod.