Chapter 279: No sleep
Both Ada and Arabella had to leave the dungeons when nighttime came. The doctors took over and left no room for a single peek at the vampriess.
They ascended the levels, arm in arm until the ground floor came into view.
"I am honestly exhausted and... The idea hadn’t even crossed my mind until she attacked her the other day,"
"I suspected her when you were cursed the first time," Ada stared ahead, "Edna knows her way around KasselMoon. She knows people,"
"Going after me is one thing and I understand it but why Katherine?" Arabella’s fingers rose to her chin.
"I don’t know, but keeping quiet about it isn’t the way to go," Ada gave her friend’s hand a little squeeze.
Arabella’s room felt cold and oddly emptier than it was before. She assumed it was the hollow gnawing at her insides.
Plopping down on the bed, her weight fell harder on the surface.
As she faced the open window, a new idea sprouted and zoomed across her bustling mind. The young woman’s eyes snapped onto Ada.
"I meant to ask; are you thinking of pursuing further education to become a healer?"
That question seemed to take Ada by complete surprise, "I was just promoted to entertainer! I don’t understand," she shook her head.
"I simply mean that now you can read well, and the library is so rich!" Arabella stood to her feet, "If you want it! I think there is still time for you to follow in your father’s steps, but that also doesn’t mean that you have to stop being an entertainer! You can choose! You... We...," her voice died down towards the end.
"Yes, now we can finally choose what we want to do with our lives," Ada had a faint smile on her.
The entire night, there was no news about Katherine. Silas did not come up and remained with the doctors.
Arabella lay with her eyes open as many things, words and scenarios tugged at her sanity.
Ada’s words about Edna stuck well with her, refusing to let go for there was a lot of truth to them.
After all, she too had suspected Edna of malice but never had any proof. Arabella still had no proof, but the situation was different.
Right then, it was no longer about her own safety. It was about someone that she deeply cared about.
Turning to the side, her eyes were met by the sight of her mother’s pendant, the red vial amulet that Silas had gifted her and the brooch that he’d pinned to her chest. Finally, at the furthest corner from them, rested the small dagger that came with the red vial pendant.
Each of them carrying a strong meaning of their own, their own weight.
As her gemstones lingered on the green jewel from the pendant, the young woman realized she hadn’t had the time to think everything through.
All of the recent events and especially her new union to Silas. A unique vampire that lived for centuries before she ever saw the world.
Such an odd concept it was... Time...
Her mother’s image came next. What would she have thought on the matter? Would she have supported it? Or would she have been horrified at the idea?
Silas’ face popped into mind. The thought of being... Intimate with him.
For some reason, all of the training she’d received in her father’s care evaporated whenever he stood nearby.
When he stroked her cheek so gently.
That in turn, brought the idea of reproducing. Arabella had always wanted children, but staying with Silas meant putting that prospect to rest.
Granted, she’d have probably never have had the chance of raising her own children should she have stayed with the prince but still... It stung, nonetheless.
Since sleep wasn’t kind to her, Arabella got up, changed into a proper dress then left the room.
She tiptoed downstairs, doing her best not to attract any attention to herself, knowing full well that vampires would have spotted her from miles away.
Her first stop would have been the medical wing, but a voice told her that it would be the point of assembly for most vampires that night.
At least, it would’ve been the case for her sisters and Silas.
The second stop was the library. Memory served her the night she’d sneaked out of her room to read a tome about her own lineage.
The shivers her body had sustained that night were... Unique to say the least.
Reading those lines about how her ancestor had been responsible for killing the man who’d built the home that sheltered her were the nail in the coffin...
Well, it was the case for a few days until Silas had cleared the air with her.
"We meet again at an early hour,"
The kind, masculine voice wrenched a jolt out of her.
"Edgar!" she squeaked.
"Yes! That is me!" he nodded, "I won’t ask what brought you here at such a time. I’ve heard of what happened,"
Arabella’s face dimmed, her eyes falling onto the pages in front of her, "I haven’t learned anything new. I can’t sleep without knowing if Katherine will be alright,"
In response, Edgar sighed, "I understand," he nodded. His eyes then fell onto the brooch pinned to her dress, "Oh! Congratulations!" he smiled warmly.
"Thank you," she whispered sheepishly, her fingers fiddling with the jewelry.
"You don’t seem so thrilled," Edgar half asked, nearing her table.
"No! I am simply... I am a bit scared," she flicked at the pages in front of her.
"That is understandable," he nodded, pulling a chair beside her, "It is quite new after all,"
"I don’t know where to put my head or how to act,"
Edgar had to close the book that faced her before she involuntarily destroyed it, "You’ll need to breathe first," he started, "I honestly don’t even remember how I went about it when I first came here,"
"I was curious as to how you came to live here. You’ve always only given bits and pieces. I never wanted to push," her smile returned, "I hoped someday you’d be comfortable enough with me to tell me about it,"