Chapter 262: Congratulations
Grace didn’t say much the whole way there. Although she kept throwing curious glances back at Arabella until the two of them crossed the threshold of the lively music room.
The Lady was seated in a cushy chair, teacup already in hand. The vampiress did not look up but unlike her, the rest of the souls populating that space turned their attention onto Arabella the instant she stepped in.
The young woman was only familiar with a few of them. Namely Allegra who offered a warm smile her way and Sebastian whose grin still unsettled her to that very day.
"Take ten minutes from now," the Lady’s voice rang and without dallying, the entertainers exited the room one after the other.
While passing her by, some had odd glares on their faces while others whispered among themselves, glancing between her face and the brooch on her chest.
She kept her head down until the last of them was behind her.
"Take a seat," Persephone addressed the last remaining figure present with her.
Arabella obliged and sat by the Lady’s side.
"It always looks good, doesn’t it? No matter who dons it?" her pure black eyes fixated the brooch as a distant smile crept on her face.
"It is just splendid, my Lady," the young woman nodded, fingers fumbling with the piece of jewelry on her.
"Emeric tried to pin it on me on our fifth date,"
Arabella smiled brightly upon hearing those words.
"I tried to snap his neck,"
The young woman’s face fell instantly.
"Oh! Don’t look so shocked," the Lady leisurely waved with one hand, "Us vampires have our own ways to express love, especially romantic,"
Arabella sat petrified while the gears in her head spun with no sign of slowing down. In that regard, vampires wore savagery closer to that of wolf folk even if they denied it.
"I’ll admit, I did not believe things would go that fast between you two," The Lady settled the cup on the table, "After my earlier attempts at keeping you apart, I figured why don’t I just let you be and soon you’d realize how different your worlds are and you’d...," she trailed off, her voice still steady.
"That we would grow apart," Arabella half asked.
"Yes, exactly," the vampiress looked her dead in the eyes.
When the young woman could no longer withstand it, her gemstones fell to her own lap, "My apologies. I realize that I’ve been acting upon my own selfish wants,"
"And what might those be?" Persephone raised an eyebrow.
"I only have a few decades and then I’ll be the first to shrivel up and die," Arabella sighed, "He deserves better,"
To that, the Lady chuckled, "You are both acting selfishly, but that is alright. Our hearts take their pick and then our actions follow," her voice softened as she stared into nothingness, "Granted," snapping out of it, her eyes darted onto Arabella again, "Your case is a bit more complicated than most,"
A moment of silence followed before the Lady cleared her throat to speak once more, "In any case, I wished to ask you a different question," Arabella straightened up as though preparing to receive said question between her hands, "How comfortable are you with your... Body?"
"My body?" the young woman stuttered a few times, her eyebrows unsure on whether to furrow or rise.
"Why yes!" Persephone looked her figure up and down, "If I remember correctly, you nearly had a heart attack for simply dancing in a man’s arms. I am frankly scared to imagine what would happen if one tried to go further with you,"
The twiddling of fingers intensified, the fidgetiness growing as blood rose to her reddening face.
Her lips clamped as if sealing everything behind them.
"I will be direct and ask; what do you know of physical intimacy?" Persephone’s stance straight, her hands joined upon her lap to reflect grace.
Surprisingly, embarrassment wasn’t the main expression on Arabella. There was that dimmed smile and stifled spark in her eyes.
"I have received... Training," she mumbled, focusing on her own fingers.
"Training?" once again, the Lady’s eyebrow rose.
"The age of fourteen was when my body began evolving and my feminine forms became more pronounced. That was when I was no longer allowed to leave the house but...," she trailed off momentarily, "That was also when my father decided that I needed to start learning," her voice turned quieter as the sentence went on.
"Learn what exactly?" Persephone insisted.
Through strained cords, the young woman pushed the words, "How to please a man,"
"Did your mother supervise your training?"
That question seemed to hit Arabella harder than any other insult. Her eyes turned harsh and before she could gauge her reaction, her glare spoke for itself, "No! My mother could never bear to attend any of those... Lessons," she simmered down tad, her features mellowing, "She could barely look me in the eyes. Not that I could look anyone in the eyes after those sessions either,"
Instead of enquiring about that part, the Lady moved on to a different one, "And what about your own pleasure?"
"What about it?" she blurted, eyes wide open.
"What did you learn about it?" the vampiress elaborated.
"It was never important, so it wasn’t part of the equation," she muttered while fiddling with the brooch.
"I figured," the Lady sighed, "But if I can make one request, it’ll be for you to be honest whenever you are uncomfortable with his touch. The last thing he needs is the memory of his first love having a heart attack in his arms,"
In reply, Arabella merely nodded profusely, the scarlet shade back on her stronger than ever.
"You may take your leave," she picked her teacup from its handle between her fingers.
Without another word and after curtsying, Arabella turned to leave.
But right as she got to the door, Lady Persephone’s voice blared once anew.
"Oh! And I forgot the main reason I’d summoned you," in a blink, her expression turned kind, offering the kindest of smiles her features ever mustered, "Congratulations!"