Chapter 321: Lost pieces
Arabella failed to chase Edna’s twisted face out of her mind, no matter how hard she tried. It latched on, carved itself on the inner walls of her eyelids, forcing the young woman to look at her every time she shut her eyes.
"There is somewhere I’d like to go to first," she blurted out.
Marie, the servant in charge of accompanying her back to her room, stopped in her tracks, "I was instructed to guide you to your room," she stated.
"Will you drag me if I still refuse to go?" the words sort of escaped her before Arabella fully measured their weight.
"No, of course not," Marie’s demeanor dimmed despite her not smiling at all from the very beginning, "Where would you like to go from here, my Lady?"
"I... Am sorry," Arabella cleared her throat, "I overreacted," her eyes had fallen to the floor, her cheeks already burning, "I’d like to go see Ada,"
No more words were exchanged after that as Marie quietly accompanied Arabella to Ada’s room before retreating at the door.
Ada stood off her chair at once and threw herself into Arabella’s arms as soon as her eyes fell on her friend.
"Is everything alright with you, Ada?" eyebrows furrowed, she sought Ada’s gaze who buried her face in Arabella’s embrace.
"No, I am fine," she flashed her best smile when straightening up, "It’s just been an odd couple of days that is all," she slowly shook her head.
"For what it’s worth, I truly am sorry for worrying you," Arabella still held onto Ada’s hands between hers.
"Please, don’t say that again," Ada turned around and went straight for her bed before plopping her entire weight on it, "I don’t think there is much to say about this topic than what’s already been said and I do not feel like revisiting the events of the other night," she bit down on her bottom lip, "It hurts to even think about it,"
"That is understandable," Arabella followed in Ada’s steps before joining her on the bed, "I still have to ask how your neck is doing? How is the pain? Is it manageable?" she practically whispered.
Seeing the fragile state of her friend, Arabella opted to be as gentle and soft as can possibly be.
"I do not wish to worry you, but I also dont want to lie," Ada looked down at her hands, "The ghost of her fangs still lingers in my neck... It doesn’t hurt at all times, but it still aches here and there,"
"Did you try to get some sleep?"
"I certainly tried," Ada nodded while still staring at her hands, "Technically, I fell unconscious and you were there in my dream,"
The two of them kept a constant, soft tone in their exchange, "What was I doing in it?"
Arabella was reluctant with her last question.
"We were in the music room. You were helping me practice my walk... It was just an ordinary day. It was...," Ada trailed off, the strain in her voice becoming more and more audible, "It was just a normal day, exactly like I wanted it to be," a rebellious tear escaped her eye.
"The sooner you get better, the quicker we can put all of this behind us and go back to those days," Arabella rubbed gentle, little circles on her friend’s back.
"Can we do that?" Ada finally turned her way with glistening eyes that threatened to release all the water in them.
"Yes of course we can!" without a second thought, Arabella beamed and nodded profusely.
The toll that the recent events had taken on Ada would require a bit longer to fizzle out. Telling her about Edna would surely not help.
She, much like most of the staff, disliked the blonde, but she wasn’t the type to grin and gloat in the face of death, even when it took someone like Edna.
"Silly me!" Ada’s voice rose again, interrupting Arabella’s thoughts, "I haven’t even asked how you were doing! How selfish of me?"
Arabella chuckled at first, "Honestly, I feel a tad strange," she looked down, "It’s as though something very deep in me has shifted,"
Ada did not say a thing and merely listened.
"I keep losing track of time and feeling out of place, but other than that, it was like I simply went to sleep." she smiled.
"But you weren’t sleeping," Ada shook her head, "You were very much dead," she stood up and marched towards the window, "For me it was like time had stopped. It might seem silly, but my life has changed so much since meeting you and I had no clue as to where to go or what to do with myself,"
Arabella followed her friend and slowly wrapped her arms around her. The news of Edna’s demise would definitely need to wait. At the very least until the next day.
Her insides twisted at the sight of Ada. There truly was a piece of her that seemed lost. It was as though she’d seen something she was never supposed to and could never unsee it.
That foreign sensation that lived in Arabella wouldn’t leave her too. She did visit the land of the dead and had returned from it after all. That was bound to bring a few changes about.
The two women stood watching as the trees in the distance swayed with the wind.
The breeze was kind to all creatures. There was that at least, the fairness in treatment from nature.
When everything else seemed out of balance, there was that fact to always rely on.
There wasn’t much more to be added. For once, it was Arabella that made sure Ada was tucked under her sheets.
A million questions swirled in her mind and many faces crossed it.
Where to go from there? What to do with the fact that Edna was gone?
The whole time, all she wanted was peace, but was that really the only way to obtain it? Only through death?