Chapter 295: A breathtaking phenomenon
On the widest balcony of the property, the maids set up a table, fully dressed with tees, fruit juices, wines and all types of other delicacies.
The brighter the moon shone, the closer the birth of the spirits drew. The butlers joined and even Edgar left the quiet of his room to sit along with the rest.
Only one member of the daytime staff seemed to be missing.
Edna hid herself to scrub the pot and cups that Allegra and Grace had used clean from any trace of relaxant left in them. Leaving not a lick behind was her goal.
She then quickly filled it with the same variety of tea and brought it back to the room where Katherine was being kept.
Only... One hitch stood in her way; upon re-entering, Allegra and Grace still lay in the same positions she’d left them in, but one thing was amiss.
Katherine was no longer sprawled on the bed. In fact, she was nowhere in the room at all.
The sinking feeling that had struck the blonde was rivaled by no other ever felt. Her lungs threatened to collapse due to the sheer demand of air her heart imposed, but in her haste to leave the premises, she still did not forget to put the pot and cups back how they were originally left when she came to retrieve them.
Edna practically tip-toed through the hallways, making sure to not only avoid any other human under that roof but especially keeping an eye out for an enraged or sickened Katherine in her path.
Very carefully, she picked one of the ground floor restrooms to shut herself in and stay.
Back on the balcony no one was the wiser as the party carried on with bliss.
Seated at their center, Arabella was still not allowed out of the wedding dress she’d picked. All under the guise of "getting accustomed to any discomfort it might yield".
Of course, Mr Kallum did not mind. On the contrary, he sat right next to her and Remus, sharing joy and delicious snacks.
The human guards stood to the side. They weren’t a talkative bunch and did not mix with the rest and so were given their own table.
"They are highly trained," Mr Kallum seemed to have noticed how Arabella gawked at them.
"Undoubtably," she cracked a sudden smile and quickly took her eyes away from them as though caught committing mischief.
Most of them were men, rough looking, but some were women too. Although before the question was given any range to fester, Mr Kallum seemed to catch on.
"On this land, unless you are lifting heavy equipment, your strength as a human does not matter," he began, "Most of their training consists of handling long range weapons as they’d be most likely dealing with vampires or wolf folk, which are the most common species in this area so... Man or woman... Neither can take on a vampire in a close-range altercation, thus turning to cheap tricks and seeking opportunities in order to strike,"
"In other words, they are more trained to think rather than fight really," her eyes were set on one particular woman among the guards, clearly built for tough situations. Her laugh was carried by the winds, loud and proud. Something most human women didn’t dare do, compared to all the chirping and giggling the maids around her had raised.
Memory served her the day Silas had gifted her the small silver dagger. He’d promised he’d train her to use it properly but never truly got around to it.
Remus’ hand popped past her as he tried to grab a piece of meat that sat across from him. That had the merit of snapping her out of a daze, only to realize that Ada no longer sat next to the boy like she had been.
"Excuse me, Abigail! But where is Ada?"
"Oh! Madame Arumina was supposed to handle the finishing touches on the food down in the kitchens, but she took too long so Astrid and Ada volunteered to go check on her," the young maid smiled.
"Thank you," Arabella stood off her chair before turning towards Remus, "I will be right back,"
"No, stay, please," Gloria who sat facing her interjected, "They have been gone for a minute, and they’d never miss the birth,"
"It’s starting!" one of the maids that Arabella still did not know by name stood off her chair at once.
Her action caused both tables to quiet down and follow her gaze towards the moon.
Towards the halos that trickled from the celestial body, coming thin at first only to strengthen in intensity.
Of a bluish and white color, they descended, so slowly each and every sparkle floated flimsy, joining together with the rest in order to bind along for the creation of what seemed like a silhouette.
Arabella was rendered utterly speechless at the scene, still standing halfway up, eyes wide open, soldered on the divine creature that hung large enough in the sky to eclipse the moon.
As if that hadn’t stolen enough of her breaths, yet another silhouette came to be, born from the binding of more sparkles.
They were translucent enough to earn them the title of spirit.
By the time the third spirit came to be, the first one had begun to shrink and allow space for more to materialize.
A fourth, a fifth, a sixth... All the way until the twentieth.
The first ones had contracted in size, so much so that they were barely visible anymore.
When the end of it all finally arrived, Arabella was stunned to realize that nearly an entire hour had gone by.
"Wh... What happens to them now?" still mouth agape, the young woman inquired.
"It is impossible to see from this distance, but way before the birth had started, older spirits have ascended in order to welcome the new borns and guide them to their new homes," Mr Kallum swirled his wine in his glass.
"To the windy land...," she whispered.
Kallum merely nodded and took a new sip.
However, her shock waned fast upon noticing the absence of Ada and Astrid who hadn’t come back with Arumina at all.