Chapter 283: Talks of unions
Katherine’s breathing rhythm did not simmer since the first glimpse Silas had gotten of her the previous morning.
Her eyes were on the canopy, bloodshot and tired as the rest of her muscles lay inert on the bed.
"Can she be fed?" he asked, glaring down at her figure.
"We’ve tried," the doctor that stood by her replied, "It hasn’t yielded any changes,"
"Is there anything you can tell me at all about her condition?"
"I am afraid not," the doctor shook his head, "I can neither confirm nor deny the theory you’ve suggested. She may or may not have been infected or poisoned, but there is no trace of any toxin in her system,"
"What of witchcraft?"
"That remains possible," the white coated man picked a stack of papers in hand, "Although impossible to confirm or deny as well,"
Silas took those words and exited the room with a heavy heart. Even the air didn’t come easy. Katherine’s case proved to be a difficult mystery. One no one managed to unwrap.
As he ambled the hallways, a vampire butler approached him and stopped right before him then bowed, "Master, we’ve just received communication from the Fata fairies,"
He handed him a piece of parchment which the silver haired vampire took and read with care.
After a moment of quiet reflection, Silas looked back at the butler and spoke, "I’d like you to forward this message to Arabella, the young human Lady that currently sits at the library. Tell her to take care of this,"
The butler made no remarks and wasted no time to leave, taking the folded letter with him.
The young human Lady he said... What else was he supposed to call her other than that? To him, she was more than a friend, but what word should he use to describe her in front of others?
The brooch on her chest meant she was his for as long as she proudly wore it, but what is the word for her?
However, before his mind could run with that thread, yet another member of their staff approached him and bowed, "Master, I am here to inform you that Lady Persephone wishes to see you,"
In the lounge room she sat, surrounded by important-looking papers. Even with a lot of work to do, Persephone preferred to handle all of it out of her dedicated office.
"Evening, mother," he sat beside her.
"To you as well," she settled the pages down, "Do tell, how is Katherine fairing?"
"Not well at all," he sighed.
Persephone did not look pleased by that answer but said nothing. Well, that was until another topic came to mind, "I actually summoned you here to talk about yours and Arabella’s union,"
"What about it?" his eyebrow ascended up his forehead.
"When will the formal gathering for your union take place?" her hands lay on her lap as her stance remained eerily straight.
"Why? Do we really need to discuss this today?"
"I admit," the hand that lay on top of its sister gave it a light squeeze. That was the only visible motion from the Lady, "I do not know how to handle this union. As you know, us vampires have all the time in the world, but with a human...," she trailed off.
"She won’t wither tomorrow," his glare hardened.
"One can never know," still staring through his soul, she murmured, "Well, have you spoken about this with her at least?" her voice gained in strength.
"There is no rush,"
At those words, he averted his gaze.
"And what’s the hold up?"
"She is very preoccupied with Katherine’s condition these days. I thought it’d be inappropriate to bring this up,"
"Fair enough," she nodded slowly, "But right now, let us keep it between us. What do you plan on doing for the celebration?"
"I am not sure," the marble floor tiles seemed like the most interesting thing in that room all of the sudden, "I haven’t thought that far just yet,"
"The brooch is significant enough, don’t get me wrong, but the quicker you make things official the better for her,"
"I have asked her to pick one of our businesses to handle," he admitted.
"And how did she take it?"
"With a lot of apprehension,"
One of the papers sprawled across the small table caught his attention. A shipping contract for silver crates.
Neatly formed and signed. Black on white, garnished with a tinge of silver ink.
"I’ve let her deal with the Fata fairies’ correspondence as well,"
"What do you want her to do with it?" Persephone looked at him with a tame, curious look.
"To read it and then send an appropriate reply,"
The Lady did something, an expression Silas hadn’t seen on her for quite the long type. She pursed her lips, allowing her void-like eyes to snap from the papers and onto him.
"And other than that, how has she been with you?"
"What’s the meaning of this?" he tilted his head.
"I mean; has she been comfortable in your presence or being alone with you?"
"Much like the previous subject, she remains on her guard at times, but she always stops me whenever I go too far in her eyes,"
An awkward moment of silence fell between them, claiming more space by the second.
"I feared her heart would explode," a faint chuckle escaped her, "But I suppose she’d made some progress since the first time I’ve ever laid eyes on her. She used to shake like a leaf in my presence,"
"She still does," he stated dryly.
"Well, let a woman pretend at the very least," she came across as calm, but a hint of indignation slipped through the cracks.
"If that will be all," Silas stood to his feet, "I have other things to do,"
"Like stalking your conquest," she half asked.
"It is far from being stalking," he raised his chin somewhat higher with pride, "I merely want to make sure that she can handle things on her own,"
Persephone said nothing else, but the look on her face was enough of a response.