Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 134: GlimmerGrob

Dinner time came and went. Arabella kept on readjusting and shifting the roses in their vase every time she walked by the table and when her hands could not reach them, her eyes would find them from any corner, any angle in the room.

"Here Miss, your cloak is ready," Ada neatly folded the black velvet fabric before placing it on the bed, "And... Here is your brooch as well," she settled it on top of the cloak.

"Thank you, Ada," her gemstones still lingered on the flowers even then.

It was a knock on the door that finally caught her attention, "Arabella? May I come in?" Katherine’s voice followed.

"Of course," she chirped.

Upon entering the room, the vampire first addressed Ada, "I’ll take it from here. You may go now,"

"Understood,"

With one last glance in Arabella’s direction, Ada exited the room, leaving the young woman in her care.

Katherine made her way towards the cloak then wrapped it around Arabella’s shoulders, "Master Silas is expecting you downstairs," she said while tying the drawstring under her chin.

"Right,"

The pin went on next before the shoulder brushing and the last fitting touches, "There you go. Beautiful! As always," Katherine smiled.

"Thank you,"

Once again, her eyes drifted towards the roses which tickled Katherine’s curiosity.

"These roses weren’t here before, were they?" she pointed at the flowers.

"No," a smile still on, Arabella shook her head slowly, "We brought them from the garden this morning," the eyebrow raised on Katherine prompted her to clarify, "I got permission to bring them! I swear!"

In response, the vampiress failed to contain the laughter that had overpowered her.

With a hand clutching her stomach, she finally managed to articulate, "Dear Lord Ambrogio, you are a fun thing to tease, and I wasn’t even trying!"

Free from that fit of giggles, Katherine guided Arabella downstairs where Silas awaited her.

By then, he was already sitting in the carriage as per usual. The first stop for his eyes on her had been the Eleazar family crest pinned to her chest.

"Good evening," she spoke first then averted her gaze immediately after.

"Evening," he retorted without ever looking away, "We are visiting a shop that specializes in the type of clothes you need,"

"Is it in KasselMoon?" her gemstones met his diamonds for a split second before fleeing to the side.

"Yes. Although we won’t be going through the hub. It is always crowded at these hours," he said.

Arabella merely nodded then sought her pendant for comfort.

"You ought to learn how to read his face" Ada’s words struck her out of nowhere. Well, not so out of the blue when he sat there right in front of her.

What did his face truly hide? What did she miss that Ada noticed instead?

It was true that his glare hadn’t been as harsh as the first time they’d laid eyes on each other, but to her it only signified Silas was no longer distrusting of her.

Considering she was a Sterling, the suspicion was justifiable at the beginning.

He’d started acting oddly a few days prior due to withdrawal and that was that, but... That wasn’t entirely correct, was it?

The bizarre bursts of anger dated back to about a week before the thirst should have kicked in. On the day he’d caught Edgar standing by her room or every time he’d found them together in the garden.

What was that about then?

"Are you afraid?"

A tiny jolt ran through her body upon hearing his voice, "Oh... Well," Arabella knew there was no use in lying since her heart betrayed her, "I am a bit apprehensive. This is the first time I am returning to KasselMoon since...," she trailed off.

"As I said before," he finally turned towards the window, "We won’t be mixing with people in the hub. Direct physical contact should be avoided at all costs,"

Arabella thought the successful deflection she did earned her a good pat on the back.

Just like the previous times, the carriage stopped by the bridge, but unlike those same times, Silas took the first right turn before entering the town.

The narrow streets he guided her through sowed a glimmer of fear in her. The shiver that ran up and down her spine never stopped.

No other soul walked those tapered alleys. The moon barely graced the bitter gray walls that seemed to close in on them the deeper they went.

Arabella’s hand tightened around her pendant, so much so her nails dug into her flesh.

Though it was her face that suffered more that her hand due to the sudden collision against Silas’ back. The young woman hadn’t even noticed him stopping.

But thankfully, the vampire was quick enough to spare her behind from hitting the cold hard ground.

"Remain vigilant," he said dryly, "Come. We need to turn here," he let go of her arm and turned around to resume walking.

"Right," red in the face, she cleared her throat and readjusted her gown.

Very soon, the alley gave way to a wider street, lined with a number of decorated storefronts. Silas made his way towards one of them in particular.

The instant the first ring of the bell resonated, a voice blared from behind a cluster of mannequins, allowing no time for Arabella to take her surroundings in.

"If it isn’t the young Master Eleazar!" the raspy timbre gritted against her ears.

"It is indeed," Silas stood unbothered, "Evening, Glimmergrob,"

The closer to them the person drew, the more Arabella had the impression they spoke from a lower level, as though they were crouched down of something of that sort.

Her shock, however, came when the shopkeeper finally revealed themselves before her.

Their pointed ears even larger than the head they stuck to, the creature was no taller than three feet of height.

The pair of yellow eyes that greeted Silas instantly snapped onto Arabella when she came into view.

"Oh! Oh dear! Is this your future Mrs you brought here?" the goblin minced none of his words.

"No," his question did not seem to tick Silas in the slightest.