Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 200: Special places

A historical site that held a dear place in Silas’ heart... Arabella counted breath after breath until her eyes would finally land on this special spot.

The ship sang louder than its sailors and the wind did not shirk its responsibilities. On the contrary, it held its end of the deal, blowing against the sails with such force that the floating wooden body glided upon the serene water surface with great ease.

Sunlight kissed everything beneath it, including Arabella’s skin, earning the young woman the coziest yet most comfortable of senses.

As wide as the space held by the ship carrying her weight gobbled in her awed eyes, none of it mattered for its size held no candle to the lake it braved, carving a fading trail that momentarily shattered the peace of the loch.

Everything around tugged at her attention unshakably. Nothing allowed her lips to close or the dust in her mind to settle, not even for a second, not the vanishing horizon line that mingled with the lake, not the glistening, salty water that foamed against the ship and even less so, the constant wincing and groaning along with the occasional, measured cracks its wood hollered, lulling her mind into a riveting sense of security.

"How are you feeling?" the familiar voice came from the side, from a presence that had entirely been eclipsed in her buzzing mind.

"I am feeling blissful and blessed to live through such a day," her eyes fluttered in Silas’ direction.

"Are you not dizzy?" he asked in the gentlest of tones.

Arabella wondered whether it was his efforts to sound that way or if his edges were softened when put against the remorseless roaring of everything in the backdrop.

"Well, I’d say I am dizzy, yes, but not the unwelcomed kind of dizziness," her smile was distant, but the vampire, very well, knew where her mind had traveled. He too had access to that place for his diamonds also reached the horizon.

"I wasn’t aware of there being a good kind," he said simply.

"It closely resembles the way...," she hesitated before continuing, "The act of providing blood makes me feel," the young woman cleared her throat, "Although, it’s a bit tamer than that," she nodded, a bright beam adorning her features.

It was Silas’ turn to wonder whether her tone was a result of pure, innate confidence or if it was this mystical wooziness she spoke of that encouraged her to share those... Rich thoughts.

"Master Silas," a man that donned a full, dark blue uniform approached them, "We are sailing close to the island. Prepare to disembark,"

After a slight bow, the man Arabella assumed to be the captain of the ship, turned around and returned wherever duty called for him.

Though, her mind lingered more on his words than his tight appearance, an island. That was their destination then.

"Are you not feeling cold?" Silas brought her back into reality.

"No, the air is just kind," her hand reached up to comb through the gentle curls that had formed where there once were none. A tad coarser to the touch her hair had become, courtesy of the salt in the air.

For a moment, she had that look on her face. The one that usually signified words stood at the gate, begging to be freed, but then it seemed those same words overpowered her, "Are we visiting Isle of Vaelana?" she muttered.

Silas took a deep breath, "We are," he paused shortly, "Have you read much about it?"

"Well, I wouldn’t say much," her finger drew invisible little circles on the wooden railing as she spoke, her cheeks flushing pink, "From the information that was available to me, the Isle of Vaelana was once upon a time the biggest island in the entirety of Vaelmere lake. My first assumption was that the island had been named after the lake but from the humble amount of reading I’ve done, I came to find out that both the island and the lake were named after a woman, the vampiress that stood right next to the great Lord Ambrogio. The two of them being the oldest vampires to ever walk this world, the first ones to live beyond five millenia,"

There it was! That sharp gaze on her. The one that only transpired when Arabella spoke of something that riled and poked at her passion.

Seeing his expression, her burning face threatened to release steam for relief. The young woman immediately averted her eyes back onto the horizon line, heart singing different tunes with every second that passed.

"My father was quite young when he’d inherited the property straight from Lady Vaelana herself," the vampire volunteered more information.

"Were they linked by familial bonds?" the awkwardness that crept under her skin instantly evaporated at the thought of absorbing more historical facts from their closest source, which in that case was none other than Silas himself.

"Lady Vaelana was his mother or my grandmother if you will,"

"That is fascinating! What of Lord Ambrogio?" she quizzed, starry eyed.

"Contrary to popular belief, Ambrogio and Vaelana weren’t related, and nothing brought them together beside their closeness in age. They were mentioned an abundant number of times throughout history in the same line but other than what I already said, they had nothing else in common,"

"May I...," very sheepish she was, hesitating at every syllable, "May I ask how...," Arabella left the question pending.

"She left this world shortly before the beginning of the war. Not of old age if you wonder, but even I can’t speak of what took her life. The circumstances remain vague to this day,"

"I am truly sorry to hear that," a feeble frown bulldozed over every other hint of emotion on her.

"What might you be sorry for?" ever so slightly, his eyebrows furrowed.

"I was so eager to learn about and explore the darkened nooks and crannies cast in time that I completely forgot that the notion of... Time and the meaning of history itself yielded different measurements on different scales. I only see it from my human perspective," hand on her heart, her eyes locked onto his for surprisingly longer than he’d believed her capable of.

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