Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 508: Emeric Eleazar

Such a peaceful place it was! Quiet and so endless, extending beyond what her eyesight reached.

There was light but Cedric wasn’t there. There was soft grass beneath her feet, but Zarah wasn’t there and as for the Generals, well, they were nowhere to be seen around either even though the collar and leash remained around her neck.

If only that blessing could extend to the feeling their groping hands left on her body, clear yet invisible prints... The lingering touch traveled all over her, doing nothing but strengthening the itch she had to carve off parts of her own flesh if it meant ridding herself of that filth.

Perhaps it was a dream... Perhaps just another nightmare that bid its time only to bare its teeth at her in the end.

However, Arabella wondered about none of that and simply collapsed to her knees before hugging her own tarnished body.

They weren’t there to stop her. They weren’t there to punish her if she did so, as the sweet air cradled her exposed skin, the young woman wailed, shrieked, howled, draining the tears in her down to the last ounce.

It wouldn’t truly cleanse her palate. It wouldn’t rid her of that grime stuck and crawling all over her, but it was a start... The only way to alleviate some of the weight crushing her chest.

"You don’t belong here, darling," a deep yet saccharine voice declared, the tone quite curious.

Arabella gasped, swallowing her latest cry as she tumbled forward while trying to turn around and put distance between herself and the strange man behind her.

"Calm yourself," he put both hands up, "You are in no danger,"

In response, she just gawked up at him from the ground, shivering, arms still wrapped around the knees desperate to save the last bits of dignity left in her.

"You know, that face of yours would look so much more beautiful without all those tears," he smiled.

The man took a step forward, but Arabella cowered back, pushing a little squeak reminiscent of a wounded animal’s cry, prompting him to immediately stop in his tracks.

Without hesitating a second longer, he took his black vest off and bundled her body in it, securing it around her shoulders for good measure.

All the while she could do nothing but tremble and shed more salty water out of her eyes.

"Won’t you tell me what brought you here, girl?" the man crouched down to meet her gaze which she instantly averted, "I don’t mean to be rude, but you really do not belong here," his smile had vanished by then, replaced by a tame frown.

"I am sorry," with no other alternative in mind, Arabella apologized for whatever he was going to accuse or blame her for before it happened.

"No, no, no!" his hand went straight over her head, patting the still sore spot on her scalp which Zarah had continuously abused, "I am not asking for an apology. See, I am not mad. I just feel a bit lost. That is all," his hand caressed very carefully from left to right, "I thought I’d see my son and instead I find you and I know you definitely shouldn’t be here for your time hasn’t come yet,"

His son?

Arabella finally slowed her role in the crying and took an actual look around herself. That place seemed familiar enough, didn’t it?

Had she not been in a similar one at a prior encounter? She had! When her mother came to her after Katherine’s attack!

"Am I dead?" for once, her eyes locked onto the man’s as she squeaked in a brittle voice.

"Not yet," he shook his head, his smile taking his features over again.

He... He was familiar too, wasn’t he?

Those golden eyes of his were a wonder to behold, very reminiscent of a pair Arabella had gotten accustomed to witnessing every time she descended the stairs of the Eleazar manor.

"Lord Emeric Eleazar?" she murmured, mouth agape and eyes round.

"Oh... Dear!" his eyebrows furrowed, "I... believe... I believe I recognize you as well! Memory can be a bit tricky around these parts,"

As if the universe hadn’t cursed her enough... Her father-in-law had to see her under such desolate circumstances too?

Swallowed by the shame that threatened to stifle her, Arabella leaped to her feet, staggering and tripping multiple times on the way, but she cared very little for the risk of falling.

All that mattered right then and there, was to save face, to spare that good man such a repulsive sight, such a disgrace to his own name...

She did not run very far as he so easily caught up to her, "Why run away from me, darling? We are family,"

In reply, the young woman wrapped her hands around her stomach and folded as the tears grew too heavy to hold back once more.

"Please don’t look at me! Not like this!" her lungs nearly came out with those words.

Hands on her shoulders, Emeric helped straighten her stance before him, effectively forcing her to look him in the eyes.

"Whatever happened over there, no longer matters here," he smiled, "You are safe. Nothing can reach you here," his hands tugged at the collar of his vest which still enveloped her figure.

Grazing the choker around her neck, Emeric froze in place, his demeanor contorting, "Who did this to you?" his voice grew a lot colder.

"The prince... The prince! He-" the words died in her throat, "Wait!" her eyes widened further, "You said you were looking for your son! Does that mean Silas is... he is..." her tone went frantic with every syllable uttered, the urgency ever growing.

"Calm yourself!" his gaze softened again, "Even the dead don’t linger in this place, but we do return whenever our name is called. We return to find the caller, but sometimes... Such as this time, we find some sweet surprises instead," he chuckled, but then turned solemn again, "Pardon me, I cannot take that collar off your neck. You still belong to a world where my reach does not extend, but for now they cannot reach you either," he carefully took her hand, "So, will you sit with me and enjoy the fresh air for a while? I’ve been dying to speak to family," he chuckled once more, "Well, dying so to speak,"