Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 562: Blindsided

When Irene offered a plate that carried some food on it, Arabella thanked her for the kind gesture but declined it, stating that the General made sure she left with a full stomach.

"He’s a bit of an odd one, isn’t he?" Luiza tilted her head, eyes fixating the untouched plate by their legs. Upon noting the perplexed look on Arabella, she clarified, "General Atticus, I mean. Perhaps he can be flexible,"

A suggestion that Arabella shut down immediately, "He sure isn’t as cruel as the prince or Zarah, but he has some glaring flaws and...," she trailed off, shaking her head, "He is definitely not flexible. He let me know in no uncertain terms that he very much wanted this war to happen. Nobody is forcing his hand to participate which frankly makes him a lot more dangerous that anyone who ever spat in my face,"

"I see your point...," Luiza sighed. She made no further comments on the General.

The training room was pretty quiet with most of the girls being in the dormitories. That sight sprouted a different kind of question in her.

"Do you get to leave these two rooms, to get some fresh air? Aside from walking to the prince’s room, that is," the raven-haired woman asked.

"Only if we earn it," Irene nodded, "But we must be on our best behavior at all times. Otherwise, our privileges are revoked,"

"Privileges, huh?" Arabella stared ahead at nothing in particular, weighing the words on an invisible scale.

"It is what it is," Luiza’s features pushed forth a sweet smile. One that Arabella hadn’t yet seen on the young woman before then.

"It is what it is," in response, she chuckled while repeating the sentence and nodding along.

But the peace did not last. Indeed, the doors to the training room busted open for Zarah to stomp forward, two burly guards on her tail.

"What do we have here?" the hag hissed, fists on her hips as she towered over Arabella’s kneeling figure.

By then, Irene and Luiza had already leaped to their feet and made sure to keep their eyes on the ground so as to not attract Zarah’s wrath.

"Aren’t you three getting cosy?" Zarah looked between the three of them but focused mostly on Arabella.

"We were bringing her the leftovers as we were ordered, madame," Luiza kept her eyes down while attempting to bring the tension down.

"Oh, I see that," Zarah nodded, "I could not care any less about what you do as long as you know to remain in your lanes,"

"Yes, madame," both Irene and Zarah sang in unison.

"Alright, boys! Do what you came here to do," Zarah only swayed half of her face towards the soldiers and smirked.

The men asked no questions and hesitated not a second before closing in on Arabella’s trembling figure.

The first one to reach her, stuffed her mouth with a cloth that he tied behind her head, thus muffling her terrified cries.

The second one focused on tying her wrists behind her back only to then throw a large piece of white fabric over her head and bundle her entire body in it.

She squirmed as one of them tossed her over his shoulder, but in vain of course. Not that the strength to fight a man like him lived in her, but in that condition, her chances hung even lower than her ordinary odds.

In the end, Zarah neared her covered head and hissed, "If you do not stop screaming right this second, you won’t like what I will do in retaliation one bit!"

The threat remained vague, but Arabella wished not to test Zarah’s patience and went not only mute but limp as well.

She made not another peep as they carried her out of the training room and into the unknown. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Throughout it all, only the sound of shuffling, small gasps and fabric shifting could reach her ears.

Finally, the shift in pace arrived before the blaring of a door grinding open. That was until the soldier, not so gently, moved her weight around only to then dump her onto the harsh ground. It got a good squeak out of her from underneath those layered drapes shutting the light from her eyes.

The movement did not stop as their hands continued to fondle her, ripping the covers off of her, revealing the human sized animal cage right in front of her.

Zarah’s darkened glare was more noticeable than the foul stench filling the air. The other cages around were all empty but the aftermath of whatever once lived inside of them lingered.

"This will serve as your home for tonight and tomorrow as well. You should get used to the smell pretty quickly. It’s not so different from the one that wafts off your body,"

Arabella’s entire figure shook as her eyes went around the small room before looking up at Zarah, "Why?" she murmured.

"Did I say, at any time, that the whore was allowed to ask questions?" Zarah’s hand wrapped around Arabella’s hair, tugging upwards for their faces to hover close to each other as she spat those words.

Upon receiving no answer as the young woman squeezed her eyes shut, the hag straightened up then landed a strike right on Arabella’s face, sending her tumbling to the ground.

She did not lift herself back and spewed the blood out of the cut Zarah had inflicted upon her lips right on the floor beneath her.

"You will do well to keep your mouth shut! I don’t want to hear that harpy voice of yours! No one does!"

But as a hand grasped her hair again and began dragging her inside the case, the doors to that disgusting room flew open again for the figure of Cedric to walk in, his air always so nonchalant, his smirk ever so eternal.

"Take your leave, Zarah," he said without ever looking at the hag, "You’ve done your part well,"

Zarah’s demeanor shifted entirely, from her twisted glare to a giddy, blush-inducing smile, "Of course! If such is his highness’ wish,"