Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 566: Part of the fun

Cold hands gripped at her ankles, dragging her all the way from limbo and back to the nightmare that her life had become.

The little spark that had been kindled at her core was snuffed and stomped the moment her eyes opened on Zarah’s despicable face.

Whether the sun had risen or not yet remained a mystery as no windows decorated that hellhole. Only those blood riling cages and stomach-churning stench wafted. By then, her body lay outside of the cage as she had been tugged seconds prior.

"Come now, whore! Open those eyes! Today is going to be quite the long one for you," Zarah’s grin brought no solace or warmth. On the contrary it was the kind that stole peace from one’s heart.

When Arabella took too long to properly open her eyes, a slap landed across her cheek, causing her ears to ring louder and her head to spin.

"Never the matter," the hag hissed, "Take her,"

After the stomping and clanking of metal gear, two hands grasped Arabella by the arms and hauled her upper body off the floor while her legs remained connected to it.

Memory served her the nightmare she had back under the Eleazar roof. The one where Silas and Lady Persephone handed her over to Cedric on a golden platter.

Nothing was left in her to make the slightest protest or show the smallest will to fight them. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The guards dragged her limp carcass through the hallway with very little regard to the pain it caused her scuffed up skin.

Her eyes did not have it any easier either with the sudden flow of light assaulting her corneas.

At the very least, its rise in intensity was gradual. Well, that was until it went from slow to boundless, forcing her to squeeze them shut at once.

Even her ears weren’t spared from the booming thunder that climbed higher from a distance only to then explode right in her head.

The sun shone bright... A little too bright, burning her fully exposed skin beneath it.

The bellowing only grew stronger the further those two guards dragged her from their initial point.

Another indicator that they were outside was the shift from smooth to a rough flooring scraping against her feet and knees.

"All hail his majesty Cedric the third!" a solitary voice rose above all, distinct with its words.

They all hailed his majesty as ordered.

"All hail the one that will lead us to an absolute victory!"

They all hailed his name once more.

The guards in charge of moving her slowed down, only for the rhythm of their steps to change as they no longer walked on a flat ground but instead ascended wooden stairs that cried under their weight.

The sun struck her back once anew as the men stopped climbing before flat out letting go of her arms.

Arabella collapsed onto a platform that, from the feel of it, clearly hung a good distance above the ground.

Her despair would know no limit and her body no resting. Indeed, as soon as her flesh touched the wood underneath it, another hand grasped her by the hair, forcing her entire upper body up and her face in a specific direction.

"Open those eyes very wide, you slut!" Cedric’s voice hit her ear, "Open them and behold what I’ve prepared in your honor!"

He sure surprised her. Nothing would have caught her breath better than that scene.

If anything was going to stop her from blinking, if anything was going to make it so that the delicate structure of her eyes no longer cared for the fire ball hovering over their heads that burned them... It had to be the sight of her entire family and friends standing in line, ahead, on a second platform erected in the rear court of the castle.

"We are such a blessed kind...,"

The announcer’s voice blared again, but after the first few words, he vanished to the back of her mind.

The scaffolding ahead held no chairs for royalty and their loyal underlings. Only a handle rising from the platform and a rope tied into a noose, dangling from a pole.

The first in line right next to it was her father who despite the distance glared straight in her direction.

"No," she cried meekly at first, "No!" then the screaming began, "No! Please!"

"Be a good spectator and don’t interrupt the howler’s speech," Cedric gave her head a good shake, "Let us not be rude," his voice alone spoke of the wide grin he must’ve had on, but she cared very little to look at it.

"Please, please,"

Instead, she begged over and over again as her eyes fluttered from Reubon, then to Rubius right next to Arthur, followed by Edgar and finally Ada.

There was no sign of Morgana, Allegra or Cynric just yet but that was sure to change at any time.

"Behold the traitors for their last hour has come!" the announcer screeched, "They have come to their death of their own accord! Through actions of their own making!"

Word after word, her vision only grew blurrier as her ears threatened to give up entirely.

However, the worst was yet to come... It started when the announcer turned to the prince, waiting for Cedric to give the signal.

One wave of his hand triggered a string of motions that led her father, Reubon right under the noose.

"You thought you could best me in my own home," Cedric hissed in her ear as the noose was placed around Reubon’s neck, "You should have chosen your allies better. One slip of the tongue, one misstep was all it took for every little pillar under your plan to come crashing down with everything it supported atop it,"

The guard behind her father moved to the lever right next to him, announcing what was to come.

"No, wait! Please! Spare them, please! You have me! Torture me until I take my last breath but please spare them!" she pleaded, her head desperately and aggressively trying to fight its way out of his grasp.

"Why yes, I am torturing you. This is part of the fun,"