Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 573: The power of the state of mind

The exit out of the castle was pretty uneventful and stiflingly quiet. Everyone held their peace as though it was a prized possession.

That was until Arabella descended the last step leading out to the front courtyard when a familiar voice called out her name.

"Wait just a moment, please!" Luiza hastened forward with Irene right behind her.

They hadn’t been dirty or anything, but it seemed a new dawn had come upon them. Their brand-new gowns shone nearly as bright as the little stars that twinkled in their eyes and their smiles... Those were the ultimate gifts to behold.

They definitely were the same women that Arabella had met before, but just those brilliant beams earned them a sparkling new identity.

"Oh, good! You are alright!" Arabella’s smile remained feeble but kind, nonetheless.

"We are all alright and the merit goes back to you so, I, on behalf of all the pleasure girls, thank you, Lady Arabella,"

In the end, both Luiza and Irene curtsied before the young woman.

"I didn’t do a thing, you know," Arabella looked down, "They did," she gestured behind herself at her husband and friends.

"Oh, come now!" Luiza’s smile somehow got brighter as she waved Arabella’s words off dismissively, "You might think you were helpless and you may not realize it, but you coming here changed... Everything. You being here did not just save us from today but from a grim future had the king died in your absence. So, yes, maybe things did not exactly unfold the way you planned them to. Maybe you returning to Lustris was out of your hands but...," the words to finish her sentence failed Luiza, her voice choking along her constrained throat.

"But for us, it was a blessing. So, it might sound callous of me to say, however, despite all the hurt it has caused you, I am still glad you came. Even if you did not do so for us," Irene took her hands in hers and squeezed at them.

Memory served Arabella her own words back to her on a humble platter... Words about if Arabella had the chance to run away a second time, she would do it all over again and that despite the hurt it caused the other pleasure girls and servants.

A warmer smile escaped her control, "Where are the others? And what are you planning on doing going forward?" she asked them.

"Irene and I have decided that we would each return to our homes. We’ve been lucky enough not to bear the prince’s children so, we have nothing that ties us back to the castle," Luiza reciprocated the sweet grin.

"Arwa and the other pregnant women have been moved to the royal medical wing and are being given proper care. The ones that have already given birth have chosen to stay with their children and as for the others well... Very few are like us with reasonable parents. Most were sent here by their proud fathers to serve so, they have nothing to truly go back to per se," Irene’s face fell a little.

Arabella nodded to those words, "That is fair. Do take care of yourselves, wherever you end up and... You may write to me if you so choose to. I will write back,"

After a second of silence, Luiza turned to the three women behind Arabella, "By the way, which of you played the role of the young nurse?"

"That was me," Ada cleared her throat, face red as a beet.

"Well," Luiza started nodding, "Thank you for trusting me with the potion. I did enlist the help of Irene. It took some convincing, but I knew there were some maids and nurses that came from under Baron Ironheart’s wing. They happily helped us to reach the king,"

"No, thank you," Ada whispered.

"I told you," Irene chuckled, eyes on Arabella, "Luiza always has the best plans, and they almost always work,"

"Eh.... Almost always," Luiza shrugged.

The mood was dampened when a group of soldiers with none other than the General Atticus at their head came forward and out of the castle.

Silas stepped closer to Arabella who strangely stood in place. Not a single tremor coursed her body at the man’s sight. Not a jab or a twist among her guts. There was simply nothing left in her to feel towards him.

Atticus did not shy away and approached them, stopping right in front of Arabella. After staring her in the eyes for a few, he finally spoke up, "I was not aware of the prince’s traitory against his majesty the king," that was all he said at first. No apologies were uttered. Instead, the man doubled down, "But you know leaving is a mistake. You do not belong with someone like him," his eyes very momentarily flickered towards Silas.

Arabella had no way of seeing the reaction of everyone, but the heavy sighs and gasps that came from behind her back told it all.

Silas did not hesitate for a second and put his arm around her, his chest puffing as though he was about to say something, but she beat him to the mark by first laying a hand on his chest to stop him.

After turning back towards the General, her eyes too did not shy away, "You are far from the worst person I have ever encountered, however...," she took a moment, "Had things unfolded the way you planned for them to, you would have quickly realized that slitting my throat would have been the kindest thing you could do for me whilst in your company,"

His body showed nothing, but the little tremble of the eye that escaped his control revealed his surprise.

Atticus said nothing aside from bowing then moving along with his soldiers on his tail.

"Well, that was certainly something," Luiza cleared her throat, "Oh, and if you still care about it, Zarah has been incarcerated alongside his highness since she was his sole accomplice in all of this," she winked.

"Travel safely, my Lady," Irene then turned towards Silas, "My Lord,"

The women smiled and curtsied one last time before heading back inside the castle for that time being.

Arabella watched them go then spun around, taking in a full view of that splendid garden. Its colors were a tad more vivid, weren’t they? She could have sworn they were much duller than that only a week prior.

And yet, before her eyes stood the same green, the same dirt, the same air, the same sun that shone down on everything...

Only a week prior, the young woman had set foot in that majestic heaven as a prisoner, rushed straight through it all, skipping to the hellhole her enemies had carefully prepared for her.

Oh... The power of the state of mind!