Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 59: Restrained memories

"It surprised me at first,"

Lost along the golden lines adorning the green fabric, Arabella's eyes snapped towards Silas upon hearing his voice.

"Born during the war, I've trained alongside other warriors, men and women, and even though we were well taught and informed on our enemy it still struck me as odd to only face men during my first battles," he elaborated once the woman's attention was on him.

"Nature hasn't spoiled us human women, one can say," while speaking, Arabella looked between the various portraits of the warrior women depicted in their full grace and glory, "We lack in so many departments, our treatment from our male counter parts comes as no surprise,"

The smile on her had significantly dimmed the longer her last sentence went on. She clutched the gown in hands closer to her chest before pushing a little sigh and looking down to the floor.

"Frankly, the disparity resulting from the differences in biology between men and women in your species amazes me to this day, despite having studied and understood them," Silas moved forward and stopped by Arabella's side to stare at Nerina's portrait, "The divergence in the biological constitution between me and a female vampire for instance does not yield such a rift. We sure had less women in our ranks during the war due to the procreation function being exclusive to women on our side as well, but that was as far as it extended. Their exclusion from battlefields was less for their safety than our own,"

"I suppose it is the reason older vampires can become... A bit taken by the existence of human women," Arabella allowed a nervous chuckle as she hugged the dress.

At that point, Silas turned to face Arabella's figure, "Your heart has recovered somewhat of a regular rate," he remarked.

It hadn't been until he'd mentioned it that Arabella took note of the fact. Her heart had indeed slowed closer to a normal pace and the number of sniffles that overcame her were becoming less and less frequent.

In response, the young woman merely hummed, agreeing with his words.

"This is as good a time as any to ask," he started, which got her to look his way, eyes widening a tad in anticipation, "I'd like you to tell me more about your experience while under the spell. It is important that you give me every detail you may recall, as minute as it might seem to you,"

A chill ran down her spine at the simple thought of it. The first thing coming to her mind was the mud stuck between her toes, the freezing cold gnawing at her skin and the wet nightgown sticking to her body. Beyond that, there was that sort of opaque fog that blocked all access to the memories tied to the incident itself.

Well, one thing bubbled back to the surface, "The only thing I can clearly remember was the sudden urge to leave the property. I'd felt as though I needed to disappear to some place far, far away from here," she slowly shook her head from left to write, eyes on nothing in particular, "I am sorry, everything else remains a blur to me,"

"Fret not," he reassured her, "You've already said enough," Silas then cut the distance between them even shorter, bringing his warmth along to envelop her, "Look me in the eyes,"

Blushing from the abrupt rushing of blood to her face, Arabella complied and locked eyes with him.

Limpid they were, as clear as they'd always shone. Not a hint of the veil that had obscured them as a result of the spell remained.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

"What did my eyes seem like?" she questioned, breaking the silence that had settled in.

"The sheen of their color was dimmed quite a bit," he said.

"Did it match the known symptom of the Mirari? Could it simply have been that that had befallen me?"

There was a certain spark that flashed across her eyes as they widened very momentarily when she had uttered her question.

"Had it been the Mirari, I would have caught you knocking on my door if not already sprawled across my lounge chair, and not putting more distance between yourself and I,"

Arabella's fears concerning the spell had completely evaporated the instant Silas had spoken about sprawling across his lounge chair.

A sheepish, "Oh...," had been all that she'd voiced.

"Your heart is racing once more. Is something the matter?"

To her he seemed truly concerned by the fact he'd addressed, but the only thing Arabella had managed to think about in the moment had been to wonder how an individual that lived for over centuries could be so oblivious to the power of their own words?

"No! Everything is alright with me!" she hastened to answer, "Do my eyes seem clear now?" the young woman attempted to dispel the awkwardness.

"Thankfully, yes,"

What Silas had in mind however couldn't be further from her concern with his densness. Indeed, the thought she'd not only felt the need to leave the property but also made it her mission to achieve as a goal, raised alarm bells in his head.

Targeted by a hypnosis spell that would lead her to walk out the gates into the clutches of whatever the dangers that lurked around the vast and unmitigated land of Umbraria, but to what end?

Who could it benefit to have her cross the bounds of the property? Could there have been someone on the other end awaiting her? Could it be the prince's doing in an attempt to reclaim what he believed belonged to him?