Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 592: The right time

Silas only turned around a few seconds since Arabella had entered the room and closed the door behind herself. Then again, he must’ve heard her coming long before she reached that floor.

"How is Arthur?" he stopped on chipping at the wood between his hands to look up at her face.

The young woman stopped by his side, eyes on the small piece of art he handled, "He is alright. I left him with Grace in the gardens. She will take him back to his room once she’s done chatting his ear out," she chuckled.

"Grace has always been the most talkative among her sisters, but whenever I was around as she grew up she stuck to following me closely," a warm yet barely visible smile appeared on him, "I think I was the only one that never asked her to stop talking that much," after a short pause, the vampire added, "Are you sure you want to leave Arthur at her mercy, considering his condition?"

"I think so far...," she trailed off momentarily, "Grace has been the only one to act like herself around him. I hope I am not wrong, but I feel as though that is exactly what he needs. A sense of normalcy,"

"Understandable," he nodded, "Would you like me to run you a bath? It’s quite late, but I know that after tonight’s outing, you will definitely take one,"

"I’d like to do it myself. I will call for you when I am ready,"

Silas did not argue or ask any questions as his wife made her way towards the curtains which she was thankful for.

At the very least, the ever-growing pit in her stomach could finally have all of her attention.

That lie ate at her inner walls, but not as much as the other thing...

The real reason Arabella wished to have a moment in the bathroom without her husband around. She had done the same thing the previous night as well.

Upon turning the tap open and dumping a quantity of bubble soap down the tub, her first action was to check her underwear... No bleeding, obviously.

Had her period started, Remus would have pointed it out before anyone else did. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

That was it! The itch she fought so hard but failed to scratch. Her cycle was already delayed by four days. Did it mean what Arabella thought it meant? What else could it mean other than that?

Very gradually, the thumping of her heart rose to become the only thing her ears managed to discern. That happened as images from the previous week flashed before her eyes without any prior warnings.

Images her eyes had caught as her body was being used and abused by the Generals. The woeful times, their hands, mouths and... Other parts of their bodies violated hers.

Then came the memories of her time spent in General Atticus’ company. None of them were kind to her already tortured mind and heart.

To think that she could have been as cursed as to be forced into carrying one of their children, her stomach took to churning a lot more acid than what remained of her dinner needed.

The air penetrating the room through the window all of the sudden turned too cold on her skin, but she made no effort to remedy that feeling and simply allowed it to gnaw at her.

"Is everything alright?"

Very similarly to the previous night again, Silas stood by the door frame, null doubt wondering why she was just standing there, staring at the tub as it filled up to its brim.

"Yes! Of course!" she spun around, "I got carried away by my thoughts that is all," her hands instinctively wrapped around her arms.

The action prompted Silas to walk over towards the open window and shut it.

"How has business been going?" she chirped, "I noticed you’ve been spending the days out to deal with all of it,"

"I am sorry I haven’t been involving you in them," he stepped in her direction before stopping inches away, "I simply thought you would want some time to... Work a few things first," he cleared his throat.

"That’s alright," Arabella turned towards the tub and dipped her fingers into the bubble layer. She played around, rotating her arm in it a little, "You had the right idea. I don’t think I am in the right state of mind to think rationally,"

Without another word, she gave him her back and did nothing else until he seemingly got the hint.

His hands started working on the clasps and ribbons that held her gown together while she kept her hair out of his way.

"While we’re speaking about it however, I feel I should tell you that we have been invited to a meeting with the council,"

"Me too," she half asked.

"Especially you," his voice remained steady, still carrying that granular texture as whenever he lowered his tone.

"Do you have any idea why? I mean after what happened, yes. I sort of do have a glimpse into what they wish to discuss, but I’d rather keep the surprises to a minimum," even though grimacing, her fingers found solace in playing with her hair.

"I am not exactly sure, but I do know for a fact that you are in no trouble," his smile was audible through his words alone, "Otherwise Liriel would have certainly told me,"

"That’s odd," her head tilted a little, eyes on the reflective tiles facing her, "I saw her two days ago. She made no mention of it,"

"I pleaded with her not to," his hands rose slowly and started pushing the gown off her shoulders, "I wanted to do it myself when the right time came and since you asked about business, I say this as right an opportunity as any,"

Arabella never once looked down as her clothes came off her body. Her full attention was on the warm and gentle hand that had wrapped around hers, guiding her towards the full tub that was ready to accommodate her.