Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 593: Learned lessons

Arthur was already dressed and fed by the time Arabella came by to check on him the very next morning.

As per his usual, the man settled on that same chair only to stare aimlessly through the window.

At first glance, nothing on him seemed to have changed, but upon gazing at him for a second or two longer, the returning colors on his face became harder to ignore. Even his eyes had somehow grown busier with life.

"Morning, Arthur," she chirped, standing near the window, "Today is yet another beautiful day to breathe through,"

Once again... No response which wasn’t too surprising.

"Alright then, I will leave you be for now," she made her way back towards the door, "I will be coming back to check on you around noon,"

With that, Arabella exited the room without pushing him further. He would come around eventually... If he ever got to doing that. At the very least he was safe.

"Morning," Ada waited for her by the door.

She still did her very best to smile, but something clearly prohibited her from reaching that goal.

"Morning to you as well, Ada," Arabella’s demeanor shifted entirely in order to return the warmth her friend had greeted her with.

"I hope you slept well," she took her by the arm without asking, "I wish to go back to the library and find some more material to read. Would you like to come with me? I missed the days we sat there reading at will," 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Well, yes," Arabella did not resist and allowed Ada to guide her towards the stairs, "I still have some things to work on in the library as well," after a pause, she cleared her throat, "That and... There was something I’ve been meaning to speak with you about,"

Ada’s expression immediately shifted to mirror the strain on Arabella’s face. And yet, she said nothing, kept quiet until they reached the library.

Sitting among the whooshing and zooming books truly was something to miss. It was as though it had been centuries since they had last set foot there.

"I am guessing you do not wish for anyone else to hear what you have to say," Ada half asked a few seconds after settling in front of Arabella.

"Indeed," the young woman nodded, "I was hoping Silas would be out on a business trip yet again so that I could speak freely,"

"From what I was told, he left the manor around an hour ago," Ada’s arms were crossed a little too tightly over her chest, "I doubt he’ll be back any time soon,"

"Good," the furrowed eyebrows on Arabella remained as her eyes fell onto the table under them.

For a good while, none of the words that rose to her throat managed to make it through, clawing at her cords for freedom to no avail because... Where the hell to even start?

"You... You saw my state in the castle," Arabella whispered.

"I did," Ada too only murmured as if uttering blasphemous terms.

"And I am sure you can imagine that exhibiting my naked body around the hallways wasn’t the only thing they did to me," her voice maintained the hushed range in which she had previously spoken.

Neither of them withstood the gaze of the other as both stared down at the empty table between them.

"The... The high generals each took turns... Passing me around before your arrival," every word out of her mouth trembled just as much as the rest of her limbs, "The last one among them being Atticus,"

Ada said and did nothing other than cry quietly into the hand she clasped around her own mouth.

"I am four days late already," Arabella broke the stifling silence that had its grip around both of their throats, "I should’ve started bleeding, but I didn’t,"

Another wave of quietude where only Ada’s choked cries were heard.

But then, she gathered up the courage to speak, "I... I am going to need to examine you in order to make sure that there is...," she trailed off and never finished her sentence.

Bile kept on rising up her throat before withdrawing back to her stomach where things weren’t looking so good either.

Eating or drinking even water had never been such a daunting task before those days.

"In case... Well, you know," Ada’s hand fell, exposing her mouth, "What will you do?"

"I have absolutely not the hint of a clue," Arabella’s eyes were on nothing in particular as she zoned out, shaking her head ever so slowly.

"Will you speak about it with Lord Silas?" Ada’s tone was the most sheepish it had been in a while.

"Eventually, yes," she took a big whiff of air, "I suppose I will have to let him know," her fingers went for the bridge of her nose, pinching it.

"It was a mere suggestion," Ada hastened to add, "The decision goes back to you on whether to bring it up with him or not,"

Arabella failed to help the feeble smile that still managed to escape her at such a time.

Was that Ada’s subtle way of letting her know she had learned her lesson?

Either way, the most ironic part of it all was the fact that Arabella wished to go for a horse ride to get some much-needed fresh air, which bizarrely resembled the day Ada had told Silas about Arthur being a captive.

"I know I can count on you to keep it for now,"

"Of course you can!" Ada nearly leaped to her feet.

After a bitter little chuckle, Arabella added, "I just remembered that they destroyed my horse-riding fit. I wanted to go out for a ride,"

"I am sure it will be less than comfortable, but you can still ride in this gown. It isn’t that cumbersome,"

"True that," the young woman nodded and stood off her chair, "Can we do the examination later, after my return?"

"Yes," that was all that Ada said.

Arabella left her friend in the library and made her way out of the manor. Heart heavy, throat tight and mind in utter shambles.