Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 604: Honorable guests

The way Liriel had chosen to express herself led Arabella to believe there lived a certain degree of secrecy to all of it.

Still, no matter how much poking and prodding she did, Silas refused to spill anything of substance, only telling her that it ought to simply be seen.

And it sure did not disappoint as the great hall crawled with many souls. Some of whom carried familiar, beaming faces, but the rest did not seem all that recognizable.

The one common thing between them being their extravagant wear. All seemed dressed for a very special and high-class party.

Aside from the shining gold gilding the space, Arabella’s biggest surprise came at the sight of Ada, Edgar, Morgana, Cynric and Allegra. Persephone too was there, but unlike the others, she did not seem all that perplexed by whatever was taking place there.

"Here we all gather!" a raspy little voice carried across the hall as Grishnak stood atop a high pedestal to be at the same level of height as most of the other syndicate members, "May our honorable guests please make their way to the stage,"

The gentle hand on her lower back reminded Arabella to haul the jaw that had dropped and move forward while her head went from left to right, as people stepped out of their way.

"What is happening?" the young woman murmured towards Ada as soon as they had stopped walking.

"I have no clue, but around two hours after your departure from the manor we received a formal invitation, Edgar and myself. There was even a carriage waiting for us outside," her friend whispered back, eyes strictly on the goblin.

"Firstly, I’d like to thank my fellow syndicate members for allowing me the honor of leading tonight’s affair!" his voice scattered through the voice amplifier.

The crowd cheered and clapped for a few before cutting the sound to allow more words.

"As we prepare to celebrate the heroes of this country, please allow me to introduce all of them by name starting with, the most gifted witch of this century as well as the previous, Madame Morgana who played a key role in rehabilitating the king of Lustris from his poisoned state,"

Morgana waved around, looking all disinterested, but the little upwards curve at the corner of her mouth told it all.

"Please, step forward to collect your reward,"

And what a beautiful reward that was! A splendid, golden diadem that was ever so gently placed upon her hair as she curtsied to accept it.

"Thank you, Sir," Morgana then turned to the rest of the syndicate and did the same.

Once she retreated, Grishnak continued, "Now, please, may miss Allegra, the valiant vampiress that sacrificed centuries of her life expectancy in exchange for the safe retrieval of her Lord and Lady which contributed to saving the country,"

A new wave of applause exploded as teary-eyed Allegra stepped forward to accept her own diadem.

"Miss Ada, who, according to Lady Persephone has started as nothing but a maid only to reveal her talents and skill pertaining to herbology and medicine," he paused as Ada curtsied to accept the diadem, "To you, we offer this small gift as a symbol of recognition,"

"Thank you," she murmured as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Mister Edgar!" Grishnak captured the attention of the assembly yet again, "You who showed such valiance! Such courage in the face of corruption and injustice even though your paper trail indicates that you have arrived here as a tribute roughly six years ago. Please, accept this sword, forged especially with your hand in mind as a testament to the skill you have shown while wielding this weapon,"

As Edgar bowed before the goblin and accepted his gift, Grishnak once again commanded heed as soon as Edgar went back to stand next to Ada and Allegra, "Alpha Cynric of the great caverns!" the wolf man cut the distance short between himself and the pedestal, still with that nonchalance he always carried himself with, "You’ve always been a thorn under our heels but not this time. This time, you...,"Grishnak had to clear his throat, "This time you’ve helped save us and for that you have our gratitude,"

He too accepted a sword from the syndicate with a solemn face and walked back to his initial place.

"Dear Floriel," the goblin’s voice softened while calling for the fairy.

Floriel waited not a second and zoomed across the hall to flutter in front of the pedestal.

"You have carried your role of messenger more than well and ensured us victory. As such, you have our gratitude as well! May this fairy sized diadem suit you,"

The diadem was so small, Arabella’s eyes only discerned it thanks to the sparkling its gold and diamonds did.

"Oh, thank you!" much like the other women, Floriel cried too upon accepting her gift.

"Lord Silas Eleazar!"

That was Silas’ cue to move forward.

"We were the least bit pleased with your stunt... In the beginning that was,"

"Please, accept my deepest and most sincere apologies, Sir Grishnak," Silas bowed.

"Enough of that! You’ve already apologized more than once. You are not here tonight to be chastised so, raise your head and hold it high as thanks to your contribution, the king of Lustris has now agreed to hold quarterly meetings both inside and out of Lustris instead of yearly," at those words, he turned towards the nearest vampire who carried a silver sword instead of a golden one that time around.

Silas bowed as he held the weapon for the first time then went to regain his spot by his wife.

"And last but not least," Grishnak’s yellow eyes turned to none other than Arabella, "Lady Arabella Eleazar, formerly Sterling,"

Surprisingly, it did not sting to be referred to by her maiden name as much as she believed it would.

Nevertheless, her feet finally obeyed the screaming voice that begged her not to embarrass herself in front of everyone and took her closer to Grishnak.