Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 607: Eleven times

The comfortable whooshing of the books zooming all around her were a great melody to accompany her thoughts as her hand scribbled away.

"Ah! I’ve got all I need!" Ada put a pile of books down on the table before plopping her weight on the chair facing Arabella.

The young woman watched her friend for a few seconds, giving her the time to gather her breath, then asked, "How are you feeling after yesterday?" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Oh...," that seemed to catch Ada a little off guard, "I feel completely relaxed as though a weight I did not even realize was on my shoulder has dropped," she gave her shoulders two little shakes.

"For what it’s worth, I had no idea the syndicate would summon you too," she chuckled, "But it was an amazing surprise, nonetheless. I feel at a greater ease knowing that you’ve got the recognition you so deserve. All of you," the young woman shut her eyes and nodded, "To think I insisted on going to the castle alone...," she pushed a sigh as a shiver rattled her body, "I don’t mean to be cold, but I am grateful you came with me. I would have still been stuck there if it weren’t for all of you,"

"And I don’t mean to sound reckless," Ada chuckled, "But I am glad I... We all went with you. I would have never forgiven myself if I hadn’t. So, consider that I saved myself from eternal agony as much as we saved you,"

Arabella’s smile was big and bright, "I will consider that,"

Ada’s eyes fell on the parchment under Arabella’s hand as her brows furrowed, "Are you still working on those runes or whatever?"

"Oh!" she drew a deep breath, eyes growing wide, "This is the last of it actually! I am not sure if Allegra will visit us tonight but if she does, I will pass it along to Cynric,"

"I cannot believe it," Ada spoke slowly. Almost as if untrusting of her own words, "To think you started this dictionary around two months ago is just...," she trailed off.

"I know," Arabella’s face turned solemn too, "Time flew by as if it were nothing,"

"Flick a switch and an entire year goes by. It is quite literally insane,"

They both nodded to their own words and thoughts in unison. Well, for a moment that was until Arabella’s attention turned to the books in front of Ada.

"What about you? What have you been up to?"

"Right!" she squeaked, "I’d like to read as much as I can before...," she cleared her throat, allowing her flushing cheeks to speak for her.

"Before what?" Arabella leaned forward, attempting to find her friend’s gaze.

"Well, I...," Ada rubbed her hands together, "I was thinking after helping that family in Lustris, I...,"

"You wish to return to Lustris," Arabella half asked.

"Well, not exactly, but I would love to start a practice near the border that would allow humans to cross on a daily basis to see me. I would also like to hold teaching sessions there as well for those that wish to learn,"

"Oh, I... I think that is," Arabella’s eyes did not know where to rest, "I think that is a wonderful idea! Although, of course, I will be saddened not to see you every day but I am so proud of you! I will speak to Silas about it as soon as he returns and-"

"No!" Ada stopped her at once, "Please, do not ask him to assist me with this," she cleared her throat.

The young woman simmered back into her chair, "But why not?" her voice turned little.

"I wish to work as an entertainer and train someone to keep things the way they are here in the manor. I would like to save up enough money in order to build my practice with my own efforts so please...,"

"I understand," Arabella smiled, "I won’t breathe a word of it to anyone until you are ready," after a few seconds of silence, she added, "I really am so proud of you,"

"Thank you," her eyes welled up with tears that she quickly reeled back in with a deep breath, "Before, I only had what I learned from my father and no way to get more but now, thanks to you, I can read any book I want and broaden my horizons, so to speak,"

"It is thanks to your efforts, Ada," Arabella nodded, "Don’t credit me for your work,"

"Well, I would have never been able to reap the fruits of my work without your help,"

They did not say much after that with each of them diving into a world of her own. Arabella finished with the runes then excused herself, heading straight for Arthur’s room.

The man hadn’t moved much from his position since that morning. His eyes still traveled through the window facing him, but other than the rising and falling of his chest, nothing else indicated life in him.

"How are you holding up?" she asked after dragging a chair next to him.

There was, of course, no response from him.

"You know, I hoped I’d see mother in my dreams again, but it wasn’t meant to be as it seems," she chuckled, "I’ve seen her once when I was extremely ill. Have I ever told you this before? In any case, yes, she came to me and comforted me when I needed it the most,"

She fought her tears, but they prevailed, rolling down her cheeks freely and defiantly.

"She left me a letter, you know," Arabella needed a few seconds to gather her breath, "I discovered it when I found her body and I hid it from father," her head kept on slowly nodding as she spoke, "In her letter, the word sorry was written eleven times. I counted them. She spoke of you in it too. She could only hope that you were safe wherever you were," after a sniffle, the young woman continued, "I had hidden it inside the pendant that she had gifted me but... As you know, I managed to lose that too, and for that, I’ll say sorry more than those eleven times,"