As beautiful as the moon was that night, none of its shine mattered. None of it brightened a single corner in Arabella’s mind or enlightened an inch forward of her path... If there still was any path for her to take at all.
Sinking lower and lower into a sea of emptiness, the young woman carried on her sitting streak, almost still in front of the window, rely watching as the hours flew by with the guarantee of never rolling back.
The knock that fell on her door sort of broke that montum, if only for seconds.
"Arabella, may I co in?" it was Allegra’s voice.
"Yes," she muttered.
Once again, that frail whisper reached Allegra’s ears without a hitch.
"You are still sitting there, I see," there was a hint of sothing in her tone that if Arabella had to describe, she’d have called it disappointnt.
"I am sorry," was all she murmured in response.
"Well, at least, you are not sitting in the bathtub so that’s a smidge better than I expected," Allegra allowed a light chuckle out.
"Is Katherine alright?" Arabella asked, her hand not so firmly clasped around her pendant, "I an no offense, but it is her I expected to see,"
"None taken," Allegra smiled, pulling a second chair near Arabella’s, "I understand," she started, "Katherine is sowhat busy. As the head of entertainers, she is stuck with a few more responsibilities that the rest of us do,"
"She is?" Arabella’s eyes never strayed away from the moon, "I was not aware of that. When I’ll see her again, I should apologize for gobbling most of her ti,"
"No, please. Don’t you say that!"
Allegra placed a hand on Arabella’s shoulder and the difference was almost imdiately felt. Her touch, although gentle, did not have the warmth that Katherine’s offered and not even near half of the comfort.
The vampiress pushed a long sigh, "The next tribute auction will take place on the twenty fourth of Beltane so in a little less than two months from now," she nodded along to her own words.
"Has the date already been fixed? Were the tributes sent to Umbraria?"
Allegra’s words had finally coaxed Arabella to look at sothing other than the moon above them. The furrowed eyebrows on her remained until the vampire answered her questions.
"No, but the ceremonies are held apart at every bister in a year. Usually on the twenty fourth day of the month, if nothing changes that is,"
As Arabella’s eyes had begun drifting back towards the window, Allegra spoke again, uttering sothing that froze every muscle throughout her body in place.
"Do you think you’ll be ready in ti? For the ceremony, I an,"
That question alone was all the reminder Arabella needed that she was not ho... That there were conditions to her stay under that roof and should she fail to et them, the Eleazars no longer owed her such kindness. They’d offered her so much more than her wishes were ever allowed to grow.
And how was she repaying them? By being an additional burden on all their shoulders.
Silas had even carried his sword, ready to engage in a battle of an uncertain outco just in order to free her from her captors.
Her eyes were dry out of tears, begging for so relief, but her heart was having none of it, racing against an invisible clock that raised her pulse in under a minute.
Her breathing grew strained as one of her hands clasped against her mouth to stifle the upcoming cries.
"Oh dear! Did I say the wrong thing?" Allegra jumped to her feet, "I truly am sorry, I did not an to upset you,"
Swaying her face away in the hopes of hiding her crumpled features, Arabella shook her head furiously, "No, no, you said nothing wrong, Allegra. You said everything right,"
"Right, don’t think about what I said. Just forget it and think about sothing else, happy things!" frantically, Allegra sort of leaped in place, as though attempting to grasp the correct words with her bare hands.
Happy things, she’d said.
Don’t think about it, she also said...
It was a little too late for that, as the gears in Arabella’s head wouldn’t stop spinning, churning terrible end after worse outco over and over.
And they winced and wailed, allowing her not a mont of peace to collect her thoughts.
Already, her mind went to alternatives and plans of places she’d turn to should the Eleazars rightfully withdraw their favor.
Lord Foy had offered to take her in but that was before he realized how much baggage dragged behind her wherever she went, what it truly ant to accept her.
The conversation within her ran in circles many tis over only to reach the conclusion that there was no place for her to go...
None that would treat her with a shred of respect and freedom the Eleazars were so gracious to gift.
Would she amble Umbraria by herself until her fate caught up with her? It surely wouldn’t have taken long for that to happen without the Eleazars’ crest.
By the ti Allegra’s voice broke through to her again, Arabella realized her teeth had bitten down so hard on her nail, they’d clipped them. And yet her jaws refused to relax, keeping her teeth rigid in that position, chomping on nothing but air.
"Please, no, don’t cry! That is the last thing your body needs right now. i fear that’s more than it can handle," Allegra patted the young woman’s head repeatedly, but the gesture, once again, held none of the passion and heart Katherine and Ada had to give.
chanical they were, desperate to achieve their sole goal which was to shut her up.
"I am sorry, Allegra. I don’t an to bother you," Arabella pushed through the suffocating sobs.
"Never say that! Never!" Allegra’s voice, too, threatened to break. In a desperate maneuver to appease her, the vampiress finally had the good judgent of pulling Arabella closer to her own figure, embracing her trembling body while the young woman continued to cry.
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