Silas did not push beyond a kiss and took his wife right to bed after drying up. Hopefully, there’d be ti to do more without risking her heart to leap out of its cage.
Again... What was the normalcy to return to after such an ordeal?
Thankfully, her sleep was dreamless and kept that way until the morning sun ca to tickle her cheeks.
By then, Silas was once more, no longer near her.
After checking on Arthur and taking her breakfast, Arabella’s next mission was finding Ada which was not that hard of a task since her friend had been looking for her as well.
"Where should we do this?"
They had wished each other a good morning quickly enough and jumped into the thick of it without dallying.
"I suggest my own room," Ada nodded, "We should find so peace there,"
Upon walking through the door, the first thing that hit Arabella right in the face were the many aromas and amalgamated herb fus that forced her to clasp a hand over her nose and mouth.
"Oh my! These are quite strong! I can taste them through my nose!" the tears in Arabella’s eyes were a testant to that.
"Yes. I know!" Ada’s hands went around her friend’s shoulders and massaged at them as if rubbing them to breed courage, "But bear with . I felt I had to prepare multiple options just in case...,"
"Right," through sheer perseverance, the young woman had managed to get those words out, "What’s next? What do you need to do?"
"Oh! Please, lie down flat on the bed and keep your arms to your sides, but more importantly," Ada cleared her throat, "Try to keep your breathing steady and relax,"
"That’s... Easier said than done, I am afraid,"
Still, the young woman did as told and faced the white canopy that hung above her.
"Take a deep breath in and then exhale profoundly, please,"
Ada had co to stand by her side, towering over her. She then placed her hands right on Arabella’s lower abdon.
Not much pressure was applied per se, but her warmth traveled all across the young woman’s body.
"Do you feel any pain?" Ada enquired.
"Not at all," Arabella shook her head against the pillow.
Ada pressed a little lower, but aside from a bit of discomfort from having her insides pressed, there was still no pain.
"What about now?"
"I simply feel... Well, pressed, but no, still no pain,"
Ada straightened up and took her hands back, making her way towards the table that carried all the stinking herbs and potions.
Picking what looked like a needle and a piece of cotton, she returned to Arabella’s side and asked for her index finger.
Arabella did not object and extended it her way. Ada made a little prickle, breaking her skin just enough in order to draw a few drops of blood before gathering them on the piece of cotton.
"What is this for?" Arabella’s eyes followed Ada’s every motion.
"Oh, you may sit up. I am done with the examination," Ada marched back towards the table again, "This is the second test just to verify the veracity of the first results,"
"And... What do the first results say?" Arabella gulped down on her own saliva.
"That you are not pregnant," Ada smiled then dipped the bloody piece of cotton into a sheer glass cup that held a blue concoction.
"What’s that?" Arabella craned her head from the bed before realizing she could simply stand up and join her friend at the table.
"This mixture is made to detect a specific change in the composition of one’s blood," Ada picked up the glass and swirled it at eye level, "My father used to it tell if a woman was pregnant for sure,"
Arabella did not blink for a good mont, watching as the thin liquid danced around, maintaining its blue shade.
Eventually, Ada pushed a long sigh and a sweet smile then put the glass down.
"I was not wrong!"
"What... How? Are you absolutely sure?" Arabella followed Ada’s hands around in a frantic manner.
Ada finally put everything down and turned to face and held Arabella by the arms, "I am absolutely sure. You are definitely not pregnant," she looked her straight in the eyes.
The surge... The wave of relief that rushed her chest made her knees too weak to support her weight, thus forcing her to plop on the nearest chair.
"I... Oh, goodness!" she burst into quiet sobs, "Thank goodness," she murmured into her own hand.
All the while Ada continued to rub her friend’s arms for comfort, "You are in the clear. I reckon you did not start bleeding from the stress. That can happen,"
She stopped crying only to say, "But I ingested Silas’ blood... Shouldn’t it have redied the issue if that was the case?"
"Unfortunately, that is beyond what I can explain," Ada shook her head.
"You have no idea... Oh, you have no idea how heavy the weight that has just fallen off my shoulder is!" Arabella resud the weeping.
"I can only imagine," Ada’s tears too seed to have grown much too heavy to hold.
That was when she straightened up and pulled Arabella into a tight embrace, thus muffling her cries.
"I thought the nightmare would never end,"
"Shhh...," Ada patted her head, "Nightmares always scamper off when sunlight cos,"
"Not always," Arabella shook her head against Ada’s middle, "Sotis they persist,"
"Not today, they didn’t," Ada’s warm smile was audible through her voice alone.
"Thank you," the young woman finally looked up at her friend, "Thank you so much for standing by through all of this,"
Ada opened her mouth in order to respond but a gentle knock landed on the door, jostling them out of the mont.
Arabella straightened up at once, wiping at her tears while Ada readjusted her dress and walked over to the door.
After the twisting of the knob, followed the soft creaking of the door then a curt, "Oh...," from Ada.
"Ada, who is it?"
Upon standing up, every fiber in her body froze in place at the re sight of Silas who glared at her on the other side.
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