An unbearable silence had conquered the lounge after the three vampires' departure, and Lady Persephone took her sweet time to break it.
She placed her cup upon the table at an agonizingly slow speed before looking back at Arabella.
"Allegra and her sisters are quite young. They only celebrated their 120th birthdays the past month," she cleared her throat, "Vampires of that age struggle a bit with restraint, but worry not, none of our guests will be under two centuries old. I promised not one shall lay a hand on you and I intend to keep my word,"
Still in her spot, Arabella stood facing Lady Persephone's seated figure, staring down at the floor before her.
The young woman merely nodded in response.
"Vampires are quite fond of human beauty, of the way it withers so quickly. Your nature is very reminiscent of roses in our eyes. Do you follow?"
In a subdued voice, Arabella muttered a, "Yes, my Lady,"
"Right, then," Lady Persephone sighed, "Tomorrow you'll accompany Katherine to the nearest town in order to hunt for proper dresses. I urge you to pay close attention to everything you'll see out there. There should be things you've never laid your eyes upon before,"
"Of course, my Lady," Arabella nodded along to her words.
"You're free to go,"
Clutching the sides of her gown, and without another word, Arabella practically scampered out of the lounge room, leaving the Lady and her son alone together.
"This is a first," the Lady uttered, offering not a glance in Silas' direction.
"As it is for many things," he coldly replied.
"I hadn't realized such matters interested you,"
"They do not," while the Lady's gaze refused to meet his, Silas on the other hand glared at her as he spoke, "My imagination grew stale. I simply came seeking inspiration,"
"Find another muse," Lady Persephone commented in a calm yet dry tone before standing up and leaving the lounge room as well.
Arabella ambled the hallways a bit aimlessly, oblivious to almost everything in her path. The past hour hadn't been the most wonderful, to say the least. Once every few steps, a tremor escaped the young woman, thinking back to the way the vampires were shamelessly exploring her body, her hands would fly and rub at places where the ghost of their touch lingered.
Everywhere she'd turned in that room, ravenous eyes greeted her. Even the look of those who'd disciplined their cravings offered no relief.
Their grins etched in her mind, an unkillable yearning for human company bubbled to the surface as her feet strolled closer and faster towards the kitchens where the human maids roamed.
Arabella halted before the door, taking the time to tuck the memories of her previous visit to that place deeper in, so that they wouldn't get in the way. She could only deal with so much at the same time.
The young woman lifted her hand, forming a fist to knock, hoping Ada would be the first face her eyes met upon its opening.
Alas, it seemed the universe wanted it differently as a pair of familiar ocean blue eyes locked with hers.
They, of course, belonged to the maid that had tended to Arabella the previous morning after the fever she'd come down with. The nasty maid as she'd remembered her.
"Oh! Your highness has decided to grace us with your presence…," she feigned courtesy, bowing theatrically low while offering a smirk that never reached her eyes.
"I… Was looking for Ada," Arabella twiddled her fingers, looking away from the maid.
"Busy, that one," she crossed her arms, staring Arabella up and down, "If a servant was what you needed, why come all the way down here? You've got one of those fancy bells to summon us peasants," she practically spat, her breath striking Arabella right in the face.
Arabella allowed her hands to fall by her sides, inhaling deeply, she finally plucked up the courage to make eye contact with the maid, "No, it's not that at all. I believe you and I have gotten off on the wrong foot. Perhaps we could start over," Arabella smiled, "I'd really love for us to be friends," she extended her arm for a handshake.
Instead of grasping it, the maid scoffed, glaring down at Arabella's hand, "You truly are good at this, aren't you?" another chuckle escaped her, "I told you already or haven't I?" all signs of a smirk vanished suddenly, leaving but a grim expression across her stiff features. She began stepping towards Arabella, progressively nearing her in a menacing manner, "Save it for the next fool on your way because you and I both know that just because you're not donning a maid outfit, it doesn't mean you're any smarter than me or better for that matter!" she groaned through gritted teeth.
At some point, the approaching body of the maid connected with Arabella's extended hand, slowly pushing it out of the way and with it, Arabella's hopes for a friendship with the woman.
A clicking sound emanated from the end of the corridor, catching both of the women's attention as one of the backdoors, the closest to the gardens, opened.
Arabella's face instantly lit up the second she laid eyes on Edgar's figure, internally thanking the heavens for sending him to her rescue. The young man too smiled upon glimpsing Arabella. He walked with the clear intention of starting a conversation, a wooden crate underneath his arm.
"Good evening, ladies," Edgar stopped in front of them.
In response and before Arabella could say a thing, the maid stepped away from her and scoffed one more time before disappearing inside the kitchen after violently slamming its door.
A little stunned, Arabella took a second to recover her wits and return the man's greetings, "Good evening, Edgar,"
His eyes snapped between the kitchen door and Arabella a few times before speaking again, "How is your evening going?"
"Oh… It's… You know," Arabella seemed to find no words as she struggled to maintain her smile.
"I see you've met Edna,"
Arabella's gaze darted upwards, a bit of a puzzled expression on her, "The maid?" she pointed at the kitchen door.
Edgar nodded, granting Arabella a moment to register the information. Her eyes dallied upon the shut door, seemingly pondering her next words. She opened her mouth but then immediately closed it without permitting a sound to go through.
Edgar waited patiently until Arabella finally found the will to share her question, "Does she… Always behave this way?" she uttered in a hushed tone.
"She is bearable on most days, I assure you," he chuckled.
"For some reason, she believes the sole goal of my presence is to trick people around me and bend them to my will," she said, flicking her nails together, "Only, I've got no such powers," she murmured.
Edgar hummed in agreement before adding, "Oh, if she has it out for someone these days, then it, for sure, cannot be anyone other than you,"
Arabella's brows knitted together, translating her pure perplexion by his comment, "But why me? What have I ever done to her?" her voice meek as though on the verge of breaking.
"See, before you, Edna was the sole blood provider for the Master and since your arrival…,"
Edgar trailed off, but Arabella picked his sentence up where he'd left it, "She's essentially been demoted," her eyes traveled to the floor.
"I don't believe that to be the only reason," he brought her attention back onto himself, "Vampires possess a unique ability. When they feed, at least when the kind ones do, they subject their prey or provider to a very pleasant sort of daze. A calming state that spares the prey any physical agony, but it does not come without consequences," he paused for a moment, his smile dimming down before continuing, "As a side effect, the prey tends to develop… Feelings for the vampire in question,"
Edgar said no more after that as Arabella perfectly understood the meaning of it all. It was jealousy that pushed Edna to act in such an ill mannered way towards her. Well, it seemed, more ill mannered than her usual, according to Edgar's words.
In one night, she'd basically lost her position without a fault of her own and from then onwards had to silently watch as Arabella went into Silas' chambers, be where she'd been and enjoy the privileges she, herself, once enjoyed.
A pang of guilt tugged at Arabella's heart strings, thinking of the pain and disappointment Edna must endure, especially if she'd, in fact, developed feelings for Silas. May they be side effects or otherwise real feelings.
"Would you be able to assist me?" Edgar's voice wrenched Arabella out of her train of thoughts.
"Yes, of course!" she'd thrown the answer even before understanding what he expected of her.
Edgar brought the wooden crate under his arm and held it in front of himself, allowing Arabella to peek inside.
Between its walls, brown, small and sealed paper bags were neatly stacked one next to the other.
Each of them appeared to be marked by a distinct symbol inked upon their surfaces.
"These are new seeds the Lady has requested me to plant. I'd placed the order this morning and they were only just now delivered. Would you help me organise them in the seed room?" he smiled.
"That, I can definitely manage," she beamed while nodding her head.