A future packed with pain and suffering, she'd said…
Elphaba's prediction hung low, dangling over Arabella's head, tailing her wherever she went. No matter how hard Katherine had tried to break through to her with comforting words on their way back to the manor, it was as though all of her efforts fell on deaf ears.
Arabella hadn't even attempted to appease the vampire with one of her courteous smiles. Not that it would have made any difference for Katherine as she had direct ears to Arabella's heart rate.
Was she to, soon, suffer the wrath of the prince she fled? Perhaps it was her father's, instead?
Or was she to answer for her ancestors' crimes?
Desperate in her quest to escape the shackles that bound her, she'd walked right into their sworn enemy's lair.
The Eleazars hadn't said or done anything that would suggest they carried a grudge towards her lineage per se, but…
"Did everything go your way tonight?"
Eyes widening, Arabella became aware of the familiar, meticulously carved wooden door right in front of her face.
What rooted her to the spot however, had been the just as familiar yet ice cold voice that had addressed her.
"Yes!" her meek voice cracked as she attempted to speak clearly.
Arabella's shoulders slumped further from the ever-growing weight of his diamond gaze. She didn't need to turn around and verify, she'd known for a fact that he was glaring at her.
"Let me see your eyes," Silas demanded.
While his footsteps made no sound, his voice told her that he'd come closer.
Body stiff as a gargoyle, Arabella very slowly rotated around and when her eyes were finally on him, they remained glued to his chest.
Silas stepped nearer 'til his warmth became more pronounced, enveloping her whole. The sudden change in temperature snatched a little shudder out of her in the process.
Although it was nothing compared to the jolt he caused when taking a hold of her chin between his fingers. A tender touch, but an unexpected one all the same.
Lifting her face upwards, he left her no other choice but to raise her gemstone eyes with the rest for their gazes to meet.
What reason did he find to always be demanding to see her eyes? She wondered. Though at that moment, she had no complaints, Arabella could have contemplated those burning diamonds for hours on end, watching as the reflection of the fluctuating candle flames surrounding them refracted. It truly was a sight like no other.
No other creature she beheld that night stood a chance at dethroning the treasure that his eyes were.
Stolid, his traits never betrayed him as he looked intently for something that remained a mystery to the young woman.
Arabella only regained some of her senses once Silas had released her chin and her eyes immediately fell back to his chest.
"Go rest," his warmth forsook her to follow its owner when he walked away.
Arabella followed his figure, drawing further down to the other end of the corridor for a few before twisting the knob, and pushing the door to her room open.
After a warm bath, she threw a clean night gown on her back and delved into her bed, bundling her body between the thick and cozy sheets.
Eyes up on the canopy above, she recounted all the events endured from her last days back in the Sterling manor, the last conversation ever with her father then the images of the tunnel leading straight to Umbraria that came in snaps and flashes.
Arabella could've lived thousands of lifetimes without ever recalling the torches and the bellowing of the Kingsmen that'd chased her from dusk all through the dead of night.
The very first time she'd laid eyes upon the Eleazars' manor would have been a welcomed memory if it weren't for her unfortunate discovery.
From the way Reubon Sterling had prided himself in being the descendant of such a great warrior that was their ancestor Abel, it was hard to imagine why he'd omitted the fact that the highly esteemed general Emeric Eleazar had been brought before the grim reaper by a Sterling's hands.
It would have been the first thing out of his mouth whenever the desire to boast about the matter overtook him.
Unless… The information never reached their ears in which case it would explain its absence from the Lustrisian history books.
Oh! Had she known it! If only she'd known…
It was on that note that Arabella's eyelids fluttered shut, mulling her options over, plotting castles of sand that came crashing down with the slightest inconsistency to foil the entire plan.
With thoughts like those, Arabella held neither delusion nor hopes for sweet dreams that night.
Only, right as her soul had been about to sink down the land of the dreaming, thundering booms shattered her sleep.
Arabella sat right up, shaking like a leaf while eying the door that threatened to collapse under the brutality of those fierce knocks raining upon it.
Incessant and relentless, whoever they were, hammering at the wood the same way her heart did against her chest.
They wanted in, and from the looks of it, would never take a no for an answer, if Arabella were even allowed to speak should she open the door.
It carried on for what felt like hours as the deafening banging blared through the entire room, rocking its walls.
Arabella merely gaped at the quivering wood unblinkingly, tears welling up in her eyes to blur her vision.
Drenched in sweat and yet shivering to the cold, as her core drained the blood out of her appendages.
And then it happened… The door gave in, flying open before slamming against the wall behind it with such force, Arabella was sure it'd cracked it.
Two armored figures stormed the room, stomping over to the bed, and with no words uttered, their hands wrapped around Arabella's arms and viciously yanked her out of it without a shred of mercy.
Her shoulders screamed from the pain before she did as a searing spark shot through her.
Her body scraped the floors, the carpets and every surface they'd dragged her upon. With all of her might, Arabella tried to free herself from their grip, but to no avail, leaving it for her cries and begging to bounce against the walls, filling every corner of the manor.
Through her streaming tears, the emblems stamped across their armor plates were unclear, but familiar enough for Arabella to recognize them.
The soldiers belonged to the black sun army, the same one that served the king of Lustris.
Arabella's feet and knees banged against the stairs as the Kingsmen hauled her down, sparing no glance her way.
By the time they'd reached the last few steps, the young woman had already stopped fighting their hold, and simply hung her head low, taking sharp breaths in between sniffles.
When she finally lifted her gaze up, her eyes were greeted by the figure of a man that had haunted each and every one of her waking moments for the weeks that preceded that night.
The royal cape attached to his shoulder plates never fit him, prince Cedric the third.
He stood a few inches shorter than Silas, at the very center of the hall facing the stairs. The glint that lived in his chestnut eyes only grew and spread, further magnifying the look of malice he'd cast down upon her.
From her angle, the golden crown resting atop his short auburn hair seemed far too big for his head.
The soldiers stopped then brought Arabella to a standing position before the prince that grinned from ear to ear at her sight.
Quivering, Arabella's chest closed around her heart as she waited for him to speak. Although, he said nothing and merely glared at her, holding his hands behind his back.
It was a feminine voice that broke the unbearable silence around them.
Lady Persephone began with a chuckle, "A fitting fate for a Sterling, don't you think?"
The Lady stood to the side along with Silas and the both of them glowered at her in such a way that it made Arabella wish to evaporate so that she didn't have to withstand it.
"Honestly," it was Silas' turn to share his mind, "How could you think for a moment we would grant you a safe stay under our roof? After what the Sterlings did to our family," full of disdain, his diamond eyes drifted to the side and refused to come back on her.
"Shall we go home, Arabella?"
The prince's voice finally rose, painful to her ears, it was.
"No… Please," Arabella muttered more pleadings.
Cedric turned around and started walking towards the main entrance.
In turn, the soldiers moved forward, following in his tracks, shaking her body in the process which rattled her brain… Causing her to finally snap out of it and... Wake up…
Arabella sat up straight in her bed, hands clutching at the sheets only to find herself completely alone in her unlit, mute and soldier free room.