Besides the twitching and spasms running through her muscles, and for a good minute, Arabella remained completely immobile, breathing in and out while her eyes scouted her surroundings.
She loosened the grip around the sheets, eventually releasing them to propel her weight off the bed before running towards the bathroom.
Plunging her hands down the metal tub, the jolt caused by the touch of cold water was barely noticeable, considering her entire body still trembled like a little leaf.
Frantic in her motion, Arabella bent over the recipient and splashed her face once, then twice and then a third time, washing all of the sticky sweat as well as the salty tears covering her skin.
Although part of her had done it to ensure she was fully awake and no longer ambling the land of the dreaming.
Her quivering ceased at once when a not so gentle knock came from the door. Chest tightening around her heart, she very slowly straightened up to contemplate the pathetic reflection staring back from the mirror.
Arabella struggled to tell whether the temperature around her had suddenly risen or dropped.
Eyes and ears open, she waited 'til the second knock blared, further cementing her in that spot.
Though her features relaxed a tad when a familiar voice reached the young woman, "Arabella! Is everything alright?" there was a certain level of urgency in Katherine's tone.
Arabella's mouth fell open before closing right the next second without the ghost of a whisper ever leaving her lips.
"I am coming inside," loud and clear, the vampire declared before pushing the door open.
Katherine stomped in before stopping for a moment, only to then resume her walk and join Arabella in the bathroom.
"Oh dear…,"
Seeing her state, the vampire froze in place momentarily, but then rushed to Arabella's side, wrapping her arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace.
All the while Arabella did nothing and merely stood inert, face nuzzled into Katherine's chest, cherishing the warmth shrouding her.
It was as though the world had been moving too fast for her to act or even react on time.
"We all heard screaming coming from your room," Katherine rubbed gentle circles on Arabella's back, "What happened?"
Those words sort of jostled Arabella out of her dreamless daze, "You've heard me screaming?"
Eyebrows very slightly furrowed, the young woman slowly drew her head away from Katherine in order to meet the vampire's gaze. As far as she could remember, the screaming was part of the nightmare, not reality.
"Why yes!" she replied in a very soft tone, smiling at Arabella, "You are in a manor crawling with vampires that have very sensitive hearing," Katherine chuckled, "I suppose it'll take you some time to get used to it,"
As if on cue, Arabella broke into apologies and explanations, eyebrows rising further and further up her forehead in the process, "Please, forgive me… I didn't mean to bother you. It was a mere nightmare. There was nothing I could do,"
"Shhh," Katherine took Arabella's face between her hands, "Hey now! There's no need for all of that," she smiled, "Come. Dawn is almost upon us, let's get you back in bed. You can still get a few more hours of rest,"
Katherine released Arabella's face only to grab her wrist and guide her back to the bed.
"Would you like to talk about it?" the vampire asked the moment Arabella sat on the mattress, "This nightmare of yours, I mean," she clarified.
In response, Arabella only shook her head no.
"That's alright," Katherine then picked the water pitcher on the nightstand and poured a glass full, "Here, drink some. Your throat must be so dry,"
"Thank you," Arabella sipped from the cup and allowed herself to be tucked in.
"If you need anything, please do make use of that bell. It's there for a reason," Katherine offered those words before disappearing behind the door.
Once again, Arabella was left to stare at the canopy hovering over her. Its curtains and lace swayed to the wind's whims, soothingly so, inviting her to shut her eyes.
And even though the sight had the merit of appeasing Arabella's squealing heart, it wasn't nearly as powerful to wipe the slate clean for a new dream to come and sweep her senses.
The grin that had adorned prince Cedric's face was everlasting, engraved into the inner walls of her eyelids.
The venomous tone Lady Persephone and Silas had adopted promised to live freely in her mind for the next few days to come at the very least.
On the other side of the door and as soon as Katherine had clicked it shut, she immediately flipped around to greet the looming presence behind her.
"Master," she curtsied before Silas.
"What was it?" curt as per his usual, deep but soft, his voice offered not a hint of comfort.
Knowing full well it was within his power to know what had transpired, Katherine still answered his question, "It appears Arabella has seen a nightmare, but she's had some fresh water and is now back in bed. She should be alright," she smiled, bowing slightly.
"The sun is about to rise," Silas had the habit of glaring at anyone and everyone he talked to, "Head back to your room, now,"
She curtsied a second time before turning to leave and as Katherine marched down the corridor, Silas remained in his spot, fixating the wooden door through which she'd just exited.
His diamonds failed to see beyond the barrier, but his ears, however, had much to capture.
The untamed beating of a heart, hectic breathing now and then, but the sudden sound of sheets shifting around, announced more movement.
Two barely audible thuds, followed by little shuffling noises.
From the sound of fabric stirring, it was clear Arabella had left the bed and began changing clothes.
Silas flashed away from his spot instantly as Arabella's footsteps drew near the door. The knob twisted before the creaking of the wood resonated across the hallway.
Peeking her head through, Arabella looked from left to right, seemingly making sure nobody stood outside.
Like a sneaky little bat, she slipped in between the small crack she'd made then pulled the door closed, speedily tiptoeing along the corridor after that.
Silas waited a few seconds before following in her tracks, curious to see where the young woman had been heading at the crack of dawn.
Arabella descended the stairs leading down the ground floor and took the path towards the library.
A minute or two later, Silas very carefully pushed the door open in order not to alert her of his presence.
Arabella had taken off, looking neither left nor right a clear stop in mind, or so Silas had concluded.
Skipping past every section on her way, she'd finally made a halt before the "human literature" one.
The young woman moved along the shelves before stopping in front of a precise one, extending her arm and declaring, "Sterling,"
Once a tome had zoomed straight into her hand, Arabella found a table nearby and sat down, to flip through its pages with haste.
Within seconds, it seemed as though what she'd been looking for stared her in the face as the woman froze.
Wide eyes hectically traveled across a specific page. Whatever had been inked on there, Silas had the inkling it did not please her in the slightest.
Her heart beat faster and fiercer in its cage while her hand trembled against the edges of the book and not long after that, she'd slammed it shut before her face.
Arabella then proceeded, and with both hands, to simultaneously smack herself across the cheeks.
"Stupid girl!" she whined, crossing and resting her arms over the book only to nestle her face into the gap they'd left.
As though a bee had stung her, she lifted her head again before quickly reopening the book onto a particular page.
From where he stood, behind one of the tall shelves, Silas had no way of knowing whether it was the same as the one she'd previously gawked at.
Hysterical was the only word to describe her sight. Top to bottom and from left to right, she'd read and read it over and over again through teary eyes.
That all ceased when the click of the library door echoed all around them for a steady and confident stride to blare with it.
Edgar took the same route as Arabella who'd immediately closed the book once more, upon hearing him.
The young woman turned towards the shelves nearby and extended her arm to mutter the title of a book that flew swiftly into the palm of her hand.
The clacking of his shoes against the marble flooring grew louder the deeper into the library he walked.
"Oh Lord! I did not expect to encounter any other soul here at this hour," Edgar's eyes had found Arabella where she sat.
"Ah… I… I couldn't sleep so… I," Arabella clutched at the sides of her gown.
She'd stuttered so many times that Edgar had decided to put an end to her misery.
"Same as me then, I fear," he smiled.