Peeking through the window was much easier when no blinding lights cloaked the view. The forest no longer seemed scary or gloomy when the birds and daylight loving creatures came out to sing.
The color of her irises matched the vibrant green lining their path so well, with trees that stretched high beyond the reach of her eyes that the place was barely recognizable.
Though before Arabella forgot her rest, the last tall trees announcing the end of the Eleazar forest drew nearer, reminding her of what was expected of her.
"We need to take the first path to our left," she spoke up, still curious as to how the coachman would hear her.
"You're having no trouble finding your way," Silas cut her ponderings short.
"My father owns a map of Umbraria. An approximate one, but it was quite helpful nonetheless," at first, she'd looked at Silas, but as her exposition went on, her gaze traveled towards the window once more, "On the night I'd arrived, the first thing that had greeted me upon exiting the forest had been the front side of the manor. The map suggested that once out of the tunnel, I needed to run ahead and then south once I encountered the first tall trees and during my journey, I never came across a clear path as large as the one we are currently taking, which leads me to the conclusion that the tunnel must be to our left,"
Silas said nothing and merely studied Arabella's face from the gemstones that leapt from one thing to the next through the window then down her jawline to the pink, luscious lips guarding her mouth.
The young woman's hand kept on fondling the locket around her neck, bringing attention to her ample bosom.
The carriage swerved to the left as she'd instructed which made her eyebrows furrow before instinctively turning towards Silas, as if her tongue itched to speak, but the words clogged her throat when realizing his eyes were on the hand clasping the locket or on her… Chest.
Arabella immediately released the locket, bringing her hand down onto her lap, but Silas continued to stare straight at her breast.
That poor heart of hers fluttered and as it was tradition, in moments of unease, sent blood rushing up to her reddening face.
"I've told you to speak up when you have something to say, haven't I?" his voice filled the carriage, eyes snapping onto hers, "It is written all over your face,"
"I… We are traveling under the sun and thus, the coachman has to be human so…," she trailed off momentarily, "I was wondering; how is it possible for him to hear my directives if I merely utter them from the carriage?"
"The carriages are bewitched for the coachmen to always hear the conversation inside, unless we desire otherwise," he said.
Ingenious! She thought.
Arabella had been so absorbed by her recent discovery that she'd almost missed their stop.
"Oh! Stop here, please," she held onto the skirt of her gown as though getting ready to stand even before the carriage had stopped.
The greenery had been growing thicker around them and closed in on the car the deeper into the woods they went.
The clear path they followed only grew narrower and threatened to disappear.
Silas stepped out first and made sure to offer Arabella a hand when her turn came, and she was grateful for it as the dirt covered ground was uneven, to say the least.
For a young woman such as her who was accustomed to flat and solid ground, it was quite the challenge.
"From this point onwards, we only marche forward,"
She wanted to stand on her own two feet, only the shoes covering them weren't meant for that type of environment.
Arabella wobbled a few times and tripped over the rocks that had been hiding beneath the grass littering their way, forcing Silas to save her every time until he decided it was enough and simply offered her his arm to hold onto.
She wrapped her arm around it and immediately stiffened, taking a sharp breath when he practically hauled her frame along due to their difference in size. That… And the fact that he was a vampire as well.
It only took him a second to notice her struggle and slow the cadence to follow her pace instead.
"The tunnel lay this way," her eyes lit up as she pointed beyond the thick trunk of a tree.
"That is inconceivable," Silas began, "We've had scouts comb the area for tunnels during and after the war. None were ever discovered here,"
Once they stood by the thick tree, Arabella freed her arm and laid her hands on its wood, "It can't be. I am quite certain I followed this path," she pointed to a scratch mark drawn on its body, "I left this mark with a stone just in case I had no other choice but… To turn back," her smile dimmed down a notch at those words, "We must go this way,"
She took his arm again and led the way until a new landmark caught her eyes. Among those trees so hunched and dense they only allowed fragments of sunlight through, stood a large and smooth stone that bore a much similar scratch to the one they'd encountered before.
"This one is your doing as well," Silas half asked.
"It is so,"
The young woman beamed, guiding him past the stone, deeper into the sea of green clotting their way.
"Here we are!"
Arms open, gesturing in front of them, she finally halted before a bed of shrubs that rose so high they had completely shut the way and shielded what hid behind them.