Much to Arabella's relief, it was a tall young man that'd stepped through that door and not a witch, but by then, her eyes had already latched onto him. It'd become too noticeable.
"Ladies," the man offered a slight bow, his dark and velvety hair falling a little in front of him.
Both Katherine and Arabella curtsied, returning the politeness. Although Arabella immediately averted her gaze away from him, towards the floor.
"Evening, Lauden," Mr Kallum greeted the man by his first name which suggested it wasn't his first visit to the shop, "You must be here to pick up the Lady's order," the shopkeeper half asked.
"Good evening to you too, sir," the so called Lauden nodded once, "And that I am, indeed,"
His slender build and humanoid features could have fooled Arabella, but the lack of a visible brooch on his chest indicated he may not have been human.
"I'll have it here in a second," Mr Kallum smiled, "Pardon me, Ladies. I'll be right back to see you off," the old man then turned around and disappeared into the back of the shop.
Left alone with the women, the stranger's eyes landed on Arabella once more, lingering on the Eleazar's crest first then on her features second.
"Forgive my impudence," he smiled, "But do the two of you come from the Eleazar manor?" his question was addressed to both of them; however, his attention was solely on Arabella who refused to make eye contact.
"Indeed, we do," a firm answer came from Katherine.
Unlike Arabella, she looked him right in the eyes, in expectancy for the rest of his words.
"I am Lauden, a humble servant to the Dragomir family," he bowed again, "Please accept this complement from me, my Lady," still in a bowed position he continued, "The mere scent of the blood coursing your veins is to die for,"
Dressed in black and white, his formal attire stood a testament as to his claim to work for a presumably rich family.
Lauden finally stood straight, his proud grin in view. The look of discomfort on Arabella did not seem to faze or bother him as her ruffled heart had already spoken of her state to his ears.
"Thank you," in the tiniest of voices, Arabella had whispered.
His gaze heavy, stirred Arabella to the core, feeling as though the ground beneath her sucked her weight further down.
Even Silas' glare pained her shoulders less than Lauden's.
Albeit calm, Katherine still took a step closer to the young woman.
Nevertheless, and seeing the glare on Katherine, he did attempt to smooth things a bit, "Oh… Forgive me, my Lady. I truly meant it as nothing but a compliment. My intention was not ever to frighten you,"
"She's new around nightwalkers, but she'll grow accustomed to our ways in time," Katherine stepped in.
"That is quite interesting. Welcome to Umbraria then," the man looked from Katherine to Arabella once more.
"Here we are!" before any of them could utter another word, Mr Kallum's voice blared through the room.
He carried a similar white box to the one he'd used to store Arabella's dress parts.
Without further ado, Lauden took the box from Kallum's hands, thanked him and excused himself before exiting the store.
Right as he'd descended the last step of the stairs leading up the shop, the man stopped and looked back momentarily.
"Interesting indeed" he thought… "Lord Dragomir will certainly find the news most interesting"
In turn, and a good minute after Lauden had left, the two women exited the store. The silence between them spoke louder than any voice, so suffocating Katherine saw the need to end it.
"Should we visit the performance center?" she spoke in a tone she wanted cheerful.
"Perhaps another day?" Arabella murmured, eyes on the ground, "Can we go back to the manor?"
"Are you not feeling well?" Katherine leaned a little forward to glimpse Arabella's visage.
"I feel a bit tired," the young woman wouldn't meet the vampire's eyes.
"Is it because of that vampire?" she paused before hastily adding, "Because of what he'd said?"
"Perhaps…,"
For the life of her, Arabella couldn't find the words to express her emotions on the matter. Not even to herself.
There'd been something about him… In the way he'd stared at her…
"I understand how a human might feel when spoken to in that way, but… Believe me when I say it was true," Katherine smiled, "To us vampires, the greatest, most heartfelt compliment we can give to a human would be about the scent of their blood,"
No, that couldn't be it… Arabella thought. Perhaps there was nothing to it and she was merely weaving knots where there needn't be. Perhaps Katherine was right… But then again, there was that little niggling scratch in the back of her mind breathing suspicion into her inner ears.
"You were right, Katherine. I will get used to life and the way of things around Umbraria soon enough. I am sorry for worrying you," Arabella finally lifted her head and beamed at the vampire.
Although her smile vanished quickly upon laying eyes on a familiar figure in the distance.
"Is that Edna?" Arabella questioned; eyebrows furrowed.
"Who?" Katherine followed the woman's gaze.
"Edna, one of the maids that work at the manor," Arabella clarified as her eyes followed every step that Edna took until she disappeared behind one of the constructions.
Edna had dashed, looking neither left nor right, and crossed the street down the alley at a distance in front of Arabella and Katherine. The maid was accompanied by a frizzy haired woman that donned a black dress and had a pointy hat on her head.
The two had learned their heads close to each other and whispered as though discussing something of utmost secrecy.