A blend of delicately sweet and woodsy undertones tickled Arabella's nostrils, raising her beyond the frontiers of the land of the dreaming and back to reality.
The morning sun that had greeted her, compelled the young woman to open her eyes very slowly so as to grant them the chance of adjusting to the surrounding conditions at their own pace.
Sneaking through the window, those rays had colored every surface they'd landed upon golden, and the silence that reigned supreme was only broken by the chirping of birds as well as the distant, customary ambient sounds, earning the room a rich and cozy sense of pure bliss.
It was, in all respects, the kind of morning that encouraged people to look ahead and live on.
The sculptures in Silas' room stared back at her the same way they did the night before. Much like her previous stay in his room, Silas was nowhere to be seen.
Pushing herself up to a sitting position on the lounge chair, Arabella spun around to note that the window glass had been pulled shut hence the lack of any breeze that would travel through.
A gentle knock came first before the door creaked open, allowing Ada's lovely face to peek inside in the most sheepish of manners. Upon realizing Arabella was up, the maid walked in with a little more confidence.
"Ah good! You are awake, Miss!" she beamed, "I feared startling you," she stopped and straightened her stance in front of Arabella.
"Morning, Ada," Arabella smiled.
Although from the way Ada had rushed to her side, Arabella instantly knew something was weighing the shoulders of the maid down, despite the smile she offered.
"How are you feeling, Miss?" Ada bent closer and spoke with a soft voice.
"I am feeling alright," the young woman nodded as she sat upright.
"Oh! You should not have sat up that quickly, you may feel nauseous,"
Gently, Ada took Arabella's arm as though preparing to offer her support, but the raven-haired woman shook her hand up along with her head before reassuring the maid, "No, I won't. I-"
Her sentence was cut short however, the instant Ada's eyes had landed on the nearby table, "Oh dear! The Master has not left any of his blood for you," her expression then swiftly shifted from surprise to determination, "Worry not! I shall bring water and seek the Master for-"
It was Arabella's turn to interrupt Ada by gripping her hand right as she was about to go out of reach, "The Master did not feed upon my blood last night, Ada. Calm yourself," she smiled while nodding.
"He did not?" with the meekest of voices, Ada had uttered, seemingly uncertain of the veracity of her own words.
"No, he merely wanted me to recite poems as he worked,"
Pushing a long sigh of relief, Ada shut her eyes and rested a hand on her heart, "Oh Lord! I worried so much when I learned the Master had summoned you knowing that two weeks haven't yet passed since the last time, he'd fed. I thought…,"
Ada trailed off, leading Arabella to wonder, "Yes?" she enquired.
"Well, it's just that I was a bit surprised, that is all," she paused, fiddling with the hem of her apron, "Master Silas has never been the one to risk the safety of his providers for the sake of satiating his needs," she looked down, avoiding Arabella's eyes.
"Yes, I feared for my health as well when he'd ordered me to come to his room at nightfall, but it turned out I had been shedding hair over nothing the whole time,"
A little chuckle escaped Arabella. One that died down upon noticing the grim-like expression on Ada, indicating that there still was something to fret about.
"What is it?" eyebrows furrowed, she asked.
Ada still refused to meet Arabella's eyes and bit on her bottom lip before speaking, "The Lady has left a word for you to be in the lounge room first thing at sunset,"
"Has she?"
Mouth a little agape and eyes cast into the void, memories of Katherine coming to fetch her the previous night, resurfaced.
The vampire had claimed that Lady Persephone wanted to see her, but by then, she'd already been summoned by the Master.
"I've received word that she seemed particularly vexed when you did not present yourself before her," said Ada, looking at the floor.
"Well, I do hope she'll accept my apology," Arabella chuckled again, "Otherwise, I'll be back to seeking a new shelter," she joked.
"Please, never say that again!" Ada leapt in her spot, staring at Arabella pleadingly, "The Lady would never be so cruel," she'd simmered down, but that cheerless expression did not leave her.
The nonchalant air she displayed before Ada meant very little as deep down, in the pit of Arabella's stomach, the ever-living knot that prevented her from turning a new leaf clamped tighter amidst her guts.
"In any case," Ada broke the uncomfortable silence between them, "Your breakfast is ready and awaits you back in your room, Miss,"
Out in the hallways, Ada marched the same way as Arabella, kept her head down and her tongue stiff in her mouth the entire time. It became quite evident to Arabella that the maid still had something to share.
"Is there something else I should be aware of?"
"No! No, no, Miss!" Ada stopped in her tracks and spun around to shake her head, "It is nothing important," she muttered in the end.
"I'd still like to hear what you have then," Arabella smiled.
"Well," Ada bit her bottom lip again, only in a different way than moments ago. She appeared to fight in order to suppress a grin that insisted on plastering itself across her face, "The Master has never invited anyone to his chambers in order to recite poems before…,"