Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 214: Long stories untold

Aside from his fluffy tail wagging furiously, Remus remained quiet under Silas’ arm, only raisins his head to seek Arabella’s figure out from time to time.

Noting the occurrence, she decided to walk right where his eyes could reach her.

"Master!" One of the men standing outside of the manor ran up to them the instant they came into view, "Would you like us to take him off your hands?" he suggested.

"No," Silas stated dryly, "You won’t be able to handle him,"

Indeed, since the sun hadn’t yet sat, no other vampire ambled the manor and all daytime staff were no more than human.

Silas paved the way towards the door leading right down the legacy and trophy rooms but stopped once there, "You may go rest, I’ll take care of this,"

The vampire never once glanced in her direction while speaking, which further tightened the knot in her stomach regarding the boy’s wellbeing.

"Where are you taking him?" she asked meekly.

"To the dungeons,"

"I’d like to come with you,"

The young woman took one step forward but immediately halted when his ice-cold voice took a hold of her ears, "When hell freezes over, perhaps. For now, return to your room,"

Once again, Silas kept his back turned her way as he gripped the knob.

However, and before his hand as much as started twisting it, the hallway surrounding him erupted into a frenzy of deafening shrieks that echoed beyond their reach.

"No! No! Don’t leave me alone!" the boy hammered at Silas’ chest and back with both his fists and feet, kicking and punching while desperately pleading with Arabella to stay, "We must go home! Please, mother! Don’t leave me!"

Those words struck the young woman like thunder battering on an exposed peak. Her heart and stomach still debated on whether to sink or ascend.

Remus had called her... Mother?!

"She is not your mother!"

As if that initial shock hadn’t been enough, the loss of composure Silas exhibited when dealing with Remus. The manner in which his tone had raised did not quell her fears one bit.

"Yes she is! Father said so! You are lying!" the boy screeched louder and thrashed more violently.

His screams glided along every wall, traveling throughout every room and corner in that manor. The agitation that rumbled the floor did not go unnoticed as maids and butlers gathered from each end of the hallway, some whispered among themselves while others stood floored before the scene.

"Master! Miss!" weaving through the crowd came Ada, running their way, hands clutching at the skirt of her gown.

"I’d like you to accompany Arabella to her room," Silas ordered as soon as the maid had stopped near them.

"Please! Let me come with you. I think-"

"End of discussion," the vampire cut her pleadings midway, hearing none of it.

Before any further protests could be raised, Silas yanked the door open with force then walked into the darkness it harbored.

As the torches down the staircase lit up one by one, Remus’ cries filled the tract, drawing further with every step they descended.

"Miss, please, let us head to your room," Ada put one arm around Arabella’s shoulder and attempted to guide her away from that wooden door after shutting it.

"This isn’t right, Ada. He is just a child," the tears in her eyes grew too heavy to retain.

"I know, I know, Miss. Come now, let us be on our way," Ada slowly rubbed Arabella’s arm up and down as they walked.

Her entire body seemed to tug back, as though tethered to that damned door. Even her eyes refused to let go of it.

Remus’ blaring yet so innocent voice only rang louder with every inch of distance her feet put between her and the dungeons.

"Let’s get you out of that dress and cleaned up," Ada scurried towards the closet, opening it to browse through the numerous dresses put at her disposal, "I worried so much when you did not return yesterday, I thought... Lord forbid, that something happened to you again,"

But Arabella wasn’t all ears and had instead collapsed on the bed, head hanging low and shoulders slumped.

"Oh! Miss, why the long face? Come, I’ll run a warm and bubbly bath for you," Ada took the young woman’s hand only for it to slip away from her.

Arabella clasped both hands around her pendant, "It’s all my fault again," she swallowed her own saliva, "The boy has come here for me and now he’s not safe!"

"No! No! Don’t think that way, please," Ada wrapped her hands around Arabella’s, "If he came all the way here for you, then he must have a reason, perhaps a nefarious one. I saw his tail and outlook. He is a wolf child! He can harm you so easily even if he wishes otherwise and... What is this?" Ada’s eyes narrowed in an instant; the moment her hand grazed the collar concealing Arabella’s neck.

"What do you mean?"

In response, the maid merely peeled away the vest that Silas had enveloped the young woman with, "Are these bite marks?" she asked, gaze soldered on the two tiny, perfect gashes right on Arabella’s artery.

"Yes, they are," she released her mother’s pendant only to pull at the collar closer around her neck again.

"What happened? Did he feed on you? It hasn’t been two weeks yet," Ada’s features were twisted, frozen in a seemingly eternal rendition of horror.

"It is a rather long story that I have neither the energy or will to count right at this moment, Ada," Arabella shook her head slowly.

"What about this second pendant around your neck?" Ada pointed at the crimson amulet, "Does it come with a long story as well?"

"Yes, sort of," the young woman mumbled, "But that is neither here nor there! I must go down there with him! He must be so scared...," she stood to her feet at once and launched into a quick pacing rite, back and forth between her nightstand and the bathroom door.

"Do you, by any chance, feel drawn to this child? Like you are his mother perhaps?" very sheepishly, Ada leaned slightly to the side while flicking her nails together.

"What? Of course not!" Arabella’s eyebrows knitted before freezing in place to glare back at Ada, "But he came here for me!"