Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 202: From memory

Arabella ambled every hallway, every room, her fingers grazing the various surface textures on her path. Some were smooth to the touch while others were harsh, determined to shut and keep her out of whatever secrets they held.

Silas occupied a specific room, one that had no bed which led the young woman to assume it was, once upon a time, his... Bedroom, so to speak.

With the weight of the pending silence that had conquered the space around them, Arabella deemed it necessary to offer the vampire a moment to himself.

Some time to just be without anybody else’s gaze on him, hers included, and for whatever reason other than that. All of them were valid. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

Eventually, and after a good stroll throughout the house, Arabella’s eyes settled for the beautiful view through one specific window.

It opened in the same direction the ship had sailed away only an hour or so prior to that instant.

The sun still hung high in the sky, its rays setting the surface of the water into a blaze of brilliance, an almost blinding one. The kind that forced one’s eyes to look away for their own good.

The brightness affected more than the water, of course as even the bit of dry land that begged the rising lake for mercy had adopted a lighter shade due to the pressure of sunlight alone.

At the center of it all, one sorry old, yet tiny tree fought very hard to hold its own, and against all odds it seemed to succeed despite the weak trunk that carried the burden of its entire weight.

"I’d started hopping on and then off that tree very early on. As soon as I’d realized just how high I could jump,"

His voice simultaneously wrenched a jolt and a gasp out of her. Arabella did a swift spin around to face Silas who neared her figure slowly.

He kept moving forward, past her, only stopping against the window frame.

Those same rays blessing the world also graced his diamonds with the lustrous shine only it was capable of granting.

"It was one of my favorite activities," he paused momentarily before adding, "Not that I had many of those,"

After the initial shock from the startle wore off, her heart was allowed to simmer, gradually settling into a more natural rhythm.

She too turned back around towards the window, following his gaze.

"Around the house...," seeing how meek her voice had turned out, Arabella had to clear her throat upon uttering those words, "I’ve noticed there are many wooden sculptures. Is this where you picked up this interest?"

In response, he merely nodded.

Very hesitant at first, she still managed to voice the question that scratched at the back of her mind, "In the painting that seals the trophy room, the water around the island wasn’t as high as it is now. Has the water level risen since then?"

Both of his hands wrapped around the windowsill, "The painting was created almost 300 years ago. By then, I’d already burned through my first decade on this island,"

"Forgive my overstepping if so, but I’ve become under the impression that this place does not evoke the happiest of memories in you,"

"By all means, I was no prisoner, but this place was supposed to keep me from interacting with the outer world, to keep me out of sight for... My own good,"

Arabella’s eyes widened. If her own memory served her right, Silas had mentioned being studied and experimented on by doctors, but never did she imagine that it had gone to such an extent as to completely isolate him from the rest of the world.

The vampire continued, volunteering even more from his past, "Born during the great war, those times were difficult on many, and promised to be more so difficult on someone like me,"

"You stood out greatly from the rest," she whispered.

"Even greatly was an understatement," his diamonds were focused ahead, right onto the horizon line, "Being a nightwalker was already bad enough in the eyes of most humans, but being a vampire that needed no hibernation period and did not fear the sun on top of that... Let us just say the target on my back was bigger than most among my kind,"

"Did your parents stay with you during those years?" she asked.

"Whenever they could, yes, but most of the time I was stuck with the two doctors that poked and prodded me for some necessary results," Silas pushed a somewhat long sigh, "I still had to spend all of my daytime in this place alone,"

"Those tests," her mouth opened and closed a few times before speaking, "Were those how you discovered the faculties of your blood?"

No verbal reply was needed for a simple glance her way was enough at first, "Although they never truly studied the effects that my blood would have on magic and spells,"

"So, only your parents and the doctors know about it," she half asked, eyes on him.

"I suppose more people are aware of it, but they simply don’t let anything on, but aside from Ada who’s seen the effects firsthand, the others still believe my blood is mixed with other substances to accelerate your healing. Among them Katherine and her sisters,"

"That is seemingly for the best," Arabella nodded, looking back through the window.

Yet another moment of quiet followed, where only the rippling of water and whooshing of winds echoed around them. However, that time around, it was not of the stifling kind. On the contrary, it was quite comfortable.

A minute or so had gone by until Silas finally unclasped the windowsill and extended a hand towards Arabella.

She took it without reluctancy and walked behind him wherever it was he wished to guide her.

Their destination was revealed to be none other than the same room Silas had spent an entire hour contemplating. The one that harbored no bed.

"Was this... Your room?" the words were practically whispers.

"It was,"

The many little as well as medium sized sculptures stood as testament to that answer.

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