Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 503: In the monster’s lair

A few regarded her with pity, most of which were maids... Whereas many looked at her with pure disdain.

At least that was the way her brain translated the glares that followed her as she marched through the castle behind Zarah.

Nothing of the whispers they breathed among each other reached the young woman for the heart that drummed her ears, nearly rendering Arabella deaf to her surroundings.

It continued to rise up the pipes and threatened to beat in her very throat eventually.

The smaller the distance between the prince and herself grew, the more that feeling persisted.

"You will only speak when spoken to," said Zarah in a stern and clear-cut tone without turning around, "You will not raise your eyes from the ground before the prince and his vassals unless told otherwise, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," Arabella murmured.

"Yes what?" the older woman stopped in her tracks.

"Yes, madame," as instructed, she did not look beyond the hem of that hag’s skirt.

"Good," Zarah resumed walking, "I was told you lost your manners after the time you wasted in that wretched place, but rest assured, I will see to remind you of your place every second of every day you spend under my wing. Is that understood?"

"Understood, madame,"

Arabella hung her head low all the way until, yet another grand door faced them. That time around it had a rounded top and some of the most beautiful carvings on its wooden body.

The trembling that had riddled her core intensified, becoming harder to control or ignore.

Heart beating so fast, her lungs were forced to huff air twice as fast just to keep up with its demands.

Zarah gave her not a second to gather her thoughts and landed three knocks on the door which opened the very next instant as two butlers tugged its weight towards the inner space of the room.

"Come," the older woman made her way inside.

Three steps in and Zarah moved to the side. All of the sudden, all of the rising that her heart did was reduced to null as it very instantly plummeted to her heels.

Despite being told not to, her eyes did flicker up for the shortest of moments that was somehow still enough to gather a full image of Cedric the not so great and all of his unearned glory.

Sitting on an oversized chair meant for the king, he hogged the limelight among his vassals who surrounded him in their own, smaller yet still bigger than needed chairs.

Three from each side, some straight, some slouched with the common denominator between all of them being their old age.

Well, not so old but Arabella believed they were somewhere closer to Zarah when it came to their time spent in the world.

Based on the gold their insignias were made of, those men must have been the highest-ranking royal army generals, each an expert in their specific line of the devastating machine that was war.

None of them looked as radiant as Cedric was, however. It was as though his streams had been rejuvenated with a newfound sense of life.

His traits had somehow tightened, earning him a much younger outlook. Not that he was old, but for a man that had reached his thirties, he sure looked as young as twenty-five in that chair.

"Here she is, just as his highness wished," Zarah’s voice had turned from a jagged edged fire stone to a silky-smooth melody when addressing him.

Well, it was as sweet as the hag attempted to make it so.

"Of course she is," his head tilted slightly to the side, resting upon his index finger which in turn was supported by the arm of his chair, "I had no doubt she would return to me," he grinned, "Is she clear?" the sly smile on him vanished as he turned to Zarah.

"Yes, your highness," the older woman bowed, "I have assessed her and found no trace of magic on her body,"

That brought back the question she asked herself about Zarah. What kind of witch was that hag that she exhibited no traits of their kind?

"She has also been searched at the border, and she carried nothing on her person," Zarah added.

"Well, they did not search as thoroughly as they could have, I am sure," one of the men, the one closest to the prince from his left side spoke up, "There are a few places on the human body that allow the perfect concealing of smaller objects, especially in women," he looked the young woman up and down while biting his bottom lip.

His tone as well as action caused Arabella’s stomach to churn empty air.

"No, I mean she is clearly not the brightest, but I am sure she wouldn’t be as stupid as to risk the safety of her loved ones. Well, not more than she already has," Cedric chuckled, "Undo her restraints," he looked at Zarah, "We have nothing to fear from her, or have we?" his eyebrow raised, eyes strictly on Arabella.

"No, your highness," the young woman kept her eyes on the floor as ordered.

Zarah wasn’t particularly gentle when untying her wrists, glaring and exhaling down her face while doing so.

"Now, get out of my way and let me look at her," the prince demanded.

"Yes, your grace," Zarah immediately turned to bow and scampered out of the way.

"Such a waste...," he grunted, "See, normally I do not share my property with other men but considering another man already beheld and put his hands on your body before me, I don’t see what I can get out of keeping you to myself alone," he paused to look at the men surrounding him, "Yes, gentlemen! This one here went and whored herself out instead of serving her country and to whom, you might wonder? Well, to none other than a vampire!" he declared.

"Such a disgrace...," one of the men clicked his tongue against his palate while the others shook their heads and grunted in disgust.