Under the vampire Lord's protection

Morning light had permeated the room, declaring the start of a new day. While stretching, Arabella took the deepest of breaths before her eyes flittered completely open. 

She then laid there, immobile for a good moment, staring at the canopy above her bed. 

Fragments of memories from what had transpired the night before came in shy numbers and her first instinct upon putting some of them back together was to check her wrist. 

Eyes wide open, she'd leapt into a sitting position, examining her skin as her fingers softly brushed the area.

Whole and unharmed, there were no traces of the bite mark that Silas had left. Had she dreamt it all? 

It couldn't have been! 

It had felt so real. That serenity, that relaxation, the warmth… In fact, she'd have given anything to feel that way again.

What about the fever? She could've sworn she came down with a nasty one, but there was no remanence of it. 

There was no aching, nothing sore, and her breathing was perfectly normal. On the contrary, abundant energy ran through her veins, even mountains seemed light enough to carry and moreover what had stuck out to her the most was that her heart was no longer in her stomach. Instead, and for the first time in days, it felt as though it had started beating in her chest again, where it belonged. 

A not so gentle knock wrenched her attention towards the door. Before Arabella gave them permission to enter, the door was pushed out of their way for a young woman Arabella hadn't met just yet to come inside.

"You seem just fine to me," she snarled.

Dressed very similarly to Ada, this woman had blond hair and ocean blue eyes which Arabella did not recognize. 

But even though the two of them hadn't met before, the voice of the maid sounded quite familiar. It was one that Arabella had heard very recently.

"Morning. I am Ara-" Arabella started but never got to finish her sentence.

"I know who you are!" the maid faced the bed frame, one hand on her hip and the other holding a glass water pitcher.

"Have we met before?" Arabella asked, fiddling with her fingers.

"Are you planning on staying in bed the whole day? No doubt to play victim some more," she sneered, ignoring Arabella's question. The maid stomped towards the nightstand and slammed the water pitcher down, "Here is your clean water, your highness!" she leaned uncomfortably close to Arabella, until their faces were mere inches away from each other, "You may have gotten everyone else fooled, but I see through your act very clearly! You're not the sweet, fragile flower everyone sees. You're nothing special," she spat through gritted teeth, "Even he fell for it and used his own blood to heal you. He never does that for anyone! So, why you?"

Immediately, and thanks to her choice of words, Arabella was able to recall where she'd heard the maid's voice. It was the morning before, in the kitchens when the maids had been gossiping about her. 

"Wh-" 

Once again, Arabella was not allowed to finish her sentence or even start it for that matter, "Save your lies for someone that cares. I am not gullible like the others," 

The sound of a man clearing his throat blared through the room and made both women straighten up.

"Oh! Master Silas…," The maid stuttered. 

"Take your leave," Silas said dryly.

The maid scurried off without a word, leaving Arabella alone with Silas. 

He finally moved away from the door frame and stopped at Arabella's bedside. Her heart did not exactly sink, but it sure started to behave out of sorts again. 

His clothes were similar to the ones he'd donned the night before but not identical. The celeste blue vest highlighted his masculine forms while the silver embroidery on his chest, much like his satin silver hair, sparkled when grazed by sunlight.

The man truly was a sight to behold. If only he'd smiled a little. 

"You do seem fine," there was a hint of difference between the voice he'd used with the maid and the one he used with her. Barely perceivable, but there, nonetheless.

"It is only thanks to your kindness," head still down, eyes on her lap, Arabella wondered if he'd stopped sucking on her blood for her own wellbeing or whether it was because the presence of an ailment had turned her blood nasty. 

Without any warning, Silas took her chin between his fingers which got a little shudder out of her. He was not rough by any means, but did force her to look up at him.

Her gemstones met his diamonds for a split second before they darted away, landing around upon everything that was not him.

He glared at her face for a good moment before releasing her.

"Be in my chambers at nightfall, after dinner," he ordered. 

"Yes, Master," she whispered. 

No further words were exchanged after that, and Silas simply left the room. 

Her first stop once she'd jumped out of bed was the mirror. The manner in which he'd contemplated her face left her… Quite insecure.

Much to her surprise, there was nothing on it. Nothing but perfect and clear skin. None of the scars from the injuries she'd sustained remained.

Frantically, she opened her hands while holding them up to her eye level and flipping them back and forth only to note the same thing… No scars…

What of the scratches on her legs and blisters on her feet? Same realization. 

She had been completely healed.

At first, Arabella had reasonably assumed it was due to her repeated intake of vampire blood that led to that miraculous outcome, but then, the words of that rude maid came dashing back.

What could she possibly have meant by "He used his own blood to heal you"? 

At that moment, she hadn't been given the time to assess and fully grasp their meaning. Indeed, Arabella had been so taken aback by the unpleasant behavior of the maid who hadn't even introduced herself in proper manners, she'd brushed everything else to the side.

Was it Silas who'd used his blood to heal her? Or was it yet another vampire that the maid deemed too special to stoop to such a lowly task that was to heal Arabella with his blood.

Those questions roamed her mind as she, in turn, roamed the manor. After the conversation she'd overheard in the kitchens, not to mention the encounter with the rude maid, Arabella opted to stay away from the kitchens, at the very least for that time being, and instead headed for the gardens. 

The air in the gardens was as fresh as the day before. The colors rushed Arabella along with the dizzying dreamy scents. 

That morning she followed the pathway lined up with the rose hedges until it led her towards an imposing, sparkling fountain that splashed merrily at the center of those green fences surrounding it.

Arabella dipped her fingers in the water, sending little ripples that shattered the peace on its surface.

Looking from left to right, a little pang tugged at her heart, dimming the smile she had. 

Arabella had hoped to meet Edgar out there since, and aside from Ada, he'd been the only other friendly visage around. 

Her feet traveled all the way back to the manor for more exploring. She tracked hallway after hallway, hesitant to open doors on her way, lest her curiosity would earn her more knots than she could undo. 

However, there was one door in particular, at the very end of one corridor that stood out among the dozens she'd met. Bigger and ornate with two bright, knight armors on each side. 

Very slowly, and carefully, she gave it a little knock that echoed every way around her. Seeing that there was no response, she dared twist the knob before pushing the door open.

The louder it creaked as it moved out of her way, the more of the room Arabella was able to glimpse. 

Rooted in her spot, she was astounded at the sheer magnitude of the place. Gaping ahead, her eyes widened, glistening with the light that had escaped the room.

As though enchanted, her legs finally carried her inside. Extending beyond the limit of her sight, the walls to her left and right were stacked from top to bottom with bookshelves. At its center, there were even more bookshelves dividing the space, creating ensnaring mazes. Wide, gaping windows nested in between the shelves lined the walls, allowing sunlight to bathe the library in its golden rays, proffering much warmth to it.

At various spots, stood spiral staircases wrapped within silver railings that led towards yet another level in the library. 

But it was no ordinary library. Not like any Arabella had ever seen before as in that one, books floated and zoomed across freely, switching places and rearranging themselves of their own accord.

Arabella stood, swirled around in amazement at the pure thoughts of the treasures and riches gathered in that room alone.

None of the silk nor precious jewelry that garnished the manor rivaled the centuries of knowledge entrapped within those pages.