CHAPTER 418: FOR STARTERS

It was as though the air in the room had gone still.

Still in her lungs, barely allowing any blood through her heart.

"Act how, Arabella?" his voice was ice cold, bordered by the sharpest of edges, "I should tell you by now that I have always known you suspected Edna. This is the second time I hear you share such theory with someone else. Although the first time around when it happened, we weren’t this close, so I let it slide," his eyes flickered towards Allegra’s bed, "Care to take a guess as to what I did to Edna when I became aware you suspected her," Silas did make a pause but waited for no response, "Nothing! I did nothing aside from uttering a few choice words with her which may have been harsh but, considering we were right about her, I feel slightly less at fault,"

Her husband stood right before her, his voice still blaring in her mind when memories, various recollections began to scratch at their lids and breach the barriers of the boxes that had sheltered them until that moment.

When was the first time ever she’d shared her suspicion of Edna out loud with someone? Her eyes snapped towards the sleeping figure of Katherine... The very first time was with Katherine. It had happened in her own room right after the hypnosis incident.

"Do you still believe I would hurt Allegra without a shred of proof?" Silas stepped forward, but not towards Arabella.

Instead, he stopped at the center of the room, at equal distances from all three beds.

"This may come as a surprise to you but, I do count these three as younger sisters," he turned to glare at his wife, "Do you believe the only reason Katherine is among us today is because you didn’t allow me to execute her?"

Arabella remained utterly mute, only focusing on holding the tears that threatened to drip down her cheeks thus humiliating her further than she already was in that moment.

"Mother has offered many children shelter and out of all of them, these three have remained the most loyal and grateful to her," his tone mellowed a tad, "So no, it wouldn’t please me to jump to such conclusions about any of them. What does pain me however, is that you would leap to such ideas about me," his eyes too fell to the floor momentarily, his voice lowering despite its steadiness, "I understand there is still a lot to be addressed between us, but I would have hoped, you’d have shed your fear and distrust of me by now,"

The young woman crumbled to her knees the moment he exited the room, leaving her with the slumbering vampires and meek candle flames as sole company.

She held onto those tears until it was no longer possible to breathe without setting them free.

Trickling along her skin, that salty liquid was somehow sizzling hot yet freezing cold at once.

Instinctively, her arm wrapped around her stomach when that familiar stinging and gnawing announced its presence.

She fought with all of her might not to weep too loud and stifle those cries that put strain on her vocal cords.

"There, there, dear," came Liriel’s voice with her light weight on Arabella’s shoulder, "There is no need for all of that. You can just let it out. No one will condemn you for it,"

"I didn’t mean it," Arabella sniffled, "I didn’t mean to cause him hurt, but I can’t lie either. I was scared," the words did not come out with ease.

Indeed, it was as if an invisible hand had clutched her throat, preventing her from breathing and speaking at will.

"What am I to do?" she whispered, "How am I to fix this?"

In response, Liriel let out a chuckle which got Arabella’s full attention, "Is this your first lovers’ quarrel?"

"I...," eyebrows furrowed and mouth agape, Arabella merely looked back at Liriel, disbelief apparent in her eyes, "No. We’ve had disagreements before,"

"Come," said Liriel with a lot more warmth, "We should leave this room before they awake to our presence. It would be just the oddest thing to try and explain our reasons,"

Arabella did but nod while pushing her weight back onto her shaky legs. Liriel led the way and to the gardens her little wings took them.

"So, do tell, how did you solve your previous predicaments then?"

Arabella’s face flared red when her mind flashed back to their little... Exercise in Silas’ office.

"Well, in all of our previous arguments I had been the one upset with him," she mumbled, picking a few grass blades between her fingers.

Liriel filled her lungs with the fresh air that the breeze had brought towards them, "You know, dear, time slips by and while it feels like an eternity, you have only been here for two months,"

The fairy did not say much after that, letting Arabella weave ideas of her own on the matter, "Are you saying we rushed into this relationship? I remember, clear as day, you telling me that we were a good fit for each other," the frown on her was devastating, her cheeks threatened to sag even lower and drag the corners of her mouth along.

"I still think you are, but dear...," Liriel waited for Arabella to look her in the eyes, "Being a good fit doesn’t mean there won’t be any disagreements or quarrels between you two. Either you face them together head on or... You simply give up and go your separate ways. So, let me ask you, do you think, in your heart of hearts, that your relationship is salvageable? Do you think you can get past this fear and distrust that feeds upon you,"

Arabella’s eyes lit up, her throat finally allowing the air her heart and brain needed through.

"I am not giving up on my marriage after only a week into it!" she shook her head, "I just don’t know where to start in order to fix what I’ve broken,"

"You haven’t broken a thing yet," Liriel stared into the distance, at the tall trees far ahead, "I’ve known Silas since my childhood," the old fairy said, "If you begin with an apology that should go a long way for a starter,"