Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 79: Lifespans and stories

The stool facing the piano still held warmth as Katherine had null doubt demonstrated her prowess with the instrument only minutes prior.

With somewhat shaky hands, Arabella brushed over the keyboard at her disposal, shut her eyes and breathed in so deeply that memories from her childhood bubbled up to the surface, drowning the smothering silence that surrounded her.

The Lady had requested Arabella’s favorite piece and that could have only meant one thing. Persephone wanted to hear "My bright star" which, Arabella would not, in a million years, have wished for a better piece to perform.

"Don’t slouch in front of it sweetheart, you are always having a conversation with your instrument when you play it. Face it right and it’ll sing just beautifully," her mother used to say with such affection, such stillness even its distant reminiscence reflected in every motion Arabella made, every key pressed, yielding a line of notes so fittingly strung together, it’d dispelled the stifling quietness controlling the room.

Arabella was allowed mere seconds of peace before clamor erupted behind her. Just like she’d sat down, the young woman stood up and turned around to bow with equal respect in front of the guests as well as the rest of the entertainers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Arabella," the butler declared.

As her eyes skimmed over the many faces in attendance, her sight froze momentarily when she swore a familiar face that’d been absent that whole time, stood among them.

Well, not exactly among them since Silas remained behind the closed balcony window.

The moment was very short lived however, as in the blink of an eye, he had completely disappeared, leaving her to wonder whether she truly ever saw him there or if it was a mere figment of her imagination.

"You did great!" Katherine stood by her side, smiling, "Now, brace yourself. We’ll start to mingle in a few,"

That was, indeed, the case. The guests closed in on her, calmly but most converged in her direction, voicing pleasantries to go with their uncanny smiles. It caused her to step back a little only to be supported by Katherine who had an arm around her shoulder.

"Now, now, my dear guests. I promise you, you will all get to speak with her in turn," Lady Persephone laid back against her chair.

Lord Edward stood first in line, his Lady by his side. Although she did step away eventually and walked over towards one of the male entertainers.

"Will you take my arm, dear?" he spoke softly, offering his arm which she took with grace, "Since this is your very first appearance here, I reckon it must be frightening," he grinned, seeking her gaze.

In response, she soldered her eyes onto the floor and did her best to mirror his pace. Not that it was particularly hard. Just like Silas had considered the fact, Lord Edward too moved as slowly as he needed for the young woman to walk comfortably.

"Yes, it is quite intimidating, to say the least," she muttered, knowing full well that her heart gave her feelings away. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

"I do believe you are in good hands, considering your hosts," his purple eyes drifted towards Lady Persephone at those words, "But I sure hope you’ve been finding life stimulating here in Umbraria,"

"Truly, it’s been a blessing," she paused, "It’s been everything I could have ever wished for and then some," she added.

"I’ve taken a few wandering souls under my wing myself, but my reputation does not precede me the way the Eleazars’ does," he chuckled.

Lord Edward guided Arabella towards two, very snug looking chairs before inviting her to take a seat.

"Have you taken human runaways before?" the question escaped her lips, "Beside the tributes, I mean,"

"Yes, I have. Not many, but some do manage to make it in one piece onto my property. I would have asked how you’ve managed but seeing as you are aware of the wartime underground tunnels, I am not surprised. I have never encountered a human woman with that level of knowledge in history, even amongst nobility," he said.

She kept quiet, revisiting Silas’ own words on the matter in her mind.

Lord Edward waited a few seconds, but when nothing came from her, he continued, "Conversing with you breeds such a peculiar sentiment. In age, you are the youngest among the entertainers and yet...," he trailed off, squinting his eyes in a skeptical manner, "I assume you know a few things about our biology, us vampires," he half asked.

"I can’t say I am an expert," she shook her head slowly, a soft smile on her.

"You are twenty six years of age if I am not mistaken,"

"Indeed," she nodded.

"Speaking to a twenty six year old vampire would be a much different experience, to say the least. You see, at that age, we are still quite juvenile with urges that are very hard to contain. We only hope to be mature enough close around the beginning of our second century since birth," he chuckled, eying the rest of the seemingly busy guests, "It is hard to explain. My apologies, I am not the most competent when it comes to describing my emotions accurately,"

"No, I believe I understand the meaning behind it," while still looking down at her twiddling fingers, Arabella found the confidence to voice her thoughts, "On average, our lifetime stretches to a decade or two below one hundred years, with only a few managing to complete a century. It is most natural for a human to reach the age of maturity much sooner than a vampire whose lifespan expands over millenniums," she’d launched into explanations Lord Edward couldn’t help but heed with utmost attention, "There are other creatures who can only afford to live for less than three decades and therefore reach maturity even quicker than humans do. Creatures such as fairies if I read correctly," Arabella pressed down her own hand with her thumb around the end of her sentence, convinced she’d blabbered on for far too long.