CHAPTER 454: BEARABLE. BREATHABLE

"This one belonged to Asha," Persephone pushed a heavy sigh, "The first baby Emeric and I took in just a few years after our marriage. I held on to it even though Emeric only gave me the box after Silas’ birth,"

Arabella pondered, then picked her next words carefully, "Where is Asha now?"

"Married with a husband and a child of her own. She took after us and decided to adopt more unfortunate kids after the birth of her own," the vampiress dipped her hand into the box once more and took a specific pin out before holding it up at eye level, "This once, I am sure you can tell to whom it was pinned to," she chuckled lightly.

Indeed, as the only silver brooch in the bunch, Arabella could, in fact, tell whom it belonged to, "Silas," she stated.

Silver was one of, if not the most dangerous metal to be for vampires and most nightwalkers. So, pinning it to a newborn felt a little extreme... Although, in the end, she reached the conclusion that much like every trace of silver around the manor, that piece too was coated with protective measures to spare a baby.

In response, Persephone nodded slowly before moving on to yet another pin out of the rest, "And this one," she held it up as well, "Was Allegra’s"

There was a little tremble that riddled her voice upon pronouncing Allegra’s name.

"She was the last to be adopted after Grace and Katherine and...," she trailed off momentarily, "The three of them were the first I took in after the war and also the last. I suppose that is why they are closer to each other than the rest,"

Very slowly, making sure not to make any brisk movement, Arabella extended her hand towards the piece, "May I?"

Without any hesitation, Persephone placed it in the palm of the young woman’s hand but still gaped at it as though it held the answers to everything.

"It is such a beautiful piece," Arabella examined it from every angle, "Did you give them the pins yourself or did they come with them when you took them in?"

"I have never pinned a brooch on a baby that wasn’t mine. Their mothers had the decency to pin one on them before releasing them into my care, at the very least,"

Arabella noted that aside from Silas’ brooch, all the rest were simple in decoration and quite small compared to Allegra’s.

"Pardon me for asking such a question, but was Allegra’s mother wealthy?" the young woman continued to fiddle with it between her fingers.

"You’ve got a good eye on you," Persephone smiled at first, then returned to a grimmer demeanor, "No, the mother was not, but apparently the father was. He took care of her until she gave birth and then asked that they go their separate ways," after another sigh, Persephone added, "From what I understand, he wasn’t the kindest of men,"

The Lady took Allegra’s brooch back from Arabella as silence settled back between them. The young woman tossed and turned the matter in her mind, searching for the right terms in those circumstances.

But as it turned out, she didn’t have to since Persephone broke that quietness anyways.

"I am not good at this," she shook her head, eyes glued to the brooch but utterly empty.

"Not good at what?" Arabella squeaked.

"At losing people," her voice broke around the end.

"I don’t think I’ve ever known or met anyone that was good with that,"

Persephone placed the brooch back inside the box before shutting it, "Our kind, vampires... we, technically are mortals too, but we are also immune to so many things in this world. Our lives stretch with time so long that we forget that death is a debt claimer that spares no one in the end," she paused long enough to swallow her own saliva, "So far, I’ve been holding out hope that Allegra is still alive. That is the only reason I haven’t completely crumbled but it has already started,"

She stopped there but Arabella kept her tongue still in her mouth and waited for the rest to come.

"I see her in her sisters. I hear her voice when the silence falls, and I dream of her when the sun rises. I have never taken loss with grace,"

Who took the loss of life with grace? Arabella definitely did not.

"It happens every time," she carried on, "It was the reason I bid on Edgar the moment I saw him,"

That confession got a raised eyebrow out of Arabella.

"I stalked his every move in the first few months I had acquired the poor thing," she stared at the floor but also not really..., "What can I say? My coping methods aren’t the healthiest," a stale chuckle escaped.

After biting on her tongue for a moment, Arabella let the question out, "Why was it exactly you bid on Edgar?"

"Emeric," she said, "He reminds me so much of Emeric,"

"I’ve only seen portraits of Lord Emeric," Arabella looked down, "How did he carry himself? Does Silas take after him?"

At that, Persephone laughed from the heart, "Oh no! Not one bit," she shook her head, "Silas took a lot after me and as for Emeric well, there is a reason I see him in Edgar. His smile, his tone of voice, the way he stands when he has nothing to do,"

"You do not speak with Edgar very often, do you?" Arabella asked.

"I try not to," the Lady’s features hardened a tad.

"Why?"

"Because it isn’t fair to him. It isn’t fair for me to use him as a comfort toy. He is not Emeric and that will never change. He has decades to live, and he has the right to live them whichever way he pleases without any interference from me. I keep my distance so that when he is finally ready to leave... Nothing will hold him back,"

"Edgar will never leave," the words escaped her.

She’d spoken too hastily. It was too late to take it back; Persephone was already all ears.

So, Arabella went with it instead of trying to deny it, "Edgar will never leave you by choice. You will have to throw him out for that to happen," she smiled, "And even then, he would drag his feet,"

The silence that followed wasn’t the smothering kind like before. It wasn’t an easy one to listen to either but...

It was there. Bearable. Breathable.