CHAPTER 490: TOO QUIET

Lake Vaelmere stood as the greatest body of water in all of Solis Aevum. So big, in fact, that it could only be entirely crossed by large sailing ships. Vampires and wolf folk needn’t a vehicle of course, but that still stood as a testament at how huge it really was.

Satiated by the many mountain river streams that funneled molten ice right onto its bed, but the northern ocean chipped in by a lot, earning the lake its peculiar smell as well as taste which teetered the line between saltier on some days and then a tad sweeter on others.

It also lived as the only lake that performed the ebbing and flowing observed in oceans. On that night in particular, they were small and quiet as though giving space for Arabella’s cries to rise.

Even the wind only murmured softly in her ears as she knelt by the shore, screaming at her husband to return.

Her voice grew hoarse from the repeated pleading that yielded no result, but that mattered very little to her because she deserved that pain, those sizzling hooks that clawed their way up her throat, threatening to draw blood.

She deserved it all. It was all spiraling to the ground by hers and nobody else’s fault. Was there anything that Arabella touched in her life that did not whither or fall apart?

If things had been strained before, they were certainly about to turn harrowing for her but mostly everyone she’s ever cared about since birth; her brother, her husband, her friends... Everyone.

There was no reeling the tears back in, as useless as they were in her predicament, so, the young woman allowed them to flow as her eyes lost their sharpness before the moon above.

Her neck hurt, but of course, she did nothing about it and instead kept it craned up, facing the sky.

Her lungs finally begged for mercy, forcing the screaming and crying to stop in order to focus on breathing alone. Although even that turned out to be too complicated of a task.

Arabella was no stranger to isolation as she spent years and years with it as a miserable companion, but along those years, behind closed doors, beyond the walls, there were always voices, human voices. Gossip, lecturing, arguing, berating, complimenting, crying... There was always the comfort of knowing the distance between her and the nearest person was quite short.

On the island, however, it was a different story. Multiple miles stood between her and civilization.

Yes, the wind hummed soothingly. Yes, the waves whispered as the moon stared down at her judgingly but... She was all alone out there. No one could hear her scream, cry, laugh... Nothing at all.

That thought alone was terrifying and the deeper in it sank, the colder her core turned.

Part of her hoped against all hope that a ship will sail nearby and spot her but another piece of her, the more pessimistic side, continued to murmur one devastating outcome after the other, preparing her for the absolute worst.

No hunger struck, but the clean water in the cellar beckoned her to reach for it as her throat was still on fire from all of that screaming cutting and scratching at her vocal cords.

To the cellar she went, ambling the house from one room to another, one hallway to the next with empty eyes, no might, no resolve as if completely lost somewhere far away from that realm to even acknowledge the world around herself.

Her motions had purpose but her eyes kept staring aimlessly into the void as her hands worked to pull the full bucket out of the well in the cellar.

The scariest thing to behold yet was her dejected reflection... Arabella quickly dipped her hands into the bucket to shake the clear surface of the liquid with ripples.

A splash and then a second before a third, she made sure to wash the tears away.

The crackling of worn wood as well as nature banded together to sing a saddening melody. One that would have been soothing under different circumstances.

No other sound broke that stifling harmony until she cupped her hands together in order to raise some water towards her lips.

That was when a sudden shift arose, starting with a strong breeze that blew in the direction of the house, grumbling and rumbling on the way, but the walls barely swayed to what sounded like a strong gust.

Instead, silence returned for a few seconds before the familiar creaking of the front door resonated throughout the entire construction. All of that was followed by cautious footsteps making the floorboards wince.

Without any thinking on her part, Arabella ran out of the cellar, hitting the bucket of water, sending it tumbling back to the bottom of the well on her way.

The frail stares leading out of the basement begged her to ease up on the stomping, but she cared very little for anything in that moment.

"Silas!" tears pushed through the corners of her eyes once more.

All of the energy, all of the urgency left her body upon laying eyes on the visitors.

In front of her stood two figures and neither of them was Silas.

"Allegra?!" trembles coursed Arabella’s body in her spot.

"She insisted on coming here despite her condition," Cynric’s deep voice reached and filled every little crevice under that roof.

"You found her...," the half question was directed at the alpha; however, Arabella’s eyes remained strictly on Allegra as she ever so slowly stepped in her direction.

"She was being held up in one of the underground prisons you indicated in your last message. I was separate from everyone else when I received it and I happened to be right on top of the entrance of one of them. Talk about a coincidence, ey?"

What a coincidence indeed...

Allegra looked like she had been put through the wringer. No part of her seemed to have been spared as she still needed Cynric’s support just to stand on her feet.

"Why are you here? You need to see a doctor!" as though snapping out of a daze, Arabella rushed to her side, cupping the vampiress’ cheeks while standing on her tiptoes to reach higher.

"You’ve always been too kind for your own good," Allegra gave her the meekest of smiles.