Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 62: The odd one out

The silence that dominated the map room after that only lasted seconds, but it whistled in Arabella's ears, making the air around thicker on her lungs.

"Is that so?" the second Lady spoke, this one did not have her hair loose but styled in a manner that showcased its great volume, "What position does she occupy?" the same Lady continued, though seeing the expression on Silas she quickly but calmly added, "Pardon my curiosity, it is simply that you've never allowed a human to attend any of our audiences, besides the Lords that travel from Lustris for business purposes, that is,"

"She has joined our ranks very recently and due to her advanced education and knowledge of history the Lady of the house thought it'd be a waste of her talents to keep her as a mere maid," Silas elaborated.

"It'd be a great shame indeed," a Lord had spoken up, clutching his cane a little tighter.

The detail was noticeable to all but mentioned by none. Instead, they moved on with their conversation.

"According to your letter, there have been several tunnels that our troops missed after the war," purple eyed, the Lord's gaze traveled all over the maps before resting on Arabella, "Do I understand from this that this young Lady is the one that has brought the information to you,"

"She is indeed,"

All the while Arabella never managed to maintain eye contact with any of them. The second she'd locked eyes with one, her own would flee the confrontation.

The same Lord then turned to completely face Arabella before bowing, "Lord Edward of the house Foy. I am delighted to meet you, young Lady,"

In reply, and with a blushing face, Arabella curtsied, "The pleasure is mine, my Lord," with a meek little voice she had uttered.

Lord Edward had been the only one to formally introduce himself, the others turned to the maps flaunted across the desk they'd surrounded and spoke of nothing else but that.

"Let us then proceed," the first Lord that had broken the muteness upon entering the room found his words again, "How many of these tunnels have we missed since the end of the war?" he questioned.

"With the help of Arabella, we are still counting," Silas started, "However, the ones that have been identified are noted on these maps. The issue with them remains to spot them out in the field as it appears, the enemy had resorted to witchcraft in order to conceal them,"

"Humans...," the Lady with the long and loose hair sighed. When her eyes snapped onto Arabella, her expression changed a tad, softening, "I don't mean to offend you, of course," she smiled faintly, "Humans have sworn off and denounced magic of all kinds. Anything that was not them they demonized and yet... Here we are,"

"No offense taken, my Lady," Arabella tried but only forced a feeble smile out.

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"Athanasia. I stand as the head of house Orpheus," the grin on the Lady's features grew stronger.

"It is a joy to make your acquaintance, my Lady," Arabella bowed again.

"All the same for me, dear," the vampire smiled, but then asked, "Will you be joining us on the field?"

Struggling to grasp the meaning of it, Arabella pondered the inquiry for a second before turning towards Silas for the answer.

"That remains to be decided. We shall need the assistance of a human to pinpoint the location of the tunnels with exactitude," he said.

Arabella watched and listened as the six of them discussed the matter in full detail in front of her, finding no issue with her attendance.

It bred such an odd feeling within her as never in a million years could she ever have predicted she'd be standing in that position.

A maid is what the young woman believed would be her fate. It was strange for her to think that any other end would have been acceptable if it meant being free from the prince and her... Own father.

Hard to comprehend that a mere week prior... Death seemed more merciful than the life she left behind in Lustris.

"So?"

The voice came and wrenched her out of her daze.

"Forgive me! Yes?" Arabella snapped out of it.

"Will we be seeing you at the ball? Is what I asked," Lady Athanasia quizzed.

"Oh! Yes. I shall be present," in a calmer tone, Arabella replied, eyes down, but not really focused on the maps.

"How lovely!" it was an exclamation; however, the monotone intonation the Lord had adopted left the young woman perplexed.

She followed their figures as they exited the room, accompanied by Silas who then shut the door behind them, leaving the task of escorting them out to one of the servants.

"Time does fly. The day has gone by without me paying attention," he said upon returning near the desk.

Indeed, the sun had already sunken behind the furthest hills, allowing the sky to don its usual dark coat, no hint of agitation on that night as all seemed calm.

"Is something the matter?"

Arabella had given him no answer and thus aroused his curiosity. She stared blankly at the maps still, a vacuous look on her.

"No, no. Nothing is the matter," she shook her head no, slowly.

A knock landed on the door only a few minutes after that for Katherine to peek through once Silas had granted her the permission to enter.

"Master," she curtsied, throwing a glance at Arabella, "Madame Morgana has arrived and awaits you in the lounge room,"

"That is just perfect then," he said.