Chapter 352: A small world
"What is happening here? What is it Cassandra? Your heart is racing in your chest?" Allegra approached then stopped right between them.
Lauden wasn’t well acquainted with Allegra, but knew of her. As one of the youngest vampire entertainers to join Persephone’s roster, she was quite the popular character.
He did his very best to repost a beam across his features despite the sinking feeling among his guts.
"Yes, yes!" Cassandra nodded, but the smile that tugged at her cheek looked most strained, "Nothing wrong happened, I am simply a bit shy around strangers, that is all,"
Although, by then, Allegra already paid little attention to Cassandra and instead stared Lauden straight in the eyes, her demeanor utterly shut.
"My apologies, I didn’t mean to scare or stress anyone," he made a slight bow before the women, "I am simply a curious soul,"
"Oh, no, no, no! Please, don’t apologise. I-"
"What were you curious about?" Allegra did not even wait for the maid to finish her sentence.
"Oh...,"
"Nothing important, really," he offered a tame chuckle, "I thought I saw this beautiful young woman before and believed it wouldn’t hurt to ask," again, he bowed, his features flashing his most charming smile yet.
But while Cassandra seemed to have fallen for it, seeing the red around her cheeks, Allegra looked completely immune.
There wasn’t a sliver of ease on her. In fact, even the rest of her body appeared as tense and rigid as her facial features.
"You may take your leave, Cassandra," she declared without a glance towards the maid.
"Yes, miss Allegra,"
Without a word of complaint, Cassandra scampered out of that hallway, clutching at the sides of her dress for better mobility.
"How rude of me!" Lauden broke the stifling silence between them, "Please, pardon my insolence, I am Lauden and I serve Lord-"
"Lord Dragomir," she finished his sentence in the driest of tones, "I know,"
"Right! If I recall correctly, you are an entertainer and thus must already be acquainted with the Lord,"
A stinging sensation began to spread throughout Lauden’s insides. None of his tricks were working on Allegra.
The tension between them was thick as an impenetrable wall, sucking his organs out of every ounce of patience they owned.
Finding out about Edna’s death like that was low enough of a blow but having to deal with that wench on top of that added a new layer on his back.
"Lady Arabella insisted that all staff members, of both day and night time, attend her wedding ceremony. That was why a maid such as Cassandra sat among the guests. Did it bother you in any way to sit with the help?"
"No, of course not!" he immediately leaped to the answer, "Again, I was simply curious and thought there’d be no harm in asking," he chuckled awkwardly.
"No, indeed, there is no harm in that," finally her stance cracked a little as her shoulders slumped a tad.
If there was no harm, then why was she up his rectum about it?
At that moment, Lauden wished for nothing but to jump at her throat and sever her head off her body for good measure.
"It is I who should apologize to you," she sighed, "I’ve been on the edge lately due to unforeseen circumstances, but you stand here as a guest and I am overstepping," she curtsied and refused to meet his gaze.
Lauden was almost completely sure what those unforeseen circumstances entailed, but kept his peace. Throwing a lit match onto oil was hardly ever a smart idea.
"No, I understand," he nodded, "Please don’t be too hard on yourself,"
Allegra did not feed that exchange any longer and instead excused herself before walking past him.
His eyes followed along, but although that action wasn’t deliberate on his part, Lauden couldn’t help but notice a very interesting detail.
Since her hair had been gathered up into a bun, the back of her neck remained exposed to air around it as well as the eyes.
Right there, where her spine connected to her head, on her skin lived a mark, large enough to be noticeable.
It had a mix of pinkish and brownish pigment that faded around the edge to blend with the rest of her body.
His heart skipped a beat, but he held his breath. Perhaps it was nothing but a coincidence. Perhaps the world was a lot bigger than it seemed but... Perhaps it was the opposite. Could their world have been that small after all?
Lauden had seen a birth mark very similar to that one before that day. In fact, he had the chance to see it almost every day.
The vampire lingered in that hallway for a few seconds before heading back to the ballroom where music continued to blare. Not that he cared for artistry.
His feet led him back to his Lord’s table. There was no refreshing sight as Reubon still sulked in his chair, eyes glued to his daughter who had yet to leave the dance floor or... Her husband’s arms for that matter.
On the contrary, the two of them had gotten even closer to each other to share a passionate kiss.
Strangely, the image blurred around the edges, eclipsing the background as well as the noise with it.
A dull ache spread through his veins and it took its sweet time to make a full round.
It was as if every second spent admiring them deepened its intensity...
When their lips finally broke apart, Arabella had such a bright smile on but for some reason, for the shortest of spans, Edna’s face flashed behind his eyes.
The two women looked nothing alike and yet, he couldn’t help but see her smile... Those ocean blue eyes that would have shone so much brighter without that curse he’d cast upon her.
It was all their fault, wasn’t it? All of it!
They got to stand there, dance and fondle one another before an audience whereas Edna kept the worms company...