Under the vampire Lord's protection
Chapter 220: Her choice, her life

Chapter 220: Her choice, her life

For a good moment, Arabella did nothing but gape at Remus’ busy figure as his clawed fingers sank deeper into the ever shrinking piece of meat between his little hands.

It only took him a few more seconds to ravage the rest of it.

"Are you full yet or would you like more?" in the sweetest of voices she had asked.

Seated on the ground, his bright, blue eyes rose back towards her and remained that way until his growling stomach answered the question instead.

"I see," she chuckled, "I’ll ask for more meat then and some water as well. I am sure you are thirsty,"

"Can you...." Remus had started but quickly simmered down, the spark that imbued him with the confidence to speak fading rapidly.

"Yes?" she gave him a verbal nudge.

The boy cleared his throat, "Would you ask them to cook it?" very sheepishly he’d voiced his question.

In response, a giggle escaped her first, "Of course," she nodded.

Silence fell between them. It was a very brief moment during which the chill making its rounds throughout the dungeon wrenched shivers out of Arabella. There were no windows and yet a draught existed, one that rattled the chains designed to ensnare whatever unfortunate soul landed in those cells, deservedly or otherwise.

"Father says the mark takes people’s worries away and it makes them the happiest,"

It was clear Remus hadn’t given up on selling the virtues of their ways, null doubt in a last-ditch effort to convince the young woman to join them.

Although, all his words did was weaken the beam decorating her face. It dimmed gradually as her eyes fell on the fluffy tail that wagged behind his back from left to right.

"May I ask you a question, Rem?"

He merely nodded profusely.

"None of the other wolf folk I met had a tail in their human form, at least not the adult ones. Why do you have one?"

Arabella watched as the color around his cheeks shifted right before her eyes, deepening by the second.

The boy instantly broke eye contact, bringing his gaze downwards where he started playing with his own fingers, "It’s... Because I...," he mumbled.

"I can’t hear you," she knelt down again.

"It’s because it hurts," he grumbled. through his puffed cheeks.

"Does it hurt to shift?"

Once again, the boy nodded vehemently.

The answer was not evident per se, but Arabella had the strong inkling it would be something along those same lines.

"So, you tried to shift, only got the tail and then stopped because it was too painful," she half asked.

"Yes," he muttered.

"What does your father think of that?"

"He was... He still is very angry at me," he paused before continuing, "He says I should’ve been able to get used to it by now," somehow his head hung even lower.

"Tell me something, Rem," she started, "What if I told you I could take the pain away forever? What if I told you, you never have to feel that pain again, ever?"

His eyes widened and eyebrows rose up his forehead as he looked at her expectantly, "Really?"

"Yes!" she nodded, "Only, there is one condition to it,"

"Which one?" he practically leaped to his feet and ran to the bars separating them.

"You will never ever shift into a wolf for the rest of your life,"

The upwards curve around the corners of his mouth flipped upside down, but Arabella did not stop there, she pushed further, "You will have to live here in this manor with me, and you can never see your father again for as long as you live, but you won’t notice anyway because you will be happy,"

Teary eyed, his breathing grew increasingly hectic and shallower as his little body recoiled away from the bars, "No! Why? Please don’t do that to me!" he shook his head, "That is so cruel," he cried.

"Why would that be cruel? I just want you to be happy," she tilted her head, a pleading look on her.

"Because... Because I want to be a wolf! I don’t belong here, and I want to see my father again!" his features turned hard at those words, tone raising unsteadily.

Arabella plopped her entire weight to the ground, as though finally resting or letting go of something she’d been holding onto with her teeth. That serious look that had riddled her features vanished for the warmest of smiles to take its place.

"Exactly," she nodded slowly, "You do not belong here, just like I do not belong with your father. I fought so hard for my life to finally belong to me, so that I could dictate my own path and not be told how to live or what will make me happy. You are a wolf and if you so choose to then you should be able to shift. Nobody has the right to tell you how or when you should do it," she sighed, "I am happy here, Rem. I am not your mother. I can’t live with your father because I choose not to and I have the right to decide for myself, don’t you think?"

The twisted glare on him mellowed along with the rest of his stiffened muscles, "Yes, you do,"

"The mark does influence a human’s behavior but what if deep down they were screaming and crying to be set free? How cruel is that?"

Remus shivered in place, but Arabella knew the cold around them had no hand in it. Her words were responsible for it.

"I am sure I will still have to go through a lot of pain throughout the rest of my life, but I’d like the chance to face my hurdles head on. I’d like the possibility of choosing who stands by me and who to stand by. Do you understand me, Rem?" by then, she too had teary eyes.

"I do," he nodded.

"Good," she started, "But speaking of pain," Arabella sounded a little more upbeat, "Would you like to finally face your pain and make that tail disappear?"