Chapter 349: The first dance
Lord and Lady they’d become, standing before the roaring ovation that blared through the hall.
But since Persephone seemed to not be done with her speech, the quiet returned a few seconds after the wave of applause had started to die down.
"The previous gift was from me and your father," her eyes were strictly on Silas, "But this one comes directly from your late paternal grandmother," Persephone pulled the second sheet of paper sitting on the stack, "Again, from tonight onwards, isle of Vaelana has rightfully been passed down to the heir as the Eleazar family tradition has wanted it for centuries now,"
Yet another storm of heartfelt cheers erupted only to then simmer for Persephone’s words to continue, "Speaking of family tradition, through many generations, the Kyran family has had its own to pass down," she took a deep breath, "As a woman born into the Kyran bloodline, I am to bequeath to my daughters what I’ve inherited from my mother, but as life wanted it, I was blessed with only one son," by then, her void-like eyes were soldered on Arabella, "Since you’ve entered our family, you have now become my only daughter,"
The third sheet of paper from the stack rose with Persephone’s hand, followed by the hundreds of eyes tracking it.
"To Arabella Eleazar, I bestow the diamond mine bequeathed by my mother and her mother before that,"
That entire time, the blood around Arabella’s cheeks simply refused to return to its natural flow around her body.
Instead, it seemed hellbent on embarrassing her by betraying her feelings. Her teary eyes did not help with it at all.
The only thing that kept her from floating away was Silas’ warm hand around hers, maintaining her on the ground by his side.
Although, the biggest part of her brain still screamed at the words that traveled to her ears. A Lady! Her? And officially? How could that be? Did she even deserve such kindness? Such love? Such... Trust?
Up until a few years before that night, there was someone in her life that made her feel like she deserved all of those things, but after their departure... Those feelings grew distant, running ahead and leaving her behind.
Eleanor Burchard, her mother, would have been proud of her, wouldn’t she? At how far she’d walked from her previous life... Even though it still stared her right in the face at that moment in the form of Reubon Sterling.
The man continued to sulk which made him stand out like a sore thumb among the cheery crowd.
Even Dragomir and his right-hand man clapped along with the rest, yet he couldn’t muster that for her sake.
Then again, he never did a thing for anyone else’s sake other than his own, did he?
At least, Arabella had never witnessed him do that.
"There is more, of course, but I believe," Persephone chuckled, "I’ve hogged the light for way too long already. Ladies and gentlemen, let us free the floor for our first dance tonight,"
The officiant walked around them and handed their marriage certificate to Persephone, who gave the couple a subtle nod before turning to follow the rest of the guests towards the tables.
Silas stepped down from the altar first, giving Arabella the time to follow at her own pace.
As soon as both of her feet landed on the marble flooring, the altar behind her vanished in the same fashion the stands did moments earlier.
From the very edges of the hall, the light began dimming, shrouding all of the audience in darkness.
Only the chandelier at the centre of the room held its gleam, casting it right down the newlyweds.
Silas had guided his wife with him to the heart of the dance floor, never once having the need to tug at her arm.
Arabella had trailed along of her own free will without the slightest hint of resistance.
When he finally turned around to face, her gemstones were ready to lock onto his diamonds from the first second.
And when his hands went on her hips, tingles sparked around that area before spreading across her entire body like the thinnest of powders.
However, aside from a deep breath, she showed no other reaction. There was no shudder or jolt which pleased Silas immensely.
The vampire fought with all of his might to reel the smile that tried to overtake his features and it was apparent.
Noting the feeble little twitches riddling his face, Arabella couldn’t help but beam as her hands slowly rose, brushing up from his abdomen area only to end their journey on his chest.
As their gazes remained intertwined, gentle little taps were heard in the distance, coming from the darkened coroner that harbored the music orchestra.
Very shortly after that, the instruments sang their first notes since the end of the ceremony. For a very tame melody they went. One that married the bouquet of calming, floral aromas that drifted along the air in the room.
Silas led their dance, and she followed, their steps synchronized as though they were one and the same.
Their bodies exchanged warmth without any words being lost in translation between them as they spoke the same language.
Odd wasn’t the right adjective to describe her feeling about it, but Arabella thought back to the first and last time she’d performed an Umbrarian dance.
It was in Sebastian’s arms which turned out to be one of her least favorite moments under the Eleazar roof.
Since everyone around insisted on them not seeing each other before the ceremony, the couple hadn’t gotten to practice their dance, and yet Arabella’s movements flowed quite naturally with Silas’ lead.
Her heart fluttered, but not with fear. Her stomach bustled with butterflies as her gemstones bore into her husband’s.
From him wafted a piny, woody smell. A scent he never managed to rinse off of himself no matter how many times he washed.
It simply clung to his skin like the curvatures he carved onto those surfaces he handled with such care and passion.