Stained By Sin

SIXTEEN

Elara woke up to the deafening quiet of the room. Normally, no matter how sound she slept -- and she did sleep soundly -- her sharp hearing could pick up the sound from at least some good meters away. But this time, it felt like she was alone in this wing of the mansion, with how quiet it was.

Elara sat up, and realized her cheeks were still wet with tears. It was a dreamless sleep, but apparently, that wasn’t enough to stop her from crying.

She mentally cursed herself. How come she became this weak? Wasn’t she supposed to be strong? Unfeeling and unemotional? But lately, it felt like all she did was cry and let her heart be swayed by either anger or loneliness.

She took a deep breath and composed herself. Now, that weakness would stop. She had finally let the very last tear in her system. And she wasn’t even lying to herself. Nero didn’t clarify what on earth he was talking about before, but just the fact that she finally managed to tell him what she wanted to say eased a whole lot of weight in her chest. And having to face this place where she saw Cairo get murdered was another feat that had made her feel lighter.

The pain, longing, and regret that she wasn’t there to help both her brothers was still with her, but it was definitely lessened. It wasn’t as crippling as before, that she had to lock it away in the very depths of her heart and mind, else, she would lose it, like she did back with Jaiden and with Nero. Her anger, as well. Of course, she was still angry with Nero. She wasn’t an angel. There was no way she could forgive him, no matter what he said. He killed not only her blood family, but her clan as well. She would always despise him, no matter what. But she also realized now that most of her anger was not really towards him. It was for herself, which would be reflected to Nero. Elara felt like she failed her brothers for not being there with them while the attack was happening. For her, it felt like she also killed them.

But now that she had faced this place once again, she felt comforted. She wasn’t a religious person. Hell, no. She’s a vampire after all. But for some reason, being here in this room, it felt like Cairo and Xian was also here with her, silently telling her that it wasn’t her fault. That it was okay now. The sleep she just had was actually the most comfortable she had ever slept since the moment she left this mansion twenty years ago. She wasn’t even that comfortable when she slept in her own room. And for her, it felt like that was Cairo’s and Xian’s doing. It was their love finally assuring her that she could sleep. That she could forgive herself.

A single tear escaped her eye as she pondered on all this. But it was a tear of happiness. Of relief.

Elara smiled a bit, feeling lighter than ever, and slowly walked towards where the window was. It was covered by heavy drapes, blocking out the sunlight entirely, if it was still morning outside.

Reaching out, she carefully pulled the curtains on the side as she she hide behind the drapes that was still covering the window. She wasn’t sure if she was already expecting it to be night, but she wasn’t really surprised when she saw that the sun was no longer up.

Stepping out of the curtains, Elara fully opened the drapes and stared out the window. It was overlooking the vast forest, directly facing the bright moon above. The stars were like a thousand jewels adorning the sky, glittering proudly in their spots. Elara took her time to look at them, enjoying the feel of the wind against her skin. It had been a long time since she last did this. It was one of her hobbies… stargazing. But really, it wasn’t something you could do when you were leading a clan of savage vampires. She always had to appear strong. Dependable.

Only Aki knew that she loved doing this, but even then, she didn’t do it. He was still a part of her clan. One of the vampires she was leading. She didn’t want him to see all of her vulnerabilities. She didn’t want him to lose his faith on her leading capabilities. For Elara, she felt like she had to appear strong all the time.

As she inhaled and exhaled the cold, fresh air, a tinge of familiar scent registered in her brain. Searching for the source of the scent, she spotted the Ivory princess, Ava, walking on the mansion’s grounds. She was alone, and was limping.

Elara observed, waiting for what she would do.

As Ava walked at the mansion’s backyard, she kept on throwing glances behind her back, as if making sure that no one was following her. Then, once she was confident enough that she was alone, she brought out a handkerchief from behind the folds of her dress. She bit down on it as she suddenly crumpled on the floor.

She was obviously in pain, but she was desperately trying to hide it. The cloth in her mouth was muffling the sound of her cries, but it wasn’t enough. Since Elara knew what to listen for, she could hear the silent sobs escaping her lips. She could also see her writhing on the ground as she tried to keep the pain under control.

It went on for a couple of minutes before she started to calm down again.

When Ava removed the handkerchief that was in her mouth, she was panting, hard. She pulled out a new handkerchief and started to wipe the sweat from her forehead and neck.

She cautiously looked around her again, before hastily making her escape.

All the while, Elara stood behind the window, watching it happen. Her first instinct was to jump out and help her. However, she had to remember that she was the reason Ava was experiencing that pain. It was only less than a week since they abducted Jaiden, and she was already in that much pain.

Guilt started to make its way in her heart but she squashed it. That girl deserved it. She was an Ivory after all.

Repeating the mantra in her mind, she stepped away from the window and left Cairo’s room.