Arabelle

chapter 6 - First Encounter

DERRICK’S POV

I could not believe my eyes, I was seeing Arabelle standing before me, nothing had changed, it was her but I could still swear she wasn’t here right now, I couldn’t understand anything at this moment, she was looking at me like she couldn’t recognize me, I still wasn’t sure if I my mind was playing tricks on me or not, just to be sure if I wasn’t seeing things, I had to be sure I was not seeing things, if this was a figment of my imagination, then my mind was being really cruel to me making me see Arabelle looking like I saw her now, she looked like I always wanted to see her, her hair cascading down her back like a flowing waterfall,

“Arabelle” I said, the word had left my lips even before I knew what was going on,

The moment the word left my lips, recognition dawned on her face, she looked at me very clearly and suddenly she was stepping back and looking like she felt dizzy, she held her head in her hands and screamed, I still couldn’t move, I just looked on with shock and bewilderment, I saw it happening but still I could not believe it,

Arabelle was before me right now, the woman I had killed with my own hands, the love of my life and my bride, she was standing before after 400 years.

Then suddenly she stopped screaming, she raised her head to look at me, her eyes, those eyes of blue fire, at this moment, I saw the fire burning in their depths,

“Richard” she said, she sounded breathless, I knew the pain she had felt just now, I had felt it when my memories had returned, she remembered everything that had happened 400 years ago, I couldn’t say a word, I just looked at her, not still believing what it was I was seeing even when I knew it was stupid not to,

A small smile curved her lips, it wasn’t the smile I knew as Arabelle’s, this one had an evil glint to it and I felt my heart break, Arabelle never smiled like this before, she smiled like an angel and I had done this to her, she suddenly looked evil and malicious and I knew I had no one but myself to blame,

“We meet again my love” she said, the evil smile still playing at the corners of her lips, I could hear the disdain with which those words were spoken, in her eyes, the blue flames were beginning to burn again, the air had picked up again, and her hair was blowing again, there was no doubt I was in danger but the first thought that came to my mind was the still same as 400 years ago, I hoped no one was close by because be it then or now, she will still be in danger, thankfully we were the only ones around and it was secluded from the main hall,

A gust of wind blew past me, I looked back at her, her eyes were completely glowing with blue fire now, her was flying in all directions and her face was twisted in a scowl, she moved toward me, her palms were suddenly glowing, I had never seen her like this before, she lifted her left hand and a light exploded from it, it was too quick for me to even get a chance to react, the light ball came crashing into my chest, I felt my body float for a moment before crashing into a nearby wall, pain engulfed my entire body, I groaned loudly, I had to stop Arabelle before someone heard the commotion and came to find out the cause of it,

With great difficulty, I stood up, my ribs felt like they were on fire,

“Aren’t you happy to see me my lord? You don’t look happy, I must say I am rather disappointed, it’s been 400 years and all you can do is look at me with shock” she said,

Her words were filled with scorn and disdain but reigning above them all, I felt anger and lots of it, when Arabelle was angry she lost all sense of reasoning, I had to do something very fast,

“Arabelle, please calm down, I beg you, if someone hears and comes this way, you will be in danger, I know you are angry but this not the place for this” I said, hoping I could calm her down but instead her eyes flashed and the glow grew brighter,

“Why do you think you have the right to say anything Richard, you speak of danger when the greatest danger I face stands before me right now, I died by your hands and you speak to me of danger, don’t be such a hypocrite Richard” Arabelle said,

She was suddenly looking tired, I was sure she must be exhausted, regaining her memories was already a great strain and she was using her powers as well, it was only a matter of time before she passed out, she swayed dangerously, my eyes darted to her palms, they were glowing again, this time, I was quick to react, I jumped out of the way, the light ball crashed into a wall and broke up into tiny light particles, I turned to look at Arabelle, she was clutching her head again and swaying like a drunk, the wind she had conjured up quieted down and the glow dimmed considerably and soon enough, it faded completely, her eyes lulled back into her head and she crumpled to floor, I rushed over to her, she had passed out, her hair was a mess and her skin was clammy like she had a fever or something, I brushed her hair from face, she looked tired even in her state of unconsciousness, I had no idea what to do now, I had no idea who she was now, I didn’t know where to take her or who to ask for, i couldn’t take her to my home, that will just be suicidal on my part, suddenly I heard a sound like the sound of a ringing phone, I looked around and saw a small purse lying a few feet away, I quickly rushed to it, I opened it and I saw a phone ringing inside, I pulled it out and saw the name “Mum” with two hearts emoticons in front of it, without thinking, I answered it, a woman’s voice came from the other end,

“Bella, honey where are you? You are taking forever” the woman said,

“Bella that her name now” I thought

“Are you there Bella?” The woman said again,

Clearing my throat, I said “I am sorry ma’am but Bella can’t talk right now, I was just passing by and I saw passed out on the floor close to the ladies room, I am not sure what’s wrong with her but I think she has a fever” my voice was surprisingly calm and levelled,

“Oh my God! My poor baby! Please stay exactly where you are, I am on my way, don’t leave her alone please” the woman said quickly, I could hear the sound of other people talking in the background and then the line went dead.

I exhaled deeply and walked back to where Arabelle was lying unconscious ,I sat on the floor close to her, I brushed her hair from her face slowly, her skin was still clammy and she was burning up, I took a handkerchief from my pocket and wiped the sweat from her forehead, I could not help looking at her face, just little had changed, she looked older than she was before and even more beautiful but other than that she was the same, never did I think I will ever again sit by her again but of course everything was different now, nothing was the same as it was then, I raised my hand to stroke her face but I stopped myself midway, I had no right,

I heard hurried footsteps coming from down the hall, I stood up quickly, two women came into view, one of them had tears streaming down her face, I figured this was Arabelle’s mother, she rushed over quickly to me, she was about to say something when her eyes fell on the unconscious figure of Arabelle lying on the floor, fresh tears ran down her cheeks, she rushed over to her daughter,

“Bella, what happened to you?” she said as she hugged Arabelle, the second woman was dressed in a white gown, she was on the phone talking to someone, after a few seconds, she rushed over to where I was standing,

“Thank you so much, thank you for staying with her, I am sorry for any inconveniences we might have caused you, we won’t waste anymore of your time, we will take it from here” The woman said to me,

I was about to say something when my phone rang, I took it out of my pocket, the screen was cracked now, I figured it happened when I crashed into the wall, it was Alfred calling, with a sigh, I answered the phone,

“Yes Alfred” I said,

“It’s almost time for speech, you have to get ready” he said,

I looked back to Arabelle who was cradled in her mother’s arms and for a moment I couldn’t leave but I knew I had no right to stay

 I exhaled and said “I will be there in five minutes” and ended the call,

I turned back to the woman in the white dress, “It was no problem at all, I am sorry I must leave now, my attention is needed elsewhere” I said,

“It’s okay, you have done enough, we are very grateful and we can handle the rest from here” she said,

I nodded and turned away, I got to the end of the hall then stopped, I turned back to look at Arabelle once again, then I walked away.

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BELLA’S POV

I woke with a throbbing pain in my head, I groaned and tried opening my eyes but I quickly closed them again when the light from the windows stabbed my eyes, I groaned again and kept my eyes closed, I didn’t particularly knew where I was but I was sure I wasn’t at home, I was someplace else,

“I think she is awake” I heard someone saying,

I wasn’t sure who was speaking to me, my head was fuzzy,

Someone held my hand, it felt warm and comforting, I tried opening my eyes again and once I was stopped by the light,

“Lig….ht” I managed to say,

“Please close the blinds, I think the light is bothering her” I heard someone say,

A few shuffling movements followed and then I felt the light in the room, slowly I opened my eyes, I blinked several times before my eyes adjusted to my surroundings, I saw mum looking down at me with worry etched in line on her face, she looked really stressed out, her eyes were moist and swollen, it looked like she had been crying for a while, she was smiling at me right now,

“Bella, honey can you hear me?” she said calmly and squeezed my hand,

I tried to tell her that I could hear her but my throat was dry and patched,

“Water” I managed to get out, my throat felt it had grains of sand stuck in it,

Someone placed a glass of water on my lips, I drank the liquid greedily, it felt like I hadn’t had a drink of water in many days,

When I emptied the last of the water, my surroundings got even clearer, I looked up to see who was holding the cup to my lips, I was met with familiar blue eyes and a warm smile,

“Hey Bella” Danny said, a warm smile on his handsome face,

I couldn’t help the smile that crept into my face “Danny” I said,

He dropped the cup on the drawer by my bed side then sat on a chair beside my bed,

“Missed me?” He said with a rakish smile playing at the corners of his lips,

I smiled, I had a lot of snarky remarks I could reply him with but right now, I didn’t have the strength for it,

“He flew back in 3 days ago when he heard you were sick” Mum said,

“What!!” I said quickly, sitting up with an energy I had no idea where it came from, it was an action I quickly regretted because felt like it was about to fall off my shoulders any moment from now, I grabbed my head when the pain stabbed  through my brain,

“You can’t move so fast yet honey, the doctor said you are still very weak, you suffered a major concussion and you are terribly dehydrated, you need complete bed rest for a while” Mum said and slowly led me back to my lying position,

It was when she said this I realized I was in a hospital ward, with a giant I.V bag running into my left hand,

“How did I get here?” I asked,

“You don’t remember honey, a nice young man found you unconscious in front of the ladies room, he was nice enough to wait by your side before I arrived with your aunt Marla, I was so glad he found you, heavens only what could have happened if it was some r****t or some other crazy fellow that found you” mum said, I could feel how much she was trembling from the hand with which she held mine,

The images slowly started to come back to me, I had remembered who I was, I was Arabelle Highwater and I was a witch, I felt my head spinning with a vengeance, still I kept remembering more and more, I was the daughter of Lord and Lady Highwater, the only child of my parents and a truly beloved child, then I remembered him, Lord Richard Blackwood, I had seen him in front of the ladies room and he knew who I was, but who was he now, I was Isabella Mavericks now, surely he was someone else as well, I had to find out,

Pain stabbed through my head again, I groaned, I tried to calm my mind and after a few moments the pain subsided till it was just a dull throbbing, I opened my eyes again, they met with mother’s worried ones, I managed a weak smile and said “You look like you haven’t slept in a while, you should get some rest mum, I feel much better now I promise you”

Before she could protest, Danny quickly said “She is right Aunt Melissa, you look very tired and besides I am right here with her, I won’t leave her side I promise”

Mum looked like she wasn’t convinced, I squeezed her hand and smiled,

Reluctantly, she nodded her head “Okay I will go home and get some sleep, I will be back later in the evening, please take care of her Danny” she said,

“I promise Aunt Melissa” Danny said

Mum stood up and placed a soft kiss on my temple “Take care Honey” she said

“You too Mum” I said,

She waved at Danny then walked out of the room,

Once she was gone, Danny sat by my bed side “So tell me what happened” he said

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you” I said,

He chuckled and said “Trust me, I just might”

Looking into his eyes, I knew I could trust him, I took a deep breath and proceeded to tell my best friend the story of my past life.