"Duckie wait! Don't run!" Arabella called out while holding carrots which she was feeding to her beloved pet when it suddenly became alert and went off close to the gate.
The next days had been the usual normal for Arabella and her sisters, Ariadne indeed returned to her usual grumpy self and dodged Holly's excessive affectionate gestures while Alanis would be found buried behind stacks of books again in the library. Arabella wanted to ask Ariadne over breakfast how she felt or where she had been with the guy named Jared but she held back for fear of bringing tension their parents always said, that they should not talk about these kinds of topics and only focus on their interests, hobby and being happy.
Arabella almost tripped over and her deep train of thoughts finally came to a halt, she stopped for a second to catch her breath. "Duckie...you meanie, wait for me" Her beloved pet was already far from her.
That morning she decided to chill in the garden, placing a large checkered picnic mat and bringing some light snacks with her; Evangeline was also there, twirling and reveling in how she blended beautifully with the wildflowers and flurrying butterflies. Her youngest sister was in a flowy yellow dress, a comfortable one that she could move in easily partnered with a sun hat.
Duckie kept on quacking, pointing its head ahead toward the fortified wall, and then it flapped its white wings.
"Duckie? Are you trying to show me something?" Arabella straightened up, her interpretation of her pet's gestures was it was trying to point at the wall, wanting her to look at it. "Okay I am coming over"
The white duck waited until Arabella approached closer and trailed behind her as she went to check the wall, squinting her forest-green eyes. At one point before, she did notice the elaborate details carved on the towering walls surrounding their home.
Arabella jolted her head back a bit, "Whoa!" When she stared longer than usual, there was a flickering translucent sheen above the wall that wasn't obvious because it appeared to be thinner than a silk fabric if she compared it with something. As it kept on flickering every second. Scrutinizing it further, Arabella saw the strange symbols on the translucent thing.
Hang on, was this present in the entire wall itself? She stepped back. The fortified wall was not only towering in height but also its length, it took a huge portion of where it was built.
"Those symbols, I've seen it in one of Alanee's books...Maybe she would know what it meant" She bent over to pick up her pet, "Let us go Duckie, I need to satisfy my curiosity"
"Hey, Arabee, why are you leaving me out here?" Evangeline called out to her sister who was hurrying back inside the mansion. She stopped twirling and dancing, taking her hat off.
Arabella waved without looking back, "I'll return for a second, Evie!"
"Don't keep me waiting, I will still teach you more new hairstyles and how to put flowers in your hair without it being taken off!" Evangeline puffed her cheeks, hands on her waist. "Sheesh, what got her in a hurry now? We are supposed to relax today for not having another study session–" She stopped in midsentence and froze. Her lilac eyes were directed above the wall, seeing a slouching blurry figure there like a bird of prey.
Huh? She rubbed her eyes and blinked rapidly, the figure above the wall was gone.
-*-
Ariadne was brooding, this was not an uncommon mood though she was always in this state and bored whenever Holly pulled her into doing activities the latter referred to as fun. By that, it meant being in the kitchen and...creating bath bombs.
"Look, I plan to sell these roses and lavender-scented bath bombs, this will be perfect for those who want to have relaxing baths in their tubs after a long day of being at work." Holly proudly showed off the recently made bath bombs shaped like a rosebud it was a mix color of shimmering lilac and pastel pink. Then she set it aside and moved onto the marble counter by the sink. "Or strawberry shortcakes! A perfect partner with tea in the afternoon or even midnight!"
The third sister mentally palmed her face, they were in the kitchen, yes and both had aprons over their dresses/ On one side were ingredients for bath bomb making, and on the left were for baking pastries. "Holly, what the heck? What if you accidentally use a powder from your bath bombs in the pastries?" Oh gosh.
Holly poked her sister's cheek, "Silly Aribaby, I wouldn't, I make sure both are into far sides so they wouldn't mix"
Alanis came in, holding a book with one hand and there was a bookmark slipped between the pages. "Do we have any red iced tea for me to drink? Kinda thirsty and my stomach is looking for some snacks before lunchtime"
"Perfect timing, I just baked some shortcakes, you can have some, fresh from the oven!" The eldest sister brought one piece in a small platter to Alanis.
Ariadne rolled her eyes at them, she was so bored at this. How did she always get rope in this kind of stuff? If only she could find a way to use her crossbow again or something. She could go outside but then Evangeline might pull her for another dress-up. Sometimes her sisters were annoying in her eyes.
"There you are!" Arabella came, panting heavily, obvious that she sped up to get there. She placed Duckie down on the floor and stood next to Alanis. "Alanee question...do you know anything about flickering symbols? Translucent barriers?"
Alanis took a bite from the strawberry shortcake, "I do, I finished reading the book about that..." She looked up at the ceiling, digging into her stock knowledge about it.
"Is there one particular that says something about flickering thin barriers with rotating spiral symbols?" Arabella snatched the shortcake from her sister's hand, taking a bite.
The short-haired second sister didn't look bothered by this and carried on with thinking, then she nodded. "Yes, a barrier that looks like a thin white curtain?" She continued after Arabella gave affirmation. "A protection type of magic, it may appear thin but it's powerful, it is meant not to be seen so the hostile creature will not be able to detect it."
"A protection type of magic?" Arabella tilted her head.
"Yes, white witches and mages of high ranking have the capabilities of creating such a thing, this magic can hide someone's scent or warp it so any hostile beings will fail in sensing them" Alanis explained further.
After her sister's explanation, Arabella furrowed her eyebrows and looked away–if she would piece it together, the unseen barrier covering the fortified walls was hiding everyone's scents within but why and what for?
-*-
The sleazy dark shop had been ransacked, in the daylight, it exposed the interior, black leatherette furniture, and tables imprinted with all shady acts that occurred at night both consented by humans and vampires or on rare occasions, foreign beings too.
Jared lay with a bruised purpling face and bloodied nose on a broken table, the other occupants of said shop were either unconscious or no longer breathing, scattered everywhere on the floor.
Jonathan Harker stood with an intimidating build, looking down purposely on the beaten Slayer. His blue eyes glinted sharply like razor blades slicing through Jared. "I will have you on the blacklist, you will be forever offline from being a Slayer and drown at the bottom chain" He was with Ivo Rino along with other Slayers working for him.
The beaten man tried lifting his head off the broken table, "You are so full of yourself, aren't you? Lord Harker?" He spat out and the way he addressed Jonathan was dripping with sarcasm.
YOU ARE READING
NOT THAT YOU'LL EVER GO HOME AGAIN ✔️
Vampire[old ver/will undergo 2nd revision!] The Harker Sisters lived in a safe space within their mansion's walls. A paradise of its own, they didn't have to ask for more. They are the richest human household in the northern part of the Vampire Country, wh...
