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IT HAD BEEN months since the convent incident. When she arrived back at the castle, she stayed up all night waiting for Dracula, yet he never returned. With a heavy heart, Arabella came to the conclusion that she had overstayed her welcome. She packed her bags and summoned the driver.
The driver that drove her and Johnathan to Dracula all those months ago had dropped her off at the same place that he had picked her up from. She stood waiting for the next carriage to drive to her until it finally arrived. She hopped in, resting her temple against the cool tinted glass of her window.
The same small Romanian girl sat before her, resting timidly in the seat opposite her. She seemed hesitant to talk but she went against her shyness and spoke up. "How did you do it?"
Arabella lazily raised her head, looking across from her with a tired look. "Pardon?"
"How did you escape?" The Romanian girl urged, her eyes wide from worry, fear and curiosity.
Arabella's lips quirked up slightly before she turned her head to lean her forehead back on the glass window. A chuckled soon slipped from her lips.
"I didn't."
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Arabella ended up in Varna, Bulgaria. She found a nice abandoned cottage to stay in before she travelled again. She had tried to book a place on a ship travelling to England, but the captain said it was a private cruise. But, of course, when Arabella wants something, she always gets it. So when she wanted a place on the ship, she simply clicked her fingers and she got one.
The day of her trip came around. She wore an elegant emerald green gown, embroidered blossoms were scattered across the bodice and fell down the sides of the skirt. Half of Arabella's black hair was thrown up in a high bun, the bottom half was left down, the long tresses scattering across her back and shoulders. A small green lace umbrella rested open against her shoulder, shielding the dim sunlight from her face.
She planted her feet on the unsteady board leading from the dock to the ship. One hand griped her skirt to lift it an inch above the ground so she wouldn't trip, her other remaining around the handle of her umbrella. She stepped on the main deck, cranking her neck to look around the dull atmosphere.
She felt several pairs of eyes land on her. With a mischievous smile, she tilted her head towards the director of the sailors. She saw three young, broad-shouldered men all staring at her. She waved her fingers seductively at them and winked, before turning around at walking to the captain.
"Ah! Captain Yuri!" Arabella exclaimed in Russian as she approached the older man and two sailors. "Thank you again for having me."
