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[I]As promised, here is the latest chapter in my story. It is much longer than earlier chapter, and that is by design. You are likely going to find that much more is going to occur in each chapter. The earlier part of my story is being formatted in a similar way. I will try to update here when I finish my own file. I hope you enjoy it, and I would love any feedback that you can give.

Enjoy,
Meg[/I]

Chapter 10

Arabella sat, weeping, in her room. She had left Allarick’s chambers in the nick of time, and she had barely made it to her own rooms before the tears had started to fall. Once they started Arabella found it impossible to stop the tide of sorrow. She had not been lying when she spoke to Allarick. She felt entirely alien on this world. She was working with Philomina to learn to fit in, but her attitudes would always reflect those of her home. She was not able to view the subjugation of people as normal and necessary as it seemed the people here did. Even the people within the slave and laborer castes seemed accepting of their lot in life. Sure, they would be pleased to be granted the rights that Allarick was attempting to provide, but they saw his views as a kindness. They didn’t act as if they were entitled to have certain freedoms.

Arabella continued to weep for all that she had lost. She could not just call her Mamma up to check on the family. There was no walking down to Mary Lou’s to grab a brownie and some ice cream because she was down. No having Rissa pull her in for a hug and tell her that she needed to find some nice man to keep her home at night instead of hanging at the office. There was no Castor and Pollux joking and making her laugh, and Aidan was not there to help her reason out problems logically. She missed them all, and more than anything, Arabella missed Vern. She would not feel so alone if he was here with her. Even without everyone else, she would have been fine if it had just been the two of them. She would have still played the part of lady, but if Vern were here then she would have some time to let her guard down and just behave as herself.

A knock at the chamber door had Arabella sitting up to quickly dry her face on the covers of her bed. Assuming it was Nechemya or Philomina, she called to the person to enter as she wiped the last of the wetness from her eyes. To her shock it was Allarick’s tawny head that peered around the door.

“May I please come in and talk with you,” his eyes were pleading.

“Sure, would you like to scold me some more for being outside of the palace? I’ll promise not to leave my chamber again if that is what you would like.”

Allarick tried not to grin at the defiant look she gave him as he entered and shut the door. Her eyes were red rimmed and swollen. A child could see that she had been crying, but there she sat ready to fight if she were forced. He felt guilty to have been the cause of her tears, and he hoped that there would be a way to make it up to her.

“I didn’t come to scold you Bella,” he blushed as he unthinkingly used her nickname. It spoke of more intimacy than he would have liked to let on. To hide his sudden embarrassment, Allarick crossed over to the bed where Arabella was sitting with her arms crossed. “I actually came to apologize for my earlier behavior. I did not mean to scold you, but I was very worried when we could not find you within the walls. I feared that some harm had befallen you. When you showed back up with a smile on your face I fear that I lost my temper over the worry that Mina and I had been through. There are people here who may wish to cause you harm. I am not liked by all the lords, and as my guest some may see you as a tool to be used against me. I do not want to see something happen simply because you are under my protection.”

Arabella considered Allarick’s words. They confirmed what she had already witnessed with Phelon earlier. He thought to punish Allarick by using her, and it seemed that he may not be the only concern. She didn’t wish to cause Allarick further alarm, so she did not mention the incident with Phelon in the stable.

“You look thoughtful Bella,” Allarick watched memories chase across her expressive eyes as she decided not to tell him of the encounter with Phelon. He had wondered if she would volunteer the information, but it seemed as if she had decided not to. Knowing that it needed to be addressed he spoke, “I already know that Phelon assaulted you in the stable. Tamarin entered in time to see him holding you captive. He also told me of you defense of him. I thank you for that. I do not approve of striking others, and I am glad that you stood for Tamarin when I was not there to do so. I believe that you have made him your devoted servant with your caring actions, but you are lucky that you did not take the beating meant for him.”

At the mention of the confrontation with Phelon, Arabella inched her arm behind her. Allarick hadn’t noticed yet, but she was sporting bruises down its length from where she had been grabbed with Phelon’s tormenting hands. She had hoped to hide them from Allarick, but he immediately noticed the action.

“Show me your arm,” he demanded. The steel in his eyes and voice told Arabella that there would be no argument that would dissuade him. Hesitantly she presented her arm for his inspection. There were angry bruises circling her wrist and her bicep. They were almost completely black with a touch of red in the middle. It was a telling sign of how hard she had been grabbed and held that such marks had been left. The elbow was sore from where it had been wrenched, and Arabella couldn’t help but wince in pain as Allarick turned her arm to look at it better.

“Why would you try to hide how severe your injury is from me? You are lucky that it isn’t dislocated by the look of things,” Allarick’s voice was as gentle as his touch, but there was no mistaking the anger in his voice. Thankfully the anger was not directed at her. His eyes shone with a gleam that spoke of retribution against Phelon. “Phelon will be punished for his actions this day. There was little I could do when he beat that young girl, but to assault one of his own class, someone who is a guest of mine, is an offense that I can gladly punish. He will be dealt with during the meal tonight. I know you did not wish to attend, but please come down tonight,” Allarick didn’t add that she needed to eat more anyway and didn’t need to skip a meal. Somehow he knew that nagging her to take better care of herself would make her dig her heels in and do the opposite. If this would make her come down to eat then it was just an added bonus.

“Allarick, this is not worth your trouble. It is nothing more than a few bruises, and I have dealt with Phelon already. I doubt that he will approach me again after the way I spoke to him today. I do not believe he is used to a woman standing up to him, and it is likely to make him keep his distance.”

“This can not go unanswered Arabella. His assault of you is a direct attack against me. If he wishes to bring trouble upon me, then he must be made aware that he is to come to me and not harm those who are under my care. I will not, can not, tolerate this behavior. He will be dealt with, but I ask that you come down so that everyone may see what it is that he is punished for.”

“I thought that I was supposed to remain an inconspicuous as possible. I’m learning your ways so that I can blend in, but if you punish Phelon over this I will never be able to do so. All of the others will remember this, and they will have questions. Please Allarick, please just let it go this one time. I am not very hurt, and there are many more problems that can be caused by you punishing Phelon. I do not wish to be the cause of dissent within your home,” the pleading look on Arabella’s face won Allarick over. How could he deny her anything when she looked thus?

“Alright Bella, I will concede this one time, but you must come down to the meal. If you are absent this eve, he will think it is because you are afraid of him, and that would not be good either. The man thrives on inflicting pain and inciting fear in others. You must show him that you are not afraid, and that you feel no threat from him. Besides, my sister has no doubt heard of our altercation earlier, and she will not forgive me if you skip the meal,” the last was said with a teasing smile. He wanted to chase the shadows from her eyes, and see them alight with laughter once more. Grinning he added, “I will never hear the end of it if you do not attend. Please take pity on me and save me from Mina’s wrath.”

“If you insist Allarick,” Arabella teased back with an answering smile. Allarick had sat beside her on the bed as they were talking, and they now were sitting side by side, “I suppose I can save you from your sister’s anger, but you must promise not to scold me so again.”

“I promise Bella,” Allarick put his arm around Arabella and drew her close, “but you must promise to not go off without being sure that either Mina or myself know where it is that you have gone. I know you want freedom, and I have no desire to see you caged here. I also want to keep you safe, and I can not do that without first knowing where you are tamore,” Allarick laid his lips against Arabella’s ebony curls while he adjusted not only to the fact that he had just called Bella his mate but also that he was certain to the core of his being that it was the truth. He had found the one woman chosen for him, and she was forbidden to him for so many reasons.

With a sigh, he tried to bring his emotions under control. He was quickly loosing his heart to a woman that he could not have. He had heard tales of finding the one true mate destined for you by the gods. Its bond was unavoidable, and its love was unimaginable. That was what had happened between his parents, but he had never thought to find the one woman who was fated to be only his. He had also not expected that this woman would be from another world. Their love was doomed before it had even begun, but it didn’t keep Allarick from hoping that it could end differently. No one made him feel the need to protect them the way that this tiny woman in his arms did, and he was going to be forced to watch her fly out of their lives when she could find a way to return home.
“You could always ask her to stay here with you forever,” a tiny voice in his head offered the suggestion. With each passing day, each passing moment in her presence, that was exactly what he wanted to do. He could not ask her to make such a sacrifice. She would be giving up everything and everyone that she knew, and he could not even offer her the promise that they would know she was alive and well. If she did not return to her world, then all those people that she left behind may never know what had happened to her.
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