Warmth.
It was all she could feel.
She could still hear the rain beating against the roof, but it wasn't the cold hard ground she felt beneath her anymore.
Instead, it was something soft. Something warm.
The air quality was warm all around her. She could smell the mints and the herbs.
She tried to move only to realise that she was lying on her front. Fear spiked in her heart immediately as her hands instinctively searched for Arik.
A hand guarded hers and she felt her warm baby beneath her touch.
Wait, a hand had guarded her own.
Her eyelids tore open immediately. Although all she could see was a blurry image, without thinking, she moved to attack.
But the person had predicted her move and had held her down.
Her breathing became ragged as she tried to fight, but besides the strength of the person holding her down, Idalia herself was too injured to move recklessly. Even now, her body was dealing her with the consequence of her earlier movement.
She blinked furiously, trying to clear the fog from her eyes. When she finally did, her rage tripled.
Rosabel smiled down at her, as she pressed a patch of herbs to her back.
Idalia gritted her teeth with a venomous hiss.
"It's good you are finally awake. I was starting to get worried there. How are you feeling?"
"Murderous."
"Oh." Rosabel gulped, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. "I guess I had better start explaining myself."
As much as Idalia didn't want to take her eyes off the traitor, she had to confirm that her son was indeed by her side on the bed and that he was fine. When she looked to her side briefly, she saw that he had been dressed in warm clothes and was now asleep.
"I had to go through your bags for something for him to wear. I couldn't find any backless dress for you though."
A tremble ran through Idalia's veins. She had gone through her emergency bag? Did that mean she had even the contract that Theon had made her sign that day in the lab? Although, Idalia was certain that she had hidden it, along with her other documents, in the bag's hidden compartment. But then, she had been unconscious for what? Two, three, four hours?
Indeed, from the window, it seemed to still be dark outside. But even an hour of uninterrupted search was enough to find the hidden compartment in her bag.
She watched Rosabel closely; watched her brown eyes that were filled with guilt.
"I'm sorry," she finally said. "I had to do it."
Well, Idalia had many crimes in her mind that Rosalee could be responsible for. So, do what? Which one of them was she owning up to?
"It was the only way to save you and get you to continue living in this mansion safely. Nobody crosses Ms Gwendolyn and has a safe stay here. I didn't know it would affect you that much. I was so devastated to see you cry that way." Rosabel reached forward her hand to touch Idalia's shoulder but she hesitated and pulled her hand away. "I'm so sorry, Julie."
Oh.
That was what she was sorry for.
It still hurt though, she could feel the ache in her legs. "That was why you wanted me to go lame?"
"I didn't know it would hit with such a strong force."
"Were you the one who opened the door? Why were there sirens and whistles blowing in the air by the time I made it out? Also, a maid had said the people locked in that mansion never returned, so—-" The memory of the hooded man flashed in her mind. The face of the Silver Hunter was all she could see. But she couldn't say anything about that yet. She didn't trust Rosabel. There was still a lot she had to explain.
Rosabel heaved a sigh, and threw her head back against the headrest of the wooden chair. "I was shocked when I saw you having an issue with Ms Gwendolyn. Even more stunned when you made it worse for yourself." She turned sideways, looking at her. "I thought you were smart. But then, you tried to attack in the orientation hall, so I guess you are not that smart, just a lot more stubborn."
Idalia frowned. "I do not take lightly to insults."
There was an edge in her voice that made Rosabel swing the conversation in another direction.
"Well." She cleared her throat noisily. "I was called away briefly and the next thing I heard was that you had been locked away in the former Royal Delweyn's mansion."
Former Royal Delweyn's mansion? Hadn't she heard some servants refer to the mansion they presently stayed at as the Delweyn's Mansion?
What could have happened to have made them move to a settlement? And yet not be able to move so far away from it? Why had they not torn the former mansion down?
"It is haunted," Idalia said quietly, the words slipping past her lips before she could even stop herself.
Rosabel stared at her.
Blinked once.
Blinked twice.
And then laughed.
"My goodness, they got you too."
Idalia's frown deepened, offended.
"That is the lie they tell them all to keep them in line. I know Madam Fion sends someone to those locked in the mansion to drag them out of there and kill them. I just can't give a good concrete proof yet."
What? That—-
"But she was about to do the same thing today. I heard her speaking to one of the guards about it. That was why I had hurried to the mansion, unlocked the doors and made footprints in the direction heading away from the mansion, so they would think you ran away."
No.
That didn't make sense.
That didn't make sense at all.
The mansion was haunted.
She had seen it. Felt it. Dealt with the consequences of it.
But Rosabel kept talking, unaware of how Idalia's mind was crashing in on itself.
"Guards always love to hear that someone tried to escape. It is usually all the excuse they need to do whatever they want to the escapee before putting their heads on a stick.
They were the ones with the whistles and the sirens. It was good that you hadn't gone there but you had come to me. I honestly would have gone into the mansion to fetch you myself but that would make her story unbelievable. Now that she is bored, and Madam Fion has gotten her revenge, you will be forgotten." Rosabel snapped her fingers with a smile on her lips. "Just like that. It is a good thing."
"The mansion is haunted," Idalia stated flatly with more conviction this time.
Rosabel heaved a sigh of frustration. "Haven't you been listening to me? It is all Madam Fion's trick. Unstables are always trying their hands at different tricks to make humans fear them. Half-baked vampires with power that trips off. Stupid beings with stupid egos."
"He haunts the place."
This time, Rosabel leaned forward. "Who?"
The Silver Hunter was at the tip of her tongue but at the last minute, she changed it. "The Grand General."
"That doesn't make sense. The Grand General has not returned to Echelon ever since the Selection."