Basilisk (Dark Ominis Gaunt x OC gothic romance)

Chapter 115: The Rabbit and the Dragonfly

~~Ariadne~~

Ariadne lay in bed as Ominis dealt with the Ministry workers, laying an arm over her eyes as she imagined what they had found down below in the servant's quarters. Ominis had told her what was happening, but insisted she rest for now. She hated feeling useless like this, especially when there were strangers in her own home. She was healed, so there wasn't any reason for her to rest anymore!

She let out a long aggravated sigh and looked up to the ceiling at the ornate tiles in black and gold, the designs reminding her of Ominis somehow. Dark, yet opulent and shining with intricate designs few bothered to look and see.

She sat up and frowned as she heard talking outside the room, nervously clutching at the sheets. She was having a hard time getting over what had happened, the feeling of fangs tearing into her sides and shoulders making her shiver with the memory. She couldn't lie still right now, she had to get up and do something.

She threw on her dark robe as she got up from bed, knowing Ominis would likely be irked with her. He would have to deal with it, because she was going to go get some tea, damnit.

She strode toward the door, creaking it open slightly to look outside, where Sebastian and Ominis were leading two men in dark blue robes down the corridor toward the servants quarters. Perfect, that gave her plenty of time! She knew Marie was with Damien, so she didn't have to worry about her catching her and scolding her, either. Haha!

She came out of the room and shut the door as quietly as she could, slipping into the hallway and looking around cautiously before walking toward the kitchen. She was glad whoever had cleaned up the hallways had been so thorough... because it looked almost like nothing had happened. She was very relieved from that, able to relax a bit more since the sight of her own blood on the walls probably would have sent her fleeing back into the bedroom.

Turning into the kitchen she stopped in surprise at the sight of Veela sitting at the table with an empty cup of tea, the blond woman looking up at her with wide eyes as they stared at each other for a moment.

"H-hello." Veela said meekly, as if not knowing what else to say.

"Hello." Ariadne replied back with a bit of a smile. She was surprised to see her still here, but... she couldn't say she was unhappy about it. "Thank you, for healing me." She said softly.

A little smile came to Veela'a lips as she nodded silently at the thanks. It seemed to satisfy both women to break the tension, as Ariadne walked over toward the stove to fill the kettle with water from the pump.

"Would you like more tea? I'm going to make some jasmine." Ariadne said, glancing over her shoulder as she worked the pump.

"I thought you were resting for now... but if you're making more tea, then yeah I'll have some. It'll calm the nerves a bit." Veela sighed softly.

That made Ariadne look over to her in concern. "Nerves? What are you nervous about?" She asked, moving over to the stove with the kettle and lighting it with the small ignition lever.

"Lots of things." Veela said in a strained voice.

"Mmmmm... well, if you want to talk about it I'm all ears. I'm not as good as my sister at these things but I can always listen." She said, setting the kettle on the stove before turning back around and giving Veela a small smile to hopefully reassure her.

"Well, part of it is I'm nervous about the Ministry being here." Veela said in a hushed voice. "With me being an ex-auror and all."

"Do they treat ex-aurors badly?" Ariadne frowned.

"Well, no, but..." Veela sighed.

"Is it because of your father? I'm sorry he was so terrible to you. Are you doing alright?" Ariadne asked softly. She felt bad that perhaps her plan may have backfired terribly on Veela. She hadn't expected the man to literally try and force her into defending his reputation. What a vile person...