Chapter 59: Restrained memories
"It surprised me at first,"
Lost along the golden lines adorning the green fabric, Arabella's eyes snapped towards Silas upon hearing his voice.
"Born during the war, I've trained alongside other warriors, men and women, and even though we were well taught and informed on our enemy it still struck me as odd to only face men during my first battles," he elaborated once the woman's attention was on him.
"Nature hasn't spoiled us human women, one can say," while speaking, Arabella looked between the various portraits of the warrior women depicted in their full grace and glory, "We lack in so many departments, our treatment from our male counter parts comes as no surprise,"
The smile on her had significantly dimmed the longer her last sentence went on. She clutched the gown in hands closer to her chest before pushing a little sigh and looking down to the floor.
"Frankly, the disparity resulting from the differences in biology between men and women in your species amazes me to this day, despite having studied and understood them," Silas moved forward and stopped by Arabella's side to stare at Nerina's portrait, "The divergence in the biological constitution between me and a female vampire for instance does not yield such a rift. We sure had less women in our ranks during the war due to the procreation function being exclusive to women on our side as well, but that was as far as it extended. Their exclusion from battlefields was less for their safety than our own,"
"I suppose it is the reason older vampires can become... A bit taken by the existence of human women," Arabella allowed a nervous chuckle as she hugged the dress.
At that point, Silas turned to face Arabella's figure, "Your heart has recovered somewhat of a regular rate," he remarked.
It hadn't been until he'd mentioned it that Arabella took note of the fact. Her heart had indeed slowed closer to a normal pace and the number of sniffles that overcame her were becoming less and less frequent.