Devon was too occupied in his analysis, which is why, when he said his part and looked up, he became speechless! Why were both of them eerily staring at him like that? Was there something on his face?
Confusedly, he caressed his face to remove the anomaly, but nothing caught his fingers. He was still considering the reasons when both, Anne and Arella spoke within intervals of mere seconds.
"That makes sense." Arella bared her thoughts in front of them. Devon was about to respond when another voice cut him in.
"Did both of you go to that cave together? What's with the ancient words?" Anne fervently expressed her views. To her, this was nothing different than finding hieroglyphs. She knew what they said must be something sacred and wise, but it was beyond her level of comprehension!
And now, it was Anne's turn to be eerily stared at by both of them! She really became uncomfortable to have received their sudden attention! But this only lasted for a few seconds.
Devon had an awkward expression, but then he sighed audibly and started explaining everything to her. Just like you tell a cub, in simple sentences with simple words, devoid of any complexities. Arella soon recovered her expression and even had a slight smile on her face.
Sometimes, ignorance was bliss. Anne was a pristine example of that. She didn't have to worry about the aptitude difference between Devon and herself. She never took the heart wrenching attitude of society to her core. She was isolated because of her chatty nature and low aptitude, but she never gave it any thought. All because she had Devon. Devon was there to shield her from everything.
A fire glazed in her eyes. She wanted to be like Devon! She longed to become a safe haven for Adrian. A place of comfort where he could rely on her to fare the troubled water. If not rely, at least, let her be a companion. A dependable comrade in arms. A loyal soldier faithful only to him.
Adrian…how was he? What was he doing now? Arella's thoughts shifted from Devon and Anne to Adrian swiftly. A strong longing covered her senses. She wanted to see him, to touch him, to feel him!
A slow but steady beeping sound woke her up from her dazed state. Annoyed, she checked the source of this intervention. It was her watch. The light kept blinking and then went dull. On her watch was just a line.
'Allow the holographic notification.' It was a short message, and the sender was none other than the man she had been thinking wildly of, Adrian!
Surprised, Arella stood up immediately and ran to the house. She even forgot to inform the two pitiful souls who were startled by her sudden actions!
Devon and Anne looked at each other with curiosity etched on their faces. At first, both of them thought that she must be feeling unwell. So, they invariably followed Arella. But Arella was very fast. She went to her room at a lightening fast speed.
Even the cook, who was busy preparing the dinner didn't notice anything. By the time Devon and Anne reached, they could only see a faint shadow closing the door of her bedroom. A glint of understanding crossed their eyes.
The cook, perhaps heard the sound of the door closing and came out of the kitchen only to find Madam's friend standing still with a hint of smile on their faces.
She politely inquired about the Madam, to which both of them tacitly responded that she was exhausted and wanted to have some rest.
Satisfied, the cook further informed that their room was ready. Since they were staying the night, the helpers had prepared the guest bedroom for both of them. The bed sheets were changed and all things were minutely taken care of.
She even shared that the dinner would be ready in half an hour, so if they liked, they could have some rest till then. Both Devon and Anne knew that Arella was busy, so they decided to go to the guest bedroom and lie low for half an hour. On the way, Devon continued to explain the method and his analysis to Anne, who was patiently listening to him with utmost admiration.
In the main bedroom, Arella frantically changed the holographic settings on the watch from 'disable' to 'enable.' She had almost forgotten about this feature! A holographic projection! It could generate a three dimensional figure of the caller!
For years, other than Anne, nobody had called her, and whenever she called it was always a voice call. Arella had never in her life received any invite for a holographic call! Soon, a notification popped up on her watch screen.
'Husband has sent you a Holographic Invite. Accept. Decline.'
That's right, she had saved Adrian's contact as 'Husband' on her connection list. At that right, she very rationally saved his contact as such. But today, looking at the title, a blush appeared on her face.
Arella, still flustered touched the 'Accept' tab, and soon bright light filled her room. A three dimensional projection appeared right in front of her. A highly detailed projection of a robot like figure greeted her.
'Invite Accepted. Connecting Husband and Wife…Beep…Beep…Beep…'
Wife? Did he save her contact as 'Wife' on his connection list? When did he change that? She remembered that it was plain 'Arella' when he first added her to his list of connections. The beeps suddenly stopped, bringing Arella back to the present.
Soon, the image of the three dimensional robot became blurred, and in its space, stood the well defined, high quality image of Adrian.
The projection was so life like that for one moment, Arella thought that it was Adrian himself standing right in front of her! She wanted to rush into his arms! Maybe, Adrian also felt the same.
His arms invariably stretched towards the other side. Arella took a few steps forward. His fingers were reaching out for her face, but when his fingers touched her face, Arella felt nothing. In her bedroom, there was nothing but air that caressed her cheek.
A speck of disappointment appeared on her face. But every dissatisfaction disappeared as soon as she heard his voice.
"Feeling better?" He spoke softly as if he was afraid of scaring her away.
"Hmm." Arella's eyes couldn't take enough of his image. She kept looking at him with visible hints of longing in her eyes.
"I heard you fainted. Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" Adrian gently whispered.
Arella was not surprised to know that he knew. She was very well aware that the helpers had to report to him about her every day. Even things, as mundane as what did she eat, would be shared. Fainting out of exhaustion was a huge matter.
At first, she became flustered because she was not how he would react. Would he be angry at her for not taking care of herself? Would he blame the servants for not looking after her? Would he reprimand her? Or perhaps punish her?
But Adrian did not do anything. Instead, he softly inquired about her well being, which made her even more uncomfortable. Suddenly, a pang of guilt started creeping up on her. Why was she so careless? Why was she so powerless?
Noticing the changing expressions on the silent girl, Adrian quickly changed the topic.
"I have sent some nutritious syrups. Do not forget to take them before going to bed." Adrian informed naturally.
"And" Adrian continued. Arella was firmly looking at him.
"Take plenty of rest. Your permission letter process will be completed within a few days. Once you come here, do not expect any rest." He hoarsely continued.
Arella, who was lost in the thoughts of powerlessness was jolted awake as soon she detected the change in his voice.
Seeing that she was as flustered as a bird on land, Adrian smiled a little. He really missed her. Especially, during the night. Whatever he said was plain truth!
Emotionally, he was passing by, but physically, it was pure torture. He did not even know if this much urgency was normal or not. All he wanted was her! Last night, he even had to consume some suppressants to endure his desire!
"Do you miss me?" Adrian asked in an unimaginably hoarse and low voice.
"Hmm. Do you miss me?" Arella inquired in return.
"Yes. How much?" Adrian's eyes never lost sight of the girl once.
"More than you could imagine. You?" Arella found herself drowning in his hypnotic eyes and low voice. She felt as if she was in his arms and he was speaking huskily in her ears.
"I will let you know once we meet." Adrian hurriedly spoke, and then, the image disappeared.
Arella took a few seconds to recover. What just happened? Did he end the invite? She wanted to call again, but she hesitated. What if something had come up? If he was free, he would connect again.
On the other side, Adrian quickly went to the bathroom. Missing Arella was normal, they were a normal married couple who had just experienced the bliss of conjugal union. So, missing her, wanting her, and desiring her should be normal.
But today, when he saw her, he almost couldn't hold back. He wanted to immediately touch, caress, want, and fill her. It was like he had no control over his senses! He was a trained soldier, fully armed to deal with any urgency.
That is why he soon realized that the urgency he felt today, was not normal.