Not quite expected

"He's not with me. I thought you might want to talk more without the pressure."

She opened the door a bit, glancing in.

"Thought you might want to talk things out."

Brianna could not help but laugh at Arabella.

"Talk things out? Really? More like gang up on me again because I want to help my Maker? I would never question you if the situation was reversed. Why should you question me now?" she barked at Arabella.

Brianna knew that she was being petty, but she was angry.

Arabella pushed the door shut behind her and smiled.

"Maybe a gang of one. I just came to tell you what I know, I thought it might help."

That had caught Brianna's attention.

"What do you know?" she questioned Arabella.

Sitting up more comfortably in her bed as she waited for Arabella to explain.

She sat down next to Brianna, resting a hand on hers.

"We both saw the videos, Brianna. Most of it you know. What you don't know is that I am regularly in contact with your maker. He and I keep a line of communication open, one even Jonathan may not be aware of."

"But if you are in contact with Bill then why haven't I heard anything? He would have let me know if he was in danger wouldn't he? I am not the same progeny that I once was. I am a lot stronger and faster than I was" she assured Arabella.

She couldn't help but feel like a lost child.

"If you were my friend...You would let me leave and go to him" she pleaded.

Arabella knew what she had to do, and it was a painful choice. She had to lie to her friend.

"What I am about to tell you cannot leave this room.You can't go to him. He is not here. He will be back in a few days. We were keeping it a secret because he has a spy in his house somewhere. There could even be one here so we had to be careful."

She let the lie take hold, putting all the sincerity she could into her face.

What? Bill had gone and not told her? What about Jessica? Did she know about this as well? Why was she always the last one to know these things?

"Why would he leave and not tell me?" she asked clearly gutted.

Shifting further away from Arabella so that her back was flush with the wall.

"Get out! GET OUT!" she hurled Arabella.

Right now she had never felt so alone, they had all lied to her. Bill, Quinn and now Arabella.

Arabella stood her ground.

"I just told you why. He said I could tell you if it came to need only. I felt you needed to know."

She stood by the door.

"You don't have to like it, and you don't have to like me for telling you. I thought we meant more to each other, but if you really don't want me here, I'll go."

She opened the door.

"The only reason you are alone is because you won't let us in, Brianna. Keep that in mind. I'll be close if you change your mind."

Brianna did not want to hear any more of what Arabella had to say to her, she felt betrayed by her own Maker. By everyone around her. She knew that her emotions were spiralling out of control but she could not focus on them all, all of her attention was focussed on anger.

"Why now? Why didn't you tell me before? Because Quinn told you not to? You know what never mind. I want to be left alone and you can tell Quinn the same thing" she snapped.

Turning away from her as she laid down on the bed.

"I thought we were friends....I guess I was wrong" she whimpered.

Arabella shut the door and moved to the bed, sitting on the side, stroking Brianna's back.

"I could not tell you because Jonathan is not allowed to know. The King's trust is building stronger with Jonathan, but there is still a long history between them. I had hoped we were at least friends..maybe more than friends."

She ran her fingers through Brianna's hair, letting her fingers trace down her shoulder, moving to lay next to her. She whispered softly.

"Do you really think I would keep secrets from you by choice?"

"I had hoped we were at least friends..maybe more than friends."

Brianna froze as she felt Arabella's hand brush through her hair, down her shoulder as the bed shift with an extra weight present on it.

"W-What?" she stuttered.

Turning around so that she was on her back facing Arabella.

"What are you talking about! Right now I don't have any friends" she snapped at her.

"You have friends, Brianna...more if you wanted."

She brushed a stray lock of hair from Brianna's face and smiled. She traced Brianna's jaw, running her thumb over Brianna's lip, questions in her eyes.

"You have me, you have Cassia...she absolutely adores you...and of course Jonathan, though I think that has already gone a bit beyond simply friends."

She smiled coyly.

"I have to admit though, when I discovered what they two of you were up to..I was a bit jealous...of him."

She leaned close, kissing Brianna's lips softly before pulling back.

"mmmm...delicious....sorry, I have always wondered..."

Was she hearing this right? Arabella was jealous of Quinn? Because of her? But when she kissed her it had her amazed that she could do this. Brianna pushed herself off the bed as she paced back and forth.

"How could you do this? I was your friend...am your friend. You know that I love Quinn. I am sorry if I gave you the wrong idea about me" she barked at her.

Turning from Arabella as she sped from her bedroom leaving Arabella alone. She sped down the hallway and out of the front door, managing to bypass Matthew who was engrossed in a football game on the large screen TV.

Right now all Brianna wanted was to be alone.

Arabella felt her leave before even realizing she was moving.

"Well now...that did not go as I had expected..."

She got up from the bed and buzzed a maid to clean the room then went to look for Brianna. There were only a few hours until sunrise.