Reroll My Fate

Light flashed across and my face and I groaned out trying to push my eyes open. Unfortunately, it felt like they had to fight through thick mud to do it. I took in a slow breath only to let out another pained sound. My chest felt so heavy it hurt to breathe, like someone had placed a stone slab right on my ribs. Everywhere felt terrible, my throat so dry it hurt to swallow. A harsh cough tore out of me the second I tried to inhale, making my whole body shake. “Shh, calm down. There, there,” a familiar voice murmured close by and I felt a cup pressed to my lips. Desperately trying to soothe the burning I drank without thinking only to spit everything out. That had to be the worst thing I had ever tasted, bitter, thick, and just wrong. I pushed the cup away trying my best to string words. “Water,” I rasped. “I want water.” “You need to drink this first, Arewen. It will help.” a familiar voice replied heavy with concern and I looked up blinking slowly. My gaze met a pair of dark blue eyes; ones that belonged to my husband, Caspian. He sat at the edge of the bed, one hand still holding the cup. As if reading my mind he let out a defeated sigh placing the half-empty cup on the stool. His hands worked behind my back propping the pillows. His hands touched his face, soft as usual but for some reason, everything felt extremely off. "What happened?" I asked my eyes, squinting as I tried to recollect the memories. "The last thing I remembered was—" “Don’t stress yourself,” Caspian said quietly, brushing a strand of hair from my forehead. “You’ve been out for nearly a full day now. You’re not well.” A full day? My eyes widened in fear and I grabbed his hand for support. “Caspian…is there something I don't know?" My eyes searched for his but he only pulled away, making me even more anxious. “You’ve developed the plague, Arewen.” The words hit me like ice water. "You're kidding." I tried to laugh, staring straight at him. There was no way I could have gotten that. It was practically incurable and even the ones who got better lost the ability to shift. I waited for the laughter trying to ignore how hard my hands were trembling. My hands trembled. How? I was fine. At least… I thought I had been. Memories started flashing in fragments and I could practically hear the voice of my best friend playing in my head. She had given me a tonic a few days ago, something to help with my health and fertility. She had smiled so warmly when she handed it to me. For a second a terrible thought crept into my head and I shook my head pushing it away. No! She wouldn't. “What if… Elara gave me something infected?” I whispered, the words tasting like ash in my mouth. “Do you really think your friend would do that?” His expression remained the same but anyone could point out that he was judging me. I shook my head even though doubt gnawed at me. “No… but I just want to be sure. I don’t want her putting someone else in danger. Caspian nodded and for a millisecond I saw his lips stretch into a grin as he turned towards a maid. “Bring Elara here,” the maid nodded, walking out and I stared in confusion. As if reading my mind, Caspian explained how worried she had been. It didn't take long and Elara stepped into the room a few minutes later, her face full of concern. “Arewen! Thank the Goddess you’re awake. I was so scared—” She rushed towards me but had barely reached mid-way when Caspian grabbed her by the arm spinning her towards him Right in front of me, his mouth crashed down on hers in a hungry kiss, his hands roaming over her body as he owned her. Elara moaned, deepening the kiss and my jaw fell open. It felt like I was watching a couple in heat and just when I thought I couldn't take any more Caspian lowered his hand pushing it into her skirt. I blinked countless times but still my mind refused to process what I was seeing. This couldn’t be real. It had to be the plague making me hallucinate. My palm kissed my face hard but they still stood there, intertwined. “Caspian… what are you doing?” My voice cracked as tears burned my eyes. “I’m your wife.” He pulled back from Elara just enough to let out a chuckle. A veil and “Wife? I never wanted to marry you, Arewen. The only reason I did was that my aunt begged me to." "So this....was all fake?" I turned to Elara, who just glared back at me. "If you wanted each other, why not divorce me. You had to poison me?!" Caspian's smile only grew and he took slow steps walking towards him. “Don't blame us. That was all your fault." My brows knitted in confusion and he continued. "If only you had stopped investigating the death of the worthless slave when I told you to, things might have been different." For a moment I stared confused but slowly all the memories began to fill in. Pain rushed through my body and I tried to stand, but my legs gave out. A scream left my lips as I fell to the floor, pain exploding in my chest. A disgusting metallic taste filled my mouth and I spat out blood. I coughed again, more blood splattering on the floor. Caspian watched me with a satisfied smile. “It’s not the plague. It’s poison and right now you're dying. The blood is the last symptom and a very clear sign that your organs are destroyed. I crawled toward them grabbing Elara by the dress as I pleaded, tears streaming down my face. “Please… the antidote… don’t do this…” They didn’t even look at me; not with pity and before I could react Caspian kicked my hard. My body flew across the room making contact with the vanity. I watched them walk out together, leaving me on the floor in a pool of my own blood. The pain was unbearable and my eyes grew blurry as I struggled to breathe. It felt like my lungs had been ripped out and everything went black. I woke up gasping, chest heaving like I was drowning. Air rushed into my lungs, sweet and cool, like I had been suffocating for hours. I searched around my head trying to find the pain but nothing ran through me. Taking a slow breath I slowly opened my eyes to find myself on a large plush bed. No pain and no blood in sight. Sitting up slowly I looked around and it didn't take long for me to know this wasn't our room. This was my old room — the one I had before I married him. The familiar worn rug, the small wooden desk, the faded curtains. Everything was exactly as I remembered it. My hands trembled as I touched my chest and then my legs. Was I dead?