The Curse Of The Blood Moon

7: Between Life and Death

~Evelyn~

I could feel my soul leaving my body with every conscious minute. It felt like I was drying out from the inside, and no matter how much water I drank, I could never be sated. My life was slipping right through my fingers. Anne was beside me; she was very apprehensive and kept checking my pulse to make sure I had one.

“Anne, am I dying?” I asked her.

“I don't know, Evelyn. I just hope my brother is successful; if not…” Her voice trailed off; her hands were shaking too. It has been two days, yet the king was nowhere to be found.

“Tell him that I am grateful…”

“Do not speak like that. You will live. We just have to be hopeful.” She immediately rebuked me.

“They won,” I said as a tear slid down the side of my face.

“Who won?” She asked me and drew closer to me as my strength had gone and I couldn't afford to speak any more audibly than I was.

“Mason and Ember. The two people that I loved with every part of me. They poisoned me, poisoned my father until his death, and stripped me of everything that I have. The final straw was them announcing their love to me while I lay there watching them with death already forcing me into its embrace” I said as more tears flowed.

Anne's eyes were blood red by the time I finished. She was very upset, and I could tell from her fists as she clenched and unclenched them. When she finally took a deep breath, she held my hands reassuringly before she spoke.

“You are going to live. I do not mind how it happens, but you deserve a second chance. The moon goddess will not take you into rest if this is not avenged.” She said just as the door was thrown open and a strange presence entered the room.

The king was behind her, and he looked just as composed as ever. Anne jumped up and flew into his arms, tears falling down her face. The strange woman simply scoffed and made her way to me. A greenish substance was held in the see-through cup she clasped in her arms. When she got to me, I tried to speak, but my strength failed me.

“Drink this” she said and lifted the cup to my mouth. “Anne, get me a bucket” she instructed Anne, her voice sharp, and gave no room for a talk back. Anne immediately rushed out of the room as the green liquid found its way down my throat.

It felt like fire and ice were in my mouth; the burning, and icing were too intense, and I felt myself getting nauseous. Anne had just entered the room again with a big bucket when I felt my insides take a turn. Anne rushed over with the bucket, and then I began to throw up.

The substance was clear at first, but then I started throwing up blood and a blackish substance. I tried my best to control it, but nothing could stop how I felt. Asher's eyes were fixed on me, and I could feel the tension in the room. My ears rang from throwing up so much, yet it had not even stopped.

When I finally felt some calm, I looked up and saw the woman making some chants over my head. Asher and Anne left the room at that point, leaving me alone with this strange woman.

“You have been very wronged.” She began, her hands hovering over my body as she spoke. “The moon goddess will give you another chance, one that you will have to use well. Your fever has abated.” She said and used a clean towel that smelled like fresh roses to wipe my face.

I felt an overwhelming sense of sleep and closed my eyes, but I couldn't see. Anne and Asher returned to the room, but even though I tried, I could not open my eyes.

“Asher, she won't be able to have children anymore. The poison had eaten into every part of her; that was the first place it started. I don't know how they got this poison, but it was banned years ago by your father. Wherever they got it from isn't as simple as it looks. The greenexe poison is so undetectable until it has gone beyond control. It poisons and kills the blood of whoever it has been given to. She was lucky to have survived this.” The woman said, and I could feel Asher's presence as he came close to me.

“When will she wake up?” He simply asked as his hands touched my forehead. I wanted to move, but I couldn't; my whole body felt glued to the sheets that I was on.

“Soon, let's hope that she can fight it. The rest is in her hands; all I want you to do is let her have enough rest.” She said.

“Aunt Claire?” Anne's voice came, clear as day.

“I am not your aunt Claire. Your brother and I had a deal; I have fulfilled mine. It's time for him to bring in his side of the bargain. I do not have time to waste” the woman said, her tone curt and sharp.

“Asher, what deal have you entered with the person who wants your entire kingdom burnt to the ground, including the people in it?” Anne asked, but I didn't hear what Asher said.

He had brokered a deal with this woman to save me. I hoped that it was nothing that was too much for him to give; I would feel worse if he had to lose many things for me to feel okay.

“Let her be fine.” The woman's voice came again, this time impatient.

“Alright. I will stay back and look after her, see when her fever abates, or call you both if anything goes wrong” Anne offered, and I could feel her weight dig into the side of the bed where she had sat.

“Don't let her die” were the last words I heard Asher say before I was overwhelmed and everything went blank.