Threads of Emerald

Threads of Treachery: Chapter 15

I must have read the poem hundreds of time as I stared out of the windows from my bed, the white curtains gently flowing in the breeze. It confirmed my suspicions, that my emotions could grow the vines and make them wither. But which emotions? Anger seemed to only temporarily grow the vines, the green only dull against my pale skin.

After I'd stood with Theo in the corridor, basking in the delight of the music and the life it filled me with, the tattoo stopped dulling, as if sealed by the vibrancy of the energy that skittered through my bones. The mark had grew halfway up my forearm, the jovial fragrances and sounds of the carnival similarly sealing the tattoos, so dark now against my skin.

Positive emotions were the key then. I thought of Aphina and I dancing at the spring festival, the air so soft as it ruffled through my hair, the fire burning high into the sky as people revelled in the passing of winter and drank and danced until they collapsed in the field. Still, no burning heat travelled up my arm, no more vines grew.

I would just have to wait for the map to grow, attempt to control the negative emotions. Anger still consumed me, so heavy in my stomach like coals laid on an open fire, burning and charring and torching everything in it's path. But I had managed to control it, extinguish those flames before they threatened to completely burn me.

I didn't want to think about the next part of the poem, I couldn't have that sort of power, to overturn the Kingdoms. I didn't know why I would. I didn't have a pure soul, it was tainted and marred by the lives I took that night. I couldn't wield such power, the world surely wouldn't allow it. Nefta must want to wield the power within me, I was to be her weapon. Whatever these tattoos meant, I would wield their blades, fire their arrows, control it. Not Nefta. The Kingdoms would not fall under her corrupt Kingdom, mortals would not be pushed back into hiding, forced to live in the drudgery of the slums and beg for spare change and food to survive. That familiar heat prickled my skin, the green climbing so much higher, I could feel my feet scraping against the bark of the tree, my fingernails split as I tried to find anywhere to grab onto, any indent in the tree. I could feel my spine thud against the forest floor, the dirt and water and blood seek across my skin as I willed myself to my feet. The vines retracted slightly with that memory, icy fingers gripping my neck and traipsing down my spine.

I shook the memory and made my way to the bath. I dumped a few different bottles in, not bothering to read the labels as the scents seeped into the air, jasmine and lavender and roses.

I soaked in the bath until my fingers had become wrinkled and shrivelled. I had a few hours to get ready for the ball, and I was going to look amazing. As I approached the dresser, I could feel the tug of the book, open me, open me. My fingers reached for the packaging, hovering in the air above the packaging.

I just wanted one night where I didn't think about why I was here, but just enjoyed being here and forgot about the loathing. So I tucked it away in a drawer for tomorrow, similarly storing away the thoughts that fogged my mind like the clouds that had begun forming in the sweet spring air.

I ran a brush through my hair, leaving it to air dry as I began applying the cosmetics that lay across the dresser. They all seemed to be in the correct order across my desk, no tampering then. I applied some of the smooth fluid that perfectly matched the colour of my skin, smoothing any imperfections. I drew a line of kohl on my eyelid, smoking it out into a slight wing, making my eyes look bigger and my lashes thicker. I brushed through my eyebrows, filling them in with a little pot of a brown, creamy substance. I dusted a few different powders across my face, some made my cheekbones pop out a little more, others softened my cheeks with a rosy blush, and some made my skin sheen. I carefully painted my lips a colour a slight bit darker than my natural lip colour, making my lips look fuller and inviting.