Forgotten

Chapter 12

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Chapter Twelve

They ran to the castle, Kale almost dragging Dauphine by the hand, they made their way up the stairs towards the room where Pete was lying in.

The first thing Dauphine saw was her Mother standing outside his room with Esme. "Mom!" She let go of Kale's hand and ran into her Mothers outstretched arms. "What's going on? When did you get back?"

Her Mother smiled, stroking her daughter's hair. "We just got back. Don't worry, Lilith is taking care of Pete, he'll be fine. Don't worry."

Kale noticed the tears running down the Queen's face as she comforted her daughter. Her words made him realize she was trying to comfort herself as well and suddenly, the Maids words echoed in his mind. 'Will he die or will he transform?'

He looked away from them and made eye contact with Esme. She smiled at him, her eyes sad. His looked back to Dauphine, he hated seeing her like this and knowing that he caused the woman he loved to be sad made him hate himself.

Hate himself even more than he already did.

He turned away and walked back down the stairs. He needed to be alone but the thought of locking himself inside his room again made him sick and he sure wasn't going back into the forest. Instead, he took a turn into the dining room and took a seat at the long barren table. He remembered a time where nothing used to bother him when he had eaten from golden plates and drank from golden cups. A time that was filled with disgust and unhappiness.

He couldn't miss it, could he? He had melted all that gold and given it to his people. And caring for them had given him happiness, although it wasn't the kind he had dreamt about.

Now that happiness was in his grasp. He could have a life with Dauphine. A good one. He loved her and everyone else seemed to think that she loved him, so they could be happy.

But then, if he chose that, he had to deal with the threat of that witch and with the fact that he might have killed Pete. He was lost. Kale had never before hated this curse more than he did right at this moment.

The door opened and Esme walked in. Taking a seat next to him, she placed her hand around his. "Kale, what happened?" she seemed to know everything, Kale had always wondered about her heritage, she claimed to be a gypsy, but Kale never knew what that meant.

Maybe today he'd find out. "Esme, you were right. It is her; she is back, because of Dauphine. Because I...because I love her. But how could you know? How do you know everything? Are you a witch too?"

Esme smiled at him, her voice was reassuring. "Yes, I am a witch, but I have no real power."

Kale felt like his heart had been crushed. He pulled his hand away from hers and moved out of the chair and away from her. "How could you be one? Witches are evil!"

Esme simply shook her head, "Kale, please. You know I'm not evil. My people are more spiritual than magic. Besides, not all of us are evil." She got up, and walked towards him. "We come from the earth; our powers are reflections of everything that is good."

Kale shook his head, "But then the Maid, she's not good! What she's done isn't good! She literally told me stories of how she killed people when she was young."

Esme nodded. "Like in any community, there are those who choose an easier path, the path that leads them into darkness."

Dauphine winced as Pete screamed again. Lilith was busy dressing his wounds with what looked like black goop. Of course Dauphine knew it was good for him, it looked really disgusting. "Is he going to be okay?"

Lilith turned away from her son and smiled. "Yes, the wounds are almost gone."

"What?" Dauphine frowned getting up and moving towards her Aunt. Her Mother also joined her, her voice more surprised than Dauphine's, "But how is that possible sister?"

Lilith scraped off some of the mush that covered Pete's torso, revealing very shallow red mark. They looked more like scrape marks. "I don't know how this is possible. My medicine wouldn't heal his wounds this quickly, but I'm thankful he's okay."

She spread some more of her medicine over Pete and moved to clean her hands. "Andrea, I am taking him back with me. Do you think the King would allow me to use one of his carriages?"

Andrea smiled at her sister. Her heart felt lighter than it had before, although she was still confused. "I'll go ask him."

When her sister was out the door, Lilith turned to Dauphine, embracing her in a strong hug. "He's okay, Dauphine. He's going to live and everything will be alright." Dauphine shrank in her Aunt's arms, tears were welling up in her eyes.

"Aunt Lil, it was my fault. I took him into the forest!" she pushed her Aunt away, shaking her head, "How?" she turned her head towards Pete. "How does he heal so quickly?"

Lilith took Dauphine's hand and turned to face her son. When her sister had arrived at her house, Lilith had already known. The moment Andrea spoke the words, Lilith flew into action. She never realized that anything like this could ever happen. Her relationship with her son had always been tense. She turned her attention back towards Dauphine. "I don't know, Daphy. I have a suspicion that it might have something to do with our blood."

Dauphine frowned. "What do you mean? Does Pete also have...abilities? Like us?"

Lilith giggled, moving some of Dauphine's hair out of her face. "No, my dear, only the woman in our family are gifted. But the men do have the gene, so if Pete ever father's a daughter, she would be like us." She looked at her son again; her heart felt like it was falling. "I'm just so grateful that he is alive."