The Dying Rose (Completed)

Chapter 23: The Curse Revealed

When I finally woke up again, the sun was high in the sky. I sat up on the floor, and immediately the last 24 hours came rushing back. I held my head in my hands and ran my fingers through my hair, trying to convince myself that I was wrong. Every breath that moved my chest sent pain coursing through my side was a strong reminder.

But I knew, in my heart, that what my memory told me was true. Galien is dead. I failed him. There was no miracle.

My heart had never been so full of anger and hate. At Henri, for his cruelty. At the fairy enchantress that cursed and killed my sweet Galien. At the whole world, because no one else knew what this poor man had gone through. But most of all, I hated myself. I didn't try hard enough. I could have gone out, tracked done that fairy, and made her undo the curse. I could have been there for him, holding his hand, when he died. I should have been with him, not outside, talking to Lucas. And the last thing he ever saw should not have been Henri.

Finally, after what felt like years of torturing myself, I tried to stand. My clothes were stained with my blood. I need help, I thought, wincing. I made my way out of my room, without even attempting to straighten myself. Who cares how I appear? Galien did; and now he's dead.

I made it to the dining room before I noticed the odd silence that seemed to envelope the entire castle. Everyone is probably just as morosely depressed as I am, I thought. When I found the dining room deserted and clean, I pushed open the servant's door into the kitchen, and saw something I had never seen since I had been in the castle: nothing. There was nothing cooking in the kitchen, no fire burning in the chimney, or the oven, no stirring of spoons in bowls, absolutely nothing.

"Hello?" I called, but no answer came. What in the world...

I rambled through the supplies, and found a loaf of bread that seemed to have still been a little fresh. I broke it into pieces, and ate it as I stumbled around the castle. Everywhere I went, there was no sign of anyone. Finally, I gave up and went back to my room to tend to my wound myself.

The first thing I noticed when I went back to my room was a piece of paper lying on the vanity. As I walked towards it, and I saw myself in the mirror, and just stopped and stared. My face was bruised severely from where Henri had beaten me. I looked grotesque, and my right eye had actually swollen slightly shut.

I ignored the throbbing in my side, and picked up the paper, unfolding it. A messy handwriting met my eye, and the spelling was terrible. In fact, it was barely legible.

Mis Bell.

I no you sed that you did na ave time to talk to me tonite but I will na ave time to talk to you aftr midnite comes. You see Master did na tell you all that there is to tha curse. I am na sure of all of it but tha fey that spelled agenst him left a loop in er curs.

A loop. In the curse. But Gallien said there was nothing...

An Master new abot it. E just did na tell you bekas he did na think that it mattrd. All uv us tho we ope that maybe it workd. You see if tha Master fell in luv with a lady it did na mattr. E wud dy an that wud b tha end of im an us as wel. But if tha lady luvd im bak she cud brek tha curs. But if ther waz a lady that luvd him that e did na luv it wud sav us an not im. You see Mis that's the othr bit of the curs an its why we servents car so much. If it is brokn we come back to ourselves. But if tha Master is unluvd we dy as wel. An if e an a lady r in luv we will sleep as wil e. You see e will ethr die at midnite or e will sleep until tha lady e luvs kisses im. I just thot you shud no so that if e is na ded you can find the lady an brek the curs an set us fre.

Wit al the thanks and ope in me eart, I trust you wit tha Masters final secrt.

Jacqueline.

The letter fell from my hands, and the whole world spun. So Galien may not be dead. He may be asleep. But, who could it be? Who could he love that loves him back? I pondered on the subject, and then it hit me. Of course. Mirabelle. But how do I get her here to break the spell? That's not important. I don't even know if he's alive yet. Well, there's only one way to find out.

I took a step back, and then I turned and ran as hard as I could, with all my injuries, to Galien.

When I made it to his side, I knelt, and placed my hand on his chest; holding my breath. I felt his heart thud, and then his chest rise and fall in breath.

Oh in the name of the realm. Thank you.

I sighed out loud, relieved beyond anything I could imagine. I scrambled over to the bed, and pulled the pillow off of it. I returned to Galien, and I laid it beside him. He still lay on his side, where he had fallen the night before. I tried to roll him onto the pillow, but couldn't in my state, because of his massive size. So I lay the pillow in my lap, and lifted his head onto it, before easing both back to the floor.

I sat there, and held his hand, while I tried to gather y strength and come up with some semblance of a plan. I can't just leave here and head for the capitol. I have no money; but maybe there is some in the safe in the library. Galien told me I could have his money. I can borrow it, for the time being. I'll have to get some of his clothes, as well; a woman traveling alone would be too suspicious, and it could lead to problems with other travelers.

I gave Galien's hand a squeeze. "I'll be back soon, and everything will be alright again. And I'm not mad you didn't tell me. You didn't want me to get my hopes up. Just... Well stay here is a little pointless." I laughed at myself, and the sound was eerily loud in the deathly silence that had taken over the castle. Then I got to business.

I returned to my room, where I stripped out of the ruined green dress. I was stuck to the scabbed over stab wound which began to bleed freely again when I disrobed. I ripped a clean strip from the dress, and dipped it into my wash basin, before carefully dabbing at the tender opening, trying to clean it. I didn't know much about wounds, so once I had the dried blood cleaned away, I just wrapped bandages I had found downstairs around my midriff.

I had found a small satchel that I could carry what I needed in. I packed my green cloak in it, and the magic mirror. Then I walked naked back to Galien's room and packed a white shirt and a pair of his brown breeches. Then I found another white shirt, and black breeches, and put them on. It was a little odd to be naked and dressing in the same room as him, but it wasn't like he could see me. But, I had a problem. My curves were so developed that they were visible even in men's clothes.

I went to the kitchen, and rummaged until I found bandages, and then bound my bosom to my chest, which diminished my curves enough that I could pass for a boy. Then, I bound my hair tightly to my head, and placed a cap on it, hiding the lump of my hair.

Finally, I went to the library, and opened the unlocked safe. Inside was money enough to support my whole family for the rest of our lives, but I only scooped a handful of coins into a small pouch that I had found during my rummaging.

I was ready to set out with Sable. I gingerly made my way to his stall... And found it empty. Hooves steps followed large boot prints out of the stable, and through the gate, when I looked.

"Henri. Curse him!" I exclaimed into the now dark sky.

However, I was determined not to be deterred by anything. If being stabbed hasn't stopped me yet, neither is not having a horse. I'll just have to go to Thanona, and commandeer a horse. And I might as well steal some better supplies while I'm at it.

And so, I set off, slowly, on foot, determined to set things in the castle right.