Spellbound: COMPLETE

Chapter Forty-Nine: Ariadne

After a second, his strong arms wrapped around me, and all I wanted to do was sit there and hug him until I knew for certain that it wasn't a dream. I still wasn't convinced that we weren't all in heaven. This was exactly how I had always imagined such a place - with all those that I love.

I finally pulled away, suddenly feeling very weak, and laid back down on the bed. "How?"

"Someone faked a letter by my chief captain and slipped it into the mail boy's bag."

"Estevan," I whispered, grimacing.

He nodded. "I think so too."

"When?" 

"I returned just an hour or so before you were carried off by the dragon," he answered, resentment in his old grey eyes. "I was talking to your sisters and trying to get everything cleared while you rested."

"So they are all okay?" I asked, relief filling my chest.

He looked down at his hands. His smile disappeared.

Oh no.

"What is it, father? Tell me that all of my sisters are okay!" I quickly looked around the room, how did I not notice all the black clothing earlier?

There were the youngest twins being held by the maids. There was Juno, Iris, Harmonia, Galene, Fortuna, Eileithyia, Diana, and... no. The look on Bell's face told her everything.

The tears came before I knew what was happening, and all I could remember was the unearthly scream coming from the castle when the fire was forced out of my mouth.

I noticed the serious burns all over Bell but I knew that inside she must be hurting so much worse.

"She went in there to save you. We all wanted to, but right after she ran in the ceiling collapsed and there was no way around the rubble," Bell responded. 

But her burns told me that Bell had desperately tried to save our sister. Our dear, sweet Charities.

My heart felt like it was going to explode. 

I had killed my own sister. I killed Charities.

She didn't need to save me! I thought. If only I had been there to warn them. Charities would still be alive. She would still be here with us. I always thought that she would make a better ruler. She was more mature than me. She was... she was exactly like our mother. 

I pulled her legs tight to my chest in order to try and push away the empty feeling in my stomach, but it wouldn't go away. The scream kept echoing in my mind and with each scream, sobs escaped me. I couldn't control the tears and the sobs, and I didn't want to either. I buried my head in the blankets in an attempt to silence the sounds to everyone else in the room, but it didn't seem to work. 

I couldn't control the tears. It was too much. Charities couldn't be dead. If anyone deserved to be dead, it's me! 

"Where is she?" I finally managed to croak between sobs.

"We couldn't find the body," Father said, tears running down his own cheeks. "She's gone. Her funeral service was five days ago, the whole kingdom came and even some from other realms, it was a beautiful service. We wanted to wait for you, but we had no idea if... when you would wake up."

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"Almost a fortnight."

"What? How?"

"Your body had to recover from defeating one of the most powerful wizards in the world. It takes time to heal."

"But Charities? I... I kill-" I couldn't finish the sentence. It hurt too much.