Crown of Blood

6 | rockabye

But our mate was her tipping point. Tonight had broken her.

I could feel her emotions leaking through our bond even though she had desperately tried to cut them off from me. Were we not enough?

"I thought this stopped, Skittle," Uncle Eddie's voice cracked at the end as he brushed my hair out of my face.

That simple action unlocked a part of me that I had kept buried for so long.

For the first time in years, I cried.

He knelt beside me and carefully brought my head onto his lap. I buried my face into his shirt and wept, the sobs racking my body.

I wept for the pain I had suffered tonight. I wept for the punishments I had endured for so long. I wept for the loneliness I had felt for many years. I wept for Uncle Eddie and how much I had burdened him. I wept for the family I no longer had.

I wept for the mate I had lost.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his wand and began muttering words I couldn't comprehend. The pain in my back reduced to a dull throb as his healing spell washed over me, soothing my physical wounds. If only there was a spell for the mental scars.

I could feel droplets on my forehead, my heart squeezing as I realized Uncle Eddie was crying with me. He didn't know what I had gone through, but he was there, bearing my heartache with me nonetheless.

"Don't you worry, Skittle. I'll fix this." he whispered. 

My sobs transformed into hiccups as I calmed down, and I felt myself grow tired. Closing my eyes, I slipped away into darkness, vaguely listening to Uncle Eddie blow his nose in his handkerchief.

~*~

I woke up the next morning with eyes crustier than the Krusty Krab.

I am not cut out for this crying business.

Rubbing my eyes, I realized I had been placed back in my bed. Groaning, I rolled over onto my stomach, tensing my body as I anticipated to be hit with the painful repercussions of last night.

But they never came.

What on earth?

Cautiously, I lifted up my arms. Again, no pain. My muscles were sore, but the stabbing sensations I normally felt on mornings like this weren't there. Twisting my neck, I pulled down my shirt and saw the wounds on my back had started to close and some were beginning to scab. Uncle Eddie must have kickstarted the healing process once I fell asleep. Giggling, I wiggled my toes in happiness.

Suck it, Alpha James! You don't have a wizard on your side.

I rolled off my bed, despite the ache in my limbs, and trudged to the bathroom to freshen up. After a long - and mildly painful - shower, I quickly brushed my teeth and threw on some clothes, spritzing them with the scent masking perfume. As I walked out of my room, I noticed a pack of skittles on my bedside table. Grinning, I grabbed them and began munching on the sweets as I made my way downstairs, thinking of the million different things I wanted for breakfast.

Pancakes and waffles and eggs and sausage, lots of sausage, and hashbrowns and berries and -

Well it all would've been heavenly if it weren't for the fact that I couldn't cook.

But a girl could dream.

As I entered the living room, the first thing I noticed was that the fridge was missing.

In fact, everything was missing.

The couch, chairs, dining table - it was all gone. Instead, boxes were littered all around the empty space, filled with everything from clothes to books to dishes.