(Unedited)
When a month had passed by and Esme did not return, things got worse...
The shadow of despair that had taken over the Frost family because of Ethel's sudden death-like sleep grew darker every day, polluting their hearts and minds with hopelessness and pain, and with Esme still missing, it felt like nothing would ever be alright again. It was almost as if the wretched fog was evil in nature, sucking the life out of everyone it touched and weakening them from the inside out, and the ones who felt its grip the most were Iris and Antonia. The mated pair had been in agony since the moment Ethel fell into slumber. Iris had never felt as powerless as she did then, knowing she could not bring their child back for her mate, no matter how much she wanted to, and Antonia, who was losing her mind trying to find a way to bring her Ethel back, refused to give up despite being on the verge of breaking apart at any second.
"Nia, please. Stop." Iris's voice was strained as she tried to get her mate's attention but Antonia was deaf to her pleas as she continued to conjure every bit of her magic, chanting a spell under her breath.
"Please, stop. I beg of you." Iris appealed, feeling helpless and heartbroken as she watched her mate fail at yet another spell, and Antonia screamed when that happened, causing the castle walls to tremble before her rage.
The book of spells Antonia was carrying turned to ashes, slipping through her fingers and fading into nothingness and Iris sighed deeply as she watched her mate's ghostly features. This was not the first time Antonia had tried to use her magic to bring Ethel back, she had spent the last month using every bit of her power to do everything and anything that held even a speck of hope. But nothing ever worked. Iris could feel her mate's pain, could tell she was hurting herself every time she tried that and when her Antonia would faint after being depleted, she would siphon her pain if only to give her a few hours' worth of peaceful sleep. Regardless, as soon as Antonia woke up, she would go back to trying yet another spell, and as much as Iris worried for her sanity and safety, she could not find it in her heart to take her hope away.
At least not until today, when Antonia was the weakest she had ever been...
"You are hurting yourself, my Nia. Please, let me help you." Iris tried again, keeping her voice gentle as she stepped closer to her mate, and a bitter chuckle slipped past Antonia's lips as her nimble frame swayed from exhaustion.
"And how would you do that exactly? Help me, I mean. By putting me under another one of your sleeping spells?" It was the vexation in Antonia's voice that compelled Iris to stop at once and when she turned around to look into her eyes, she flinched immediately.
"Because that's all you have been good at lately, putting me to sleep so that I can not try to save our child while you sit there and do nothing about it!" With every word she spoke, Antonia's voice raised, garnering the attention of everyone in the castle, and Iris lowered her head in guilt.
"Mom?" Tulip's voice wavered as she called out to her mom, her eyes stinging with tears as she studied how terribly exhausted she looked, and Iris glanced up only to find her sisters standing beside her daughter, their eyes full of grief and alarm.
"It's alright, Tulip. Everything is okay, Maman's heart. Do not worry... Red, please take Tulip back to her room." Iris spoke softly, sweetly, as she smiled at her daughter but Tulip could not even look away from Antonia who was glaring at her mate.
"Everything is okay? Everything is okay?! My baby is dead! My Ethel is dead, Iris!" Tulip jumped at the sound of her mom's booming voice, causing Sybil to wrap her in her arms at once, and Iris closed her eyes in pain, maimed by her harsh words.
"T-That's not true, Mom. Ethel isn't..." Tulip's voice was small when she spoke from her aunt's arms, shaking and weeping like a child, and Iris clenched her jaw while Antonia wept: openly and angrily.
"Take her away, Sybil. Please." Iris begged weakly, looking smaller than ever as she stood there all hopeless and broken, and when Sybil tried to obey, Antonia did not let them for she was livid.
"No! Tulip needs to stay here. I want her to hear from you too." When Antonia dragged Tulip from Sybil's arms so that she could stand before Iris, the sisters feared the worst, and Ray entered their chamber with Athena, worried sick for the mated pair.
"Nia, please--" Even when Iris knew her mate was in too much pain to listen, she tried to stop her from doing what she knew she was about to do but Antonia raised her hand and halted her words while Tulip trembled beside her mothers.
"No, Iris. I have had enough of your invalid excuses. I have listened to you and I have waited for far longer than my heart allowed me. But no more." Weak and exhausted, Antonia wavered where she stood glaring up at her mate and Iris kept her head lowered while Tulip cried in silence.
"It has been over a month since my Ethel fell under that horrid spell and you have done nothing but sit here and wait for Esme to return when everyone knows you are more than capable of dragging her back if you only wished to." Antonia blamed without an ounce of mercy, weeping and shaking as she did so, and Ray wept against Athena's chest as she watched the grieving couple.
"You are her anchor, Iris! She is bound to you! If you only wished it, she would have no other choice but to come back! If only you demanded her to return and do whatever it is she needs to do to bring my Ethel back to us, I would have my child in my arms right now!" With those cruel words, Antonia's palms connected with her silent mate's chest, and Tulip sobbed when her Maman stumbled but did not utter a word.
Antonia grabbed Iris's shirt and forced her to look into her eyes...
"Are you not the strongest of us? Are you not the one blessed by the Almighty? Are you not the same woman who altered the fate of a thousand worlds just for our Tulip? So why are you doing nothing now? Why have you not compelled Esme to do everything and anything to bring my Ethel back?" Antonia demanded to know, glaring up into her mate's white eyes as she clenched her shirt tighter, but all she found there was the same devastation that she felt and it killed her.
"How could you just stand here and do nothing, Iris? How could you let our baby stay like that for so long? I-I can't breathe without them, Iris. I c-can't spend another day without holding my Ethel in my arms. M-My baby--" When exhaustion gripped her weakened frame and her legs gave out, Antonia found herself in her mate's arms before her body could even touch the floor and she sobbed meekly.
"H-How could you fail us like this, Iris? How could you... You have failed me, Iris. Y-You have failed my Ethel." With the little strength left in her body, Antonia pulled herself away from her mate who did nothing to fight her and instead allowed Ray to tend to her.
"Leave. I do not wish to see you. Not until I have my Ethel back... Go." When those words emptied Antonia's quivering lips, Tulip gasped in shock, heartbroken, and Iris simply nodded before obeying, vanishing into thin air before anyone could even stop her.
"Shh, calm down, my dear. Calm down... Azure, I need your help. Athena, take Tulip to her room, please." Ray wiped Antonia's tears as she wept in her arms, broken and lost, and while Azure helped her mother put the woman to sleep, Tulip found herself in Athena's arms.
Tulip allowed her grandmother to guide her away, feeling the numbing exhaustion that had enclosed her for over a month now return at full force and take her under its unforgiving current. With her vampire and magic having gone as silent as a deadly night since the day her mate had abandoned her, she could neither find the strength to fight it nor could she even remember the last time she had possessed that kind of willpower. Sadly, the way her grandmother's hold around her tightened let her know that she was not hiding it as well as she had desired. A part of her felt utterly selfish for even feeling weak, knowing how everyone else was suffering too, but no matter how much she did not want to come off as vulnerable, she had no control over it. Especially since the ones who always gave her hope, her sisters, had been feeling just as empty as she.
Athena was not surprised to find Irene and Ceres in Tulip's room...
"It's alright, Grandma. We can take it from here." Ceres sounded nothing like her jolly self when she spoke, her eyes dull and her features hard, and Athena kissed Tulip's head before allowing her granddaughters to take over, her heart heavy.
"Where is Sadie?" Irene inquired in a low voice, stepping out of the room as Ceres tried to use her magic to calm Tulip, and Athena walked to the nearest lounge where Sin and Kahlan joined them with the same dull expressions.
"Her Mentor called this morning. She was worried that Sadie was forlorn and refused to play with other children or participate in any way. Ray thought it would do her well to visit June and play with the pups so I asked Genevieve to take her." Athena replied once she had taken a seat, sighing heavily as her chest ached with sadness, and Irene clenched her jaw while Kahlan tried to conceal her tears as she hid in Sin's arms.
"I'm glad she wasn't here," Irene muttered lowly, glancing up when Ray, Sybil, and Azure joined them and Athena opened her arms to welcome her mate who immediately burst into tears in her hold.
"Why is this happening to our baby? Why can the universe not let her live her life in peace and happiness? I feel so helpless, Athena. I feel so worthless knowing I can do nothing to help them in any way," Ray openly sobbed in her mate's arms, her despair tangible, and Irene did her best to hold back her tears while everyone else failed.
"I love Iris, I do, and I will always support her but I can't help but agree with Antonia. Esme is bound to Iris, she has to do whatever Iris wishes, so why isn't she using that to bring Ethel back? What's stopping her?" The words burst out of Sybil's chest, angry and bitter and full of fear, and Irene's eyes found Athena when she sighed deeply, her stare hiding a million words.
"Because Esme is our family, Sybil. She is not some inanimate object that people can use to do their bidding. Iris loves and respects Esme enough to not even think about forcing her to do something she's not ready for." There was a stiffness to Athena's voice when she spoke, one she never used with her children often, and it alarmed everyone into silence, even Ray.
"We understand that, Mother, and we love Esme, too. But do you not think it is selfish of Esme to allow Iris and Antonia to suffer through so much despair just because she is afraid of having a mate?" Sybil tried again, her voice much calmer than before and when Athena got up to her feet, her eyes hard, she looked as bewildered as they all felt.
"Do not speak of Esme as such, Sybil. Esme may have been a million things but in all my years in this world, I have never known her to be selfish. Even when--" Athena cut herself off when she realized how harsh she sounded, taking a deep breath to calm herself, and Sybil gulped softly when she looked at her again, trying and failing to read her eyes.
"Have faith in your sister and Esme, Sybil. I ask that from all of you. I miss Ethel just as much but we can not let our pain control us." With that said, Athena walked away from everyone, leaving them stunned, and Ray went after her mate the moment she got over the initial shock.
"I'll go and check on Tulip," Irene mumbled softly, receiving a soft nod from Azure in reply while others remained unable to speak still, and she left them to their thoughts.
As Irene walked back to Tulip's chamber, she sighed deeply and recalled everything that happened since the day Ethel fell into a coma-like state. Antonia and Iris's relationship was in shambles. Her mothers did not have the heart to be excited about her sister's arrival. Sybil and her mates were always traveling, searching for ways to break the spell, and even when they were back, they would spend all their time reading grimoires that they found during her endeavors. Athena and Ray did their best to fulfill their royal duties but even they struggled, which prompted June and Aria to take over from time to time. It wasn't hard to see that everything that was happening with Ethel was destroying her family and she did not know what to do to help them.
When Irene neared Tulip's chamber, her heart ached a bit more deeply because of her sweet sisters who were sorrowing too. Ceres had been brave when she told Princess Hannya about how she truly felt, causing the demon heir to leave at once, but as soon as the realization of what she had done dawned on her, she became dismayed beyond consolation. In the coming days, Ceres morphed into a shell of the happy Princess she once was: crying when she thought nobody was around, refusing to eat, and what hurt Irene the most was her inability to sleep. Tulip wasn't any better than her, for she too had been in the same boat. Most days, Ceres would use her magic to ease Tulip so she could get some rest, no matter how heavy a toll it took on her weak body, and on the other days, Irene would be the one looking after them.
Irene breathed deeply before entering Tulip's room...
"How is she?" She inquired gently, taking a seat on the bed, and Ceres did not meet her eyes when she nodded, her smile that always lightened up the room evading her beautiful face still.
"She's okay now... But it was worse this time, I had to cast a sleeping spell just so she would stop crying and even then it took her a while to calm down... If this keeps happening, I don't think I will be able to help her anymore." Ceres's voice was nimble and low, the dark circles under her eyes a sore purple, and Irene pulled her sister in her arms when she realized how tired she was.
"Do not worry, Ceres. I will take care of our Tulip. And you... Come, you need to rest, too. You have drained yourself again." Irene did not allow Ceres to refuse as she pulled the blanket over her too and the moment her head hit the pillow, she was gone.
Irene stayed beside her sisters as they slept peacefully under the watchful eye of her magic, both of them exhausted and worn out, and her vampire grumbled lowly at her, letting their presence and annoyance be known. She rolled her eyes at their antics, having never been a fan of them, and ignored the way they reacted to her rude action with an even louder growl. As much as she disliked her vampire, Irene could not ignore the words they had been yelling in her mind for the last month and she sighed, tired and irritated, as she finally accepted what, deep down, she had always known to be true. As much as Irene despised the mate bond, she simply could no longer ignore the fact that her sisters needed their mates and she knew that she was the only one who could make that happen given their circumstances. So, with a bitter heart and an irritated mind, she got up from the bed and, with one last look at her sisters, she opened the portal to the place where her most disliked werewolf lived.
June was the first one to spot Irene and she embraced her at once...
"Irene! What happened? What are you doing here? Is everything alright? Is-- Is Ethel okay? Did they wake up?!" June did not even give the poor girl a moment before bombarding her with questions and Aria quickly pulled Irene away from her fussing mate.
"Calm down, June. Let the child breathe," she smiled sweetly at Irene, cradling her tired face before kissing her forehead and the princess hugged her happily for her warmth felt just too comforting.
"Thank you, Grandma... I am alright and no, Ethel is still..." Irene trailed off then, unsure how to describe the state Ethel was in and Aria could hear just how tired the young girl was, it made her chest ache.
"Would you like some cookies? I just baked some for Lillian and Lois," with a beautiful smile on her fetching face, Aria asked most lovingly and while Irene nodded at once, June could feel her wolf purring at the sight.
When Aria guided Irene to the kitchen, the princess found herself following her easily and June kissed her head as she stood beside her protectively. It warmed the mated pair's heart to see Irene timidly biting into the cookies, her blue eyes dull and unfocused as she leaned against June, and they all glanced up when Lillian and Lois came flying inside, pushing and pulling each other to get to the food first. Aria would have loved nothing more than to scold the women who refused to act like adults whenever it came to her food but hearing Irene chuckle at the sight made her halt and smile at her granddaughter, an act that June shared with her. Both Lillian and Lois exclaimed at the sight of Irene, pulling her into bone-crushing hugs before showering her with kisses, and by the time they were done, the blue-haired princess's cheeks were as red as the cherries.
Irene felt lighter after receiving all that love...
"Let the child go, Lois," said Blanche as she walked into the kitchen with Aster and Vera, and Lois scoffed before obeying her command, feeling her wolf yipping like a pup at the sigh of their mates.
"Irene, my sweetheart, how are you? Come here... Oh, I have missed you all so much." Aster had embraced the young princess, earning a smile from her, and Vera glanced at Aria worriedly when she noticed how tired the girl seemed.
"We have missed you too, Mama. I wanted to return to school but... I could not," holding onto the woman who was not just her family but her mentor too, Irene had mumbled gently and Aster's hold around her tightened at her words while Blanche kissed her head lovingly.
"It's alright, my dear. A few days of absence would hardly change the fact that you are our brightest pupil," Blanche smiled at Irene when she looked at her from Aster's arms, noticing the way she was fighting to hold back tears and it did not take long before the princess lost that fight.
As Aster and Blanche held onto a silently weeping Irene, June could not, for the life of her, remember the last time she had seen the younger girl cry in front of others and the fact that she was unable to stop her tears today only made her apprehensions worsen ten folds. Aria, who felt the same, gently coaxed Irene into her arms before guiding her out of the kitchen, and even long after she had stopped crying, her wolf refused to let her leave her hold. Once she felt stable enough, Irene bravely explained everything that had happened prior to her arrival and the whole family felt heartbroken when they learned about Antonia's situation and Iris's absence. But their fears only heightened when Irene, most unwillingly, shared with them just how miserable Tulip and Ceres had been and the true reason she had found herself in their home in the first place.
Lillian and Vera gazed at each other, both worried for Tulip...
"I know this may hurt you but I have no liking for Fenrir. I truly do not. I once looked up to them but... After the way they attacked Tulip that night, I found myself detesting them," Irene admitted timidly, sadly, and when she glanced up, she found her wolf family watching her with nothing but love and understanding.
"Your feelings are valid, my dear. If I were you, I would have done and felt the same." Lillian assured her with a gentle smile, causing others to nod in agreement and Aria kissed Irene's head when she took a shaky breath.
"It is true. Lillian is my sister and I love her to death. Had Vera not been as amazing as she is and dared to hurt her in any way, I would have made sure to keep her as far away from my sister as I could... Anyone in your position would have done the same, my dear." Lois was the next to assure her, beaming at Lillian who gave her a wide grin and Vera watched the two with a loving gaze.
"Thank you for understanding," the princess mumbled lowly, her voice breaking at that moment, and June shushed her at once before gently bringing her into her loving arms, kissing her head over and over until she settled down again.
"Tulip is hurt," Irene told them then, her voice as tired as she felt, and Lillian nodded in understanding while Aria grabbed onto Vera's hand to ease the kind-hearted woman.
"I know it has been hard on her because of everything that has been happening with Ethel and Maman and Mama Antonia but... It is more than that. I know it... Ever since Fenrir walked away from her, she has been suffering," with every word Irene spoke, with every revelation, Aria and Vera's heart broke a bit more and Lillian clenched her jaw while her wolf snarled in anger.
"Tulip and Ceres, they are both like this. They do not eat. They can not sleep. They... I have not felt their vampires or magic in a--" Irene found her words halting the moment Vera gasped in horror, an expression that both Blanche and Aster shared with her, and even Lillian and Lois gave each other concerned looks.
"How long has this been happening? When was the last time you felt Tulip's vampire?" Aria had asked in the most gentle way she could, her wolf pacing around in her mind, and June moved back to gaze at Irene too as they all waited for her answer.
"The last time I felt Tulip's vampire and magic was a day after we last saw Fenrir and it has been the same for Ceres," she replied honestly, watching as they all became tense at the information, and Irene found her heart sinking when Lillian suddenly jumped to her feet before walking away.
"Who else knows about this? Does Athena know? Does Iris know?" June inquired calmly, hiding everything her wolf was feeling, and Vera watched as Irene shook her head while sitting up straight, her features firm.
"Given how worried Maman has been, I'm not sure if she's realized it or not and we did not want to bother others so Tulip asked me to use my magic and mask the absence of their... " Irene trailed off when she realized the effect her words were having and she would have panicked about her predicament if she did not worry for her sisters much more than herself.
"What... What is the matter? Why do you all look so concerned?" when nobody said anything after her words, Irene asked them in a tense voice and Aria sighed heavily before gazing at her in worry and sadness.
"The mate bond that Tulip and Ceres share with Hannya and Fenrir is unlike any other we have ever known. We... Never before have a mated pair found themselves before they reach their immortal years if one of them was born a century apart. At least not until you girls were born. This is all new to us and the fact that you have not felt Tulip's vampire for so long now worries us immensely." Aria explained gently, trying and failing not to worry the young princess and Irene felt her heart racing as she absorbed her words.
"Inherently, a mated pair can't be apart once they have found each other. Distance is not something that the mate bond is fond of and if anyone goes against it, they suffer consequences that are unheard of." Aster continued to explain further, her eyes and voice calm as she regarded her pupil, and Irene breathed deeply as she clung to her every word.
"When we first realized that Tulip was mated to Fenrir, we feared the worst. Because Ferir carries the soul of one of the strongest wolves to have ever lived, and a wolf by nature is unable to stay away from their mate... However, seeing as Tulip had a long way to reach her immortal years, Iris and Esme came up with a special spell that would ensure the safeness and sanity of Tulip and Fenrir. A spell that they later applied to Hannya and Ceres as well." it was Blanche who spoke next, giving Irene a comforting smile so that she would not panic, and Aria moved closer to Vera so she could hold her in her arms.
"The spell worked, of course, and we were all happier for it. But if what you are saying is true then... Then I'm afraid the spell has started to weaken and it's affecting Ceres and Tulip the most because they both hold more power than their mates... Now, I can not say why that is the spell is failing. It may be because their mate bond has become too strong for the spell or..." Blanche could not say the next words, not without hurting Vera who was already in pain, and June realized that so she placed a hand on Irene's shoulder to get her attention.
"Or because their mate bond is dying," when June mumbled those words, Irene felt her heart sinking and her breath halting, and she glanced at Aria in panic, hoping that she would say otherwise but the Luna Queen only gave her a sad smile.
"That... That can not happen. That... No. No, I won't let that happen. I will not let my sisters suffer," Irene had spoken those words strongly, feeling her magic buzzing in agreement while her vampire grunted, and when she got to her feet, June did the same before nodding.
"We won't let that happen, my sweet child. You are not alone in this," with a kiss on her temple and a smile, June had assured the strong princess most lovingly and Irene nodded firmly before glancing at Lillian when she walked into her line of sight with an angered look on her face.
"I can not find them! Why can I never find that ungrateful child of mine?!" It was clear that Lillian's wolf was itching to get out, the woman was shaking badly, and while June shook her head, Irene approached her calmly.
"Please do not worry, Mama. I will find your child and I will be sure to remind them of their duties towards you and their mate," after assuring Lillian and smiling at others, Irene used her magic to track down the wolf in question and the moment she did, she transported herself to them.
"We have to go, we must find Iris and tell her about the spell. She will know what must be done." June had addressed her mate, her voice heavy with concern, and Aria nodded at once before following her towards the portal that opened into the royal castle in the Vampire Kingdom.
While June searched for Iris, Irene had found Fenrir...