As the party came to an end, I wished everyone farewell, trying not to bleed all over myself. The blood had started to come out of all of my orifices, even the unpleasant ones, but I kept my calm and tried be the best host anyone could ever ask for. If nothing else, when I died, the people would remember this party as the last but the best party that Salem Barma had every thrown. Eventually everyone was gone except for Andrew, Minerva, Bastion and my father.
I closed the door and took off my cravat, unbuttoning my vest as well.
"The party was excellent, Salem." Andrew said, drinking a last bit of wine from his glass. "Thank you for throwing it."
"Of course..."
"Come, Bastion, I'm sure the nanny will be happy to see us home."
Bastion looked like he wanted to stay but I nodded for him to go and he followed Minerva out to the carriage. I watched them from the doorway as my life galloped away with that carriage, in more ways than one.
Once they were gone, I went to the couch and slowly sat down. I could feel the blood staining from the back of my pants and cursed everything there was the curse. Father looked at me in worry and I glared at him.
"Well, there you have it. Your brilliant plan. I'm here, alone, bleeding out of all of my holes, and what's left for me? Huh?! Death and watching the woman I love go away with someone I used to call a friend!"
"I'm sorry, Salem... truly. I thought we'd be lucky tonight."
"Well you were wrong."
I felt my eye begin to bleed again and I angrily wiped off the bright red liquid.
"And what's with all this blood!?!"
"Please calm down..."
"How can I be calm!? I'm about to die because of a stupid wish that you made based off of a whim!"
"Well wouldn't you rather die quickly than to suffer any more than you have to?!"
"I'd like to have died with some dignity and by whatever way Death wanted to take me. I look like I'm about to go sacrifice something to the devil!"
"Luckily there's no one here to see it."
I glared at my father. "You're a horrible joker."
"How else can I make light of the situation? Don't you think I'm horrified and in a lot of pain as well? I just doomed you to death... How's that for fatherhood?"
I sighed and looked at the clock. Half past eleven...
"Well... I have until night ends, right?"
"Yes."
"I guess thirty minutes is a good enough time to say proper goodbyes."
********************************
Minerva
After Andrew dropped us off at our home, Bastion seemed to be avoiding me. He walked in front of me and didn't even wait for me to get inside before shutting the door. I opened it as he threw his clothing on the floor.
"Bastion... Bastion!"
"What, Mother?" he said angrily, looking at me with a harsh expression.
"What's going on? You seem angry with me. Did I do something?"
"It's what you didn't do."
He started up the stairs as I followed after him.
"What do you mean?"
"I won't tell you."
"Can you at least tell me what it's about?"
"Duke Barma."
"What about Duke Barma?" I asked quizzically.
"I won't tell you."
I frowned at that but remember the conversation from the other night.
"Is this about that wish you say was made?" Bastion turned to me. "The one about Duke Barma carrying all your backlash somehow?"
"Yeah."
"I'm so sorry I slapped you, sweetheart-"
"What the- this has nothing to do with you slapping me! Ugh, forget it!"
I followed after him and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around.
"Tell me what's going on. Right now."
"I tried and you didn't listen. You're still not listening."
"I am now... something happened at the ball."
Bastion gave me a look and I looked away.
"I kissed Lord Barma, quite passionately. I don't why I felt compelled to do it; I'd never met the man until some time ago..."
"It's because you didn't just meet him. I told you what was happening and now he's going to die because of it."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Duke Barma has been taking all the backlash from three different realities and after midnight, he'll take on a fourth and die. Tomorrow, Duke Barma will be no more, Mother."
"What are you trying to say? What realities?"
Bastion sighed. "I told you, we were poor and someone made a wish in regards to him. I didn't know it was him but in order for me to fulfill the wish, I had to bend the ways of reality so that it would work. We ended up living in Duke Barma's home and cared for him. You and he were beginning to like each other a lot but I realized that I was the one who caused the problem and he got angry. I was going through backlash at the time and when I was weak, he came and wished the backlash would go onto him. The problem was that he also wished for us to have the life we should have had, bending reality again. So that was two. Then, when I got captured, he bent reality again by making the world never know that the Jacobys were aristocratic so that they would get sent to the crazy house. That was the third. Then tonight, because he's been so weak and unable to take much more, his father made a wish on me to make him able to last the night. I had to change reality again because that would be the only way for the duke to be normal for a little. But it only lasts the night! When midnight comes, all four realities will hit him and he will die. No one can take that amount of backlash and live."
"And you're saying that it's my fault for all of this?"
"He loves you, Mother... why would a man take on four bent realities with the penalty of death for a woman's children? He's loved you since we were in his house... I know you don't remember but at least... at least let him know his efforts weren't in vain. Lie to him, I don't care!"
I didn't know what to do. I loved Andrew, not the duke, and yet deep inside of my heart, I knew that I was somehow lying to myself. It was as if someone was constantly poking me with a pitchfork, telling me to be with a man I had never met... and yet I did meet him. According to Bastion, we have met and fell in love... I looked at the large clock above the mantle in the living room from the stairs. There wasn't enough time to get there...
"I don't have time..."
"Make a wish." He said and I looked at him.
He smiled and I smiled back at him. I touched his shoulders.
"I wish we were back at Duke Barma's residence."
Bastion grinned.
******************************
Salem
Well... this was fantastic.
Midnight was approaching fast and as the minutes ticked by, my strength sapped and the blood kept coming. Father had brought me into a hot bath and was washing me so that the blood coming from other places wouldn't be so... sticky. I lolled my head back and he pushed it up, lathering my hair in shampoo.
"We're almost done." He said softly.
Blood trailed from my nose and I felt him wipe it off with his thumb. He finished my hair and pushed me forward.
"Close your eyes while I douse you."
I did as told and didn't even realize I was being dried until I opened my eyes again. I must have fallen asleep.
"Do you want your nightgown or naked?"
I thought for a moment and then looked at the double doors of the terrace. I was so hot... I wanted to feel the wind on my face rather than care about how I looked when I died.
"I want air..." I said, turning fully to the windows.
"I will let you have some air when you get dressed properly. I'll stick you in your nightgown."
He leaned me against the wall and came back shortly with the gown folded up nicely. He unfolded it and threw it over me.
"There... Where do you want to be?"
"Open the doors and let me be. I'll lean on the doorjamb."
Father nodded and helped me over, opening the windows. I leaned on the doorjamb and Father wiped some blood from my ear and handed me the handkerchief. When he finally left and I heard him close the door, I dropped the handkerchief and slid down the doorjamb onto the floor. If I was going to die, I'd rather not someone see me suffer while I'm doing it. There wasn't much time left...
Minerva
We opened our eyes and I looked around. Bastion did as well and then he gasped. I looked at the open windows of the terrace and saw someone lying on the ground. I ran to Salem and fell to my knees.
"Duke Barma! Duke Barma please wake up!"
I began to cry but I felt something touch my hand and saw that he was still alive, but barely. His eyes were bloodshot, trails of red tears on his face and he looked so sick.
"What are you doing here?" he asked softly.
"Bastion told me what's going on. I don't understand but I know that I can't let you suffer like this."
"I'm happy to do it, Minerva." He said with a bloody smile. "That's what a sacrifice is supposed to be for."
I looked over him, trying to figure out what I could do. I tried to wrack my brain over what could be done to fix this. I couldn't figure anything out and I started to cry, leaning over next to Salem.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I don't know what to do!"
He was silent for a moment and I thought he had died but he was just looking at me.
"Duke Barma?"
"I remember when you were my maid..." he said softly. "You were the only one who stood up to me. I used to be quite a cad, you know."
"You're still a cad."
He laughed a little but I could tell he had to keep his laughter small.
"You told me what for and I enjoyed it. You were different and yet you were kind. When Bastion's wish was upon me, you were the only one who cared for me... and I threw you away like trash."
I didn't understand what he was talking about but I stayed with him, listening.
"Stay with me." He whispered.
"I won't go."
His eyes were beginning to close and a thin stream of blood started pooling from his mouth when the bedroom door burst open and Salem's father came in.
"What- Is he dead?"
"I don't know..."
"No time to think. I think I know how to get this done."
"How?"
He turned to Bastion. "You said that the only way to save him is if the backlash went to someone else, right?"
"Right..."
"How about something else?" he asked, holding up a book with a picture of a large rat.
Bastion's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"Rats. There's hordes of those buggers everywhere, all around the Earth. They breed like rabbits. Why not put the backlash into them? It keeps you from getting sick, it saves Bastion, and it doesn't affect anyone else."
I looked at him and he looked at Salem.
"Do you think it would work?" I asked.
Bastion swallowed hard. "I don't know... There's no harm in trying. Mum, you'll have to make the wish."
"Me?"
He nodded and I sighed, leaning over to Salem.
"I wish that the backlash would go into any rats in any part of the world and the wishes of bent reality would be put back except for that of the Jacobys."
Bastion's eyes widened. "If you do that then he won't remember us... at least not as well as we would. It would be the opposite of what happened here."
"That's the way it should have been anyway. Bending reality caused this problem, unbending it should fix it, right?"
Bastion nodded. "Right... we'd be poor again, you know?"
"I don't think it matters." I said softly.
"May I interject with this wish?"
We looked at Salem's father and he looked at us in an authoritative manner.
"Salem loves you very much, Ms. Cavensold. It would be very unfair to you to have to go through the pain he has been going through. To watch him as he lilts his affairs as you know what could have been. May I suggest a loophole?"
"A loophole?"
"For Salem. He knew you before the realities, right?"
"She was a maid in his house." Bastion answered for me.
"I suggest having a trigger for him to at least remember you."
"But if I know the word-"
"No, no, something only he could do."
I thought for a second and smiled. "Bastion, that wish hasn't been granted yet has it?"
"No, I... postponed it."
"I have a better wording." He nodded. "I wish that the backlash would go into any rats in any part of the world and the wishes of bent reality would be aright except for that of the Jacobys and also Salem would be able to remember only when a triggering of his choice came about."
Bastion shivered and I sighed.
"I hope we didn't talk over his death..."
Salem suddenly gasped and coughed. I grabbed his arm and helped him sit up. He was shivering but looked at the three of us.
"Wh- what..."
"We fixed it, son."
Salem looked at us again. "How?"
"You'll see." I said and he looked at me. "You need to think of something to remind you."
He looked at me weird as I got up and touched Bastion on the shoulder.
"Let's go, sweetheart."
Salem
I watched Minerva and Bastion go when I realized what she said. I got up, feeling better than ever, and ran past my father, but he grabbed me.
"No, you can't be doing this right now. You need to rest."
"She's making me forget her!" I snarled, yanking my hand from him.
I got to the top of the stairs.
"MINERVA!"
She looked back from the open door and I tromped down the stairs.
"How dare you! How dare you make me forget when I've spent so long trying to get you to remember! That's not fair! Stay here so you don't change anything."
She smiled sadly. "I don't remember you, Duke Barma. Truly. I want to, but I don't. My gut tells me that I should be with you, but my head only sees this reality. I have given you your own power to find us and if you still want to be together, we can. You have to find your own trigger to make you remember everything we've gone through. I'm leaving it up to you."
"But what if it's never said or said too soon?"
"I don't know." She said with a tearful laugh. "I just know that... that everyone will be where they should be, except the Jacobys, and whatever happens from then on will be... happenstance... You need to think about it now."
I thought about it and knew exactly how I wanted to remember her.
"I've got it... Do one last thing for me."
"Of course."
"Kiss me. Kiss me like you did tonight."
Minerva smiled and walked up to me. She touched my cheek and I did the same. She dove her fingers into my hair and pulled me to her. I was ready this time and I met her perfectly and I gave her the best kiss I could ever give a woman. No other lady would receive kisses like this. When we were done, she was crying and I wiped her tears.
"Don't worry... I'll try not to keep you waiting long."
She nodded and I watched her leave my life for real this time... unless my trigger was activated.