A crown of flames

Chapter 13

He stands up slowly and walks towards me,his hands grab my arm and he quickly lifts up my sleeve and traces his thumb over one of my cuts.

His touch so gentle i almost forget to pull away for one moment.

I quickly snatch my arm away from him.

Too late.

I notice a crescent moon inked into a spot near my wrist,where his thumb touched my bruise .

"I do this for Medrania Elide , I don't care whether you believe it or not"he says with a satisfied gleam in his eyes.

My vision starts blurring and the corners of my vision start to darken and the last thing i hear is Alana's gasp as i thud to the ground.

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Hours or days later , i open my suddenly very  heavy eyelids.

I groan as the memories of my collapse come rushing in.

i look to my wrists to find the crescent moon tattoo still there.

He must have transferred it onto my wrists with some slight of hand tricks.

I examine it and come to the conclusion he'd used some poisonous or drug infused ink , if it led to my fainting spell.

I look out the window to see it's morning , i must have at least been here for one night then, i sigh.

I go to look into the mirror and almost freeze in horror at my reflection.

I'd lost at least 15 kilos.My face had yellowed and my hair looked like it hadn't been brushed in days.

I frantically search my room for any indication of how long i'd been asleep.

I find nothing , i try brush my hair but find no clothes that fit.

What the hell am i going to do.

Panic overtakes me , what if i have been asleep for months and i'm to go home now that i have woken up.

I look at my skin,all frail and paled and yellow My legs so dry they start to crack.
My nails had also outgrown to disgusting lengths.

I suddenly fall to the floor and sob till i can't breathe , then i run towards my bedroom door and run down the corridor desperate for help.

But no matter where i go i find no one , the castle is empty.

I scream,but there's no one to hear me.

I run up a flight of stairs to go to the tallest tower.

I sit at the window and scream for help at the top of my lungs.

My throat goes hoarse.

I hear my scream echoed and i give in to my tears again , once i let them out again , they don't stop.

"Elide" i hear someone say , but i'm too distraught to care.

Let them push me of the window.

I'm ugly and frail and useless.

There's no point to life in this awful empty world.

"ELIDE"

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I jerk upwards with a huge gasp , i feel the tears streaming down my face but i'm suddenly in my bed again.

I see Victoria and Alana sat beside me and slowly realise i'd been dreaming.

"Hallucinating"Alana corrects me.

"He gave you Myrt's drug Elide, it plunges the victim into a deep sleep but before they regain their consciousness they experience severe hallucinations"Said Victoria sympathetically.

"How long was i asleep?" i ask ,wiping the tears from my face.

"Not long , just one night" Said Victoria

"I don't understand , how did he do this?"i say checking my wrist for the mark.

To my disgust , it's still there.

"That's why he came back to the room when he saw you"Said Alana leaning back on her chair.

"He probably made the plan with Jadiel and was going to find you to stick it on you anyway, it's a special type of ink that can be applied to the skin twice before it's permanent and then the effects of the drug take place" She said

Seeing my confused look she explained further

"So he stuck it on his thumb and when he touched you it stuck on you , but permanently this time"

"At least he chose a pretty design for your new tattoo"joked Victoria.

I get up wanting to make sure my appearance from the vision hadn't manifested and sigh with relief to find my normal face and skin.

Looking red and exhausted but still me.

"What did you see?" asked Alana looking out my window.

"I was here , in this room , i thought things were normal but then i looked in the mirror , i'd turned an awful yellow colour and my skin was torn and cracked,my hair was knotted and i'd lost a lot of weight, i looked like a zombie"

"I panicked and thought i'd been sleeping for months so i left my room and ran across the palace i cried and screamed until my throat was hoarse , it was so terrifying being all alone that i went to the highest tower and was about to jump off when i awoke to your voices"

Victoria and Alana both looked at me , tears forming in their sad eyes.

Alana abruptly said to me "I will come find you later tonight , now you're awake i have some things to deal with" and she gets wheeled out by a servant.

I turn to Victoria who says to me

"Look , i know we only met a couple of days ago Elide" I smile knowing where this was going.

"But you're my friend , and a great one thus far , so i want you to know , I am in , all in , for whatever it is you have planned, and don't tell me you have nothing planned because i know you do , that fury you're feeling will be the fuel for actions,let it guide you and let me do this with you"

I laugh and say "Ok Mrs inspirational speech , i'll be sure to hit you up when i need help burying the bodies"

"I'm serious"she squeals and i pull her into a fierce hug.

"Thank you" I say to her blinking back tears.

"This isn't just for us , let's do this for everyone the prince and his court have wronged"

I nodd and wipe down my face.

"Now how about some dinner because i'm absolutely starving"