Episode 10

Teris

"It has been three days. What is wrong with her Gaius?" I fumed.

"I am afraid I do not know how else to treat her Sire. I have given her the best treatment possible. She refuses to awaken." He said looking at the ground.

"Why? You are the best there is Gaius. Why can you not wake her?" I asked,growing impatient. He had stalled for three whole days and now this? My child's life was in danger...and its mother too. Her wounds had been healed,the poison was out of her system but her fever did not come down and she was not waking up.

"Sire...I am the very best at treating people... I, however do not know what to do in her case. She is not... exactly... human." I had never heard anything more stupid in my life.

"No? What then is she?" I asked,folding my arms.

"Come." He said and opened the door to her chambers,waiting by it for me to go in.

I placed my hands behind my back and walked in. There she lay on the red velvet mattress,her face upwards. It had been three days of waiting for my judgement. I knew the moment she opened her eyes,all I would see in them was hate and yet,I anticipated it.

Gaius walked past me and stood beside her. He gently tucked her beautiful azure hair behind her ear and looked at me.

"You might want to take a closer look at this Sire."

I nodded and walked to them. When I reached them,I froze. I had heard of such but I had not seen anything like it. Her ears. Delicate and sharper than my finest blades.

"That is not the only thing Sire. There is a writing." He said,pushing the covers off and exposing nude self once again. I looked away immediately. I would have ordered for her to be dressed but for Gaius' words that forced me to let her stay unclad.

I stole a look and I found him flipping her over but very gently. He looked at me and pointed at the small of her back. I looked closely. There was something but I could not make out what it was.

Gaius stretched a magnifying glass over the writing and I was able to see it very clearly but I still did not know what it was.

"I can't tell what it means Sire. I have never seen a language like that." Gaius said as I dragged my eyes off the marking.

"Perhaps,a translator would do. I know someone. We could..."

"No. This...stays between us. Whatever you saw...it must not leave this chamber." I cut in.

"But Sire,she could pose a threat..." I held my hand up to shun him.

"I was not asking Gaius. I was ordering you. If you in the least,love your life and that of your family's...you will take heed to my words." I threatened,glaring at him intently so as to get my message across.

He bowed and turned to Persephone,leaning over to touch her again. My insides twisted weirdly and I raised my hand.

"I will do it myself. Leave us." I said. He bowed slightly and scrammed out of her chambers.

I stretched my hand forward to flip her over but my hand stopped halfway through. I did not have the right to touch her. She would not want me to lay a finger on her. She shuddered slightly and I felt my heartbeat skip. Fear. Fear that she would open her eyes and hate me even more than she already did. Although,that was what I wanted. If I did not have the right to touch her,at least I had the right to my child. I touched her arm gently to flip her over but I winced slightly when I felt how hot she was.

I left her and walked to the bathroom,grabbing a towel and dipping it into cold water. Luckily,I was not in my attire so i had nothing to worry about.

After flipping her over,I dabbed her forehead with it and a moan escaped her lips. I continued and wiped her face, on reaching her chest,she sobbed slightly.

"It is so cold...mother..."she trailed off as her hand landed on mine and she squeezed it.

I looked at it for a while,feeling rather awkward.

" P..." I was saying before she began sobbing again.

"Mother...I miss you mother...Eos...Eos..." Her silent sob turned to tears. Eos. A familiar name. I reminisced on the day I visited the river. There was a lad,perhaps a year older than Layna,with golden brown eyes and a bright smile. Thinking about that, they did look alike.

I removed her hand from mine gently and proceeded mopping her body. She sobbed a few more times,complaining about the coldness. Her fever came down after a while and I returned the towel.

Leaving her here in her chambers like this was risky. I would have to get her clothed. I would try my best to cover her ears but I could not do anything about her hair. Covering one's hair in my castle was unacceptable. Dyeing. It was not an option as it was also unacceptable. Nonetheless,I would do my best.

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Persephone

"Mother...where are you going...why are you leaving me again?" I asked as she kept moving farther away from me.

"Mother...let me come with you. Please mother. No one wants me here. I do not have anything left to live for,Mother. Let me come with you. Please Mother." I cried,stretching my hand forth to reach out to her but it felt like the more I tried,we grew further apart.

Her beautiful black hair flew with the wind,going left and right.

"No Persephone. You have everything I had ever wished for you to have. How can I take you along now? That child in your womb is enough reason to live for. No one wants you? How could you be this selfish,Persephone? Eos? Your child? I did not teach you to be this way,my child. Regardless of what happens, you will not give up,Persephone. Just remember. There is more to everything than it seems."

"Mother..." She smiled at me and then,vanished.

"Mother!" I screamed.

My eyes fluttered open to the aroma of chicken. Staring at the ceiling,I tried to turn to search for where the aroma came from but my neck ached so badly I stopped moving.

Where was I? Surely,I was not at home for we had not one mattress at home. I was not at Sir Thoth's either. Adrienne's mattress was not as big.

I struggled to sit up so I could have a better view of where I was. My back ached as I rested it on the pillows that rested on the headboard. The first thing that caught my eyes was the comforter I was covered with. It was a velvet deep blue comfort that looked plush and soft. Like father's. I caressed it to check and I was not disappointed.

I raised my gaze to look around. The room was massive. It was twice our barn. Who would bring me here? I sure was not dreaming. My curiosity grew to its peak as I removed the comforter from my body to get up. Only then did I see the clothes I had on.

It was a ox blood silky dress that did not flatter me at all. I never ever wore red clothes. Ever. It made me look like a witch. The witch I already looked like. I gasped when I remembered. My hair. I touched my hair. Uncovered. My ears. I touched them. There was something on the tip of it. Something metallic.

Something at the corner shifted,catching my attention and I gasped when I looked.

"You!" I shrieked.

A smirk appeared on his lips and amusement twinkled in his eyes. He sat in a chair that rocked him back and forth in a stylish manner.

"Why are you here? Why am I here?" I asked,suddenly feeling very angry.

He rubbed his palms together and smiled. "Welcome to my humble abode, Persey. "

My blood boiled on seeing the glint in his blue eyes. How could he smile and feel so comfortable with what he had done to me? I really wanted to know what I was doing here. Why he did not let me die for obviously, I was very much alive and by the looks of it,I was in his 'prison'.

"Why did you bring me here? Would it have killed you to not meddle in my affairs? Why did you not let me...go?" I said as I felt myself grow hot in anger. My eyes watered too quickly and I blinked the tears back.

"On the contrary,it is not about you. After all, you carry my heir in your womb...why on earth would I let you 'go'?" He stood and the chair rocked itself for a while before it stopped.

He looked rather simple in the tunic he wore. I did not think he would wear a tunic in the palace. It was not proper.

He put his hands behind him and took a few steps towards me.

"I know...I wronged you... You would not believe my words and I do not want to dwell on them either. Allow me to correct my mistakes,Persephone." He said, staring down at me, the smirk on his face gone.

Mistake? Correct this? There was no fixing me. I was broken.

Pushing the duvet aside,I placed my feet on the ground,wanting to leave and not listen to his words. I pushed myself of the bed and the moment I stood,a strong wave of nausea hit me like no other,making my legs wobble and I felt myself fall. Strong arms grabbed me and I gasped when I looked in his eyes.

This was no illusion like the rest. He was right here and he wanted to hurt me. I swallowed hard as i suddenly saw a coy smile and a smouldering look on his face. I blinked twice and it was no longer there. His eyes now had worry in them.

Once I stabled myself, I pulled away from him and took a few steps towards the door.

"Where are you going?" He questioned.

I ignored him and twisted the door knob.

The door creaked open and I shut it after me. The hallway was rather empty and I thanked the heavens for that. I heard the door creak behind me and I knew at once that he was following me.

I increased my pace,taking the next turn to my right.

"Be careful. You are not..." I heard him but I shut him out after a while. The turn I took led to a grand dinner table that was not empty.

All eyes fell on me...close to twenty set of eyes to be precise, as I sped in but I did not care less. Nausea hit me harder this time,making me stop dead in my tracks and my world spun. Why the sudden weakness?

My legs gave out and I fell...or so I thought.

He caught me in time before I landed on the hard marble floor. My head kept spinning and it was hard to even see a thing.

Effortlessly, he swept me into his arms and I was too tired to detest. "Good night mother." I heard him say before he headed to the room once again.

My head rested on his chest and I could hear the sound of his heartbeat. Lub Dub. Lub Dub. Lub Dub. It calmed me. The irony of life. I did not want to be here but I could not help myself out of the situation. My body was numb and my energy had been zapped.

"It is alright to hate me. It is but surely,you do not hate your child,do you?" He asked softly. No. It was mine after all. How could I hate it? I did not.

"Umm-hmm." I hummed since I could not bring forth words. "I promise not to hurt you as long as you do not harm my child. If you do not want me to touch you...that is impossible, especially since I am the only one who has the right to..."

His words rang in my head and I cursed that I could not move and jump out of his arms. Right?! What?!What?!What?!

As if sensing my discomfort he paused. "No. Do not misunderstand me. I have no interest whatsoever ever in you. No one else can because that would be risky for you. You are not human..."

My eyes widened when his words hit me. He knew?! What...he was the one...my ears? You know that moment when you want to scream but your body is totally limp and numb and you can not move a muscle? Yeah,that feeling...it was killing me slowly.

"You were in the jaws of death a few days ago and me saving you does not mean you are safe. If you step out of the palace,you are in danger. If your little secret is found,you are not going to survive what comes next and your Eos...he will suffer along with you."

I felt my heart shatter into a bazillion pieces. Eos? My Eos. How was he? I wanted to see him. Would he really be in danger? Eos.

"I can not give you everything you deserve but I will fix this...and for that to happen,you will have to help me. Deal?"he asked.

It was a good offer. If it were up to me,I would not stay but for my Eos,I would do anything and everything. For my child as well.

" Hmm."I said and I felt his chin move. Probably a smile. He opened the door to the room and we went in.

"Your energy is drained because you have not had food in days plus the treatments. You will be fine when you have something to eat." He said,placing me on the bed.

I closed my eyes as they suddenly felt exhausted. I drifted off as quickly as I closed it.

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