Aurelie opened her eyes, slowly blinking to get accustomed to the soft light in the room, and lifted herself up by her elbows. A stabbing pain soared through her temples. She fell back down and groaned. Her brain felt loose inside her skull, and any movement caused a vicious ache.
Leaves rustled loudly outside. All the sounds were extra loud and bore into her ears, worsening her headache. The bird sang outside, stopping for mere seconds before repeating the horrid melody over and over again. Every note sent sparks of pain fluttering beneath her eyes. She winced, and pressed her fingers against her temples, hoping to soothe the pain.
White blankets covered all the windows. The sun highlighted them in a brown glow. It was dark, but not dark enough. The faint light pierced through her eyes, poking her like a hundred needles.
Redwood covered the room from ceiling to floor in long planks. A mirror right opposite the bed reflected what Aurelie thought she'd look like after being dead for a week. Her skin was pale as a sheet, eyes surrounded by black rings, and her hair spread around her like thin, long, spider legs.
She rolled onto her side, bracing herself for the knock of pain that would come with the movement. Brown stains covered the end of her blue flowered pillow. She moved her head away to look at the stains properly and realized that it had been newly dried blood.
A knock pounded against the door. She covered her open ear and winced. The door swung open, sending an explosion of light into the room.
"Ahhhh," Aurelie groaned and covered her eyes. "Please, close the door." Her eyes stung something wicked and she doubted she would be able to handle any more pain.
"I'm sorry, dear," said a gentle voice and the door closed with a quiet thump.
Aurelie slid her eyes open a little. An auburn haired, middle-aged woman stood in front of the closed door, holding a tray topped with fruit and a steaming glass mug of light green liquid.
"How's that head feeling?" she asked.
"Not good." Aurelie didn't remember seeing this woman at the tavern. Although admittedly she wasn't fully in her right mind when the rebels found her, there could have been ten women there and she'd be none the wiser once the excessive use of her magic exhausted her.
It was getting hard to keep her eyes open, the pain behind them was constant and overpowering. She was made nauseous by it and her only saving grace was that she hadn't eaten anything yet.
"That bad, huh?" The woman put her hand on Aurelie's head. Her cool touch was soothing but quickly absorbed the warmth of Aurelie's boiling skin.
She picked the mug up by the handle and held it for Aurelie to take. "Here, this should help with the pain."
Aurelie eyed the cup suspiciously. It smelled like boiled grass mixed with something hot like a chili pepper and the gooey transparent things that floated inside the cup made it look like a bug's vomit.
A knock of pain reverberated through her skull. She clutched the woman's wrist, bracing against it as the pain traveled through her.
"Sorry," she said, releasing the woman's hand once the pain passed. Aurelie lay back on the pillow, closing her eyes, and ignoring the cup that had still been held for her to take.
The woman noticed her reluctance. "Will you drink if I drink first?"
She nodded, opening her eyes again to watch the woman take a large sip, open her mouth for Aurelie to see the gooey liquid floating inside there, then close her mouth, swallow, and cringed at the taste.
"Your turn," she held the cup out again. "Come on." The disgust had still not left her features. Her nose was wrinkly with it and her lips pursed.
Aurelie took the sip from her, and drank it in one go, careful not to take a breath while drinking. She was already near vomiting and didn't need the smell of the hot, green horror to motivate her.
It was sour and made her throat itch. The aftertaste was what got her; it left the taste of stale bread and something potently herby in her mouth. Just as the liquid rolled down her throat, Aurelie felt it come right up again. She jumped onto her knees, eyes wide, searching for a bedpan. Her head throbbed at the motion and rays of bright light cut through her vision.
The woman threw the tray down on the bed and stuck a threatening finger out to Aurelie. "Swallow!" she said sternly, then wheezed with panic and bent down the side of the bed as if hiding from Aurelie's line of fire. She came up with a round pot and threw it at Aurelie.
Aurelie caught it and bent her head over it, feeling the hot drink enter her mouth again. She spat and gagged, trying to catch her breath between the comings of vomit.
"Alright, dear." Aurelie felt a gentle hand rub her back. "That's it."
Aurelie sat back once her stomach no longer tensed every few seconds to empty itself of content, regaining the breath that she had lost. Beads of sweat dripped down her face and neck. "I've never tasted anything so vile," she said. "I'm very grateful for your hospitality, ma'am, but could be start off with a cup of tea next time?"
The woman's lips curved into a smile. "My name is Sasha," she said, cocking her head to observed Aurelie's face. "And you're looking better despite throwing most of the tonic up before it did anything." Her blue eyes were soft with sympathy.
Aurelie turned her head from side to side and then pushed her eyes into the very edges of her sockets to test whether the pain would strike. There was still some pain present but not as striking as it was before. "Hmph," Aurelie uttered in surprise. "I think you're right."
"Do you think you can eat anything?" Sasha asked tentatively.
Aurelie, still hugging the pot, shook her head. "Not just yet, I don't think. I keep remembering the taste and thinking I'll have to bend over again."
She sat silent for a moment, just watching Aurelie out of the corner of her eye, then shifted her position on the bed to put her hand on Aurelie's. "Do you mind if we go over how came to be in Berillian?"
"I guess so." Aurelie tensed, unsure of what to expect.
"Let's start with what happened to Marianne Darkem at her cottage."
Aurelie's eyes filled with tears at the mention of Marianne. "I had to do it," she said, her bottom lip quivering. That day came back to her in an instant. It must have had something to do with her being able to relax, safely tucked into a bed and finally being somewhere solid, warm and with people who could help her but she started to shake at the memory of that day and couldn't stop her tears from welling in her eyes. She saw Marianne's body as if it were right there beside her on the bed and crumbled to the memory. She hadn't had a moment to deal with what she'd done . . . with being a murderer. "You have to believe me, sheâ"
"I'm not accusing you of anything." Sasha's warm blue eyes softened.
"You don't have to, I've already admitted to killing her."
Aurelie hadn't even considered that these people were Marianne's allies and that she had brought herself right to them. Her head started to spin and all the tears brought her headache right back.
Aurelie laid her palm flat against her forehead and pressed her middle finger and thumb hard against her temples, fighting the rising pain.
"You need some more Herkri tonic."
Sasha put a hand on Aurelie's knee and stood from the bed before Aurelie could protest, picking the cup up off of the tray on the bedside table. She opened the door, passed the cup to someone who had been standing and waiting there and said something very quietly before closing the door again and coming back to Aurelie's bedside.
"We know about Marianne," she said slowly, watching Aurelie's reaction with careful caution. "It is how you came to be at her home that we're interested in. Did someone direct you there?"
Aurelie told her all about what she had seen at the Sproot's manor, how she saw her parents being taken and then how the servant girl woke her up the next morning. As Aurelie was about to continue her journey toward Marianne, Sasha interrupted.
"This servant, what did she look like?"
"Her name is Vica."
Sasha tried to hide a smile that twitched at the corners of her lips. "We don't normally use our real names."
"She had been there for a long time, though. Five or six years, at least, came in after Mrs. Tomson passed away. Fair hair, thin, I can't remember the color of her eyes or anything that jumped out at me about her appearance."
"And she told you that Marianne was working with the rebels."
"The rebels of Halbrook."
Sasha narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to the side away from Aurelie. After a moment she sat up straighter. "Marianne, did she say anything?"
"Only that my father was coming for me and that she needed him to know that she had taken good care of me."
Sasha's head snapped backward at that. "Really?"
Aurelie nodded as a knock sounded on the door. A young girl, about thirteen, entered with a fresh cup of disgusting green goo, her head lowered in embarrassment and the cup shaking a little in her hand.
"This is Simone, our youngest witch." The girl beamed at that, thick lips spreading over pink cheeks.
"Your Majesty," the girl said softly and bowed, without looking at Aurelie once.
"Thank you, Simone." Aurelie took the cup, her mouth curling at the memory of the disgusting taste.
Simone finally snuck a peek at her before leaving the room. There were several people outside her door, talking in hushed voices but they were drowned out again once Simone closed the door behind her.
"Don't gulp it all down at once."
Aurelie took what she said for sarcasm and took a big sip of the drink. It remained locked in her mouth, her throat was refusing to swallow.
"Slowly," Sasha said, "or you'll just bring it all up again.
Aurelie nodded and wrinkled her nose.
"What is this place?" Aurelie asked once the
"It's a safe haven for those who have come to need one over the years."
"So everyone knows about this place?"
"Oh no, we find them like we found you."
Aurelie relaxed at that. Taking another sip while another question appeared to have formed in Sasha's mind. Aurelie quickly swallowed, having come to realize what she had casually been sipping on with a start.
"Daerious wanted me to find out whether Jermyn's curse had broken."
Aurelie shook her head. "No, he's still a tree."
Sasha sighed deeply. "Well, then. You've had quite a day."
"Quite a few days," Aurelie echoed. "But I'm not dead yet!" she said with half a smile.
"Not for lack of trying," Sasha observed her battered legs and covered them with the quilt. "At least, you're here now."
Aurelie smiled; unsure of whether that was a good or bad thing yet. The medicine made her incredibly tired. Aurelie yawned again, her eyes closing for longer periods between each blink. "I think my headache is gone," she said softly as Sasha made her way to the door.
"That's good," she said before leaving. "Try to get some rest. Folks here are dying to meet you. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep them from storming down the door." The door closed and Aurelie listened for the click of a lock, but it never came and she drifted peacefully to sleep.