The Lycan King's Puppet-Chapter 117: Antidote

The vile hung limply between her fingers long after he had left.

His last words still haunted her. All evidence will point to only her? Her befuddled mind could only understand little, but it was clear that nothing was beyond such men in their pursuit for power and revenge.

She was a dead woman either way.

If she took the antidote, she would live a lie for the rest of her miserable existence, and if she didn’t she would die and leave her sister, dooming herself to an eternity of pain and regret. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

What was she to do?

What if the antidote wasn’t really an antidote?

He’d said that if she died, the blame would shift to them, hadn’t he? Were they desperate enough to save her just to save themselves?

She tried standing up from the bed but she collapsed on her knees. Her body felt heavy and limp.

The vile was still in her hand. Slowly, she laid her head on the soft rug on the floor. Her body followed suit.

Then, a knock sounded on the door.

The door swung open to admit someone barefooted from the sound of bare feet slapping against the polished floor.

Aurora.

"Claire? Are you alright?"

She tried to move but she couldn’t.

Sharp pain shot through her spine, causing her to jerk and coil simultaneously.

Rory rushed forward and knelt down beside her.

"Why are you on the floor, Claire?" Rory tried rolling her over with her small hands but couldn’t.

Then, it dawned on her. Aurora was walking? Since when?

Claire tried turning her head but her neck wouldn’t move.

She was dying, the thought sunk in like a sword in a pond.

In front of the person she promised she’d never leave.

"Claire, you’re scaring me. Say something. Should I call someone? The King? Andon? Are you in pain?"

Hearing the tears in her sister’s voice broke something in her.

She summoned all the strength she had and brought her right hand close to her mouth.

Using her teeth to remove the lid, she drank what she could from the vile while the rest slid along the side of her mouth and soaked the rug beneath her head.

"What are you drinking, Claire? What is that?" Rory’s voice was slightly raised.

It tasted sour, more sour than lime. And terribly bitter.

But it didn’t seem to be working. She still couldn’t move, neither was she breathing properly.

Yet her eyes felt heavy - much heavier than they had been before she drank the horrendous concoction.

And she fell asleep again.

When she opened her eyes, bright light nearly blinded her.

All the drapes and curtains had been fully opened to admit the sun’s rays. And from the intensity, she could tell it was well past noon.

How long had she slept?

There was a soft pressure on her abdomen, and the soothing sound of a child’s steady breathing.

She glanced down and saw Aurora asleep, resting her head on her abdomen while her arms wrapped around her.

Claire lifted a hand to smooth her sister’s hair without realising it. And her hand moved. It actually moved. The heaviness was gone, so was the blinding pain that came with it.

Rory jerked at her touch, her eyes snapping open immediately.

"Claire?"

Rory struggled to crawl forward, peering into her face with concern. Dried tear tracks stained her pale cheeks and her eyes looked puffy and bleary.

Claire reached out and pulled her into her arms, holding her there for as long as she needed to.

"I thought you were dying."

She was.

"I’m fine now." She planted a kiss on her sister’s forehead.

"What happened to you?"

Silence.

The vile - she hadn’t burned it. The servants would arrive anytime soon. Wait, what if they had already arrived - it was noon.

She pulled away from Aurora and climbed to her feet with the agility of a horse rider.

The vile had rolled a few feet away from where she had lain.

She grabbed it and threw it into the bored flames that lit the hearth. The fire came alive, licking whatever liquid that was left in the bottle.

"Why did you do that?"

She froze, realising that Rory had been watching everything she had been doing.

"Nothing."

"Were you trying to kill yourself, Claire?"

Claire spun around to look at her.

"Why would you ever ask me that?"

Aurora glanced at the vile in the flames and narrowed her eyes.

"Things are much more complicated than you can comprehend, Rory. Just be glad that I’m alive." She glanced down at her sister’s leg.

It was still covered with purple bruises from what the night gown revealed.

"You didn’t come to see me the whole day. And I had to limp to your room, just to find you sprawled on the floor."

"I don’t want to discuss this. Leave it at that, Rory."

"Write a letter to Zach. Tell him to come and take me away from here, Claire. Take us away from here. Since you came here, I don’t recognize you anymore. You prefer the King’s company to mine-"

"Because I think you’re ashamed of me." Claire blurted out, turning her face away.

"Ashamed of you? Whyever would I be?"

"Because I made terrible mistakes."

Aurora leaned forward where she sat, her big eyes focused on Claire’s.

"I’ll never be ashamed of you after all you’ve been through for me."

Claire bit her lower lip and went to her table to fetch a quill, an inkwell and a fresh parchment.

"What are you going to write?"

"A letter to the King."

"About what?"

Claire sat down on the chair with a sigh and dipped the tip of the quill into the inkwell.

"I intend to let him know that I would be indisposed indefinitely."

Aurora’s breath caught.

"You can’t do that, Claire. Servants do not decide their time of service."

"I can do whatever I want, Rory."

Rory swatted her forehead. "You’re not a Lady anymore."

"I know. Which is why I intend to play a card the society will frown upon."