Chapter 61: Chapter 61

LENORA'S POV

Diane had sat beside my bed all through the time as she constantly checked up on me, she had a worried look on her face as she mixed different medicines for me.

They all claimed I had been poisoning myself for a long time while I can't relate with what they all say. I was fully conscious when I heard the king announcing the last fight being today by 5pm and when I heard my whole body went numb as a part of me felt like I had already lost Alaric for good and worst of all I lost him to Tala.

Sometimes I wish he could do something about this but I keep forgetting that Adolph was the ruler and king of all paranormal creatures and there was no way Alaric would stand a chance against him. The only true option was to perform the werewolf ritual and fight.

"I'll make sure to give you some special family potion, it works well but in your current condition it might have some bad side effects that your body might not be able to take in." Diane said to me in a low tone the moment she noticed my eyelids opening.

"I need it " I replied as I stared at her with sad and hopeless eyes. I could feel it somewhere deep in me that I wasn't only weak but slowly dying as I could sense my organs failing.

"I noticed you're in your heat period and might transform, it's a big risk to take " she sighed.

"If I lose today then I would not have to worry about transforming if his canines bury themselves in her" I pleaded as she sighed with her eyes closed shut.

"I'll try my best to make sure you don't feel much of the effect" she stood up and walked to the table furthest away from the room as she brought out a tiny transparent bottle containing some green liquid.

It didn't look so great from the sight of it and I felt like I was going to puke if I took that liquid.

"Take this, drink all and it'll fight the poison that has been storing itself in your system for years in just an hour or two. The reason why it's dangerous is because of its rapid speed but I have added some things to reduce the effect and speed so you don't have to worry much." She said with a smile and handed the bottle over to me.

I opened the lid and stared at the liquid for some time as I wasn't sure I was ready to dump this in my system. The smell alone was enough to make me puke.

"I know it's nowhere near sweet but that's what makes it work " she giggled as she softly placed her hands on my cheeks giving me a reassuring smile.

"Okay " I responded by pinching my nose tight while I gulped the whole liquid down my throat. She was right, I was right, it tasted awful and I felt the urge to vomit everything as I suddenly opened my mouth to pour it out but nothing came out.

"You're strong, I can barely gulp them all down at a go" the queen smiled but my body wasn't in a smiling mood as my mouth tasted like rotten garbage.

"I need to brush my teeth," I said to her as she chuckled.

"That won't have any effect on the taste, it'll leave after an or two. When it leaves it means you're fully strong and the drug worked for you."

"Thank you, Queen Diane" I bowed to her as she only smiled in return. Her face had been carrying that smile since I opened my eyes.

"Call me Mother, it'll be great to hear that word once again" she sighed and I spotted the sadness in her eyes before they instantly faded off.

"Thank you, Mother" I thanked her again and could sense she wasn't expecting it as her eyes lit up and she grabbed me for a tight hug.

I felt relieved that I had her love and kindness but I wished the king would see me that way too because none of these would matter if he rejects me once again. I know he's probably worried about the position of a queen but I honestly don't give a fuck. I just want to be happy with Alaric.

"You, Lenora will be the light to our dark lives" she muttered under her breath as she deepened the hug.

I could feel her happiness as I also felt a warm liquid on my back and hugged her back. We remained in that position for a while before she withdrew.

"The final battle is in an hour's time, I need to get dressed for it" she announced as my heart skipped a beat again. I must have been asleep for a long time, the potion would work in two hours time but the battle would start in an hour's time. I didn't think I was capable of the fight yet.

I knew I should be getting ready but my mind was fogged and I needed to clear it up as I decided to take a stroll around the house. I felt a lot better than earlier but wasn't fully okay as I could still feel the taste of the potion.

As I walked past some rooms, my ears caught a familiar voice. It was Clara's voice and my whole body was suddenly filled with rage.

I had thought Clara had gone back to get house but I was wrong all along as she has been busy supporting Tala. I saw her watching how Tala threw punches at me and how she was cheering Tala with a satisfied smile on her face like I wasn't also her child. I was damn sure she knew about me being sick yet didn't give a flying fuck about me.

I heard Tala's voice afterward and they seemed to be chattering and giggling among themselves. I wanted to leave and walk away but that rage in me wouldn't be at rest until I confronted them so I barged into the room with my fist folded beside me and my eyes screaming in anger.

"You witch!" I yelled as I pointed a finger at Clara, she seemed to be shocked about the fact that I found her here.

"Watch your tongue!" Tala yelled as she stood up from where she was seated and approached me.

"You think you can just barge in here and talk to my mother that way? You bastard!" She cursed while I tried hard to contain my anger so I wouldn't hit her. If I hit her then I'll be penalised and Alaric will have to suffer the rest of his life with her.

"Tala watch your words!" Clara cautioned as she gently shoved Clara out of the way so she was now facing me.

"My sweet child" she cooed as she tried to touch my face but I was quick to shove her hand away as a hint of sadness showed on her face.

"Don't call me your child you witch, you came to me some days back to beg me to forgive you and I stupidly forgave you yet you were cheering your daughter up while she put me in an unconscious state."

"I trusted you Clara and I thought I had a mother but now I feel nothing but hate towards you" I spat.

"Just fucking get out!" Tala scoffed as she tried to push me outside.

"Just calm down you two and listen to me Lenora" she raised her voice and Tala angrily stormed back to where she was while I tried to contain my tears.

"What do you expect me to do Lenora? You both are my daughters and I love you equally. I was only trying to find a way to bring peace among you both"

"Tala has no one on her side to support her while you, on the other hand, have both the queen and the prince to take care of you. I had to take care of you both but you were in good hands so I decided to take care of Tala."

"You don't know how much it hurts me to know both my daughters have to fight against each other because of a man without any choice. I want you both to be happy but the King set the rule and there's really nothing much I can do except pray to the moon goddess."

"I'm on both of you sides, but you had good people to take care of you so I took care of Tala who had no one. I'm doing this for our sake, our family's sake. I want us to be back together and didn't I tell you I'll find a way to bring you and your sister closer?"

"I know what I'm doing Lenora and you need to calm down to understand me rather than calling me a witch. It hurts" she cried as she wiped her eyes with the back of her palm.

I felt sorry for her and maybe I've truly been jumping into conclusions and shouldn't have attacked her that way.

"You don't need to explain yourself to her mother, '' Tala voiced out.

"Will you just fucking shut up and let me fix my mistakes, I've made mistakes while I was young and don't need to repeat my mistakes. I want to fix my family, our family" she cried in frustration as she faced Tala.

"We're not broken, she's the broken and rotten one!" Tala yelled as she pointed at me and Clara raised her hands to hit her. Even though I might enjoy the sight of it, I could not let it happen.

"Mother, please don't" I begged as Clara retrieved her hands while Tala scoffed and walked towards her bed as she sat at a corner while aggressively typing on her phone.

"I'm sorry about what she said, it'll take a while but I promise to fix this " She apologised.

"You're doing just fine, I need to leave " I excused myself but as I was about to walk out she had stopped me by holding my hands.

"Stay a little longer with us, let me dress you up" she pleaded as my eyes drifted to Tala who was already dressed up and no longer paying attention to us as she was focused on her phone.

I wanted to refuse but with the look on her eyes, I gave in and decided to let her dress me up as she dragged my hands towards the dressing table and I wondered why I would need to look good for a fight.

"This isn't necessary..."

"Don't worry, I'll just style your hair. '' She cut me off and I decided to give in as I sat comfortably on the chair while she worked on my hair.

"I made some cookies, your grandma's recipe would you like some?" She asked and I instantly nodded. I have missed my grandma's cookies.

She left my hair and walked to a corner to carry the small box in her hand as she brought it back to me and placed it on the dressing table.

"Eat up, " she said.

ALARIC'S POV

I couldn't stop thinking about what was going wrong with Lenora as it bothered me. I had thought I would deal with the issue once I settle the case with my father but what if I never get to settle it or what if It would be too late for me.

By seeing Lenora in her current condition it made me doubt if I have much time to myself as I could feel it in me that a part of her wasn't weak anymore but dying. It made me scared.

I had begged Diane to do something about it and find a potion to cure her for a long while now until she finally told me she found one today but would need Lenora's consent before giving it to her.

Apparently the potion would have great side effects on Lenora since she was in her heating stage but could be minimised. I remember the feeling of happiness and joy I had in me when she told me there was a way out and I almost hugged her. Hell I hugged her before realising and immediately leaving the room for her.

I had left the room to figure out what exactly was wrong with Lenora but I knew it couldn't be more than Tala and her mother since Lenora's condition turned worse the day I came across her mother but I just couldn't confront them else I can find some evidence .

Since we've had just one senior chef in the Palace I might as well ask what they have been feeding her for a long time since Diane claimed she has been consuming it for a long time.

About the bruises and deep wounds that were on Lenora's body, the only logical explanation would be Tala wasn't fighting fair as she must have been fighting with a small weapon almost invisible In her hands.

But a mere weapon also can't do that which also leads to the fact that she had laced the weapon with wolfsbane, the same wolfsbane used to poison Lenora.