The time of the plague

Chapter twelve

Chirping of birds pulsated the atmosphere; the sunrise dispersed the sky with vibrant colours of gold and amber red. Tilde had just arrived at the Hearts District which overlooked the magnificent view of the palace she felt privileged to work at.
With determination illuminating her visage, she wondered, "It's going to be a busy day today. I have to try and cure Vanessa and the Count so they can be rid of the plague. Maybe these special leeches I have bargained greatly with the leech sellers might help remove her poisoned blood...". Continuing to ponder over how she could cure Vanessa, Tilde approached the Palace Guards -Ludovico & Bludmila- who were usually welcoming towards her. However she immediately knew something was off as both their faces looked gloomy and distraught.
"Come in, milady" Ludocvico mumbled quietly as he refused to make eye contact with her.
"Ludovico. Bludmila. What's wrong? Why do you both look so sad?" Tilde curiously asked. Suddenly, Bludmila began to cry as agony reverberated in his voice.
"Tilde... something bad has happened. Something terrible," Ludovico cried.
Suddenly at unease, Tilde trembled, "What's happened? Tell me now!"
Bludmila howled to the point of being almost inaudible, Tilde could only make out, "Vanessa.... Count Lucio". Her eyes agape in dread, the dealer rapidly sprinted past the gates and into the place building- her nerves rattling with fear. What felt like hours, she finally entered the Palace as it echoed with panicked screams of various maids and servants; darting around the building. As soon as she entered the entrance of the Palace, the overwhelming odor of intense smoke engulfed her nostrils as she coughed in desperation for air. Looking around the palace hallways were billows of smoke coming from a distant direction she knew was familiar. Dumbfounded with the confusing situation around her, Tilde caught the eye of the horrified maid,Clarette, calling her over.
Her voice raspy from the strong fumes, Tilde croaked, "Clarette, why is there smoke in here? What's going on?"
"Tilde, the whole wing has been set on fire...I don't know what happened. V-" Clarette desperately cried but was interrupted by a violent fit of coughs as she was pulled away by a group of aghast servants who were heading outside for air. Trepidation filled her chest as she realised Vanessa and Count Lucio's danger yet a small bit of hope flickered in her,she uttered, "That can't be the case. Maybe a candle dropped and they escaped. Lucio would never let that happen...". Covering her mouth with her shivering hands, Tilde sprinted towards the wing- the smoke getting even more thicker and hazy, causing her to lose direction. Using the walls to guide her, she finally realised Lucio's bedroom- almost unrecognisable as it was burnt to crisp. A plethora of servants were pouring buckets of water to soothe the ablazing, fiery flames- leaving ash in its path. Left to see the wreckage unfold, a tap hit against her shoulder; turning around to see a grief-stricken Portia.
"Portia, you're okay!" Tilde riffled as she hugged her, "Where's Lucio and Vanessa? They're unharmed aren't they?"
Tears streaming down her cheeks, Portia pulled away from the hug and whispered woefully, "Tilde... they didn't make it,". Disbelief clouding her thoughts, Tilde's body felt suddenly weak as she felt herself collapse to her feet. Violently shaking with her hands on her head, she bawled with anguish. There and then, it felt as if her whole world had shattered into irreparable pieces. Portia helped Tilde up "come on let's go outside, I've got something i need to give to you"
Tilde nodded as she let Portia help her up and lead her to the gardens.

Once at the garden Portia got Tilde to sit down before she handed her Vanessa's will. "What is this?" Tilde asked, looking at the envelope with confusion.
"It's Vanessa's will. I wasn't sure who to give this to so i'm going to give it to you" Portia explained.
"Oh right ok" Tilde said as she opened the envelope and got the letter out to start reading it.

Dear Tilde if you are reading this, I have unfortunately met my untimely demise.

You may be wondering why you are in my will. The reason for that is because I would like you to take care of Mischief for me as you are the only living person I would trust with him even though I have only met you a short time ago. Please give him some headpats from me. Now onto how to take care of him: he has his breakfast when he has his first caw of the morning.His favorite breakfast is a mixture of  blackberries,raspberries and strawberries. One way you can bond with him and get him to trust you is to hand feed him the berries one at a time.

After this he will want to go out hunting for himself, let him go and do this. Don't ever cage him as well: he hates it and so do I- let him roam freely around the house and fly outside. If you are worried about him coming back, don't worry he is fiercely loyal and will always come back to you. Also be warned,he may bring the thing he hunted back to you. If he does, it's because he wants to show you how great he is at providing for himself. Please tell him he did a good job and give him head pats maybe even give him a treat . The treat could be one of his favourite snacks which are: insects (I'm sure as a leech dealer you can find a place that sells them) and seeds. He is quite picky about what seeds he eats. It all depends on the day so i can't really direct you to any specific ones.

Mischief is quite mischievous (as you can tell from his name) so please be patient with him! Take him wherever you go, he hates being trapped alone. This will also help you bond with him. Mischief will need to be bathed which will be difficult as he finds it tricky with the aspect of water. but feel free to be patient with him and introduce the water to him and he'll be completely fine once in the water. Make sure to properly clean his wings and let him shake off as much as possible before drying him with a soft cotton towel, I keep his feathers very soft and I can depend on you to maintain it! Mischief can wake you up in the night and may not cooperate with you as he will realise that I'm missing but if you take him in your arms and pet him softly, he will soon calm down. As long as you gain his trust, he'll see you as a loving companion- I'm sure you can do that for me.

I just want to end this by saying thank you for doing all that you have done for me in my final moments. I also want you to know I forgive you for accidentally causing me to overdose, I know you didn't mean it and I sincerely apologise for Lucio's reaction. Now after reading this all, you may be wondering why I have chosen you to take care of Mischief. Well after knowing how loyal, kind and how well you took care of me. I can guarantee you will take good care of my one and only true treasure in my life.....

Her heart palpitating in her chest, Tilde carefully folded back the crisp sheets of paper holding the precious inked handwriting of Vanessa- gripping it valuably to her chest. Sniffling back the tears which stung her eyes, she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the mermaid's sense of trust towards her. Looking back at the exuberant Portia, she blubbered,"Portia...I don't deserve this. How could she trust me when I almost overdosed her?"- tears finally trickling down her eyes.
Hushing Tilde's sorrowful tone, she merrifully cried, "Look, I know Vanessa. She would never make a decision without good reason- I know you truly deserve this. Don't doubt yourself Tilde,".

As she held the sobbing Tilde in her arms, the faint voice of Clarette whispered behind them, "Milady, I have something to give you,". Both pulling away from the hug in curiosity, they were unveiled to a caged Mischief squawking loudly in frustration. Alerted by Vanessa's message of him not being kept in the cage, Tilde abruptly alarmed, "Clarette,open the cage. Mischief hates being trapped in that thing!"
Clarette, feeling guilty, apologised, "I'm so sorry milady- I had no idea!"- quickly swinging open the cage door. Moving her arm towards the raven, Tilde clicked her tongue as she encouraged Mischief to hop on however he moved further away- not recognising her face as Vanessa's. Tilting his head in confusion at the eager eyed Tilde, Mischief called "cawww".
Subduing her stare at the bird, Tilde murmured, "It's okay Mischief. No need to fear, I will keep you safe in behalf of Vanessa. I will never hurt you okay?". With trepidation, he fluttered his wings as he cautiously landed on Tilde's arm- causing the dealer to smile with content. Mischief walked up her arm closer to her face and cawed questionably.Tilde reached out to Mischief to try and give him head pats but he tilted his head back as he wasn't sure what she was doing. Eventually Tilde was able to pat his head. Once she started doing this Mischief settled down on her arm and relaxed.As Tilde pet Mischief, he cawed out affectionately to Tilde.
"Tilde, it looks like you've made a new friend" Portia said
"Yeah, it seems like I have," Tilde said smiling at the bird.