The Lost Life of Laraine

Chapter 11

Another day, another completely strange thing happening. 

Here I am, at about 4 in the morning again, standing before my mother's room, holding onto a blanket like a child. 

Everyone else is asleep except for knights and Bell who told me that my mother was on death's door. 

The curse was in full power, no medicine or treatment will be able to subdue the symptoms. Tonight she had an exceptionally high fever, and in constant pain that her mons and groans could be heard even from my wing. 

The doctor said she won't last the night. 

Bell had arranged for me to see her right now. I know my father gave me permission to see her, but I feel like I'm not supposed to be here. 

Taking a deep breath I finally open the door, the immediate heat my mother was producing was obvious. Her magic mixed with her curse cause the room to almost be unbearably hot. She was writing on the bed, her arms splayed like she was pinned to the bed and her feet were kicking away invisible monsters. 

In truth she was. Or at least her spirit was. It was corrupted and being dragged to the underworld. 

Taking a deep breath, I squatted, putting the blanket down slowly until a small 'clunk' was heard and the blanket at about a foot tall bump in it. Removing the blanket, it revealed a vase, a beautiful crystal vase that was filled to the brim with water and not a single drop leaked. 

Standing at her bedside I rose my hands up like a puppeteer and the water began to snake out of the vase. It wasn't special water or anything, just taken from the nearby river, but I needed water exposed to enough of the mortal world's spirits and this was the closest I could get. 

I began chanted, the water glowing brighter and brighter with every word and my mother's body suddenly jolted up, and she let out a bone-chilling scream as a black aura began to leave her body. 

Lord Geris allowed for this hall to be cleared out for me to have a private moment with her, so I just hoped that no one will interrupt the ritual. She at least stopped screaming as thicker and thicker aura came out at different areas of her body. 

The once clear water was turning murky and a foul smell began to fill the room. It was the smell of rotting flesh, indication of a spirit of the underworld. 

I didn't even realize that my mother began thrashing again as I was trying to keep concentrating on extracting the corruption, until her hands were on fire from her instinct to protect herself. I was removing something that has been with her since birth, I definitely was like some sort of foreign attacker. 

I raised my hands a bit higher, the circle of water raising so that she wouldn't break it. 

All of the sudden a wave of fire whipped past me, singing the back of my hand. Wincing I continued my chant, doing my best to ignore the fire that was definitely spreading now. 

It wasn't until there was a wave of fire that came right for me. I did my best to block it without breaking the enchantment but by instinct I tried to block it with my hands, the force shoving my small body backwards and onto my butt, the wave of the fire licking my right hand and my face. 

And by licking I mean full blown burned my skin, I could feel the hair on my skin burn and then the layers bit by bit until there was nothing but bare burnt flesh. 

I swallowed down my scream, instead shouting the rest of the chant, the water spinning faster and faster to the point that the overhanging curtain of the bed and the sheets were being swept up by the wind. 

Finally, after the water was pure black, the stream rushed back into the vase and I threw the blanket over the top of it, waiting for a few moments and the blanket slumped flat onto the ground. The vase now gone, banished into the underworld. 

Taking the blanket I wrapped it around by body and over my head, rushing out of the room just as some knights were about to open it. The smell of the dead mixed with burned flesh was still in my nostrils. 

I ran straight back to my room and to the bath room, throwing the cold water tap on and collapsing into the tub, feeling the tub fill slowly with the cold water, soothing my skin. 

With the littlest bits of water, water spirits appear, and I could feel them working on my exposed flesh, healing as much as they could. But my mother has a strong affiliation to fire, almost as strong as my father, and so healing wounds caused by her would need more than just simple water spirits. 

A luxury I do not have. 

I was completely submerged in the water, unable to hear Rebecca come in with Howell who stopped her before she pulled me out of the water. 

"Leave her," Howell assured her, "The water will heal her and the spirits won't allow her to drown." 

"Wh-what happened to her?" Rebecca managed to spit out through her crying. 

"She was supposed to visit her mother tonight," Howell reached over, turning off the water just before it overflowed the tub. He proceeded to put his hand into the water, allowing the spirits to take his mana to make the healing process more efficient, "I suspect Lady Jenova attacked her." 

"What?" Rebecca was appalled, "H-how can a mother do that to their own child?!" 

"Lady Jenova has not been in her right mind in a long time," Howell looked to my blanket on the floor, taking his hand out of the water which was dried in an instant and picked it up, sniffing it with much disinterest, "It appears our lady figured out how to cure Lady Jenova." 

"How do you know?"

"Smell," Howell ordered, "You're affiliated with Earth, right? You know the smell of this." 

"A portal to the underworld?" Rebecca's blood ran cold, looking down to her little lady who's body was exuding a reddish hue. Blood. "Oh my poor lady." 

"She's strong kid," Howell crouched, rubbing her back comfortingly, "She'll be better, I promise."