The Night's Curse #3 (Waverly Stump and The 7 Realms)

Chapter 16

Waverly's hands stiffened when she turned over in bed, still in a dead sleep. The weather had been warm when she first fell asleep but it went incredibly cold a few minutes later. She subconsciously thought it was because of the wedding sport she had taken part in the previous day.

In honor of Aurora and Brijjet's union, a peculiar set of games was held. Phyllis had convinced her to play the bridge crossing - a dangerous game where one had to attempt to get to the other end of a lake by walking across a long thin bridge whilst holding up a bowl of water in their hands. To make the game even more challenging the nixies were asked to occasionally jump out of the water, throwing fish or berries at the participant. Whoever could make it to the end of the lake with the water still intact in their bowls was declared the winner but - nobody won at all.

It was quite an impossible game and Waverly had ended up falling into the lake over twenty times along with many other Elves who tried their luck. Ceylon had fallen in fifteen times and refused to participate again when water lodged in both his ears. Phyllis made only two attempts and opted to join the audience but the persistent trier amongst them was Grace. She stumbled into the lake more times than any other person did what with her incredible weight and the fact that she always attempted to swat the nixies each time they reached for her legs.

Soon enough, everyone had ignored the lure of being named champion and played solely for the fun and laughs.

Waverly noticed that she had experienced little shakes right before bed and when the weather became stiffly cold she curled up into a ball, snuggly and warm with her newest blanket. Queen Daya had ordered for  some new beddings to be given out to Tyros in honor of her daughter's marriage and Waverly thought it was the best timing - but the cold was far from normal.

The night was eerily silent, void of the usual lullabies from nocturnal creatures. The lantern in Waverly's room flickered and swayed despite the absence of wind, the door creaked quietly as if someone on the outside leaned against it in an attempt to open it without causing a stir.

The bed covers on which Waverly lay began to inflate with an unusual air. She twisted and turned, faintly aware that something sneaky yet very sinister had made its way into her room but she slept on. Then she felt a freezing sensation seize her bare legs. She gasped and jerked awake, kicking her blankets back as she shuffled away from the bed. The once blue bedsheet had turned the color of crude oil and it undulated like gentle waves on an ocean surface.

She stepped back in horror, staring wide- eyed at the bedding. It looked like it was alive and whatever was in it was now stuck inside. Calaire suddenly began to glow sharply on Waverly's wrist. She released it and it materialized into a sword. Following her instincts, she lurched forward and stabbed a hole into the bedsheet.

The scream that erupted from the linen made her drop her sword and clamp her hands over her ears. It simultaneously sent a crippling wave of energy through the room that knocked her back and sent her crashing into her bathroom door. The fall made her back creak uncomfortably indicating that she had just dislocated a bone somewhere around her spine.

Whilst she recovered slowly; groaning and arching her back in pain, she caught sight of something melting through the wall near the window and felt an overwhelming wave of panic. Then the feeling died off when she realized it was only Cassiope.

The nature spirit caught sight of Waverly's ripped sheets and grabbed her face in total shock.

"Oh no!" She exclaimed with a gasp. "Friend Waverly? She has gone too."

"No, i am over here." Waverly called weakly.

Cassiope gasped in relief and ran over to help her friend stand up.