The Spell Called Love - Empires SMP S2 AU: Nature Wives

Chapter 10: Corrupted (Shelby)

Shelby hadn't wanted to push Katherine away like that without an explanation, but if Katherine had touched the sculk on her arm, Shelby wouldn't've known what to do apart from panic.

Shelby watched Katherine fly off into the distance with an ache in her chest, but reassured herself they would see each other sooner then they thought.

The sun was setting as Shelby made it back slowly to her house. Exhausted, she heaved open the front door and stepped in, closing the door behind her and leaving the shovels discarded in the dirt outside.

Broom was lazing in the corner of the room, snoozing against his broom stand, while Tortoise was taking a bath in very murky cauldron water.

Shelby smiled to herself, "You guys tired, huh?"

The broom rustled its twigs and adjusted its position on the stand. Tortoise submurged himself under the water, refusing to reply to Shelby.

"Yeah, I need to get myself ready for a snooze to, I guess," Shelby yawned and stretched before heading towards the ladder.

Shelby backtracked to the mirror again, glancing down at her arm.

Shelby gagged placed a tentative hand on her shoulder.

It had grown.

That was bad.

Just above her elbow was the smallest patch of dark blue slimy stuff that seemed to pulse eerily in time with her heart.

Shelby bit her lip and a trickle of sweat crept down the side of her face as she stared at the sculk.

Nononononono...

Terrified, Shelby bolted for the ladder, all tiredness disapated from her system as she recalled what little information she remembered from the useless herbology classes.

Dangerous.

Spread when made contact with.

Poisons the soul...

The last fact chilled Shelby to the bone.

Determimed that she had not remembered correctly, she hurdled up into her room and made directly for the heap of very untidy papers and books in the centre of her room

Shelby frantically rummaged amongst piles of discarded papers and books until she found the very old and beaten book she was looking for: Volume of Dangerous Plants PT. II.

Shelby crouched to the floor, flicking open the book and skipping page after page until she came upon what she was looking for.

In the dim light of the floating candles, Shelby read:

SCULK
Habitat: Can survive any condition however, they are mostly found in swanmpy dense areas.
Symptoms: mood swings, questioning yourself and others, being not your usual self.
Cure: the cure itself is to rare to be reared in the wild. Only the Council of Witches hold the cure to sculk.
Additional information: NO ONE HAS COME INTO CONTACT WITH SCULK LONG ENOUGH TO BE PROPERLY ODSERVED BY A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL. MOST ADVISABLE THING TO DO IS TO WALK IN THE OTHER DIRECTION AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS.

Shelby sat back on her haunches and stared at the page of the book, helplessly.

Anguished, Shelby raised her bowed head to the window of her bedroom and looked out of it at the moon, the books note spinning round and round her head.

Only the Council of Witches has the cure.

Shelby put her head in her hands and sat there, mulling her thoughts over, when she heard a knock at the door.

Shelby jerked her head up, subconcsiously listening for the sound Katherine's calling voice, only to be met with the sound of ringing silence.

With an irritated huff, Shelby pulled herself together and climbed down the ladder, her bones exhausted from the adventures of today.

She got to the door and pulled it open with a scold ready on her tongue for the emperor who thought it was funny to call in the middle of the night, but was met with the blackness of the Evermore.

Sticking her head out of the door, Shelby looked around the Evermore, looking for tell-tale signs of intrusion but her alarm stayed silent.

"Whoever thinks that this is funny is gravely mistaken and clearly doesn't realise that they're messing with the best witch in this neck of the woods!" Called Shelby into the gaping blackness.

ShelbyShelbyShelbyShelby...

Shelby jumped and looked down at the sculk on her arm.

Youareours...

Suddenly, her vision clouded a deep turquoise blue and a needle sharp pain in her head pricked her conscience.

...

Shelby was half way out of her house when she got back to her senses.

Confused and now feeling the chills of the cold night and a haunting prescence, she blinked rapidly and scampered back to the safety of her home.

She tripped up the steps and slammed the door shut behind her.

As she breathed a sigh of partial relief, Shelby became aware of the little brown leather-covered book in her hand.

Not remembering where it came from, curiously, Shelby opened it and scoured the text only to come to regret it:

Dear Lesser Witch Shelby,

We are furious with your escape and your constant ignorance of our letters to kindly turn yourself into the Academy's safe hands. Therefore, this is your last chance. Come back. Or face the consequences.

Signed,
The Council of Witches.

Shelby dropped the book on the floor and whipped her wand out from the pouch of her overalls and zapped it with a fire spell. She watched the book burn and shrivel into ashy particles with a heaving chest.

Once nothing but sorry remnants were left of the warning, Shelby allowed herself to calm down slightly before glancing down at her arm where the sculk was sat.

Shelby recoiled as she saw it had spread slightly and was touching the tip of her elbow and was slowly crawling upwards towards her shoulder. It isn't that bad, Shelby soothed herself, maybe it'll wash off when she took a bath.

She turned to the door and quickly remembered that the amount of undead lurking around out there must be horrifying and righted her path towards the ladder back up to her bedroom. 

Once in her bedroom, Shelby rummaged around her draws and shelves to find something magical to cover the sculk up with. Eventually, she came across a crushed mangrove sapling which she wrapped in a cloth and tied it to her arm.

Shelby laid herself down onto her bed, removed her hat and wand from herself and lay there, waiting for sleep to come.