The Cursed Prince of Italy - Volume 1 - The Cursed

Chapter 13- The book of the cursed

Romina was alarmed by the bizarre, unexpected response from Ronaldo. She stared at Ronaldo intently. She was unable to make sense of what he said. She felt like he was laying a trap for her. Ronaldo watched the emotions pass her face. He knew what she was going to say.

'Kiss you? Are you kidding me?' She sounded repulsed, he mused.

'No! I'm not kidding. See this is exactly why I didn't fucking come to you earlier. I knew you wouldn't do it' Ronaldo said bitterly.

'How do you know? How do I know you are telling me the truth. How can I trust a word you say?' Romina fired questions at him without stopping.

'It's in the Book of the Cursed'

He looked away. He felt vulnerable divulging information about himself and the life he led. He was worried that by giving her information he was inadvertently making her more powerful. He did not want to submit to her.

'The Book of the Cursed' quizzed Romina.

'Yes' he replied shortly.

'Can I see this book?' Romina asked curiously, wanting to see the words herself. She believed him. His response had been so bizarre and out of the blue, that it had to be the truth. However, she still wanted to see the text.

Ronaldo wavered. He did not want to show her the book. However there was a slim chance it would provide him healing. He sighed.

'Yes, you can see it. Follow me. It's near the entrance,' he said pointing to the iron door Romina had noticed earlier as she entered the room. Romina slid on her boots and followed him. At the door, Ronaldo took off his gold necklace. Romina realised that what she had previously considered to be an unusual pendant was in fact a key that opened the door. The door opened and she looked inside.

The door opened onto a large room. The room was lit by dozens and dozens of lamps. Against the walls there were hundreds of small glass bottles of various shapes and sizes neatly stacked side by side. Each bottle had a different coloured liquid in it. Romina thought they must be potions of some kind. As Romina looked closer, she realised the bottles were not resting against shelves on the wall, but in fact were floating in mid air. On the other side of the room, there were books upon books. Some of the hard covers of those books were fading. They too were neatly stacked and floating in thin air. It all seemed magical to her. Her attention was drawn to the middle of the room. There was a smooth carved out rock holding an old hard cover book. The book was illuminated by the blue light she had seen earlier. The book was open to two pages, somewhere between the middle and the end of the book. Romina hesitated. However Ronaldo kept walking without slowing his pace towards the book, so she followed him.

'So this is the book' she asked? Ronaldo nodded without saying anything. He turned to look at her. Romina's eyes were cast upon the book. Her mouth was open. She looked so out of place and outside of her comfort, that even he was amused. His mouth twitched, but he tried to hide his smile.

'So this is it? This is the Book of the Cursed, which contains everything about the cursed and how to get rid of it?' she asked, curiously.

'Patience mi amore. I can't explain everything to you in one day,' he said.

'The book writes itself, when it wants.'

'What does that mean?'

'It's like this. If something unpredictable or new happens to me in the life I now lead, then this book almost explains it. Like when you burnt me the other day, I came back and read it and the book had added a few more lines to where it had finished off. The book explained that you have taken on powers and that I cannot heal myself from wounds inflicted by you. It then told me that if this occurs, the only way I can be healed is through help from you. Come, I'll show you.'

Ronaldo flipped the pages backwards and scanned the text of the book searching for the paragraph he wanted to show her. Romina moved closer to him so she could see the text.

'Here, look' he said pointing at a particular paragraph. Romina read the black text.

'The pure has become powerful!

The cursed is now wounded and dependant on the pure for healing

Seek a kiss by the willing pure under the aurora of the north or suffer the wound until the end of time'

Reading the paragraph, Romina could see he had not been lying. She really did need to kiss him willingly under the northern lights if he was to be healed. She felt burdened by the words. She wondered what else the book said about her. She looked at him.

'Does the book refer to me anywhere else?'

'I will show you some other time. So, will you do it for me?' Ronaldo asked, avoiding her question and asking one of his own instead. There was a glimmer of hope inside of him. He hoped she would say yes. More than wanting to heal his scorched hands, Ronaldo wanted to touch her lips and feel their softness. His body ached for the touch of a woman, and he found Romina to be very desirable. He did his best to hide his longing from her as he searched her face for an answer. The seconds passed like hours as Romina looked at him not giving anything away. The hope he had started to dim. He wanted to break away from her gaze but he held on to it, wanting, yearning, hoping.

'How do we get there?' Romina asked softly. Her voice was barely a whisper. Ronaldo blinked. He wasn't even sure he had heard what he heard. Romina looked at the uncertainty that flooded his face. She felt drawn to this man, felt sorry about his fate and the lonely life he led. She wanted to help him, give him some kind of joy or console some of his pain. Ronaldo let out a tight breath.

'I can take you there right now. Just hold on to me and close your eyes,' he said stepping close to her. Without even letting her hesitate for even just a second, Ronaldo put his arm around her waist and shielded her face against his naked chest. Romina closed her eyes as she breathed in his scent.