Verina felt her heart sink in a deep pool of shame. She adjusted her dress and hurriedly sat again, stuttering «I-I'm really sorry, Princess, I was just... I wanted to... look cool like a character in a story, I'm sorry...»
With books as her only company for forty years, some inevitable changes occurred to Verina's core personality; she was, however, still very conscious of appearances, and that scene, played like an actor in a play, for such an important reveal... she was mortified.
Kara, fortunately, wasn't able to focus on 'how' the news was delivered; she stared in front of her with a vacuous gaze, incapable to deal with that information.
After a few moments, Verina finally went back to Kara, and explained, trying to sound calm:
«See, Princess, a Cantamen is a natural curse that converts the magic excess-»
«A demon?»
Kara's sad eyes finally encountered Verina's.
«...yes, correct.»
«With horns and blue skin?»
«Well, horns yes, and the skin can have a lot of different colors...»
«Wings? Claws?»
«Tail and everything.»
Kara, exhausted, rested her back on the couch, looking at an indistinct point of the ceiling. This was completely different from any scenario she had pictured before that encounter... It was not a fatal disease, and yet, it strangely felt worse...
«Oh, but!» she hurried to continue Verina, trying to convince her «Demons are not inherently bad! You can live a normal life, it's not...»
«Can I still live as a Princess on the surface? Or would I have to flee to Shendu?»
The witch remained silent. Prejudices of the demon race were widespread in the continent, Romiria wasn't an exception; while she knew the truth behind it, how many would accept a Demon Princess, aside from expert magic users who have seen the depths and met its inhabitants? Everything the 'commoner' knew of them was the horrors of a few, the tragic incidents of rogue, warmongering individuals, that exist in any given place of the world regardless of race and culture...
«...is there a cure, Lady Verina?»
Verina knew she would ask that. It was, after all, a transformation without consent, a condition forced upon her by fortuity... Just because she, personally, wouldn't have any issue with such a drastic change...
«There are treatments... that can suppress most of the traits, and would let you live like a human. But they are... for life. There is no way to 'cure' it.»
The young girl sat up straight and put her hands down on the table. «Please, tell me, Lady Verina! What do I need to do?» While still sounding profoundly sad, new energy had arisen in her.
«Well...»
The treatments were real. Any of the few people that knew what a Cantamen was, also knew how to treat it. If any other of her wizard acquaintances and friends were to respond, they would give the same answers. But... in that specific situation, it felt...
«There's... four things that can be done. The first one, to stabilize your magical energy, you would need to learn how to use it and control it...»
Kara moved with excitement, forgetting for a moment the original topic of discussion «Will I learn magic?! Can I?!»
Verina smiled, kindly. «Of course you can. You have the talent for it. I can be your mentor, if you so desire...» Kara smiled back, playing with her skirt with her hands, enthusiastically. A small moment of peace, after everything that had happened, and before the rest was revealed...
«...Secondly, there's a specific type of tea you can have every afternoon, that would gradually make your magic flow calm and easy to manipulate. Every magic user I know drinks it, it's nothing rare.»
«Eumiso?»
«Exactly, my Princess, that one.»
She continued: «Then, there's an Amulet, that I would need to craft with the aid of a friend of mine, a blacksmith here in Grelona... It has no gold or expensive gemstones, but it will still look like a delicate ornament, that you can wear every day on your wrist or ankle. It will slow down the progress of the curse, enough to make the actual treatment effective...»
She held her breath. How to introduce this topic correctly? Which information would be the most important to convey first? Kara awaited, on her edge, anxious and excited.
«...lastly, there's the real treatment... if correctly executed once a day, it would stop the physical transformations, and only allow the modification of the magic flow... for a normal person, unable to perceive magic, you would look just like you do now; only a good magician would notice the demonic nature of your energy.»
«Yes!» exclaimed the Princess, standing up once again «That's the one, that's what I need!»
Verina averted her eyes, trying to find something interesting to focus her sight on «Good... well, this is a technique that can be performed by few, most of them are my friends... like Sir Tofi, in Elisia, although he lives a bit far I think... it is not mandatory for it to be done by me, that's what I'm trying to say...»
«What is it?» Kara was annoyed; that woman was stalling, uselessly so.
Verina lowered her head «I have no desire to take advantage of you-»
«What. Is. It?!» she repeated, with a tip of anger.
The witch inspired. "Just say it, Verina."
«...It is direct contact, between lips, for ten seconds each day. For life.»
Kara emitted a relieved 'ah'. She imagined scenarios of all kinds, but that answer was... anticlimactic.
On the other hand, the witch was twitching, embarrassed, blushing for that big reveal. She felt guilty, without a concrete reason.
«It is quick and painless, it won't harm you at all, and you'll stop the curse from manifesting visibly... A-as I said before, this is... it can be done by others...»
Kara got on the table, dodging with her legs and hands the tea set, and getting just a few centimeters from Verina, face to face. The witch got lightly scared, paralyzed, slightly worried for the fragile items between the girl's limbs.
«I won't request the services of any other. I'll formally request yours and yours alone.»
The two were so close, they could feel each other's breath...
«It has to be you, the one who kisses me.»
