Exquisite Poison (Original Draft)

Chapter 44 - To Wither in Denial

Time had ceased to have meaning for Netta, trapped in the cell.

She was told of when the sun had risen that day, however, in the form of her Sister Caspia leaning into the room to announce it to her as she slammed the breakfast tray down on the ground.

The wraiths of her dead Sisters had a nasty habit of whispering to Netta as she tried to focus her mind, tried, desperately, to decide what it was that she needed to do next. It made it hard to concentrate for any length of time. The only relief came in the thought that Ash must have, somehow, been well, or else she would have suffered through more "withdrawal" symptoms.

Netta commenced her last day in containment by continuing to try to think of what she could possibly say to one of her Sisters to secure her safety.

She had come to the conclusion that the wards of this many Witches on one place would be difficult to raise. Netta considered the idea of that way out to be a lost cause.

That left only two other ways out - sneaking out, or talking sense to all of them when they had gathered to see her killed.

Trying to gird herself for choosing between knocking one of her Sisters out and hoping like hell that she could find Ash and leave - or attempting to reason with her blood-hungry siblings - Netta decided that knowing what she did of the compassion and reasoning skills of her siblings, that she was better off knocking one of them out, cold.

As she daydreamed about how to go about it, Netta was surprised when she heard a voice in the room speaking to her.

"H-hi."

Netta almost leaped out of the bed.

Sitting up quickly, Netta saw that it was Erwinnia standing in front of the door.

She looked surprisingly pretty then. Her youthful body looked fitting in the ruffly blouse that she wore, her chestnut hair tied up behind her head so that her springy, curling hair could bounce around prettily in a loose ponytail. It was only her face and her drawn, tired-looking features that seemed ill-fitting, gave away her true age.

"Winnie," Netta said, standing up out of her bed. "it isn't time already, is it?"

The sense of dread in Netta's stomach felt as though it were growing and becoming more yawning, hungry.

"No - no."

Erwinnia cleared her throat, and busied herself pulling something out of her pocket. With something in her hand, she hurried to Netta's side and held a clenched fist out for Netta.

She was hesitating, seeming to think at the last second of not doing it, then winced and cried out as though in pain.

She dropped what she was holding into Netta's outstretched hand and cupped her hands.

"Ohh, that burned -"

Netta looked down at the object that felt as though it were mildly warm, not much more than that, and felt her heart rise in her chest.

It was Tristan's one thing that he had passed down to his only daughter, a broken chain that happened to be the item of holding of a Monster.

And they say that his heart grew two sizes too large -

Netta clutched it to her, felt tears that she had not allowed herself to feel rise up in her and threaten to burst her. A mix of fear, anxiety, love and, yes, hope, filled her until she thought that she was going crazy from it.

She looked up at Erwinnia through eyes filled with the amorphous veil of her tears.

"Why?"