A Beautiful Curse

Chapter 10 - To Heal

  My head was pounding in pain. My mouth was dry, drier than the Holy Land. My eyes were dry and sore also. But the worse pain was in my feet.

It feels as if I have cut them.

With all my might, I tried to sit up but my muscles were not cooperating. The strain and the ache were too much. I flopped back down, smacking the back of my head down onto the cushy pillow.

Wait... Cushy pillow?

I managed to lift a hand and feel the soft pillow beneath my head. And then smacked it back down beside my hip only to feel soft fabric beneath my palm. "What in God's name..." I croaked.

I finally opened my stinging eyes and took a good look at my surroundings. Thick, deep ruby curtains hung from the ceiling, hooked up in five different areas above the bed to hang in big drapes around it. There were dark oak tables on either side of the bed... the very large bed. In fact, it was too large. My feet were over a meter away from the end of the bed. And my sides were also over a meter away from the left and right of the bed.

I could hear the crackling of a fire nearby. The fire had two tall, winged armchairs placed in front of it with a small table that looked to be made for the game of chess. A golden goblet sat on the small table beside the right armchair, glistening in the fire light.

There was a small breeze brushing over my skin. A small refreshing cool against the heat of the fire.

With another big effort, my head pounding and my limbs aching, I pushed my upper body up off the bed and pushed myself up against the wooden head board. My back leaning securely against the head board, I relaxed and sighed as I rubbed my eyes.

My clothes... I suddenly realized, looking down. What happened to my clothes? I was wearing a crisp, clean nightgown, instead of my travelling clothes. The last thing I remembered wearing was my tunic and breeches.

I glanced around, taking notice of the four-meter-long fireplace spanning over the other side of the room, crackling with a well-stocked fire. To my left, two diamond-pane windows, stretching from the floor to a meter below the high ceiling, were both open, resembling large doors leading out to an enormous balcony. The curtains were pushed far to the side, but the thin netting was left to flow in the breeze through the open doors. And to my right, there were two large doors, painted in a deep black. The left door was slightly ajar and I, by some bizarre instinct, knew someone must be nearby.

Perhaps they had continued the journey and I had woken up in my betrothed's household.

"Hello?" I called out.

A slow minute passed, then a middle-aged woman entered the chamber and walked to the small table by the fireplace, mumbling some inaudible words. She placed the goblet on the tray she carried and turned to face me, before startling slightly at what she saw. "You are awake!" she cried, steadying her tray.

I just stared at her. The woman had a graying and very frizzy bun of hair, her wrinkles were faint but there as mostly laughter lines, and her dress was strange. She reminded me of a gypsy, in her purples, blues and reds.

I croaked, "Where am I?"

The lady just stared at me, silent for moments after that.

Frustrated, I growled through my sore, dry throat, "May I speak with my brothers?"

The woman replied to that, "Yer brothers? There are no brothers of yers here."

I raised an eyebrow. "Where is-"