The Blood Of The Rainbow

.:Chapter 32:.

A quiet week passed, which was surprising considering that my life in the palace hadn't been exactly perfect for the longest time. I almost expected a problem to rise, whether it was from the still revolting townspeople or a rebellious knight-in-training who refused to follow the rules, but the week continued without a hitch.

The weather was still horrible, though. The snow continued to pour like hell. I liked the winter, but not the cold that continued to seep through the castle walls. But people like Azuraq enjoyed it immensely; he would always go outside whenever he could, even if there was a mild blizzard. When I asked Arian why Azuraq was so obsessed with the snow, he said with a fond smile, "He used to live in the north, and the weather is ten times worse than this. He just misses his home."

It also didn't help that I started to throw up constantly. I would become more dizzy as the days passed, and sometimes I couldn't stand up from my bed without my head pounding.

"Do you need to go to the doctor?" Alex asked one particular morning. The sun was barely rising and I had been awake all night, retching and with a horrible stomachache. I was very moody.

"I'm fine," I sighed, rubbing the tiredness from my eyes. He put a hand on my back and rubbed soothing circles as to calm me down. I fell asleep after that, but it felt too soon when the sun actually rose above the mountaintops and the morning doves started to call, announcing a new day.

I grumbled and threw the sheets off me, and Alex laughed at my grumpiness.

"I'll go ahead and make you breakfast early," Alex said. I kissed him before he dressed himself and left.

I took a longer time to get ready. I put on a simple white gown and plaited my hair into a messy braid before descending downstairs and towards the dining room. I found Arian, ever the rulebreaker, sitting on the dining table with a pastry in one hand and a book in the other. I looked over curiously at the cover, and I found out that it was about kingdoms in the north.

"Where's Azuraq?" I asked, sitting down at the table a few seats away from Arian.

"Outside again. I think he's actually on the other side of the borders of Comodia at this point," Arian sighed. "He's going to die from the cold someday."

"Why all the way over there?"

"He's getting crazy. I told him it was a bad idea, that he'd get lost in the snowstorms, but he said that it was the point. I just kicked him out of my room and let him do whatever."

"Why was he in your room in the first place?" I asked, amused.

Arian looked up from his book and stared at me with a threatening, piercing look. "What's with all these questions? Go bother your trophy husband instead," he said scornfully.

As if on cue, Alex appeared in the dining room with a platter of freshly baked pastries and cookies. "There you are," he said, beaming as he presented to me the food. "I made these myself."

The aroma was appetizing, and I picked up a particular cookie and bit into it. "Very good," I said, taking another cookie.

"Thank you," Alex said proudly. He sat down next to me and we began to talk while indulging ourselves with pastries, with Arian piping into our conversations here and there.

I was four cookies in, and I was about to bite into my fifth one when suddenly there was a swoop in my gut, and I felt bile rising in my searing throat. I dropped my cookie onto the floor and stood up instantly, holding my stomach while I gagged. My vision blurred and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I felt my abdomen throb with intense pains.

"Alex, you poisoned her!" Arian accused, while Alex cried out, "Violet! Are you okay?"

Alex began to get up and reach towards me, but I shoved him away. Slapping a hand over my gaping mouth, I scrambled out of the dining hall and hurled myself into the nearest bedchamber that had a bathing room.