The Other Curse ~ Robin De Noir [2]

Chapter Two

It had been precisely  2 hours 33 minutes since Rose had fainted, and since then Rose had been confined to her room. Apparently, when she blacked out she began shaking and having a fit, of course Rose remembers none of it. Each member of the household had given her strict instructions to stay in bed, but Rose felt fine now and longed to get moving again.

The evening was slowly drawing in, yet she found the darkness to be some sort of comfort, a companion to her adventures. Her mind would come alive with curiosity, and longed for transformation. Rose could no longer withhold her desire to go out, and do she let it run free. Rose checked outside her room, and no one was there, when she went downstairs, still no one was there, she checked almost every room, yet still no one. This is strange she thought, however, no sooner than she thought that she suddenly heard voices coming from her uncle's study. A single light illuminated the dark room in the shadow of the night with 5 figures standing round it.

"We've got to do something! She is just a child!" She heard the voice of Miss Heliotrope cry, it seemed as if she was in some sort of argument. "Don't you think I'm know that?! I'm trying everything!" Her uncle retaliated. "Perhaps I can send a letter to my father?" The voice of Loveday added, she always wanted to find a way to bring the families closer since the tension had been rising between them again. "No! We've already sent many letters to your father about our concerns and no replies, his help seems pretty out of the question!" Uncle Benjamin snapped back. "But we can't just do nothing!" Miss Heliotrope shouted.

"You're right" the voice of Marmaduke popped up, "so what do you suggest?" Her uncle asked. "This...disease, clearly has originated from the forest, so might I suggest you ask for help from someone who clearly knows the forest?" Marmaduke started.

"Robin" Rose whispered, her curiosity getting the better of her as she pressed her ear closer to the crack in the door. "He'll take car of Rose and..." Marmaduke continued but his words were cut short, "absolutely not! There is no way Rose can  go! You saw what happened earlier, and that was only the start! These fits are only going to get worse!" Her uncle roared.

"I agree with Benjamin here, we'll have to send someone else", Loveday added, the concern for Rose clearly show in her voice. "Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but Rose may be the only one who can save herself, the forest needs a Princess and the Princess needs the forest", Marmaduke finished. There was a bit of muttering and debating, till her uncle spoke up, his voice quivering a bit, "well we've got to send someone...I'll write to your brother Loveday, surely he will be our best chance". Marmaduke finally added, "we'll I hope he is successful, because if he isn't, I am afraid Rose will surely die".

There were many gasps amongst the group, including her own. Die? What were they talking about? Surely her fit earlier wasn't that bad? Rose thought. She suddenly heard their footsteps getting louder as the adults made their way to the door, Rose quickly hid round the corner and waited a few minuets just to be sure no one was coming back. As she entered the study, her eyes caught sight of many scrolls and books scattered across the room.

They all seemed to be about the forest and various curses. Rose unrolled one of the scrolls in the centre of the desk, "the curse of the forest Princess" Rose red aloud.

"Many years ago, on that fateful night the curse was made, the forest princess took shelter in her burrow in the elder tree, trying to escape from her broken heart. But it was no use. The pain caused by Thorn De Noirs greed struck Juliets heart deeply, and soon she could bare it no more. Slowly, she began to die and with her the forest."

The ink was smudged a bit on the following writing, but Rose's eyes continued searching the page for information, it continued as follows...

"in order to save her dearest friends life, the Moon Princess connected Juliet's spirit with the moon's light. However, once the curse was broken Juliet's fate would go back to its previous form. The only way to save her was by..."

"No,no, no, no, no!" Rose cried as the page ended there, typical just typical that the answer to her problems was lost somewhere. Her uncle really needed to take better care of this place.

"So if the curse was now broken, that means..." Rose trailed off, now realising what it meant. Now that the curse was broken, the forest Princess' spirit was released and was now beginning to slowly die, along with the forest and...Rose. It was all making sense now, her headaches, the fainting, the diseased crops.

But how could she stop it? From what she overheard, it seems like the adults wanted to venture into the woods, as that's where it originated from. Rose had to do something! This was her life she was talking about, as Marmaduke said, it had to be her, she just new it, she had to be the one to restore life to the forest and save herself.

The valley was in need of savings again, but this time her life was on the line...