Stardust // Reggie Mantle (3)

Chapter Fifty-One

Veronica poured out the drink and stared blankly. "How do you feel?" Betty questioned anxiously.

"I think I'm fine," Veronica replied.

Betty nodded, then reached down to spin the bottle for herself. It stopped opposite the chalice Veronica had taken. Betty lifted it to her lips and sipped. After a second, she knew.

"I'm okay, V."

Veronica spun again. Another chalice, another sip, another pour. Before Veronica could even respond, Betty was spinning the bottle again. Caia's nerves were going crazy. She didn't want to lose either one of her friends.

Betty sipped. Once done, she sniffled and tears began pooling in her eyes, but it was obvious she was okay.

Two chalices left. If Veronica was okay after drinking her's, then Betty would die. If Veronica's had poison, then she would die. Veronica's spin landed on the bottle closest to her.

"Fifty-fifty odds," She murmured. With shaking hands, Veronica brought the chalice to her lips and slowly sipped. She looked back at Betty, tears now pooling in her own eyes. Betty breathed heavily, knowing what was about to happen. Caia began crying as well, and Jughead looked toward the ground. No one wanted to loose Betty.

Betty stared warily down at the chalice in front of her. Her hands were clasped in front of her as she hesitated. It was hard drinking it to know you were gonna die. Betty took in a shaky breath. "Okay," She muttered softly.

Betty reached for the chalice. Caia saw what Veronica was going to do, and before she could stop herself, she leapt forward as well.

"No!"

Caia's hands grasped the glass a second before Veronica's did. With hasty movements, she brought the cup to her face.

"C," Betty called, reaching for the glass.

Veronica tried to grab Caia's arm and pull it down. "Caia!" She exclaimed.

It was too late. Caia had already downed the poisoned drink. With tears in her eyes, she poured out the rest of the liquid, dropping the chalice to the ground.

Betty stared sadly at Caia. "Why did you do that?" She questioned frantically.

Caia felt tears dropping down her face. "Because I love you guys," she sobbed. "And you all have families. It's better me than any of you." Veronica put her hand to her mouth and Betty choked down a sob. "You guys are my best friends and-"

"We love you too, C," Veronica replied, clutching at Caia's arm. "But you should've let me take that poison."

Caia felt tears dropping down her face as she wrapped her arms tightly around her own body, waiting for death.

Suddenly, a figure appeared over the hill. "Remarkable." Caia looked up, startled, along with all the others "You have completed your challenge, Enchantress. Of course, it didn't go quite as planned, with some uncalled for help from the Princess, but you've proven your loyalty nonetheless."

"What?"

"Of course," Jughead muttered, staring at Penelope. "It was a character challenge. The game was testing if you had honor and loyalty." Penelope comes her head with a small nod. "None of the chalices were poisoned."

"On the contrary," Penelope refuted. "All of the chalices were poisoned." Caia felt her stomach drop. Shit. Suddenly the taste in her mouth got a whole lot more foul. "It's slow acting, but the only way to obtain the antidote is to finish the game, and even then, you might not make it." Veronica, Caia, and Betty all looked at each other, shocked and horrified. "Tick tock," Penelope goated. With that, the group took off.