Chapter 15: The Price Of Deception

Chapter 15: The Price Of Deception "Sunsets are beautiful but I don’t like the fact that the whole place becomes dark right after that. It’s not fair that we enjoy something like that only for such a short while. If I could, I would capture the sunset forever," young Aramith said to his two sisters as they sat by the window, watching the sunset. "How are you going to catch the sunset, it’s impossible," Lia pointed out "What you say doesn’t change anything, I will still do it you wait and see. Mozrael, do you think I can do it?" Mozrael looked at his smile and found herself smiling as well. "Mm, I think you can do it." "He can’t do it," Lia argued again, but Aramith laughed "This one is democracy. If Mozrael said I can do it, and I believe in myself then I don’t need to listen to you. Just wait and see, I’ll capture the most beautiful sunset you’ve ever seen." "It won’t wo-" "Miss Mozrael?" A voice interrupted her imagination and brought her back to her senses. She stood in her room by the window, watching as the sun set in the distance. "You...need to have your checkup, so if you could lie down?" The maid said and placed an empty bowl on the table beside the bed and stood aside. Mozrael watched till the sun was completely out of sight before she went to lay on the bed. Several orbs in the room lit up, purging the darkness and she stared at one above her on the ceiling. The door opened and Aiden entered. He went beside Mozrael’s bed and looked right into her eyes. "You’re already prepared for it today, I see." He said but waited for no reply as he took out some herbs and potions, placing them on the table one after the other she still stared at the ceiling. When he was done, he reached out and held her hair, pushing it aside, so that he could see the side of her head and neck more easily. She shivered and gripped the bed so as not to move as he touched her neck with his fingers to check her pulse. After checking that, he lifted her arm but frowned. "I told you not to let her wear anything long-sleeved, so what is the meaning of this?" he scolded the maid. She frowned back at him "She wanted to wear it, so I allowed it. You know how much she hates for others to see her skin, especially when" "Just forget it" He raised her arm and pulled the sleeve up to her shoulder. The nurse gasped and Aiden frowned, "Why were you hiding it, this is worse than last time." Her arm, from her elbow going up, had scales all over it growing from it. They were small, but you could see from her expression just how painful it was. "When did it start?" Aiden asked, but Mozrael turned her face to the side and refused to speak. "It would help if you spoke. I can’t help you well enough if I don’t know that." She was still quiet for some time before finally speaking. "At-at dawn...it started at dawn," she said "Why did you hide it? You were supposed to tell me when it happened like that. The more it happened, the worse it will get, do you not remember that?" "I-couldn’t tell you. He would know and be afraid to get close to me" she said softly but Aiden heard it all. "You didn’t want Aramith to know? Do you think he would hate you for that? I don’t think so, he’s better than that. If I were him, I would be offended if I finally learned that someone close to me was suffering all this time but never told me." Aiden took a tiny needle and drew a drop of blood into a bowl. He wrapped her finger and then proceeded to focus on the drop of blood. He added some substances and the blood turned light blue with a faint sparkle of green in it. He then kept that bowl aside and started to mix the herbs he’d brought in various proportions. Once in a while, he’ll take a look at the changed blood, then continue mixing the herbs. When he’d finished, what he had was the same color as the changed blood. "Drink this," he said and got up to give it to Mozrael, but the maid tapped him on the shoulder and shook her head at him. Aiden looked at Mozrael’s side profile carefully and noticed the tears that were silently coming out of her eyes. He gave the medicine to the maid and left the room. "He’s gone now, there’s nothing to be afraid of," the maid said, but Mozrael didn’t move. She still lay on the bed with her head facing the side and her hands gripping the bed tightly. The maid rose up and put the medicine down, then held Mozrael’s head and helped her sit up. She then went on to try taking off her clothes. "Lock the door first," she said and stubbornly held her dress. The maid went to lock the door and then came back to take off her clothes. "This is worse than I thought, but not as bad," she said but the way her eyes shook with fear said otherwise. The maid looked at her back and found that things were worse. The scales spread from her elbow to her shoulder, across her collarbones, and down her back, stopping just before her lower back. She then raised Mozrael’s hair and noticed some had grown up her neck. "Lay down," the maid instructed then helped Mozrael drink the medicine. She spat out the medicine with a groan, but after a moment’s pause, the maid gently helped her take another sip. Mozrael drank half this time, her body tensing as the scales began to retract. The unbearable pain made her stifle a scream as she gripped the bedcovers tightly, fighting back tears. When she finally calmed down, she signaled to drink again, forcing herself to drink the rest. With difficulty, she took it all in, spilling some of it all over herself. She was drained, barely able to mkve. The maid carried her and bathed her, bringing her back to her bed to rest after changing the covers. Her fair skin was now a healthy peach color without a single scale blemishing it. After the healing was complete, Mozrael lay still on her bed, the remnants of pain still evident in the way her body tensed every now and then. The room, now quiet and dimly lit, held an air of relief. Mozrael’s quiet, tearful gaze lingered on the shadows cast by the orbs above her, and the maid’s footsteps faded as she left the room, leaving only the gentle hum of the quiet evening. The pain had subsided, but Mozrael’s body still trembled faintly as she rested in the quiet of her room, the events of the evening weighing heavily on her. Hours passed, and the room gradually grew darker, the orbs still glowing faintly as the sun slipped below the horizon. The silence was comforting yet heavy, and for a moment, it felt as though the world outside had come to a standstill. Meanwhile, Aramith stood outside the door, his heart heavy with the knowledge of Mozrael’s suffering. He had no idea what to expect when he entered, but he couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling he had in his chest. He was about to open the door when Lia suddenly grabbed his hand. He looked at her, and she gave him a concerned smile before pushing past him into the room. "Don’t go in there looking gloomy, okay?" she said, her voice light despite the situation. Aramith stood still for a moment, then gave a small smile. He did feel unhappy, but Lia was right—his mood wouldn’t help at all. "What are you doing standing there, Aramith?" Lia called out from inside. He shook his head and stepped into the room. Lia was sitting beside Mozrael on the bed, looking as energetic as ever. Mozrael, on the other hand, was sitting with the covers pulled up to her legs, a tray of food in front of her, though she barely touched it. The moment their eyes met, Mozrael quickly looked away, her fingers absentmindedly picking at the food. Aramith felt a lump form in his throat. He’d been worried since he heard about her illness. After dinner, when they’d run into Aiden on the way to the room, the healer had rubbed salt in the wound by telling him that Mozrael had been unwell since dawn but had chosen not to tell anyone. She even tried to hide it after Aiden treated her. Why had she kept something so important to herself? He couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain she must be enduring. He only knew that her sickness was frequent and serious. It was said to be a disease passed down from her mother. "Let’s play a game," Lia said suddenly, snapping him out of his thoughts. "A game? Seriously? It’s already nighttime." "Yep, I’m dead serious. What game should we play?" "Lia, you know we can’t play right now. Maybe we can do something else, but not play." "Oh, I know! Tell us a story, big brother. You read a lot more than the two of us, so you must know some great stories." "I don’t know what story—wait, what are you doing?" Aramith blinked in surprise as Lia jumped off the bed and bolted out of the room. "I’ll be back soon!" she called over her shoulder as she disappeared. "Seriously...?" Aramith muttered under his breath. He almost chased after her but stopped himself. As he turned back to Mozrael, he heard a soft laugh behind him. He turned to see a small smile on her face, and his own lips couldn’t help but curve into a grin. "Mozrael?" "Mm?" "You know... you didn’t have to hide it from us. We were really worried when we heard you were unwell. I don’t fully understand why you kept it from us, but I know you thought it was the right choice... but it wasn’t. You didn’t need to hide this from me." He paused, sitting up straighter as he looked at her. "Hey, look at me." Mozrael hesitated, refusing to meet his gaze, but Aramith wouldn’t relent. "Please, just look at me." After a long moment, she slowly looked up, but couldn’t meet his eyes directly. "Listen," he said softly, "I want you to try to overcome your fears, okay? Start with me. Don’t be afraid of me. You can tell me anything, okay? I won’t—" "Okay," she whispered, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips. The door suddenly creaked open, and Lia burst back in, her eyes wide. Aramith barely had time to react before something brown collided with his head. "Aramith!" he heard Mozrael’s voice—was it her or Lia? "Are you all right, Mozrael?" he heard Lia call out. "I thought he was about to make you cry, so I kind of threw that... accidentally..." "Is he—" The rest of the words were lost in silence. A freaking table???