Wayward Favor || ONC 2024

Chapter 19: Celine

Father and I sit at Celine's bedside. May lays across the foot of the bed, head resting on Celine's leg. Celine's chest rises and falls leisurely. She could be sleeping, if not for the purple bruises on her arms and face. 

The doctor examined her, poking and prodding every muscle and bone. He said she struck her head on the way down; the severity of the trauma is why she does not wake, but it is a wonder she has broken no bones. She may awaken in her own time, but he did not tell us how much time she will need, only that the more time passes, the less likely it will be she'll ever wake again. We will wait for her, as long as it takes. 

The sun has fully risen, and it chases the last of the fog away. The search for David and Arabella continues. The staff in the Drewmond household is on high alert for any sign of them. I hope they find David soon; he needs to be here. My brother may be an irresponsible idiot, but he knows how to talk to Father. I just sit next to him in silence. I have no idea how to comfort him. 

"She's going to be alright," I say. I want to ask him if there is any magic that can help her but, if there was, he would have used it by now. Father doesn't respond, staring into the mid-distance. I don't think he remembers how to blink. 

"I'm so sorry," I whisper, twisting my cold hands together like they are two entities, separate from my body, insistent on waging war with one another. "I shouldn't have run away. This is my fault." 

"No, Estella. You are not to blame. I was so focused on protecting you, Celine, and David, I didn't consider your feelings. I was more concerned with safety than your happiness. This is not a burden you should ever have had to bear. Magnus was right, I should have given you an explanation. In the end, everything was for naught! No matter how swiftly we set this marriage in motion, we still weren't quick enough to stop the curse from acting upon Celine." 

I shake my head. "No, this is because Magnus and I messed with the curse. We thought we could break it. This is my fault." 

My father's cold, skeletal hand grabs my arm, fear filling his face. "What did you do?" he asks, his voice distant. 

"Magnus was going to explain our plan to you over breakfast. He's more well-versed in this mage stuff. We went to see an expert Magnus knows. I didn't believe the curse was real, so I didn't care if it worked or not, just as long as I didn't have to marry Count Drewmond." 

Father's hand tightens on my forearm. "I've tried to break this curse in so many different ways. Spent years making mistake after mistake. I've met so many experts that scammed me out of my money and, I knew most of them were scams, but I was desperate to try anything. Don't blame yourself for fighting it. Reginald and I both made the exact same mistakes. It's the curse, this is what it does to us." 

"At least Orion didn't ask for any money," I mutter. 

"Orion?" Father whispers, eyes wide, mouth partially open. "The...the Orion? The curseworker?" 

"Uh, yeah, I guess." I cringe internally. I messed up. I shouldn't have mentioned his name. 

"I've tried to get a meeting with him, but no one I asked ever gave me useful information on him. I was starting to think the man was a folktale. Did you meet him in person? Who is he? What is he like?" 

Concerned by my father's sudden fervor, I lean back a bit. "Yeah, I...uh, we met him. We went to his estate." 

"His estate? He is a Wolfundry lord?" 

"Yeah. Lord...lord..." I frown, wracking my brain. I can't remember his family name. I know his name was said, multiple times. I even referred to him by it, then he'd told me to call him Orion, and I...I can't picture his face either.