The curse

Elowen’s POV

My breath caught in my throat as panic flooded my veins, his clammy hands crawled over my breast while his slightly broken lips tried to claim mine.

I felt a pit in my stomach as instinct kicked in and immediately my hand clutched his shoulders, trying to use the last shred of strength I had left to shove him off me, unexpectedly, the door burst open.

A frustrated groan escaped his lips as he climbed down my body. My now trembling fingers found my chest instantly as I desperately tried to fix my torn shirt.

“What is going on here?” Morveth’s eyes swept across the cramped room that barely contained the three of us.

Just as I was about to speak, he had already moved towards the door, shoving her so hard that she almost lost her balance.

“Witch.” Her husband spat as he walked out, slamming the door behind him.

My throat bobbed as my fingers clenched hard around my shirt while I stared into Morveth’s eyes.

“I’m talking to you, what the hell were you doing with my husband?!” she barked as she moved towards me.

I shook my head rapidly, my lips tightened, words died at the tip of my tongue, and I had no choice but to let the tears roll down my cheek.

“Cat got your tongue?” she asked folding her arms across her chest, her head tilted while her eyes shot daggers into mine.

My tongue brushed over my lower lip as I exhaled, gathering all the courage I had. “He tried to touch m-”

A resounding slap landed on my left cheek, my head shifted to the other side, and I swore I saw stars.

My head shifted back to Morveth as she grabbed what remained of my clothes, pulling me closer to her. “You think you could get under his pants, as you do with every boy in this village, because of your stupid face?!” she bellowed as she tossed me hard across the room.

My butt landed on the cold floor harshly, and the coldness clung to my skin as I shivered, yet I still tried to speak. “I'm telling the truth, he… was the one trying to f-force himself on me,” I whispered, my voice shaking.

Morveth scoffed in a low voice as she ran her hand through her hair. “I should have known you were nothing but a slut, a cheap one that had the nerve to look at the side of her master's husband,” she said.

Every word felt like a dagger stabbing into my gut. Why wouldn't she believe me? I knew she hated me.

But did I ever seduce him? Never.

A servant never met the eyes of their master, let alone spoke in their defense.

Left with no choice, my trembling legs crawled to her feet with my head bowed to the cold floor. I knew I didn't have the right to speak, yet my lips betrayed me. “Believe me I w..would never do… such,” I stuttered, but I received no response.

Just silence, the kind of silence that made a shiver run down my spine. I knew whenever Madam Morveth was silent it meant danger or possibly death.

My throat tightened as I forced the fear down my lungs. Suddenly, she bent to my height, leaning closer to my face.

Her index finger snaked under my jaw, raising my face, her eyes bore a familiar expression.

“No words of remorse, of forgiveness, I hate you so much, Elowen,” she said.

My hand gripped the side of my dress as my body went stiff. I didn't dare hold her gaze, so I lowered my eyes. “You are so evil, sent from hell to wreck my home, but I tell you, this…”

She averted her gaze down to my exposed body, revealing my white flawless cleavage. My teeth caught my lower lip so hard that I tasted the blood on my tongue.

“Please... I am no Demon” I breathed out as another tear slipped from my eyes.

At this point, I didn't even know what she had in mind, I wondered if I was scared of dying by her hand.

“Please? I have warned you many times, but you know, Elowen.” She paused, her blood red finger trailed my face, my breath caught in my chest as I shook my head.

“I won't kill you,” she whispered as if reading my mind, she leaned too close that her smell of rot swirled into my nostrils as her breath fanned my cheek.

Then she rose to her feet. “No, you don’t deserve to die, you deserve to suffer,” she added just as she took two steps away from me.

My eyes widened as I tried to look at her face, my lips parted, but it was indeed too late.

Her hands clasped together, her pointed long fingers soaked with blood, suddenly every move glistened with lights as the room swayed.

My breath crawled to my chest, squeezing the air from my lungs, and my heart sank like a ship drowning in the stormy sea of Gordon.

I knew this feeling.

“Please, Morveth-”

My head couldn't wrap around anything.

Her lips moved as she started chanting spells, her voice grew louder with each second, my limbs weakened, and my body started rising until I was mid-air.

My body surged, heat crept into my soul, my eyes felt too heavy, so heavy that the darkness was close like a second skin.

Just as I was about to slip into the slumber I probably wouldn't wake up from, my ears caught her last words. “Love becomes farther, thou art cursed by desire rather, if the curse remains undone, you shall face death on the 16th full moon from this day!” The voice sank with me as the darkness slowly consumed me.

“Morveth no…”

***

I didn't know how long I was unconscious. The chattering and the sound of a bell being rung jolted my body awake.

My eyes fluttered open slowly, my gaze darted around until it settled on the women dressed in houppelande embroidered with gold pearls, while others wore shiny silk. And the men wore doublets and fur-lined cloaks.

My toes curled as the wave of cold air made me shiver. I tried to move my feet, but I couldn't. That was when I realized my hands were chained with heavy locks. And this only meant...

“SOLD!!” The word echoed all over the room. My eyes widened as they snapped to the center of the stage. The reality crashed into me like a train.

My heart tightened, suddenly a lash landed on my back and my eyes clamped shut as I tried to take in the pain.

“Move, Demon!” a man bellowed above me, followed by his strong boot kicking me in the corner of my stomach.

I was no Demon.

A sharp gasp escaped my lips as I trudged forward, with my knees scraping the floor, until I got to the center of the stage.

The men ogled me like I was a treasure freshly unwrapped and meant for their possession, while the women's eyes burned like pure venom.

I took a sharp breath, just as I tried to avert my gaze, my eyes caught sight of Madam Morveth, in a blink, she was gone.

“A message for the demon!” a little child screamed distracting my gaze, he walked up to the stage where I knelt, then whispered into my face, eyes pierced mine with undoubted certainty.

“You shall be haunted by desire…” A quick chuckle escaped his lips.

“…and nothing more.”