51: The unexpected end

The way all parts of her body burnt as if set on fire and how she couldn’t turn it out felt like a strange dream but also so much like reality. The longer her eyes stayed shut, trying to figure out what was happening, the more the pain in her skin grew and became unbearable. Her breathing also became restricted, as if the air was cut out and every intake became a battle and she choked. Her eyes snapped open to see thick, blinding smoke covering up her chambers. The smoke had cut out her vision, so she didn’t see anything a few feet away even if she tried. It wasn’t a dream, she soon realised, and she felt trapped.

Confusion and question filled her head as she wondered what could have started this great choking smoke. It wasn’t an ordinary smoke. She wouldn’t feel so weak and tired if it was. The smell and the pain it caused when breathing told her this was wolfsbane. This wasn’t just a random happening, this was an attack on the parlour.

She got up and race to the bathroom and threw