1 Demise

I didn't know how much luck I have with me today, but I am praying so hard that I have enough to make it out alive.

I am feeling nauseous, and the throbbing headache is making my dizziness feel even worse. The stabbing pain in my chest every time I gasp for air is too much to bear. And the cherry on the top of it all, I am starting to feel the muscles in my legs go limp.

Fuck this Heartbreak Serum!

I can never be wrong about it. I spent my entire existence with Lady Iris. I am very much acquainted with her obsession with botany. Being raised and brought up in the orphanage, I know all the dangerous plants that can cause serious damage and even death.

If my estimation is accurate, the serum has been in my system for about thirty minutes now. It started to kick in, and the symptoms I'm getting is in the initial phase. I might have been given a generous dosage for it to set in as quickly as this.

The next forty-five to sixty minutes is crucial. I need to get out of this place and get the antidote before my entire body gets paralyzed.

"Lord Blodwyn, come out now! Don't make it so hard for you. Whether you make it out here or not, you will still be a dead body in a few hours."

I heard a familiar voice calling out the name that Lady Iris has given me.

"If I were you, I will spend the last moments of my life with my beloved mother. The mother who raised you, feed you, clothed you, and named you."

"Are you that ungrateful, that you will even deprive her of your death?"

I tried to run as quickly and as silently as possible towards the woods, but in the state that I am now, I think it's impossible for me to keep moving without getting noticed. As I scampered into the woods, I saw Calix heading in my direction.

I found a bush and instinctively dived into it. Calix is just a few meters away from me. One wrong move, or even a slight sound, he will definitely find me. I am in an uncomfortable position and the sharp pain in my abdomen makes me want to scream in agony.

I curled in pain and felt a strong urge to throw up. My dizziness is getting the best of me, that my vision is starting to blur.

Damn! Not now!

I started to sweat profusely, my hands were turning cold. I could no longer keep myself from throwing up. I feel like my insides were being stirred, trying to push out everything in it. Before I knew it, I started vomiting.

"How does it feel my Lord? The serum is coming to its peak soon. Stop being a stubborn kid! Let me bring you home and die comfortably in your mother's bosom!"

"N-n-never!"

I gathered all my strength and attempted to stand up. Much to my dismay, no matter how hard I tried to move them, they didn't budge. I could no longer feel my legs. My lower torso had gone numb.

I heard heavy thump of a person walking, heading in my direction. Every thump that came felt like a drum that synchronized my heartbeat with its rhythm.

My body trembled, and with every little move I make, it feels like I am going to fall into pieces. I noticed the watch on my wrist. Fifteen minutes have passed, but I felt like I've been tormented for hours. It's the longest fifteen minutes of my life.

I have miscalculated everything. They might've given me a stronger dosage for it to take effect this quick.

I gathered all my strength and reached out for a rock that was deeply planted on the ground. I grabbed it, as I dragged my body inch by inch. Hoping that the rock could suffice and support the weight of my body.

I am crawling like a helpless cub, ready to be devoured by a hungry wolf. A prey -- a helpless prey, that's what I am now.

Is this where it will all end?

How ironic, the more I try to cover some distance, the closer my predator gets. I used anything on the ground as leverage to keep myself moving. Rocks, grass, vines, roots -- I held on to them as my life depended on it.

"There's no point on playing hard to get now my Lord."

Calix chuckled as he grabbed me by the hair and jerking my head towards him. His black cold eyes speak nothing about mercy. The smirk on his face tells an impending death.

"Ah-ah-I trusted you, Leo!"

"Have you truly turned your back away from us Lord Blodwyn? You seemed to forget the rules of the house that we abide by. You just broke two of them."

He said as he tapped my cheeks twice.

"Trust no one, and never address your kin by their real name," Calix said as he recited two of the rules that I broke.

"Your mother will be truly disappointed if she hears that. She has so much faith in you Blodwyn! You were your mother's pride, but you failed her big time." He continued as he kicked me a few times on my sides.

I curled in agony as his last kick landed a few inches below my chest. He kicked me so hard, that it made me spew out some blood. I saw him reach for his pocket, and took something out. Even if the sun is setting on us, and my eyes are getting blurry, I can still make out what he took out from his pocket.

It was a pocket knife. He crouched in front of me and for the second time -- he grabbed me by my hair. I can now see what he has in his right hand clearly. It was the pocket knife I gifted him during our graduation.

I cannot believe that my best friend will be the one to deliver me to my death. It is true, we were not supposed to trust anyone -- it is the number one rule we lived by since our childhood. But with the friendship I made with Calix, no Leo -- damn nicknames!

I treated him as a brother, as my own. I would lay my life for him in a heartbeat, but how did he end up becoming my nemesis. Since when? Why? I feel so betrayed.

"I will show you some mercy, my Lord. You were not supposed to die a quick death, but for the sake of friendship, I will grant you an easy one."

"D-d-don't do this Leo. H-h-help me. I will take good care of you. Y-y-you don't have to do what my mother tells you. W-w-we will run away from here, and live a-a different life."

I mumbled in pain, as I looked into his eyes. But I see nothing, his eyes remained blank. He didn't even budge, not even a slight change in his expression.

"My loyalty is to the Lady of Beaumonde, not to you my Lord." He smirked.

He pulled my head until my neck is visible, he held the knife close to my neck, as he laughed loudly. In my eyes, he is turning into a demon I haven't seen before.

"Any last words, my Lord?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat, as I thought of Celandine. I felt a pinch in my heart. I will die without even seeing my beautiful wife. I closed my eyes and started accepting my tragic fate.

"You lived well my Lord. At least you will die not as an orphan. You will die as a noble, an heir, a rich man, a son, and a husband. Very blessed indeed. The name that your mother gave you is very fitting, Blodwyn. It's just a shame, that you put it all to waste."

He stated as if he's mocking me.

He drew the knife closer to my neck. I close my eyes, preparing for my death when I heard a loud sound coming from the sky. I saw a streak of light course through the sky, the clouds gave way as light approached them.

The light flashed downwards and got caught by a branch of the tree a few meters away from me. Several streaks of lightning crawled on the ground like snakes, and the next thing I knew the tree was on fire.

I saw the same branch of the tree falling just above Leo. The surprised looked on my face could've hinted him of the danger. He leaped quickly, leaving me to save myself. As I tried to crawl away, I realized that the paralysis has already gone up to my upper torso. I could not make my hands move -- not even a finger.

Great! It's either I will die by being murdered, from the poison, or from a natural disaster.

I just close my eyes waiting for the fiery branch to hit me, and burn me alive. Then I felt the ground shaking. The earth where I am bounded started to crumble. I started to feel myself fall -- much to my dismay, I was falling downhill.

I prepared myself to tumble down and ran over by other falling debris that is obviously heavy enough to squish me. I felt like the universe has not made its mind of how it's going to kill me. The occurring phenomenon has shielded my body from feeling the agony that I was subjected to awhile ago.

I have seen enough options of my death for today. All I hope for is it will grant me a sudden death. And that if Celandine, would ever find out what happened to me -- I pray for her peace and comfort.

With my two eyes, I am seeing myself fall to death on a cliff. My weak body, beaten up with boulders, and trees. I am fading -- slowly fading away.