CHAPTER 13: The Hopelessness

"Just take it and kill me off," 

"Stop this, Aella!!" the Baroness pushed her away with an offended look.

"Why? Why can't you do it? You seem to be so keen on sending me off to my death so why can't you end my life here and now?!" She blasted out, not caring if her voice was waking the entire neighbourhood or not.

"That demon doesn't exist, it's a myth and even if it does, do you know how dangerous it is? You are telling me to end my life, Mother!!"

"But you can wield a sword, can't you? It won't be hard for you to kill it, you need to do this for the family," her mother was now pleading.

"Why should I? I wasn't the one who brought this damnation in the first place! Why should I be the one to suffer for it?! Aurelia took the gem so she should be the one to get the demon's heart, not me!!" Aella spat at her mother, outraged by the audacity she had to ask such of her.

"You know your sister is frail at heart, she wouldn't-"

Aella tilted her head back as she let out a burst of unceremonious laughter.

It was clear that nothing was amusing from her dark chuckles.

"As always, the Baroness would side with the princess of the family, right?" She scoffed.

"Aurelia can't do this, she is this, she is that. Aella should be the one cleaning up her mess every single bloody time!! I have to be one to grovel like a rat when she sits behind her mirror like a pretty flower, isn't it?!" Her eyes bled with teats as she spoke.

"You have always favoured Aurelia over me, always! Never once have you ever treated as half as you did to her, if I didn't have the same face as her, I would have thought I was an adopted brute!!" 

"Aella!!!" the Baroness let her hand in the air.

She glared at her daughter who stared back at her with disappointment pouring from her pacific eyes.

Aella fell back to her bed, unable to hold in the sob that burst out of her chest from the tension in the room. Her shoulders rocked forth as she cried out in pain and despondency.

The Baroness brought her hand down to clasp her palms together, as she found it hard to keep her tears in as well.

"I beg of you, do this not because of me but for your ill father. If you want to save him, this is the only way," the Baroness pleaded earnestly.

"You are the only one that can save our family, Aella," those were her last words before she walked out of the room, leaving a devastated Aella alone in the dark.

Her whimpers filled the air and she found it hard to breathe properly at some point. She couldn't believe how bold her mother could be to ask that of her.

Get the heart of the demon?! In what fairytale did that ever happen?

It was nothing short of asking her to just end her life with her hands.

It made her even more bruised that the cause of all this mess, Aurelia, would sit in the comfort of their home while she would venture into the most ridiculous mission of her life.

Aella sat up and wiped off her tears. Her face was set as a stone as she removed the rope from her neck.

She got up from her bed and moved out of her room with firm steps.

She knew the one person who could help her make her decision and she was going to meet him now.

Aella pushed the door open slowly as she peered into the darkness to see the still figure laying on the bed, his chest rising at a steady but sluggish pace.

She found it hard to hold in her sob when she saw her father's fragile condition one more time in the dimly lit room. 

She walked in and closed the door behind her, the light coming from the fireplace casting a shadow over her puffy face.

"Father," she rasped out and moved to the bed.

Falling to her knees, she dropped her head on his arm, hoping desperately that he could pat her blonde locks gently just as he used to do.

A sharp cry escaped her lips when she realised she was waiting for something that wasn't going to come.

The reality was harsh on her and it took almost all her power to not lose her mind completely.

"Father, I'm at loss, I do not know what to do," she raised her head and talked like he could hear her.

"The only way to get rid of the curse is to do something maddening and I don't know if I would be able to do it. I am scared, so terrified of what would happen to me," she took his wrinkly hand in hers as she poured all her heart out.

"You have always told me to have courage even in the most difficult situations but I am not quite certain my bravery is up to the task given to me. I am petrified and only your words can soothe my pain now, please open your eyes and say something, please tell me in what direction to go, please," she cried harder when he remained as motionless as he was.

"Oh, good gracious, why is this happening to me?" She moaned with anguish.

Just then, like the gentle push of the wind, she felt a small grip on her palm which made her snap her head up in an instant.

Her father was trying to grasp her hand.

"Father? Father! Can you hear me?" She held his shoulders gently. His lips moved and she was stunned to the bones.

"H-" he creaked out.

"Father, do you want to say something?" She moved closer and placed her head to listen carefully.

"H-Help us," he breathed out.

"What?" She paused.

"H-Help us, Aella," 

Comprehending the gravity of his words, Aella fell down, feeling burdened by the huge responsibility placed solely on her.

She didn't know if it was her imagination or if it was real but his words were clear.

She had to get the demon's heart to save her family.