Chapter 216 - 216: A Different Kind of Remedy

When Ruelle's eyelids fluttered open, she was greeted by the light that filtered through the curtains. But as the fog of sleep cleared from her mind, she felt the soreness of her body.

Memory soon rushed back like a flood and her face reddened.

One more. That was what Lucian had whispered in the dark hours and Ruelle had gone along. But one had soon blurred into two until her senses had turned into a puddled mush. She had clung tightly to his shoulders, her body trembling beneath him unable to distinguish where her own skin ended and Lucian's heat began. Eventually, exhausted to her very core and thoroughly loved, she had fallen asleep in his arms.

When she was about to shift, Ruelle felt the familiar warmth of Lucian's arm wrapped around her waist now. She realised that her skin was clean and dry. Did he clean her while she was asleep?

Before the embarrassment could fully take root, she felt him press his lips on her shoulder.

"Sleep some more," Lucian said, his voice lower and softer than the one he used with everyone else.

Ruelle turned in his arms to find him watching her. He leaned in, his nose brushing against hers, which brought a sweet smile on her lips.

"What time is it?" she asked, her voice raspy and hoarse from the night before, which only made her face burn hotter.

"It is close to noon," Lucian answered, pulling her close to him and when her eyebrows furrowed slightly, he asked, "Does it hurt? I am sorry, I lost control."

"That's alright. You don't need to apologise for it," Ruelle answered before her hand reached out to gently trace Lucian's cheekbone. Last night, she had been an equal participant and there was nothing she didn't like from what he offered her. She moved closer to him and said, "I do feel sore... but I am happy."

Hearing those words, Lucian's eyes softened and he leaned down, resting his forehead gently against hers as his arm tightened around her waist.

Ruelle had always thought something like this was reserved strictly for after marriage. Somewhere she had also believed that Lucian intended to withhold himself until their wedding night. But last night, all sense of restraint had blurred into urgent desire. They had sought each other out and despite the whirlwind of it all, she found she did not regret a single moment. After all, they had already decided to spend the rest of their lives together.

As the lingering tingle finally began to settle beneath her skin, a sudden, mortifying thought struck her, and her eyes widened.

"What happened?" Lucian asked.

"Last night..." Ruelle started, her voice faltering. "Is there any chance... people heard it?"

She hadn't considered the possibility, and the longer she dwelled on it, the more the embarrassment climbed.

"My father's room is on the other side of the mansion," Lucian replied smoothly, his fingertips trailing a slow, deliberate path up the delicate curve of her spine. "And though Dane's room is on this floor, I believe he was elsewhere last night, far too occupied to pay any attention to us and the others don't have that good of a hearing."

Ruelle buried her face in his chest, hoping that was true.

The room was quiet and peaceful. She wished mornings could always begin this way.

They lingered in bed a while longer, wrapped in the last quiet moments of the morning, before finally getting ready and making their way downstairs to join the others for lunch. The corridor was bathed in the soft light of midday as they walked.

"I was thinking," Ruelle began, glancing up at Lucian as they walked side by side, "that we should visit people's houses. This way, we could also discreetly search to see if the remaining mirror is hidden somewhere among their belongings. What do you think?"

Lucian considered her words for a moment and he finally answered,

"It could be done. We could arrange a soiree here at the mansion," Lucian said. But after a moment, his expression grew more serious, and he added, "You do know that finding the other piece of the mirror means you will lose the one you currently have?"

Lucian was right, Ruelle thought grimly to herself. The small shard passed down by her mother was the easiest way to sense the larger mirror's presence. The moment the fragment sensed its other half nearby, the pull between them would become too strong to resist and the larger piece would draw the smaller one to it, and the shard she carried would simply vanish from her hand forever.

"Hopefully, it is with an agreeable owner," Ruelle said with a small smile, and her eyebrows furrowed in quiet thought. "One who would be willing to part with it easily enough," she muttered.

"Hopefully one who doesn't know the use of it," Lucian replied, his tone edged with a quiet gravity. Because the mirror, whole and unified once more, was far too dangerous a thing to leave in careless or ambitious hands.

And though she had come up with the plan, she didn't know how long it would take them to visit the Elite families. But what if they wouldn't find it there? What if it were moved away from where they lived? No, thought Ruelle. The pieces must be close, considering how many years had passed.

"When the time is right, you will find it," Lucian stated, meeting her gaze, and Ruelle nodded. "We will meet your mother."

Her lips pursed, and she said, "I know I've already told you this but I feel terrible for breaking your vial."

Lucian watched her carefully as she spoke, his wine-red eyes fixed on her with an intensity that made her feel as though he were drinking in every flicker of emotion that crossed her face. He responded to this,

"Sometimes things do not happen for a reason. But sometimes perhaps the time simply wasn't right."

How could he say that so calmly? She would use the one she had to reach out to her mother, while he wouldn't and the thought sat heavily in her chest.

Then she heard him speak again, "It simply happens that the woman I chose can bring the dead back to life."

It took Ruelle a moment before her eyes widened in realisation. And then, slowly, a wide smile spread across her lips. Belladonna's vials had disappeared because some of the plants required to make them no longer existed. It wasn't that the method had been lost. The ingredients themselves had vanished from the world. But she...

"I can bring the ones that are extinct to life," she realised. Her ability wasn't useless after all!

"But, Lucian, some of the ingredients are missing. Where do I look for them?" Ruelle enquired with a thoughtful expression.

"If you ask for the ingredients by their names, word will reach the courthouse before the day is over," Lucian explained. "Possession of them is enough to invite questions, and searching for several at once would be difficult to explain."

Ruelle's excitement dimmed slightly. "Then how am I supposed to find them?"

"Merchants. The townsfolk may want nothing to do with witches but merchants have never been quite as principled where profit is concerned," Lucian continued as they walked down the stairs. "Those who deal with witch and other forbidden goods have their own way of acquiring it. Like ingredients are traded under different names."

"How different?" Ruelle asked, her curiosity returning.

"Mm." Lucian then continued to explain, "When I lived with the witch, I found she changed vowels. A becomes E, E becomes I and so on. The consonants are left untouched. For example, Belladonna turns to Billidunne, making it seem like an entirely different herb."

"Are the people in the courthouse aware of this?" Ruelle asked in slight surprise.

"They would know if they lived with a witch."

Lucian had only come to know such things because grief had once driven him far enough to live beneath a witch's roof, desperate for the smallest chance of seeing his mother again.

Before she could dwell on the thought any further, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed sharply against the floor, drawing closer, and when she looked up, she saw Caroline's hands move wide open. But before her sister could grab her, Lucian had pulled Ruelle to his other side, leaving her sister to fall flat on the ground.

Ruelle looked at Caroline sprawled on the floor before her sister turned to look at her with her swollen eyes as if they had been stung by a bee. Slightly concerned, she asked, "Are you alright?"

"Ruelle!" Caroline cried out, her voice shrill, which made Ruelle close her eyes for a second. "I—I am so so—sorry!... I—I didn't know!" Her words came out broken.

With a look of suspicion, she lowered herself to where her sister sat and asked in doubt, "What did you do?"

But Caroline looked exhausted and she shook her head. At the same time, she caught sight of Hailey and Edward appear at the end of the corridor.

"I—I.... I am going to die! I should have been more understanding!" Caroline cried before putting her arms around Ruelle's neck and pulling her close. "I should have been—an understanding sister when you needed me. I now know—know how you feel! I am...so sorry!" she sobbed.

Ruelle's eyebrows furrowed, and she glanced sideways at Lucian, whose eyes had narrowed sharply at the mere possibility of trouble her sister was about to cause.

"Last night... I got infected by the deceased vampires," came Caroline's muffled voice.

If it weren't for Hailey and Edward standing just ahead in the corridor both failing to hide their proud expressions, Ruelle was certain Lucian would have already ripped her away from her sister's grasp to keep her safe from the next corrupting vampire.

Ruelle wondered, briefly, if her sister could even see anything through her swollen eyes but upon noticing the small bump on Caroline's forehead, she guessed not.

Caroline's voice cracked with remorse, "I have been a terrible sister. Not knowing what you were going through this entire time. And now I have been rightfully punished for neglecting my sisterly duties and unfairly blaming you for everything! I—I don't know what to do! I don't want to die! I am scared!"

Ruelle patted her sister's back, trying to offer some comfort, and she said, "You are going to be alright."

"That's right, asking for forgiveness is merely the first step of atoning—" Edward's solemn words were cut short by Hailey's blunt interruption.

"Ruelle has a solution for everything, Caroline," Hailey stated with a stoic expression.

Caroline nodded, tears still streaking down her cheeks. She replied, "Ruelle has always looked out for me..."

More footsteps echoed down the corridor, and this time, it was Maude and Mrs. Belmont who had arrived. The head of the housekeeper offered a respectful bow, but Mrs. Belmont spoke,

"Ruelle, please help, Caroline! I beg of you!" the woman limped as she made her way to them.

The woman, who hadn't even grovelled like this when they found her father's body, was now begging her.

"We have wronged you and we can only ask for your forgiveness. But please don't turn away now!" Mrs. Belmont looked tense, as she had been informed about her daughter about to be hunted and killed for good this time. "I know you have witch abilities! You will help her, right? We don't have to tell anyone about anything!"

To think that she would come to see the day where the woman would beg her for something… The same woman, who had kicked her out of the house.

"I will see what I can do," Ruelle murmured and Mrs. Belmont looked grateful.

When silence fell, Maude took the opportunity to speak, "Master Lucian, lunch has been set. Will you and Miss Ruelle be joining?"

"Yes, we will be there shortly," Lucian replied smoothly. His gaze then shifted toward the young human woman still sniffling next to Ruelle. "Please take Miss Caroline to her room and let her rest. It would be terrible if someone were to catch wind of her condition."