Ella had been around far more recently since she’d appointed the new guards, though she hadn’t continued her interrogations.

  Instead she stayed relatively silent as she personally brought meals and damp rags for cleaning up, keeping her questions shallow and mundane. She’d ask how Corabelle was faring, if she needed more water, how the guards were treating her; only once asking if she would need to go hunting again soon.

  Though Ella’s eyes lingered on Zaramir, she never spoke about him again. If he’d woken, she would have been told.

  Ella’s next visit came only a few hours after Corabelle’s conversation with the mage.

  A bundle of cloth was tucked under one arm as she carried a bowl of some form of steaming soup in the other.

  She set the soup down on a narrow rock ledge as she brought the bundle of cloth over, “You should get changed.” Ella said simply but firmly.

  Legs pinned under Zaramir, Corabelle had been stuck in the same clothing since she’d returned, only cleaning up with the rag Ella provided.

  She knew she couldn’t smell her best but felt her cheeks grow hot as she realized it had to have been one of her usual guards that had put in a complaint.

  Corabelle nodded, “But I can’t get up.” She told her as she watched the wayward eyes glance at her from her doorway.

  “I know,” Ella smiled sympathetically as she set the cloth next to Corabelle, and pulled off the topmost folded fabric.

  She grabbed the edge with both hands, letting it unfurl into a sheet that she stretched wide, shielding the cot from the view of the hallway, guards, and herself.

  “Thank you,” Corabelle said, a strange warmth filling her chest as she struggled to pull off her dirty shirt with her only free hand.

  The intimidation Ella carried had been broken since their return. Her actions had become kind, firm, but kind.

  Though this woman could be young enough to be her own daughter technically speaking, she had begun to feel like her mother.

  Corabelle wondered if she was like this with others or if Ella, too, felt an unexplainable kinship.

  Outside of Sterling, she was the only one who fully treated her like a person instead of a monster.

  Even those who had exchanged pleasantries still held an air of caution around her that she doubted would ever fully fade.

  While she didn’t want to exploit Ella’s kindness, hopefully it would provide her with some goodwill to hopefully answer her own questions.

  As the sheet began to slowly lower, Ella’s arms beginning to tire from having to hold it upright for so long, Corabelle knew now was a better opportunity than ever to ask while she was stuck here.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “Ella?” She questioned carefully.

  “Yes?” She responded with a tired boredom poorly concealed from her voice.

  “What House did you attend?” A question Corabelle hoped would be a good warm up.

  Ella breathed a short low chuckle, “I didn’t attend a House, actually.”

  Corabelle paused.

  Ella didn't attend a house? Why would the mage think she would have the answers?

  “Oh,” Corabelle replied slowly. “I assumed…”

  “A fair assumption,” There was a smile in Ella’s voice. “I had private tutors growing up. My family wouldn’t let me attend a House but I wasn’t uneducated. In fact my education was probably better than most because I learned cross discipline.”

  Corabelle let out her own laugh for relief.

  So the mage was right.

  “Why do you ask?” Ella questioned.

  This was a perfect question, one in which she wouldn’t have to lie, “I was seeing if you might have the knowledge to help me with something.”

  “Help you with what?” Her voice lowered, the humor slowly dissipating..

  “I’m worried about Zaramir,” She told her. “He should be awake by now. For good, this time.. I’m beginning to think this might be something really bad. Do you have any knowledge of Curses?”

  Ella’s fingertips tightened around the sheet, her voice lowered, “I do.”

  The room hung in a heavy silence for a moment, the air itself closing in around them. Corabelle knew full well it would be a mistake to press the issue, but she didn’t have many options.

  Thankfully Ella was the first to speak, “I can’t say the thought hadn’t occurred to me either. The way you spoke of him compared to the way he awakened seemed… uncharacteristic.”

  Corabelle stayed silent as she spoke, tugging the curtain gently to signal she was dressed.

  Ella lowered it and began refolding it meticulously as she spoke, “I was, unfortunately, the right person to ask about this. My mother and grandparents were a paranoid lot. They were scared of Houses of Magic, but had a strange insistence on me learning about curses.”

  “Why?” The word fell from Corabelle’s lips before she could stop it.

  Ella shrugged as she took a seat on the bed, “Only the Gods know why they were the way they were, but I do have an idea about what could be wrong with him.” She nodded toward Zaramir as her voice faded away.

  “Please tell me.” Crabelle requested.

  Ella sat up straight, turning her attention to the guards, "Wait outside, keep away prying ears. There's no need to frighten the people with talk of Curses.” She ordered.

  The guards silently obeyed, filing out of the room and just out of view to keep this segment of hall clear.

  Ella returned her attention to Corabelle, “This type of Curse…” She shook her head. “I will be honest with you as you’re honest with me. It’s not a Curse that a human is capable of casting on their own. It’s only recorded use was widely thought to be a myth,” her voice was rushed as though she didn’t trust she had time to properly explain. “But after seeing an elder Faedemon fully subdued like this for this long, my doubts in its authenticity are being seriously questioned. I knew the Fae had a particular investment in him but would they really expend the energy to employ something so strong?"

  “The Fae have no qualms about Curses,” She answered bitterly. “This is not the first time I’ve seen them Curse him and you and I both know they have more than enough power to accommodate any magic we could imagine.”

  Ella nodded sympathetically, “This whole thing is very concerning. We knew they used Curses, but not at this magnitude.”

  “Nothing they do surprises me. There’s nothing they won’t stoop to if they think it will further their mission. But the only thing I care about right now is; how do I break this Curse?”

  Ella shook her head, “That, I don’t know. But,” She looked up. “I will tell you everything I do know about it, because if the Fae are using Curses this strong, we’re both going to need a way to break it.”