The Criswell's Curse

Fueled by adrenaline, my body walked several steps back before dashing onto the door, hoping to get it open with its own impact and weight. Much to my dismay, at that moment I screeched, tears threatening to leave my eyes as the muscles surrounding my bones ached, pounding severely with loud thrusts of pain. Sinking into the floor, my left hand attempted to grab the piercing stabs sailing through my nerves.

“Shit...” Seeing the door resolute, without even as much as a dent, a sense of defeat flew over me. How was I going to leave this place?

A shiver ran down my spine as some footsteps echoed in the eerie silence. He was coming.

My eyes quickly wandered through the room, hoping to find a way to escape, a way to hide. But there was no way out. The cabinets were fall too small for me to fit; the couch too low for me to lie in; the table’s cover too transparent.

It was only when something pecked on the window, that my attention shifted. A beautiful crow’s black beak found its way onto the glass, its vivid red eyes connecting to mine before flying away the moment my figure approached. Pushing the window opened, who someone had kindly forgot to lock, my gaze fell, seeing it was impossible to jump down. However, a tall tree stood right in front, close enough for me to grab its branches with enough balance.

I could hear them. Their loud footsteps, their voices getting louder, the unique sound of clacking swords against their sheaths.

With a swing, my body climbed onto the window ledge. My arm stretched as far as it could and yet, it was not enough. The branch was just some centimeters away from my touch, from my grasp. Left with no other choice, my figure walked to the furthest end of the room and ran for it, taking two jumps while using the ledge as a steppingstone. Surely if I failed, I’d be left with some broken bones but that was far better than being touched by such a man.

“Ah!” Without realizing, a smile popped on my face. I’d done it – my arms held the thick branch within their grasp as my body moving back and forth like a king in a swing.

Stretching my feet like a ballerina, my hands dropped me to the lower branch before rapidly rolling my body back, leaning as close to the tree trunk as possible. I hoped it was enough. No, it had to be enough.

The sound of a key unlocking a door rung, followed by an audible gasp.

“Where is she!?” Terrel’s angry voice echoed through the room loudly. “I told you to lock the fucking door!”

“But the door was locked, milord! I did everything you paid me for!”

Something or someone fell. Pained groans traveled outside the closed space. It seemed like the guard had tasted a bit of his own medicine, the price to pay for one’s wicked greed.

“The window, milord!” It was a new, unfamiliar voice.

“Do you seriously think she would jump down!? Incompetent fuckers!” His voice grew louder by the minute as he remained incapable of handling his own emotions. “Find her! Immediately!”

The sound of clacking armors and swords passed through the room, through the halls, and into the lower levels of the building. They were eagerly searching for me everywhere, preventing me from leaving.

“Ophelia... where the are you?” In a state of desolation, Terrel’s body leaned on the window, exhaling his anxiety away. Some moments of silence passed as if he was a lover whose heart had become broken into too many shards to count, but when he spoke again, such thought was cleansed. “When I find you... I swear I’ll...!”

As his words escaped his mouth, my body shuddered, arms trembling in fear. My hands pulled the dress closer, knowing it had to be concealed beneath the leaves as its bright colors would undoubtedly attract attention. This man… he never meant for this to be a simple greeting.

When his hazy and darkened shape left the window, his footsteps slowly grew further away, became almost inexistent. He was gone.

I glanced down to see the garden clear of guards allowing me to slowly drop my figure, falling straight into a pair of rose bushes surrounding the tree. Feeling the thorns spike into my skin, my first reaction was to get up, causing parts of my dress to shred, becoming part of nature. My right arm was bruised, being greeted by a warm sunrise while drops of blood poured down from my skin. I could feel them, travelling onto the dress from my exposed back, from my hurtful arms. At the hem of the dress were dirt spots and my high heels were covered in what seemed to be a muddy substance.

“Any signs of her?” A man asked loudly to another, forcing me to quickly hide behind the tree. My fingers pulled the hems of the magenta-colored dress closer but, by doing so, my feet moved, accidentally stepping on a fallen branch. “Did you hear that?”

I froze, holding the air inside my lungs, hoping not to make a sound as their presences approached. My mind began praying, hoping this time God would be forgiven, would aid me for a change. That was when a black rabbit with bright ruby eyes jumped out of a bush, moving his nose in quick movements, his head turning slightly to the side. His little head peaked, and the creature simply wobbled its body until meeting the guards gaze.

“Oh! It was just a rabbit.”

“I could swear I saw something else...” It seemed one of them wasn’t happy with such a poor justification.

“You’re overreacting. Now let’s go or that asshole will kill us.”

And with that, the footsteps became inexistent, causing the rattling of the leaves to become the only remaining sound. I could finally breathe. My knees sunk onto the floor, struggling to settle down my nerves. Slightly more relaxed, tears began threatening to escape me as the intense trembles across my body ensued, followed by the intense desire to curse out that man’s existence. My emotions were wishing to escape my being, to allow myself to show something that had to be concealed.

“He hasn’t touched you yet... it hasn’t happened... you are fine...” I mumbled to myself over and over again, feeling the cool breeze kiss my skin.

“What hasn’t happened yet?”

To my right was a gorgeous blonde-haired man with oceanic blue eyes glaring down at me. His attire appeared to be rather cheap, as if he belonged to a noble house of an inferior status. And yet, his presence mimicked one of greatness, posing pressure just with his relaxed stance.

“Eavesdropping is a very nasty habit, mister.” I commented while putting myself back together. Feeling slightly overwhelmed, my hands began removing the hairpins, forcing my raven hair to obey the rules of gravity.

His brows joined, creating a thin line. “You dare answer me like that? Don’t you know who I am!?”

With a sarcastic smile on my lips, I eased the pressure on my chest by pulling part of the rope in the corset loose. “Do I appear to be a fortune teller perhaps?”

The man’s eyes widened, as if reality had finally struck him. Shaking off the dirt of the dress, as much it was humanly possible, my gaze faced him again, wrapping up this little encounter. “Well then, I’m-a-very-important-lord. It was a pleasure to meet you. I’ll now take my leave.”