Page 18 of Azure Mania

So, why do I not feel as good as I thought I would, after I told him the truth?

The image of him breaking so slowly, so steadily in front of me, flashes behind my eyes and I can’t shake it off.

It takes me around an hour and a half to reach my destination, which was just enough to blow off some steam, and calm down. Though I still don’t feel content or happy, that the truth is out in the open.

Why does something akin to guilt start to bloom in my chest, at the mere thought of how deeply my words must’ve hurt him?

Chapter 11

Yvonne

The house in front of me is massive.

A villa, with a gigantic entrance and even bigger back yard. However, everything is gloomy. It sits just outside of the forest, surrounded by the beautiful lake. The dark shade of the house, paired with the eerie, creepy feelings I’m getting; as I take a step toward the door, makes my skin crawl.

My knuckles hit the door, once, twice, and then I step back. My throat tightens, and it feels like an eternity. The door is pitch black in color, with the wood chipped on the upper corners. Cobwebs decorate the lower portion, indicating no one’s visited this place in quite a while.

Not that I can blame anyone for staying as far as possible from this godforsaken place, either. The witch living here isn’t the kindest person, and the fact that she resembles those terrifying evil witches from fairytales, doesn’t help either.

The door opens, the creaking making me straighten up. The opening door reveals Celestia, hidden underneath a dark hood that covers her head. I don’t have to see her face to know it’s her, I can sense her presence. She has a unique, evil scent that is enough to make me question if this trip is going to be worth the trouble I know it’ll cause.

“Well, if it isn’t Miss Yvonne,” she says, her mocking tone making my brow twitch in annoyance. “Last time I saw you, you hexed me.”

“And you deserved it,” I retort.

She chuckles, and steps aside. “Come on in, I doubt you traveled such a long way just to be speaking to me over the doorstep.”

With a sigh, I enter her home, immediately coming to regret it. Dolls, upon dolls are all over the walls. From cute, childish toys, to those creepy ones you’d see in a horror movie, waiting to strike you when you’re not looking.

“I don’t have many visitors nowadays, so my apologies for the mess.”

The mess isn’t the thing I noticed. With a deep breath, I find an empty spot in a chair, my hands tucked in my lap. Celestia sits across from me, and with a snap of her fingers, two cups of tea appear on the table.

“Thank you,” I mumble.

“Enough with the small talk, Yvonne. What do you want?”

“I’d lie to you and say that I don’t need anything, but I don’t have time for that. Something happened, Celestia.”

She takes a deep breath, then reaches for the tea. She’s not looking at me, just at the spot on the wall behind me. She’s silent, for what seems to be an eternity. My anxiety is skyrocketing with each passing moment, and I’m barely surviving in this silence.

“So I’ve heard,” she breathes out. “Word travels fast. And there’s nothing I can do to help you, Yvonne.”

My heart sinks to my feet. “Nothing?”

She shakes her head. In a desperate attempt to calm myself down, I take a sip of the tea. The taste is strange, and I don’t think I’ve ever tasted something like this. I don’t pay much attention to it though and continue to chug it down.

“You have two options, remember the exact curse you used on him so you can undo it, or cast an even harsher one. But if you go with the latter, it will kill you, too. Don’t get me started on that thing you infused your blood with. You must’ve lost your mind entirely, Yvonne. That won’t be out of your system for years.”

“Good thing I have the rest of eternity to cleanse myself,” I joke, but it falls flat. Celestia deadpans, blinking, then shakes her head in disbelief. My hands are fisted on my lap. My nails are digging into my palms, and I try to shake off the unease.

“It’s not funny, Yvonne. You fucked up, majorly. There’s no way to turn back time, and you can’t do anything about it. My honest advice is to just accept it.”

I blink, a laugh of disbelief slipping. “Accept it?”

She shrugs. “He’s attractive. You two would make one hell of a pair, you know.”

“Okay, that’s not why I came here.”