Rose and Bane: (A Dark Paranormal Beauty and the Beast Retelling) by Brea Viragh

Author:Brea Viragh [Viragh, Brea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-08-24T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Weeks passed and summer gave way to autumn. And when autumn turned to winter and I was no closer to finding a way to break the curse, tension rose to the point where if Merek and I made it through the day without getting into a screaming match, I considered it a win.

January would be upon us soon. Although I didn’t remember the exact date of the prince’s birthday—and was frankly too embarrassed to ask—the increased tension told me we did not have much longer. Which meant the day fast approached when my curse would become permanent.

I did my best to befriend Monique, despite the girl’s continued wariness. Proving I was not—or at least was no longer—the evil witch she’d believed me to be hadn’t been easy, but gradually we’d reached a peaceable coexistence. I even managed to get some letters sent off to my mother. Although the way back to my hometown was too hazardous going directly through the forest, as I had originally come, I soon learned that supplies came regularly via a different access from another nearby village, and so my letters would eventually reach Bellmare even if by a circuitous route. This gave me some comfort. My mother and brother must have been frantic with worry, since I’d now been away from home for months.

The castle servants must have decided among themselves, after my re-introduction with Monique, that they were comfortable enough with me to finally show their faces. Some, however, still displayed a distinct lack of trust. One of the servants who also did double duty as Merek’s personal steward, a surly-faced elderly gentleman named Gustaf, took it upon himself to follow my movements from that point onward. And believe me, months of having him as a shadow did not improve my mood.

Besides Gustaf and the footmen there were Monique and her mother Marylynn, as well as the chef and his two assistants in the kitchen, and a handful of housemaids and scullery maids. Most still preferred to keep out of sight, and I rarely saw anyone actually doing anything, but since my arrival the castle had been cleaned and dusted and repaired where needed, making it altogether more comfortable and inhabitable, if not welcoming.

Research in the library still consumed my time, and although I hadn’t yet found anything specific to my situation, I did find a number of volumes of old herbal remedies and potions. I’d been relying on finding something about magic and a spell to correct the original damage. Failing that, restoring my memories might help me unlock my own currently inaccessible knowledge. So it occurred to me that perhaps a potion might help. There might also be a potion to restore a cursed creature to its original form. Since we were running out of time, it certainly couldn’t hurt to try.

So on one particular snowy day in December, I decided it was worth a shot and focused on ingredients I’d need for the most promising potion. And quickly learned that I’d need help with acquiring some of them.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.