Clarice's head snapped angrily in shock. "Whaaaaaat? This can't be!" She howled in pain. Her body trembled in rage. She couldn't believe that her best friend would stoop this low and betray her.
No way! Not after everything she had done for her.
Tears rolled down her face as the sadness, pain and grief of being betrayed by two people she loved and trusted tore her heart to pieces.
The betrayal is too much to bear and it's killing her.
Overwhelmed with too much bad news in one day, Clarice's defenses crumbled. The pain was so deep and blinding she started seeing dancing stars everywhere... then her body shut down and darkness enveloped her consciousness.
Seeing her mistress pass out, Lorey began panicking. "Luna, please don't die on me! Please don't leave me. You aren't the only family I have!" She grabbed Clarice's hand, feeling her mistress's pulse, feeling relieved that there was still a tiny bit of movement in her chest.
Lorey is terrified. She noticed that although Luna Clarice was still breathing, she was not looking good.
What is she going to do now? Everyone had already turned their backs on them thinking they were carriers of a deadly disease. They were treated as outcasts and after the wedding of Alpha Bruce and Aurelia, they would be sent to a far away place to fend for themselves.
Her mistress will surely die if no help arrives today.
She needs to do something!
The door suddenly opened. Kaspar, the shaman, entered the room and glanced at the woman lying on the bed. His eyes darkened, annoyed to see that the skeleton was still breathing. Then his gaze landed on the untouched meal on the food tray. His eyes darkened while looking at the servant. "You haven't fed your mistress breakfast yet?" he asked in a hard tone, moving to the table.
"Luna Clarice passed out... I was unable to feed her," Lorey explained in panic.
Kaspar edged closer to the bed and peered at the skeleton woman lying on the bed. The scent of death drifted through his nostrils. A grin curled up in the corner of his mouth. He picked up Clarice's fragile hand to check her internal condition. Unable to detect any pulse and noticing no movement in her chest, he smiled victoriously. "She's dead finally!" he declared in a loud tone.
"Nooooooooo!" Lorey cried in a wretched tone. Tears streamed down her face. She couldn't accept that her mistress had died of heartbreak and poison.
"Don't worry, I will instruct the men to dig a hole in the cemetery to bury your mistress," Kaspar said, his voice gentle, trying to appear sympathetic to the grief-stricken servant. Feeling triumphant, he walked towards the door, smiling broadly.
Clarice's eyes flew open, and her angry gaze followed the shaman to the door. Instead of saving her, the shaman wanted to bury her immediately in a cemetery. His bad intentions were finally revealed to her. "I'm not dead yet!" she declared fiercely, her voice vibrating around the room.
Surprised, Kaspar halted in his tracks and turned around, staring at the dying woman lying on the bed in utter disbelief. What the hell? Where does her strength come from? He thought she was already knocking at death's door a few minutes ago. Kaspar smiled at Clarice. "Luna, I came here to check on you. I want to know if the new medicine I concocted for you is effective at curing your infectious disease. It looks like you are recovering well. You should eat your breakfast now," he said casually, moving to the table, picking up the wooden tray and placing it on the bed.
Kaspar glanced at Lorey. "Dear, feed your mistress now," he ordered.
Clarice began coughing hard. Lorey rushed to the table and poured water into the glass and helped her mistress drink the water.
After she finished drinking the water, Clarice picked up the bread and began eating on her own under the watchful gaze of the sharp-eyed shaman.