Tilda scrubbed dishes muttering about how stupid everything and everyone was.
"Alone at last, I see."
"Who the-" Tilda looked up and saw Donalt, Count Angelo's personal servant.
Donalt said, "Tilda, was it? I always remember the names of such beautiful women."
Tilda asked, "Why are you here?"
Donalt brushed his hair back in a dramatic flick of his head and said, "Count Angelo was in the neighborhood and decided to drop off a belated wedding gift."
Tilda wiped her wet hands on her apron and said, "I'll go let his grace know you're here."
"He already knows," Donalt said. It was a lie, but a harmless one, so it didn't matter.
"Alright then," Tilda said, as she got back to cleaning the dishes. This time, she did so in silence.
After Tilda had dried four or so dishes, Donalt spoke, "You know, I wouldn't mind a tour around the manor."
Tilda said, "And I wouldn't mind some help but it doesn't seem like either of us are going to get what we want, does it?"
Donalt said, "Feisty. I like that. If you ask nicely, maybe I'll help."
"Wow, so heroic," Tilda said, rolling her eyes.
Donalt picked up a dry rag and began drying dishes. He asked, "So, tell me about yourself."
Tilda was not in the mood for this. She asked, "What do you want?"
"Just your attention."
"Why?"
Donalt said, "There's just something about you. Something special. I'm intrigued by you. I can't get you out of my mind."
This sounded like a line from Cosaria's stupid 'Love, love, love' novel. Tilda huffed, "You're not going to tell me you're in love with me, are you?"
Donalt looked up at her shyly, "What if I did?"
Exasperated, Tilda said, "Please don't."
"What's wrong with that? I'm a great guy. You're a great girl. It's that Felux guy, isn't it? Don't worry, I don't care about him or your relationship to him. All I care about is you, and my relationship with you."
Tilda blinked a few times, trying to comprehend the meaning behind his words. She said, "So you're saying you want to be with me, even though I'm in a committed relationship with someone else."
Donalt slid closer to Tilda while saying, "Yeah baby. You have some side guys, I have some side chicks. It's cool. We'll have a good time."
"Okay, let's get this straight, homewrecker," Tilda explained, "I'm in a committed relationship and I'm loyal to my man. My integrity means more to me than being in a relationship with you. So sorry, it would be best to move on."
"Don't I tempt you? Don't you want me?"
"No, I don't. And I hope you never do this to another woman in a committed relationship. You need to understand that what you provide is not worth what you'll destroy."
"You don't know that. You have to try it to find out. I guarantee it'll be worth it."
Tilda shook her head saying, "If you talk like this to me again, I'll have one of the guards throw you out of the castle."
Donalt looked upset, "Hey, that's not-"
Gordana walked into the room and handed a plate to Tilda, saying, "Won't you give the Lady her dinner?"
"Yes, thank you," Tilda said as she gratefully took the excuse to get away from Donalt.
As soon as Tilda left the room, Gordana glared at Donalt. With the venom possessed by only one of Gordana's age, she said, "You pig. Get out of my kitchen and if I see you talking to another one of my maid's again, I'll beat you with a ladle."
Donalt didn't move and said with a rebellious glint in his eye, "Sounds like fun." He was used to dealing with old lady pushovers.
Gordana left the room, came back with a wooden ladle, and proceeded to beat Donalt with it. He tried to run but Gordana was faster than she looked. She grabbed him and after he had been given a few good welts, she kicked him out of the kitchen and into the dirt.
Gordana sighed as she looked from the pathetic Donalt to her ladle. She said, "I should have gotten a bigger ladle." Then she slammed the door shut.
༻✧༺
Tilda and Marley stood outside Cosaria's locked door.
As Tilda held the piping hot food, she said, "We have your dinner ready."
From inside the room came the pitiful squeak of Cosaria saying, "I'm not hungry."
Marley said, "She hardly ate anything at lunch too."
"That's it!" Tilda said as her temper flared to uncontrollable levels. "This has gone on long enough."
Tilda shoved the tray towards Marley and began stomping down the hall. The events of the day had become too much and Tilda needed an outlet.
Marley said, "Where are you going?"
"To my death for being too insolent!"
Marley held up the tray of food and asked, "What do I do with this?"
Tilda was turning the corner as she said, "Break into her room and force feed it to her for all I care!"
Then Marley was left alone in the hallway holding Cosaria's dinner. Overwhelmed, she said, "Oh man…"
༻✧༺
Tilda strolled right past Kevler and barged into Delrik's office.
"You idiot Duke!" She declared.
Delrik put his pen down and glanced up, saying, "You know I could have you killed."
Tilda marched right up to her desk and narrowed her eyes, saying, "I count on it."
Delrik asked, "What do you want?"
"I'm here because Felux, the one man in charge of setting you right, can't be."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you care about Lady Cosaria?"
Delrik tensed. It was a loaded question. He assumed an air of nonchalance and said, "Indeed. She is, as you know, the cure to my curse."
"Oh yeah, she's nothing more than a tool for you, isn't that right?"
"Yes."
"Then start treating her that way!"
"Excuse me?"
"You say she's a tool? Do you ignore your tools? Do you keep them from doing their jobs? Do you punish your tools when they do something wrong?" Tilda fumed. "Your sword, it's a tool. You probably shine it, and take care of it, and if it gets nicked you probably have someone sharpen it, isn't that right?"
"Of course," Delrik shot back. "But my sword doesn't make mistakes. My sword doesn't need to be taught how to hold its tongue."
"Cause you don't make any mistakes, right? You're just as perfect as your sword."
Delrik scoffed, "Of course not."
"And if you make a wrong cut, you blame the sword?" Tilda mimicked a whiny child as she said, "It's the sword's fault."
Rising to his feet, Delrik exploded, "She's the one at fault! She's the one who was talking to Lord Grysle!"
Tilda matched his fury, "And you're the one who overreacted! Is still overreacting! Sometimes tools don't always work the way you want them to. Sometimes they have to be recalibrated. Sometimes you have to fix the handle or sharpen an edge. You understand that much, don't you?"
"I-"
Tilda interrupted, "You treat your tools better than you treat Lady Cosaria."
"That isn't true." Delrik sat back down. Defeated, he said, "I am poison to her. I am the reason she cries. It's better for her if she would just stay away."
"I couldn't agree more, however, that's not the deal, is it? You need her and she needs you, and if you don't let her do her job then you'll be as good as dead."
Delrik could see this was true. He said, "What do you propose?"
"Stop leading her on. If she's just a tool to you, then set boundaries and keep to them. The flirting, the time spent together, the hair touches, the blushing looks, the gifts. All of it, stop it."
Delrik couldn't imagine stopping. He suddenly had to ask, "And if she isn't just a tool?"
Tilda narrowed her eyes and asked, "Then what is she to you?"
"She…" Delrik turned to face the window as he was overcome with emotion saying, "She is like the sun, like a warm breeze after a summer shower. She's like the wild flowers that bloom in the fields year after year, so fragile, yet so resilient. She is everything good and everything wonderful in the world. She deserves to be treasured."
"What a load of-" Tilda scoffed, "You don't honestly think that."
Incredulous, Delrik faced Tilda, "I do!"
"If you honestly thought that, you wouldn't be treating her like trash."
Delrik looked away and said, "It's not her I am treating badly. It is I. I am the one who needs to be punished, who needs to stay away from her. I am the trash that keeps hurting her. I am punishing myself through her tears."
Tilda leaned back saying, "Wow, you sadistic creep. That's really self-centered of you. Are you even aware that other people exist in this world?"
"Is it the truth!"
"No." Tilda said with a layer of flat pity, "That is what you've chosen to believe so you can keep pushing people away."
"I have to. I'm a monster."
"You will be if you keep pushing people away. Your perception is so skewed."
Delrik said, "You don't understand. She's afraid of me. She'll be afraid of the monster in me. The monster that keeps hurting her."
Tilda said, "Do you even realize? The reason she cries isn't because you hurt her, it's because she's afraid she's hurt you. It's because she thinks you hate her because you keep distancing yourself from her."
"No, that's- I'm not worthy."
Tilda rolled her eyes in frustration and said, "I don't care what your excuse is. Stop whining and get yourself some self-esteem. And stop projecting your own fears on other people. It's not good."
"How dare you-"
Without listening to another word, Tilda turned and walked out of the room as she thought, I'm surrounded by babies.
After Delrik's initial indignance faded, he stared out the window and mumbled under his breath, "Perhaps she is right."
As Tilda marched down the hall, Kelver stood just outside Delrik's door with his jaw agape. Never had anyone stood up to the Duke like that and lived to tell the tale.
With her adrenaline rush finally calming down, Tilda gasped at her own impudence. Her temper often got her in trouble, but this was especially bad. Confused and terrified, Tilda thought, I did NOT just do that. Oh, good heavens he's very much going to kill me. I'm a dead woman. I'm a living dead woman right now. I have to start writing my will.
A heavy thump came from inside Delrik's office. Tilda looked back to see Kevler rush inside.
"AAAAARRRRGGGGG!"
Tilda froze in place.
Kevler's voice rang out, "Call for a doctor. Something's happened! His body is smoking with ash!"s
Smoking? Ash? Tilda ran into the office to see Delrik fallen on the floor, clutching his chest and wheezing from the pain. He looked like his body was smoking with red hot embers.
His curse was flaring up. They didn't need a doctor. They needed Cosaria.
༻✧༺
Grieving in her room, Cosaria was inconsolable. Delrik was mad at her. Tilda was mad at her. Now even Marley was mad at her and had brought knights that threatened to break the door down. Cosaria knew she just had to get away. She just couldn't be in there any longer.
Those were the thoughts that brought her to this point:
Hanging out her second story window by a bed sheet. Unfortunately, the sheet wasn't as long as she thought it was and she was stuck. Too weak to climb back up. Too far to fall down.
But this was Cosaria, and she was filled to the brim with obnoxious plot armor.
As her hands began to slip, and her panic began to rise, she fell and landed directly into the arms of Count Angelo.
"Count Angelo!"
As he let her down, he said, "Lucky me. An angel has descended from above."
Cosaria asked, "What… what are you doing here?"
Angelo displayed a giant dazzling bouquet of flowers and said, "I wanted to bring you a belated wedding present. I hope you like it."
Touched, Cosaria said, "Thank you."
Yelling was heard from Cosaria's bedroom. "She's not here!"
"Trying to escape, are we?"
"Oh, Count Angelo. I can't face them. I just can't."
"Worry not fair maiden, truly. I shall kidnap you for the time being until you recover yourself. Shall we make our daring escape?"
Cosaria nodded and Angelo led her away, into the forest to hide from her troubles.
༻✧༺
Tilda had gone into crisis mode and was like a machine, yelling out orders. First, she had Kelver help take Delrik to his bed. Then she commanded him to find Cosaria. While she waited, she tore off his shirt and used a damp cloth to help cool down the flaring skin.
A group tried to enter the room and she snarled at them to stay in the hall. Once Delrik's curse was covered with blankets, she allowed them in. It was Kelver, Marley, Gordana, Deborah, and Morc.
"Cosaria is missing…"
"You're kidding." Tilda said, "Find her!!! His life is on the line here."
The Knights, and Deborah left, but Marley and Gordana stayed.
Gordana asked, "What needs done?"
Tilda said, "Get me holy water. There's a barrel of it in the barns."
Marley said, "A barrel?"
Gordana asked, "He's not… is he cur-"
Tilda snarled, "We don't have time for questions! Go!!!"
The woman scattered out of the room.
༻✧༺
Holding a loaded dart gun, Felux waited in a tree overlooking the road.
He thought, This'll be enough to knock him our fer an hour or so. Enough fer me to read those formal request papers he's carrying.
His target approached on horse. It was Yrse. Felux shot the dark and his Yrse square on the neck. As a trained Knight, Yrse looked in the direction of the dart and met eyes with Felux. With wide eyes, he fell to the ground unconscious.
He saw me, but was I recognized? Felux wondered.
Felux hopped onto the road and rummaged through Yrse's bag. He pulled out some papers and read them.
Then he said, "So, it's the divine powers yer after, is it?"