The tension in the room was thick and heavy, so much so that Viella could hear her own heartbeat as time seemed to slow down with each passing second.
Her hand was slightly cold, shaking as she looked at the Prince drinking the potion.
Once he had finished the dose in the glass bottle, Caspian lowered it from his lips.
His curious expression remained the same, looking down at himself as if expecting something amazing to happen.
In front of him, Viella blinked, stepping back to see if anything was going to happen at all.
Caspian's curious emerald eyes followed her movement, waiting patiently for her diagnosis, while Viella was surprised.
She hadn't expected the same outcome she had seen with Aaron, but she had hoped for something more than this.
The Prince didn't seem as though he had drunk a powerful potion.
"Seeing your reaction, I… think it is not supposed to be like this?" Caspian asked. Although disappointed, he relaxed. "I had a sliver of hope that medicine was really a miracle in a bottle," he said.
Viella bit her lower lip, feeling the hurt in his voice.
"My apologies, Prince Caspian. I understand you're disappointed. I had hoped it would have done something, but not nothing," she admitted.
Despite the dire situation she was in, Viella couldn't deny she also wanted to know what would happen.
After all, if she had to risk everything, she might as well witness the outcome. But it was rather anticlimactic.
Prince Caspian waved her away. "At least I am still alive. It is unfortunate for my mother that she is strapped with a son like me," Caspian expressed somberly.
Viella stepped closer to him, meaning to comfort him before she took her leave. But before she could get close enough, the Prince suddenly began to cough violently.
Her heart dropped.
Viella swallowed. "I-Is that normal for you?"
The Prince shook his head while putting his hand over his mouth, holding himself weakly. The cough was so violent it shook his fragile frame, scaring Viella.
She felt her hands and feet grow cold. Her mouth and lips went dry. If he died, it meant she too would die. Reality sank in quickly.
"H-Hold me—hold me…" the Prince said, gasping for air, his words breaking with each desperate inhalation. His forehead was beaded with sweat, his hand shaking.
Shaken, Caspian held on to Viella as he continued to cough, and cough, and cough, until he cried out, panting.
"My chest… it hurts…" Caspian said after a long moment of coughing. Afraid, Viella called out for help. But Caspian pulled at her robe.
"S-Stop, no one is coming," Caspian said, the coughing fit finally lessening just enough for him to breathe for a while.
Viella rubbed his back, hoping to offer him some comfort. She knew the High Lady meant to frame her if something went wrong, but she didn't expect to be truly left alone with her son.
More shockingly, how had she managed to stay away at all? Wasn't she curious?
Suddenly, Caspian vomited.
Out of his mouth, a large amount of black slime-like substance spilled onto the white sheets. The smell was of moss and dirt.
Viella looked on, stepping back when it spilled on the floor.
The look of it was disgusting. What was worse, he continued to vomit, on and on, until there was nothing left but stomach acid.
It left his mouth in a clean stream of yellow-tinted saliva.
By the time he was done, Caspian was a complete mess, his face as white as paper, his hair messy, the bed completely black, his shirt sticking to his sweaty body, and his eyes unfocused.
Viella guessed the potion had gathered the poison and pushed it out of his body.
Behind her, the door slammed open. Viella turned on her heel, her gaze meeting the same emerald eyes of the High Lady of the Empire, who looked at her with an accusing expression.
Her beautiful face contorted into an ugly frown of anger and grief.
"High Lady, he vomited the poison," Viella said.
"No! No! My son, my handsome son!" the High Lady of the Empire said, her voice low and deep in realization.
Viella followed her gaze, surprised to see Caspian was no longer sitting. He was lying on his back, his arms limply beside him, his stillness frightening.
The High Lady of the Empire, despite it being filthy, simply pulled her son into an embrace.
Her words trailed off into a series of apologies, begging for him to come back. She didn't mean to push it this far, but her mind had been clouded by desperation, their position threatened.
"High Lady... please... wait for him to completely recover. Not all is lost, wipe you tears," Viella said, fearing the High Lady of Empire might thought already that her son had died. Even if that was what she wanted and this was all an act, she was starting to act too soon.
Viella didn't hear their steps, but two people suddenly grabbed hold of each side of her arm. She struggled, looking up to see two men whose faces were covered by wooden masks—one an owl and one a dog. Her heart sank.
"High Lady! High Lady, please! I just did what you asked me to do! Please spare my life; it was not my intention!" Viella cried out, forgetting all decorum.
Their stillness was eerily close to that of a statue, unmoving even as she viciously tried to break free of them.
The High Lady of the Empire looked up, her face wet with poison and tears.
"Take her to the little girl. Make sure they don't escape and confiscate all their belongings. I do not want anyone to know of this," she hissed, then continued to cry as three plainly dressed maids, as well as the maid from the door, came rushing in.
With them were new sheets, a bucket of water, towels, and new clothes.
"But High Lady! Please!" Viella cried out, feeling a small needle prick the back of her neck. And then another.
Suddenly she felt her tongue become stiff and her body lose its power. She fell to her knees, the two soldiers holding her upright.
And then, as if she weighed nothing, she was pulled up, then tossed over a shoulder.
Viella couldn't see where she was going, only the thick black material of the private soldier's back—or at least that was who she thought they were.
They did not look like any of the guards she had seen outside nor the soldiers at Illion.
Soon, she was brought into a dimly lit place.
They descended a spiral stairway that seemed to go on forever, calling back an unpleasant memory from her past.
Finally, they arrived in a long hallway filled with empty prison cells.
"Viella!" Marie cried.
The little girl was kept in the first one on the right, and Viella was tossed directly at her. Marie struggled but managed to lay her down gently while she looked up at the two shadowy figures who stood silently.
The sound of the locked door was loud in the airtight space.
"You just wait until I get out of here! You'll be sorry! You'll all be sorry!" Marie yelled, which was ignored. She then turned Viella around so that she was lying on her back. Gently, the little girl stroked Viella's hair.
"Don't worry, the effects of the poison won't last long. Give it a few minutes; it'll go away," Marie said as she continued stroking her head. She was becoming a sweet little sister, Viella thought with sadness. How could she let them both down so horribly? So soon?
Viella held back tears, and it would have nearly been impossible if it were not for the sudden burn in her right wrist. The glow was intense enough to draw Marie's attention.
In her paralyzed state, Viella wanted nothing more than to hold it, soothing the pain away.
"Viella, what's this?" Marie asked despite knowing she couldn't speak.
The smaller girl took her hand, and then looked at the marking curiously.
"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed.
However, Viella didn't find it beautiful. It was painful, as if someone had brought a hot tool and pressed it against her skin.
She could feel it slowly moving, spreading from her wrist to her upper arm and fingers.
But wasn't this not supposed to be possible anymore? Viella thought to herself.
Hadn't he severed the connection between them?
So why was it that he could still use her energy and not the other way around?
Ugh! That selfish prick! It was a one-sided deal now! Viella thought, clenching her jaw.
She couldn't wait to meet him and then slap him across his stupid face!
As she imagined all the horrible things she was going to do to him, Viella's head started to feel light, her eyes heavy.
She knew what was going to happen, so she closed her eyes as darkness took her.