"This is beautiful...", she said while she ran her hand over the velvety, soft fabric. "I see you take interest in this dress madame?". The seller smiled lightly at her and took the dress out of the box, so she could have a better look at the dress which had a wide, long skirt that was falling to the ground. It was decorated with golden thread embroidery on the long sleeves. The skirt was decorated with symmetrical baroque-like patterns made of silver and a little gold. The fabric was shining like sunlight that was reflected by the clear water of the sea. The colour reminded her of green jewelry as if it was a gemstone but in form of the softest and most beautiful fabric she had ever seen.

"What is this? I have never seen anything like this before.", she said completely stunned by the dress in front of her. "I can totally understand your excitement madame. This colour is called Emerald Green. It was found by a German company just a few years ago." The seller took a little, old-looking book out of his trousers pocked. "Here you see it. Found in Schweinfurt, Germany, 1814. This new dye is as you can see much brighter than the usual greens we sell." She was totally in love with the dress, but before she could ask for the price the old, cracking door was announcing that someone entered the large salon. However, it was not one of her maidens as she thought. When she turned around, her husband was smiling at her like he was knowing she was about to buy another new dress. She looked over at him innocently. He sighed softly while rolling his eyes.

"You start getting expensive.", he said with a deep voice and a sarcastic undertone. "Another green one?" She laughed and showed him the dress she has fallen in love with. "This is not just a green. It's called Emerald Green ", she said half frustrated, half laughing. He never noticed the differences between colours. Now he looked both frustrated and worried. His heartbeat became faster, as he looked at the shimmering dress. "Is something wrong?", she began to worry. "I know this colour's name. The housemaids made sweets in the exact same colour. They said they used a new food colour from Germany.", he explained. "This is wonderful.", she said delighted, "I love this colour! They should immediately bring me some of these sweets!", she said, making a gesture with her hand in the direction of the butler standing near the door." Can you please buy this dress? It's the last one, I promise.", she begged innocently.

He felt like he had a lump in this throat. Should he tell her? No, it was clearly not the time for something like that. She was looking up to him with bright shining blue eyes. He could not resist. "How much?", he asked the seller with a heavy heart and a slightly trembling voice. His wife however did not notice. The seller smiled and looked up the price in this old book. "40 Pounds 8 Shillings and 11 Pence" He looked at his wife again and sighed. Why was he doing this when he knew it was just a bad idea?

"We take it.", he said with an acted smile on his face, while his wife was chuckling in joy. He would be going to regret this. His bad feeling should be right. In this moment he remembered a scene happening a few days ago.

When they had made their way through the dirty streets of London to go and find the carriage to bring them home, they came across a store for stuff that were already used or useless for the original owner. They normally were selling clothes and sometimes even jewelry. She stopped. "Oh my...", she said with a sad voice and tears began to form in her eyes. He was looking what made her so sad immediately. A pair of small shoes was standing in the store window, a sign behind it was saying: "For sale: baby shoes. Never worn.".

He closed his eyes. Child mortality was something common in this time, but it made him sad as a doctor as well as a future father. He placed an arm around her. "Can you promise me something?", she asked placing her hand on her belly. He nodded. "Please don't let this happen to our baby. You will protect us, will you?", a single tear felt down her cheek. "I promise."

Now he was standing here buying a dress that was surely made of something both beautiful and deadly...

A few days went by and she became more and more obsessed with the beautiful green that was shining like clear emeralds in the sun. She told the maids to colour her food with it and even ordered new wallpapers which where coloured in emerald green. She even refused to wear anything, but the dresses made of this exotic fabric.

As a doctor, her husband was desperate. He noticed that her skin was drying out. When he ran his hand down her arms, it was like he was feeling rough sandpaper underneath his fingers. Slowly but surely her skin became yellowish. Sometimes he thought, she herself was shining like the beautiful colour she adored so much, like a rare emerald. As the days went by, she slowly became sicker. She vomited often and began to complain about cramps in her gastrointestinal area. Her face was looking pale and sunken as if she was already a lady in her 40s, but unfortunately, she was just 22 years old.

When he examined her, he finally said what he wanted to say for so many days:" Darling I think you should stop wearing this colour.", he pointed at the fabric with a honestly worried expression on his face. "I wonder what you have against it.", she said frustrated and stood up. "It's because of the dye, this dress is coloured with. You see - ", he was not able to end his sentence. "Do not say it again! It is ridiculous! A dress does not make me sick!", she shouted an opened his office door. "Oh yes it does indeed make you sick", he shouted at her, his voice filled with fear. "This dye is made with - ", again he was not able to finish. "Do not start again with this nonsense!", she replied furiously. "Science is the future. It is the truth.", he said. "There is no such thing like science! You just do not like the colour!", she slammed the door behind her. "That's it", he thought. "Many people believe what the church is saying, but facts are in their eyes the devil's work..."

Later that evening he was walking down the empty hallway. Suddenly one of his wife's maidens was running towards him. Her skin as white as milk. Before he could ask, she was screaming in panic: "Lady Rhea is vomiting something... green and she is screaming that everything she looks at seems to be green!" He closed his eyes slowly and stood there for about two minutes. However, as he finally was able to move again, he ran fast as he could into the bathroom of his wife.

His mouth left a hoarse gasp and the air he was trying to breathe was suddenly feeling like it was made of nails trying to destroy his lungs. He felt his heart being crushed by the guilt he was feeling in this moment.

His wife was laying in the bathtub. The water was totally green like it was filled with seaweed. It looked like an old lake deep in a forest. She herself was gleaming green in moonlight that was shining through the old, high window near the bathtub. One of her arms was hanging out of the tub, the dirty disgusting water ran down her pale seemingly green skin. Most of her slim body was covered in the emerald coloured water. The silken, long black hair was falling in disheveled steaks over one part of her face. Her eyes were widened in pain and fear. The white of her eyes was turned green and the blue eyes he had loved so much were overdrawn by a milky, lackluster shimmer. Her mouth was opened, and a green substance was flowing out of it. She looked as if she was still screaming even now when life had already left her body. Water was distributed all over the floor which showed that she had been fighting against her fate.

Carefully he was stepping towards her. Swaying like a boat on the restless, stormy sea. His legs were shaking and all he could do, was sinking to the cold wet floor beside his dead wife. His breath came out in gasps, tears were flowing out of his eyes. A few minutes he was sitting there doing nothing but looking at the woman he loved. The women he had married. The mother of his unborn child. He remembered her words in the dirty street in London while staring into her dead eyes.

"You will protect us, will you?", her voice was so clear in his mind that he thought it would drove him insane.

He took her cold slippery hand in his.

"I promise.", he heard his own voice saying.

"I failed, sweetheart.", his voice was deep and cracking. It was nothing more than a hoarse whisper in guilt. The regret of a father who could not protect the ones he loved so deeply, "I could not protect you or our little one..."

He put his hand in the emerald green water directly on her belly.

"Now you see...That dress, that food, that wallpaper...It made your blood green. It poisoned you. It killed you...I told you. Why have you never listened to me?" He was not sure if he was really talking or if he was just having a conversation in his mind.

He stood on his feet and craped the cup of tea that was still staying peacefully on the little table near the bathtub. With a spoon, he added something of the white powder that was filled in a little bowl. He thought it was sugar. In a few moments he wished he had looked more closely.

As he drank the tea, he noticed a heavy sting in his stomach. He let the cup fall to the ground as he coughed repeatedly. His legs failed and he fell to the ground writhing in pain. His mouth was opened in a scream, but no sound left him. He was vomiting. His blood was green. Suddenly he noticed what has been happing.

His wife had sealed her own fate by trying to be herself as beautiful as green as an emerald. It was no sugar...

His power left as he was vomiting more and more green blood. With his last power he was craping his wife's hand saying in pain and with a suffocating voice: "I am sorry..."

The last thing he saw was one colour. Everything was shining in the colour he was hating so much. All he saw was both beautiful and deadly. It was the "Emerald Green".

The End