As soon as I returned to my quarters, the very first person I sought for was my mother-in-law. I could see that the curse was effective, and Lacey Rivers is essentially a living corpse at this very moment. 

          "You called for me, Your Majesty ?" Amaranthis greeted as she passed through my door, curtseying gracefully.

          "Mama," I say breathlessly. "I must ask you something."

Her finely arched eyebrows jumped up in surprise. "What is the matter, Anne ?"

I bit my lip and hastily stood up from the chaise, my hands trembling with unease. "Mama, is there a way for me to take back the curse ? I don't want to kill her anymore, Mama. I promised Edmund that I would never kill again !" I cried exasperatedly.

I glanced at my mother-in-law, though my vision was cloudy due to my tears. Her expression was cool and grim, almost as if she were looking down on me.

         "I warned you before, Anne," she says, her tone chilling and distant. "I already told you that once you curse someone, you can never turn back."

You can never turn back. Those words were like the nails on my coffin, sealing me inside the pits of despair. They were engraved into my mind, burned into my consciousness. A painful reminder of the cruelty I had committed.

          "Now that you've reminded me of it, tomorrow marks the end of the two fortnights. There will also be a full moon tomorrow night. It should be a suitable time to complete the curse," my mother-in-law adds, her words meant to inform, but I felt as if she were rubbing salt in my wounds.

           "And if I don't complete it ?" I inquired, my voice small and weak like a rat.

           "She will simply grow weaker and weaker, but she will not die. The smell on your body will worsen though, and the elugia oil might not be enough to mask it. What say you, Anne ? Will you complete it or not ?"

           "Give me one day," I muttered in reply. "I need time time to think."

           "Well then, don't take too much time. If she dies before you complete the curse, then the smell will remain on you forever," she warns.

For almost a month now, I had been smelling nothing but blood, the stench thick and foul, gushing down my throat like spoiled milk. I had not gotten used to it, and I know I never will.

        At dawn I rise and head to court, my ladies following close behind. Lillianna had dutifully applied the elugia oil on my forehead this morning, so I did not fear that anyone would smell the blood on me. 

The court was calm and at peace without Edmund's entitled sister, Anna-Claudia prancing around and demanding that everything should be given to her children. 

At the moment, the inner court was only filled by two women, Lacey Rivers and I. It is customary for every King of Phoenicia to have a harem full of ten to twenty women, though some go even further and add hundreds more, like King Edward did.

       The Dame had come to court this morning, which was surprising as she had not appeared in public for a week now. And now I know why. She is haggard and weak, her hair that was once a glossy red, thick and lustrous, had now turned into a dull brown colour, her locks thin and brittle. There is hardly any flesh left on her body, only bones. Her skin had sagged, and they hung awkwardly on her skeletal frame.

Is this truly what I had wanted ? Hadn't I wished that she were gone, wished that she were dead ? Shouldn't I be happy to see her suffering like this ? 

But I am not happy. My wish has been granted, and the curse taken effect, but I am not happy. I feel disdain towards myself for being so cruel, so impulsive. 

       The Dame glances at me, barely able to lift her heavy eyelids, but her grey eyes were shockingly bright, still vivid and full of life. This woman still has the will to live, but her body does not.

            "Now you know how cruel the wasting curse can be, Your Majesty," Lillianna says as she combed and braided my hair that evening.

"Eventhough the dae rhemisi is indeed more violent, it is the wasting curse that is the cruellest. Anyone can tell that the Dame wishes to live, but how can she do it with a body like that ? She is a mere husk of her former self."

Lillianna's slender fingers glid through my hair, gently applying on a generous amount of rosehip oil. "If you had any sympathy for her, then complete the curse, Your Majesty. She is living a life worse than death."

As soon as Lillianna spoke these words, I heard an urgent knocking at the door. I motioned at Argenta to open the door, and almost immediately my mother-in-law stormed, her expression grim and taut.

           "Have you made your decision, Anne ?" she asks, staring at me straight in the eye.

A few moments ago, I was not quite sure, but now I have made my mind up. I nodded resolutely and stood up to face my mother-in-law. Clenched inside her fist were locks of dull reddish-brown hair that had been chopped haphazardly, and I knew that it was a vital ingredient in completing the curse.

             "I shall do it," I said calmly. "I will complete the curse."

She nods, picking up a golden plate that had previously been used to serve fruit, and dropped the chunks of hair on it. Then, she fished into her dress pocket, pulling out a small, short dagger.

            "To complete it, I must drain one vial of your blood, Anne," she says. "Where should I cut you ?"

I held out my arm to her. "Take it from my wrist. It bleeds the most, enough to fill up a vial."

      Lillianna had come over to my side, her vivid green eyes aglow in the dim lighting. "The blood drained from one's neck is the most effective, My Lady," she informed.

My mother-in-law, who was ready to sink the blade into my fair wrist simultaneously stopped. "That is correct indeed," she murmured, quickly turning her gaze towards me. "Do you allow me to do it, Anne ?"

I reluctantly nod, silently swallowing the lump in my throat. She points the dagger to my neck, and Lillianna placed both of her hands on either sides of my shoulders, preventing me from moving.

        There was a sharp stinging sensation on the crook of my neck, and then I felt something hot and sticky trickle down. Mama grabbed a vial and placed it near the wound, waiting for it to fill up.

We waited in silence, but with each passing second, my heart throbbed and twisted with pain and regret. Each droplet of my blood that trickled down was like a tolling bell, signifying how close Lacey Rivers was to death.

It also signified how close I was to losing my humanity. If I had not lost it already, that is. I was a coward, hiding behind curses and spells, not daring to present myself to my enemy as I truly am. Perhaps then, she could hurl curses and threats at me to her heart's content. 

       At last, the vial was full.

My blood, thick and warm had dripped down on the sides of the glass vial. Mama swirled the vial in her hands, and nonchalantly poured its contents into her mouth.

I let out a gasp of shock, unable to comprehend how she was able to stomach it. "Mama-" 

          "It is all part of the ritual, Your Majesty," Lillianna calmly explained. "You mustn't be afraid."

With a mouth full of blood, my mother-in-law walked over to the table and picked up the tray of hair. Without even blinking, she spat the blood on top of the hair, coating it with red.

Eventhough her eyes were tightly close shut, her lips moved rapidly while muttering an ancient curse, and the room simultaneously became colder. Even the fireplace began to die out, and only embers were left.

        My daughter Elisabeth started to cry inside her cradle, so I hastily urged Argenta to take her away from here. "It is the demon. She has summoned it with your blood," Lillianna whispers. "The Princess must have seen it."

Then, my mother-in-law's eyes suddenly flashed open, and she hastily grabbed my hands, clutching them tightly in hers. "Follow after me, Anne," she urges, and she continued on, "Lacey Rivers, I hand you the gift of death, and release you from this lifetime of suffering."

Of course, there would be no lifetime of suffering if it were not for me. Reluctantly, I repeated, "Lacey Rivers, I hand you the gift of death, and release you from this lifetime of suffering."

        The moment I finished uttering these words, there was a ungodly, bloodcurdling scream from the floor beneath ours, one that I recognise to be Lacey Rivers. My mother-in-law hastily wiped the blood from her lips and gargled her mouth with a glass of water, while Lillianna tossed the contents of the tray into the fireplace.

Soon, there was a knock on the door. "Your Majesty! Dame Rivers has suffered a miscarriage!" Rosamund's voice called out.

My hands began to tremble when I heard that, and cold sweat trickled down my forehead. "Lillianna, tell them that I am unwell, that I retired to bed early tonight," I urged her, too afraid to think of anything.

My heart was beating fast, way too fast, and it was all that I could hear. In my peripheral vision, I could see my mother-in-law shaking her head resolutely.

             "You must go, Anne," she said sternly. "It is what is expected of you, as the Queen. Lillianna, do help to make Her Majesty more presentable."

An outergown was draped over my nightdress, and my loose hair was quickly pulled into a thick braid. An extremely thin layer of powder was applied in order to hide the dark circles under my eyes, along with rouge on my lips and cheeks to make me look less like a corpse.

       I then rushed over to the Dame's chambers with my ladies in tow, while my mother-in-law chose a different route so that no one would suspect that she was with me previously.

By the time I arrived, my mother-in-law was already there, as well as my husband. When his gaze fell on me, there was suspicion leaking through, though I put on an innocent facade.

       But to my surprise, there was also Melissa Hasteburn, quietly hiding behind her father, the Marquis' back. The moment I saw her, unease immediately filled my heart, and I wanted nothing more than to send her away. However, there were more pressing matters at hand.

I rushed towards my mother-in-law, feigning shock and ignorance. "My Lady, how is the Dame's condition ? Is there no way to save the child ?"

My mother-in-law had yet to open her mouth when Edmund roughly interjected. "It is dead, Anne. How can you save something that is already dead ?"

Mama glared at my husband. "She was merely asking about it. The Dame's loss is not Anne's fault, Edmund. Dame Rivers had been in poor health for weeks now, despite having a dozen physicians at her side."

           "That is interesting indeed, My Lady," the Marquis drawled. "A dozen physicians, and none of them could determine the cause of the Dame's illness. Could there possibly be something else at play ?"

            "What are you implying at, Marquis ?" Mama retorted harshly.

            "Everyone knows that if the Dame miscarries, the person who will benefit the most out of it is the Queen."

            "You ingrate!" Mama scowled. "Is the Queen somebody that you can accuse as you please ? Do you wish for your head to be cut off ?"

I reached for Mama's hands, preventing her from saying more. "There is no need for us to interact with such people," I muttered. "Come, let us go and see the Dame."

We stepped into the chambers, as did Lillianna and Edmund. When the Marquis nosily tried to sneak in, my husband finally put his foot down and told the father and daughter pair to leave. 

The entire space was permeated by the stench of blood, and it was even worse than the one I was cursed with. There were maids bustling around carrying away buckets full of bloodied water and soiled linen. 

But instead of being red, the linen were stained black and brown, almost like the colour of mud. On the bed the Dame lay, her breaths short and hoarse, her eyes drooped down. The black blood pooled around her legs, and at the side of the bed was a tiny bundle of linen. 

         "Edmund," she called out softly. "My love."

My husband reluctantly went over to her, kneeling by her side. She then latched herself onto his arm, her eyes full of adoration. "I gave you a son, my love. Look, isn't he lovely ?" she spoke dazedly, gesturing to the bundle of linen.

My mother-in-law then hesitantly picked up the bundle and unwrapped it. A small gasp erupted from her lips, and she quickly looked away as she hastily wrapped it up again. I managed to sneak a glance as she did so, and I knew why she reacted that way.

The baby's head and limbs were already formed, but the skull was oddly dented, its spine horribly flayed open. Its skin was awfully blue, though it was thoroughly covered in its mother's blood. The worst of all was its eyes. Those milky white eyes were wide open, staring vacantly into my soul.

         "You will make him your heir, won't you my love ?" Lacey whispered feverishly, her fingers digging into Edmund's skin like a tiger's claw. "And you'll put that girl aside and make me your queen, won't you ?"

Edmund's eyes flickered towards me for a split-second before he turned his attention back to the Dame. And he nodded.

         "I will," he says. "When you are well, I shall make you queen."

I knew he said it to appease her, so that she may die in peace, but hearing it with my own ears made me feel as if my soul were being torn apart.

        "Give our son a name, my love," the Dame urged. "A name befitting of a king."

He glanced at the bundle in my mother-in-law's arms, a soft sigh escaping his lips. "Edgar," he said with a smile. "He will be called Edgar."

       Lacey smiled in satisfaction as she huddled closer to him. "King Edgar," she murmured dreamily. "I like that. King Edgar..."

Her voice weakened, and her eyes began to close, though her lips kept muttering, "King Edgar, King Edgar..."

And then, there was nothing more. Edmund stood up, pressed a kiss on her forehead and released his arm from her clutch. There were no tears in his eyes, only rage burning inside.

          "Are you happy now, Anne ? Is your heart satisfied ?" he growls, his voice dripping with malice. "She is dead, just like you wanted."

           "Anne had no part in this, Ned-" my mother-in-law tried to interject.

           "Enough, Mama!" he shouted. "There is no use defending her. I know that you will never allow anyone to threaten your position, Anne, but this is too much! Why are you so vicious, so heartless ? How could you lay such a curse, knowing well about what it can do to a person ?"

At that moment, a tear finally rolled down my cheek. I tried to stop it. I tried to take it back, I wanted to say, but no words escaped my lips.

Edmund's hard gaze softened once my tears fell, though he was nowhere near the amiable, mild-tempered husband I had known all these years. "I will have this matter hidden to preserve the people's respect for you, but you have lost my respect, Anne."

As soon as he uttered those cold, cruel words, he turned around and walked away from me. 

        That night, the wind's howl sounded just like the cries of a newborn, and I looked up at the starless skies, feeling nothing but dread. I had gotten what I wanted. Lacey Rivers is finally dead, and there is no one between Edmund and I.

But here I am, crying by my window, all alone.