Belladonna had a dream.
She dreamt about the Lady in the white flowing gown and long silver hair, she had heard her echoey voice.
It sounded like she was singing, although she wasn't certain about that.
The entirety of the woman's presence, however, filled her with dread, just as it had done before when she held that gem.
She dreamt about Thanatou's soldiers too, they were still struggling against the wall that kept them in their realm.
The invisible wall was developing cracks though, and that was making her start to worry.
Before, she had convinced herself that the things she saw were from the past. But now, she was concerned that the things carved on her head were making her see into another realm, and the time might just be the present.
That woman might be from Thanatou's realm too. Maybe, she was the one helping them go against the wall.
Belladonna also had a feeling the pulling of the moon might be helping, a nature imbalance being helpful to other things going against their nature.
She was, however, convinced that killing Kestra and getting married to Eli on the Blood Moon would put everything back to normal, and she would finally no longer have these things chasing her, because then she would no longer be a bride, but Eli's wife.
A Queen.
Belladonna was very enthusiastic about planning her wedding, and she was leaving nothing to chance. She didn't know much about the effect of the moon pulling on the people, she was too busy with planning Kestra's murder to find out, too occupied with many things to even step out of that Castle, or notice that the maids had gone scarce in the hallways because a majority of them had been home and to other places the King had provided for them.
Eli wasn't as enthusiastic as Belladonna was about the coming Wedding ritual. He had been having terrifying nightmares about Lex coming back to kill him in horrifying ways. The people's request too, troubled him and the effect of the moon being pulled chased him down with guilt.
This was all his fault.
He should have worked harder to prevent this. He should have done better.
By Ignas, he should have done things differently.
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It smelt warm and a little stuffy in the small room, the small window on one side of the wall barely doing anything to help, since it was locked.
Despite that, Nadia shivered on the bed, beneath the thousands of blankets that had been pulled over her. Her teeth clattered from the cold that froze her slowly from within. She could feel her breath on her upper lip, numbing it with the chill.
An involuntary hiss slipped through her trembling lips when she felt a warm small piece of cloth on her forehead. She knew her Granny was trying her best so she could get better, but sometimes, the care felt like punishment and she couldn't help but cry.
"You will get better," Granny said above her as Nadia forced her eyelids open.
Granny's face had more wrinkles than ever, her eyes bearing flecks of gold in the brown pair that reddened with tears. Her slightly fair skin was a good contrast against her black aesthetic. There were bags underneath her eyes, heavy with frustration, rage to kill, and absolute worry.
"I promise you that," She pressed a kiss on her forehead and Nadia internally curled away from the source of her lips.
Too warm.
Nadia could barely get any word out. She wanted to thank Granny for everything she had done so far, she wanted to ask her to put her out of her misery, but at the same time, she wanted to live a little longer, bearing the hope that maybe she would find her parents.
Something was pressed through her lips, dissolving into her mouth and, making her slip into sleep as quickly as she had been doing these past few days.
"Sleep, my little baby," Granny said, then picked up her cloak that had been thrown across the arm of a wooden chair, and threw it over her shoulders instead. She pulled the hood over her head, and adjusted the black, elbow-length gloves she had over her hands.
Then she picked up her small black umbrella from the corner of the room. Blowing a kiss into the air and smiling at her sleeping Nadia, as she shut the door behind her.
Quickly she went into another room. It was lit by just one lantern. She went straight towards the wall opposite and pulled a lever. The wall shifted open, revealing a passageway.
She stepped in, taking a torch from the wall to guide her path and the wall sealed back up behind her.
Now alone, she took in a deep breath, shedding off her disguise that took too much of her strength to hold up. Her old, wrinkled face became smooth and youthful and she straightened up, feeling full of strength.
The passageway led to an open space in the middle of the forest.
There were people waiting for her with torches in their hands too, eager to hear what their High Priestess had to say about the Moon, and wanting to know if they should continue their mission of trying to kill the Bride.
This was The Eye.
The Eye comprised of villagers from the Capital whose Alterer started to glitch way before now, allowing them to question a lot of things that others had been manipulated to view as normal.
The High Priestess was the only one who understood them and promised them a solution.
For this reason, they followed her.
"Is it happening?" One asked.
"Will it finally kill the Bride?" Another asked.
Granny smiled. She had told them that the Choosing Ritual would come to an end once they killed the Bride. She said the death of the Bride would give them peace, and kill the people who brought the Alterer upon them, finally giving them freedom. Maybe even bring back the families they had lost.
She had promised them so much and they had a lot of hope.
She didn't tell them everything about why getting rid of the Bride was necessary. She didn't want anyone questioning her plans, neither did she want the people going in a direction different from her dictate.
"Will my daughter come back?" A man asked.
She raised a hand and order was restored.
Quietly, they waited for her. She assured them that soon, with the reddening of the moon, all their troubles would be gone. After her declaration, they danced happily and sang her praises.
Granny had it all planned out. Despite her help to the Bride with the use of the necklace, she was doubtful that the Nahiri had even been able to acquire all the ingredients needed, especially the Thanatou's sunflower.
Her plan was to attend the Wedding Ritual, kill the Bride to prevent the completion of the ritual, and then face the witch, just as she had done before.
This time though, she would ensure she killed her.
Kestra had been nothing but a pain in the neck and she would pay dearly for what she did to Nadia.
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Blood trickled down Kestra's body as her chanting slowed to a stop. Kestra was on her knees, her hands pressed flat against the messy floor, blood dripping from her face into the puddle of metallic liquid that surrounded her.
Blood was everywhere. Her hair was matted with it, her face completely smeared by it.
Her breathing was heavy. She was too weak.
The prisoners around her were dead, and the baby on the altar was long gone.
A soft red glow filled the hall through the opening in the ceiling, and Kestra's lips stretched into a wide grin, when her gaze finally set on the Blood red moon.
It was finally done.
The Blood Moon was here.
Time for her to kill the Bride and attain all the power there was to possess.