Researching Curses
Arabelle steps inside the library and can't believe that there are so many books around. There might be fifty book cabinets inside. Everything seems to be about the occult and witchcraft. She walks around to check each book cabinet. It seems to be arranged according to topics. There are a lot of cabinets about spells, potions, and even rituals. At the back corner is where the hex and curses are located. She pulls out several books about curses hoping these books can help her mom.
“Maybe you should start from the beginning. It will help you understand more about curses.” he suggested and gave her the book.
“You're right, it might help.” she replied and took the book from him.
History of Curses is the name of the book which might help her to learn more about it. She can't believe that she needs to research this way. Although she realized that she doesn't know a lot about curses. All she knows is that her parents are victims of it. When she was younger, she didn't even believe in witchcraft and the occult. For her, it's only for entertainment purposes. There are many movies and novels about it. She's not even interested in them. Since she's not familiar with these topics, she needs to read to learn more about curses and witchcraft.
“By the way, my grandma left me this.” She showed the book of shadows to Ralph as they sat across the table.
“Your grandma has a book of shadows. She was a witch!” he exclaimed upon taking it from her.
“Yes she was. My mom said that's the reason we are vulnerable to curses. Our ancestors were witches.” she replied while opening the book she got.
Ralph looks at her as if convinced that she was Sofia. How can he not think that way if everything that is happening seems to align with the past? Sofia's mother was also cursed back then. She tries her best to find a way to heal her mother. Although during those times, the world is not friendly with anything out of the ordinary. They were sure that Sofia was a witch who needed to be punished and burned. What they don't know is that she's just a daughter who does anything to save her mother. Just like what Arabelle is trying to do right now.
As she keeps on reading the History of Curses, Arabelle seems to find something similar to her mom's condition. It is said to be a curse from a powerful dark witch. Although the curse will not kill someone right away, it will still be its ending. That curse will make sure that the person who was cursed will suffer for a long time. There will be no signs of dark magic until you try to cure the person. That's what happened to her dad before he died. Her grandma tries to break the curse but ends up taking him. She can't let her mom have the same fate like her dad.
~~
The past..
“Sofia, I got your lavender!" he shouted and showed her the lavender on his hand.
“Wow, thanks Rafael! You're a darling.” Sofia replied with a sweet smile on her lips.
“Why do you need lavender?" he asked as he put it down the table.
“It's for my mother. She's having a hard time sleeping.” she replied and began to pull out the flowers.
“How will it help her sleep?” he asked curiously.
“I'll make her a lavender tea. It will calm her so she can fall asleep.” she explained.
Rafael can't help but to admire Sofia's knowledge about medicinal plants. She seems to know a lot about them that even her neighbors ask for her help. There are a lot of dried herbs she keeps on her kitchen cabinet. She has a cure for every disease anyone might be suffering from. The neighborhood comes to her whenever someone needs to be cured. She's a natural healer who can heal anyone by just a touch of her hand. Her herbs help more people than the hospital. That's why they arrested her.
He can't help but to worry about her before that. It's been the talk of a town back then. Her healing powers made the powerful people jealous. They have to get rid of her and they did. The more he thinks about that night, the more he's convinced that one of them sent Lucious. Maybe they wanted to make sure that he would not come to her rescue. Aristocrats know about the undead and use them if they want to make some people disappear. He tries to find him but he seems to have vanished.
~~
Lucious has been lurking around the darkness without anyone's knowledge. He never wanted to create a new vampire but he has to do it. When the king himself asks him to kill Rafael, it doesn't give him a choice. He needs to do it or his peaceful existence will end. Instead of just killing Rafael, he made him to be like himself. The moment he sank his sharp teeth on the side of his throat he felt his will to live. Any vampire can't deny how strong his will was which made him become the undead.
He knows that the moment Rafael wakes up as a vampire, he will be looking for him. That guy would want to take his revenge on him first. But he will not allow him to do that until he knows who is the real villain of his life. He showed him how to live as a new vampire even from the shadows. It's been hard for Rafael to kill a human so he directed him to the forest. That becomes his food for centuries and even Lucious can't seem to stomach it. Why would he choose to eat animal blood if humans are available at any time? He will never understand his diet.
Lucious always tries to talk to Rafael but he seems to always be in his attack mode. He doesn’t want to fight with him since he's like his son in a way. Creating him made him the target of the vampire clan. They want him dead and looking for him as well. He might not even talk to him ever since he's running out of hiding places. Now that they are in the modern times, it will be harder for him not to be found by the clan. It's good seeing him to finally find that girl. Maybe it was the witch he was trying to save from the past. He suddenly heard footsteps closing and decided that it's time for him to hide again.