Tears streamed down her face as she lay motionless upon the bed, unable to move a single limb. The old woman met her adopted daughter's eyes before stepping out to grant Mary her rest.
Left alone, Mary wept until her strength was utterly spent. Soon after, Jezibel brought in a bowl of porridge for her to eat. Yet every spoonful Mary was forced to swallow was tainted with foul, unclean substances, for Jezibel intended to extinguish Mary's life slowly, bit by bit.
"Eat up now... so thou mayest regain thy strength~" The malicious sister sneered.
Mary fought back her revulsion, swallowing the food through her tears while catching sight of the violet charcoal residue resting beside the journal out of the corner of her eye. She secretly swept the book beneath her blanket with her fingertips before opening her mouth to accept more food—until at last, she gagged, splattering the bedding.
"(Cough!) Jezib....."
Before Mary could finish her plea, Jezibel snapped, "Eat properly, fool!" She shoved the spoon into Mary's mouth once more, causing Marilyn to spew directly onto her face.
"Ughk! disgusting pig!" Seeing her own clothes drenched in filth, Jezibel shrieked in absolute fury and bolted out to wash herself.
"ARGHHH~~!! Just thou wait, thou wretched creature!!"
"Wherefore doth the Lord show no mercy unto me? Why...? Art my sins truly so grave and unforgivable?"
Mary collapsed back onto the pillow, weeping bitterly. As her soul drifted into sleep once more, white hands emerged from the void, pulling her down into the depths of her subconsciousness.
"Our flock breaketh upon the river stream at last. Keep thy heart steadfast, Mary." She heard her own voice echoing within her mind.
"Our flock...?" she questioned herself as she plunged deeper into the abyss of her psyche.
"When that hour arriveth, thou shalt behold it with thine own eyes." The subconscious voice spoke in cryptic riddles.
The maiden floated down onto a meadow of stark white petunias, where gentle gusts of wind counteracted gravity, letting the tips of her toes touch the grass light as a feather. Before her stood the colossal walls of a fortress, beneath a galaxy of stars peeking through the curtain of mist. This time, the heavens turned pitch-black, contrasting sharply with the milky-white grass beneath her feet.
Marilyn looked up to find the red-haired youth sitting alone, writing in his journal.
"All the stars converge at long last... Currently, I am... Ah, I can scarcely recall."
"Hey! Thou there!"
Upon her greeting, the journal snapped shut, revealing his comforting face.
"Oh~ There she is! Come, step up."
The young man flicked his fingers. In an instant, the wall before Mary extended outward, forming a staircase step by step. She ascended toward the ramparts of Castole Castle, where she beheld the shadows of two men sitting side by side.
"The last time we met, my memories were hazy. Yet thou art the one who brought them back—scanty though they may be."
"Pleasure is mine." The maiden sat down beside him, gazing up at the moonlight above.
"These two were my closest companions during the days when brotherhood still bound us together."
"Christopher and Fredoric... the two heroes of the Blood War. Thou didst know them when they yet drew breath, no?" Mary asked.
"Indeed~ Why could I not recall those names before, when they were the very milestones of it all?"
"Milestones...? How are they bound to thee?" Mary narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
"Aye." The red-haired youth resumed writing in his journal, as though the clouded memories were flowing back into his mind once more.
He offered a wide smile before turning the page toward Mary.
'To rewrite history anew'—the black ink stood bold and clear.
"I recall it now~ Dost thou reckon it worth the cost? For a soul to possess the power to rewrite history?" As his words faded, the meadow that had been stark white was flooded with the vibrant colors of nature once again.
"I know not. It would be blessing enough if tomorrow's sky turned bright again."
"Christoph believed the world could grow bright only if we set our hands to change something. Yet! Fredoric believed that change brought forth nothing but catastrophe, that the earth would heal itself if mankind meddled not too deeply. And the sole force that could uphold its balance was total, absolute power."
Marilyn shook her head. "I understand not."
"Thou needest not understand, Mary. Merely believe that one day... thou shalt stand directly between both paths. If thou canst not walk to reach it, then fly toward it."
"In what manner?"
"O exalted progenitor... when the sun riseth high, the path of thy life shall warp. Should the wind shift its course, the power of faith shall protect thee in times of dire need. Therefore, stand firm and..." The young man stared straight through her panicked eyes. "...consider that thou... art the one who receiveth the blessing, though it may closely resemble a damn."
With those final cryptic words, the young man's frame dissolved into fine dust.
Suddenly, Mary's right eye erupted with black smoke, swirling upward into the sky—yet she felt no pain whatsoever. The moon cast a violet radiance upon her back, as though an unseen entity were watching her from afar.
"Henceforth, an outcast such as I shall cherish thee."
One half of the maiden's face spoke before she gasped awake from her subconsciousness in agonizing pain. She writhed in agony upon the bed, unable to utter a single sound. Black veins bulged across her face while the bones in her forearms twisted and cracked back into shape,
CRACK! Mortal frame was adjusted, entirely beyond her comprehension.
Her body jerked violently, flinging her against the window sill before she tumbled out onto the grass below. The moon cast its beam upon the solitary apple tree atop the high grassy knoll behind the house. The maiden crawled forward using what little strength remained in her arms.
"Please hear me my Lord... pray save thy child! I can endure this torment no longer!"
The maiden wrapped her arms around the apple tree. A sudden gust of wind blew a ripe apple from the branch, dropping it right into her hand with a soft thud!
"Eat of it... eat until thou art filled," an unseen voice whispered incessantly. "Receive thy blessing."
Lured by the temptation, Mary took a bite of the apple and collapsed into sleep against the trunk.
The following morning, Edward, who was passing by on his way to town, spotted the maiden sleeping beneath the apple tree. He drew near and found Mary clutching an apple that was half-decayed.
"God Gracious! Mary!" The young man called out to awaken her from her slumber, yet Mary remained completely unmoving, as though the ailment had seized her once again.
"Hath anyone seen my Mary?!" Mrs. Bishop's frantic cries echoed from afar.
"I must take thee home!" Edward hoisted her up with his single remaining arm. He carried the unconscious maiden back to her bedroom amidst the panicked murmurs of the townsfolk. Jezibel watched on with a look of quiet satisfaction, seeing Mary's condition deteriorate so severely.
The physician exhausted every method to treat or ease the suffering of Mary, who had fallen into a deep coma. At last, they were forced to seek the aid of the vicar, Ismayah Sereza.
Father Sereza placed holy candles around the room, chanting prayers to cast out evil spirits.
"O Father of us all! Vouchsafe thy holy presence to reside within the body of my child~ and drive out all manner of wickedness! Oh~ dispel this sickness from thy son~ thy daughter~ If the plague demon yet hide within, reveal thy power unto me, the servant of the Lord!!!"
The vicar took both of Marilyn's hands, wrapping them around her crucifix necklace, before smashing the decayed apple with a hammer.
"Perish!"
THUD!
As the pieces of the decayed apple shattered, a brilliant violet light erupted from Mary's upper arm.
"Come forth! Let us see how formidable thou art!" Hearing his roaring summons, Mary's pale right eye rolled upward. Her neck tilted unnaturally as her gaze locked directly onto Father Sereza.
While the ritual was underway, Mrs. Bishop, Edward, and Jezibel—who were waiting outside the chamber, sensed an unsettling anomaly as everything inside suddenly fell deathly silent.
"How strangely quiet it hath grown..." The three exchanged glances, silently signaling that someone needed to open the door.
"I shall do it," Edward spoke softly, reaching out to open the bedroom door.
The hinges groaned loudly as the door slid open, revealing dozens of snuffed candles leaving behind only the dim shadows of moonlight.
Father Sereza stood imposing amidst the gloom, his finger pointed through the wooden window frame toward the high tower of Castole Castle.
"Father...?" Edward called out.
The moonlight shifted, casting illumination across the chamber.
What met the young man's eyes was a golden-haired maiden clinging upon Father Sereza's shoulders.
"M-Mary..." Edward's heart dropped into his stomach.
"Sleep now, sweet child~ My dear one, sleep now~ Fret no more~~~"
As Mary's eerie lullaby reached its end, the maiden fell backward, crashing onto the floor unconscious alongside the vicar.
CRASH!