SWNOVELS Chapter Twenty-one
ELENA
The night stretched by, and the event was now in full swing. I got to meet almost every aristocratic family present in West Vale. Also, I knew some already from the parties I often frequent in East Vale.
Moreover, my family was not left out of this meeting. My father and stepbrother were quite happy to see me, while my step sisters and mom were as neutral as ever. They pretended I didn't exist, which I didn't mind because it had been that way ever since I knew them.
Everything was going fine until someone bumped into me. I stumbled and gripped a pillar close by to stop my fall for the second time tonight. I shivered at the coolness of the body, and I stared at his retreating figure.
“S.O.B.," I mumbled under my breath.
My breath hitched as I saw him halted in his tracks. Perhaps he was another werewolf or Vampire- those were the two supernatural beings that I knew could hear thoughts or read minds.
I emitted a disappointed sigh as he didn't turn, rather, he continued walking towards the entrance.
“Who's that?"
I lurched as I heard Aiden's voice.
“Stop sneaking up on me!” I yelled, though it was more like a whisper due to the loud musical instruments playing in the background.
“Are you hurt? I saw him bump into you. Who is he? He repeated yet again.
I swatted his prodding hands away, and he lifted a brow.
“I'm fine, and I don't know him. He didn't even apologize for doing what he did.” I let out an exasperated sigh while glaring at the back of the stranger.
There was no way I could recognize him even if he had glanced at me because he was dressed in all black. He had a black face mask and hat on. I only caught a glimpse of white hair.
“There is something off about him, and I don't like it.” Aiden sniffed, creasing his brows.
Suddenly, I saw his eyes flash golden, and he gritted his teeth.
“There is an intruder in the party.” Ellen appeared from nowhere. Her face was contorted in a grimace, and I noticed she was trying her best not to wince.
She let out a slight cough while gripping her side tightly.
“You are bleeding.” I shrieked. “What happened?”
“I sensed something was off about him; it was as if he was searching for someone. Then I confronted him.” She paused, groaning.
“Seeing I was coming, he withdrew a pocket knife and hurled it at me. He was too fast so I couldn't dodge it.”
I gaped at her with wide eyes; she was calm and didn't even panic throughout her explanation except for the slight groan she emitted now and then.
She sucked in a breath as Aiden nudged her hands away to access the wound.
“This would leave a scar, and your dress is ruined,” I whispered, my eyes fixated on the blood that didn't look as if it would stop any time soon.
“I think we are starting to gain some attention, too,” I added. The girl from before quirked her brows while staring in our direction.
She widened her eyes as it went downwards. Perhaps she saw the crimson fluid dripping from Ellen's gown.
She tapped a lanky blond beside her and whispered into his ears. They began to walk toward us after observing us for a few seconds.
“Thank goodness you are here.” Sparkles said as she joined us.
“I saw what happened, El. I tried to follow him after he bumped into Elena. But, I was distracted, and I lost him.” She explained.
“Geez, that looks worse than I had imagined. It would be best if youwento to the infirmary. Also, we need to get out of here because I overheard Miss Perfect over there wanting to investigate the situation with the nosy detective.” She said, narrowing her eyes at their approaching figure.
At least Sparkles and I had one thing in common. We both disliked her.
“That's right. I'll scour the environment to see if he's still around.” Aiden said, clenching his fist.
“I'll come with you,” I said.
He shook his head, “I'm sorry, you can't. You need to stay with Ellen and Sparkles.”
“Will you be okay going out there by yourself?"
“Of course, I'll be,” Aiden assured, giving me a light kiss on the lips.
“Be safe,” I mumbled.
“You too." He said, leaving Sparkles and me with Ellen, who looked as if she would pass out soon.
“Come on, let's leave here before she catches up with us.”
“Wait, who's cleaning?” My brows furrowed as I gazed at the thick red blood situated where Ellen had been.
“I'll,” Maya offered as she strode towards us. She snapped her fingers, and everything was as good as new again. “I can heal her also. But we need to do that in the infirmary.”.
Sparkles and I nodded.
Furthermore, Maya assisted Sparkles in taking an unconscious Ellen out of the ballroom while I followed behind.
Occasionally, I glanced at my back; I observed people were too engrossed in the party to notice what was going on except for Blondie. I didn't know what her deal was, but it seemed like she had been monitoring my every movement.
We got to the infirmary, and fortunately, the rest of the park sensed what was going on, and they became vigilant.
Callista rushed in as soon as she heard the news. She eventually stopped the bleeding, but she couldn't get the fever to stop. Even Maya became helpless and had been with her grimoire seeking aid.
The blade had been infested with wolfsbane- it was deadly to the werewolves, and it could kill them if a cure wasn't found.
“No, please don't kill me!” Ellen begged as tears rolled down her eyes. She gasped, twitching.
I learnt she was hallucinating, which would finally lead to her death.
“What will I do? What can I do? She is getting worse!" Sparkles paced around the room, shaking her head.
“I swear, the bastard that did this will rue the day he was born when I get hold of him!” She vowed.
I had never seen her this worried about anyone. Despite their constant argument, I could sense the affection she had for her.
“I know what can be done. But we need blood from a pure witch bloodline to complete the spell I saw in the book. She has only a few minutes left because it has gotten to her vital organ.” Maya explained, staring at our appalled faces.
“It's a good thing you are a witch, then,” Sparkles stated, and I nodded in agreement.
“No, it's not mine, it's hers.” Maya nodded toward me, and my jaw went slack.
The compass with her flashed green as it pointed toward me.
“W-what, I don't understand.” I stuttered.
“Likewise.” Callista and Sparkles said at the same time.
“I wish I could make you understand. I don't know the answer to your question as well, and we need to be fast with it.”
Ellen began convulsing, Callista went to touch her body, but she withdrew her hands immediately as if being scorched.
“She's burning up!" Callista shouted.
“We can't perform it without the blood, and she has to willingly give it out for it to work.”
Their gaze travelled to mine, and I could sense the fear in each of their eyes.
I was scared as well, too, and several questions began playing in my head: What if it didn't work? What if she died after everything?
Shaking the negative thoughts out of my head, I stood to my feet.
“I'm ready.” I declared. “You don't need to ask me. This is Ellen we are talking about, and she's like a sister to me."
“Great. Please, follow me.” Maya grinned. Also, Sparkles and Callista let out a relieved sigh.
Without much ado, she brought out a clean knife, pierced my palm slightly with it, and added the blood dripping out of the injury into the ingredients that were in a bowl.
She began to chant in Latin, and I understood each word; I could even translate it into English, which was kind of surprising since Latin wasn't my forte.
A puff came out of the portion, and Maya beamed.
The portion was applied to the wound that had begun rotting, and After a few more spells cast by Maya on Ellen, it began to seal.
Ellen wheezed for a few seconds, and her lashes fluttered. She frowned while gazing at each of us at the side of her bed.
“Am I alive?”
“Of course, Barbie!” Sparkles yelled, running to embrace her.
“Thank you, Sparklight.” Ellen rolled her eyes. She moaned as she rolled to her side.
“You should be grateful to Maya." Sparkles pointed out.
“No, not me.” Maya retorted, shrugging. "You should be thankful that we have another witch in our group whose blood is a cure to your problem.”
“Thank you, Elena.” Ellen's eyes shone with gratitude.
“It's no biggie." I beamed.
“Thank goodness everything is under control. I thought for a moment I was going to lose you again." Callista mumbled, dabbing at her eyes with a white hanky.
“Again?” I asked.
“That's a story for another day.” Callista dismissed. “ Right now, we need to go back to the party. It wouldn't be nice if we were tagged the worst host of the century. Will it?"
“Of course not.” We repeated simultaneously.
“You can rest, Ellen, due to the amount of blood you've lost.”
“I'll stay with her." I volunteered.
“You don't have to. Besides, it's your party and the founder's day, which you have never witnessed before." Ellen said.
“I insist. Aiden has made the announcement he wanted, and he has introduced me to the people he wanted. I'm sure the rest won't mind if I retire early.”
“That's the word. Ellen and my beautiful soon-to-be daughter-in-law retired early.” Callista said in a formal voice, and we giggled at the seriousness it exuded.
“Bye, girls," Callista kissed each of our cheeks before walking out of the room.
Ellen let out a loud yawn as her eyes grew heavy. “I need to sleep."
“Of course, you need a lot of rest to regain your strength," I said, and she drifted off with that.
Stepping to the window, my eyes went to the full moon. The night sky was cloudless, and the stars that adorned it made it more gorgeous.
I touched the silver half-moon necklace that Aiden had placed on my neck after he saved me earlier from falling to my doom. I wondered where he was, but I was certain he was safe.
Aiden was the strongest man I knew. Aside from him being a werewolf, I had seen him using just his human strength to get things done like every normal human.
I stayed by the window side for a few more minutes before walking back to the seat beside Ellen's bed.
Sitting down, I watched Ellen sleep, as well as wait for Aiden to burst into the room.