Fantasy Death and Desperation [paige&wolf]

[PaigeMadison]

Medieval France.
Some lived the luxurious life in castles, with servants and everything they ever wanted. Others, however, lived in the the towns surrounding those castles, stuck in a life of poverty. There was no American Dream-- and climbing the ladder from peasantry to royalty was absolutely unheard of. If you were born Royal, you stayed Royal. If you were born a peasant, you stayed a peasant. No exceptions.

The Bubonic Plague.
The Black Plague. The Black Death. Call it what you will, it wiped out a large population of Europe. The cursed rats carried the bacteria throughout the streets, and those unfortunate enough to be exposed to it began to experience symptoms. The symptoms only lasted twenty-four hours until the final symptom overwhelmed the victim: death. Those infected with The Plague were frantic to say their goodbyes before death took them the next day. There was no cure, and peasants would die left and right. It was only when a Royal got sick that the kingdom would stop to focus on the tragedy. It was rare for a Royal to get sick, though, as they were cut off entirely from the kingdom. No thing-- and no one, --was permitted to enter or exit the palace. Once again, no exceptions.

The Vampires.
Everyone had heard stories of the creatures of the night, and feared them. As if the French Kingdom didn't have enough to worry about with disease and death, the vampires were growing stronger and wanted control of the kingdom. Plans of uprising were spread throughout the towns, but those in the palace had little idea that the towns were so vampire infested and chaotic.

When a Royal got sick, however, everything would change...

It's scary, almost, how desperate humans become when death is involved.

 

[PaigeMadison]

It started that evening, with chills and a headache. She insisted she was fine, and didn't want anyone to know she was sick. Chaos always came when someone was sick, and she didn't want that. The young princess confided only in her brother that she wasn't feeling well. Of course he panicked, but she assured him that she was fine. That, as the night progressed, was proved a lie. Coughing and boils followed, and the evident truth was revealed to Arthur and Amelia Cordova.

The princess had the plague, and she was going to die.

Arthur inhaled sharply as he examined his sister. She looked absolutely awful. It was clear she had caught The Plague, and the bacteria had already taken its toll on her body-- and it'd only been a few hours. "I'll be back, Amelia," Arthur said gently, only receiving a weak nod from his younger sister. Arthur almost couldn't bear to leave his dying sister-- what if there wasn't a cure and he was leaving her for nothing? No, he knew he couldn't think like that. There had to be something he could do. Arthur decided then and there that he wouldn't let Amelia die like her mother did.

Arthur grabbed a cloak so he wouldn't be recognized outside the palace. He'd sneaked out a few times before when he was younger, so he knew it was possible. Out his sister's window was an easy way to get to town. He left the palace around midnight, and a good fifteen minutes later, Arthur was walking the streets of the quiet town. He scanned the area for a doctor or healer-- he just needed something that would cure his sister. Arthur stopped in his tracks when he saw the sign that read, "medicine", and he hurriedly knocked on the door. "Is anyone in there?"the prince asked, desperation threaded in his voice, "I need a healer-- my sister is very sick..."

 

[Wolfina2]

There was a long moment of silence before a voice suddenly spoke up from behind the door. "Go away! There's nothing left for you here!" there was some sounds of movement from behind the door before the voice continued. "The plague has dried up any medicines and salves I had. Go away!" she obviously did not know that she was speaking to the prince and just assumed it was another one of the villagers with a sob story that would break her heart. She could not take anymore of this, she had tried to help so many of them only to have them die in her arms. She could not do it again, anything she would do would not save them and they would die like the rest.

She yelled out again, "Didn't you hear me! There's nothing left! Go home and pray for god to have mercy and spare your sister. None of the remedies work, or help." she pressed her ear against the door listening carefully to see if the man had left. Her hands shaking hoping he would barge in as so many had before.

 

[PaigeMadison]

Arthur's heart sank at the reply he received. It was a girl-- she sounded so hopeless. He couldn't give up, though-- he couldn't lose his sister like he had lost his mother. "Please...please at least see her," Arthur tried, his voice shaking ever so slightly, "I've already lost my mother to this plague-- I can't lose Amelia. This kingdom can't lose her."

Realizing what he had just said, Arthur swallowed hard and cleared his throat. "I-- I can promise a reward, whether you can help her or not. Please, if you only see her, and help all you can, you will be rewarded generously...no matter what happens." Arthur knocked once again to make sure the voice was still there. "In desperate-- I'll do anything."

 

[Wolfina2]

She hesitated a moment, Amelia? The princess? She swallowed hard and opened the door a crack. She looked at the man who knocked at her door. She saw him and she gasped. It really was the prince, she had never met him of course but he had seen him when the queen addressed the people. She opened the door more for him, "Please.. come in.." she stepped aside for him to come in, the place was small and stank of death. Countless had died there, there was a table in the middle of the room which was thoroughly blood stained. She took a seat in a wooden chair sighing deeply. She had lovely auburn hair and hazel eyes, she kept tied away in a braid which hung around her shoulder. "As I mentioned.. I cannot help you.. I have nothing left... Even if I did nothing helped.." she gestured around the room, empty bottles and vials were placed on every conceivable surface. "Only a handful of the people I treated survived.. Majority of them died.. or seemed to start to get better before dying.." she rubbed her temples.

 

[PaigeMadison]

Arthur's hopes lifted a little when the voice behind the door allowed him to enter. The voice belonged to a girl that looked around his age, with beautiful hair that the prince noticed right away. Her cottage reeked of death and Arthur swallowed hard as he took a quick scan of the room before his gaze fell on the girl. She lived here? It would only be a matter of time before she caught the plague, surrounded by all the disease and infection of her cottage. Maybe he could try to help her, once the situation with Amelia was settled. Arthur wanted to help her-- he was shocked and unaware that the peasants lived like this; in small, death-ridden homes.

Arthur knew he had to say something, so he met the girl's eyes and began. She knew who he was, but the princes was still going to introduce himself. "My name is Arthur. Amelia, the princess-- she's sick. She's dying and I'll do anything to save her. I understand-- you've done all that you can and the kingdom thanks you for that...but do you know of anyone or anything that can help her? My mother is dead-- please, I need my sister alive." Arthur's tone was serious, but a little shaky. He didn't know if this girl could help him, but the prince was willing to search the whole town all night if it meant saving his sister.

 

[Wolfina2]

She bit her lip and seemed to be weighing things in her mind before she stood up and headed towards a bookshelf, "There.. There is one option.. but it really is a last resort." she pulled a book out and flipped a few pages and stopped at a specific passage, she placed the book on the table, "She could be saved by drinking the immortal wine.." she tapped the illustration on the page of a silver goblet, "It would cure the disease.. however there would be many side effects to it." she turned the page which showed a pale person with sharp fangs, "She would be unable to be in the sun, garlic would make her ill, and she would have to denounce any religious beliefs..." she paused for a moment and took a breath, "Failure to follow that she would most certainly die."

 

[PaigeMadison]

When the girl mentioned another option, Arthur's eyes widened and he nodded. "I'll try anything-- this is the last resort," he told her, exhaling deeply, "I don't know what else to do."

Arthur read over her shoulder as the girl thumbed through a book. She stopped on a page featuring a picture of a pale man with long fangs. "That's a vampire," the prince murmured, remembering what his father had told him about the immortal beings, "This immortal wine would turn her into one of them...but she would live, right?"

 

[Wolfina2]

She nodded and turned the page again, it showed two vampires back to back. "In order to get the immortal wine you must convince another vampire to provide it. If they oblige then she would be forever entwined with that vampire. She would belong to him just as she belongs to you as their blood would run through her veins." she turned to the next page where it showed a bloodied knife with the hilt one of a rose in an infinity symbol, "She would live enterally her beauty never fading or tarnishing.. But this would come at a dear price; she would have to drink blood from the living in order to survive. If she did not." she turned the page again, it illustration on this page was merely a wilted rose. "She would wither up and die, the process of which is even more painful than the plague ever could be." She closed the book at last, "If you accept in forfeiting your sister's soul then there is one Vampire who may be willing to assist you." she put the book back on the bookshelf, "Be warned however if you do; your sisters soul will be damned. If she were to die by any means afterwards her soul would be condemned to the burning fires of hell."