Wither

‘’The flowers my lord, they have seemed to droop even more so than yesterday.’’

‘’Nonsense Vinsel, they seem perkier than ever.’’

‘’My lord please, action must be taken, your denial of the flowers Is causing more pain.’’

‘’Vinsel please, what else will I do if I don’t deny it.’’

‘’Seek help my lord!’’

‘’Enough nonsense Vinsel you know nothing can change this, now leave me and the flowers.’’

‘’As you wish my lord.’’

The slow steps of Vinsel leaving caused a soft breeze to be placed on the back of my bare neck, the feeling soothed me. The door closed just as fast as it opened. I was left alone.

Just me and the flowers, the flowers and me.

I didn’t dare touch them, just stare at their beauty, the lushes ‘colours of their petals, the smells that blended together to create a euphoric scent, the small thorns that could bleed you out dry just by a single prick.

It didn’t take long to understand their purpose, appearing overnight isn’t a common occurrence, especially when they bloomed through the wooden cracks of a merchant’s house. They can’t be destroyed nor removed, only admired from a distance, telling stories in the way they bloom, the smells they create, the colour they are. They are the definition of beauty and pain. As with every flower that withers so does the life of someone around me. Last month it was the violet flower, as the magical colour drained from its petals so did the colour drain from my wife. three months ago, it was the rose, as the velvety smell turned acidic so did my father’s body when he never woke from his slumber. I fear my daughter will be next, her pale skin matches the lily’s white petals, as does her blonde hair matching with the pollen that lives inside. The stem droops more with each day passing, my denial only seems to quicken the process, yet the thought of her death being caused by my past action’s chips away at my soul if I let the thought in my mind.

When I was told my debt would be paid by those around me, I didn’t think the payment would be death, or I never would have signed the selfish deed. I was only young, my head not filled with the knowledge it is now. I didn’t know that my heart would be so full of the love I carry for those around me, and that would be the price for asking to be the lord of the village. When the sorceress promised me my deepest wish was to be granted, I didn’t know the old hag would use my love for the flowers to tell me when I would lose the lives of those around me. Soon after realizing I sought out help from a powerful wizard, yet he told me the same that all the others after him would say, a bond such as this cannot be broken as the deal has already been done, all that remains now is payment from your end. Soon after we sought out help from a necromancer, possibly a loophole from the original plan. Yet what was brought back was not the same as what already lived.

The small crack of light was the only way the sun could reach the room, I made sure that the flowers were kept secure, evacuating the former tenets of the house, barricading the windows and leaving guards to surround the house. With time I hoped the curse could be undone but it would seem not.

The flowers seemed to be gazing into my soul, as if they had eyes, mocking me, laughing as the wind swayed their peculiar petals. I had half a mind to rip them out with my bare hands, yet that would only harm me and cause another to grow just as fast as I ripped the first one out. There was nothing I could do except gaze at their beauty, with the crack of sunlight seeming to intensify their qualities. My eyes will deceive me If I gaze for too long, the flowers seemed to disappear yet when I blinked their appearances came back even stronger.

With no way to tell the time it would seem I have been sitting here for hours, the sunlight seemed to focus on only the Lilly now, the last unique flower of the pack. Its stem was completely bent now, no longer did it stand tall but droopy. The thorns no longer seemed sharp yet dull, the petals no longer seemed to be as bright as the moonlight yet as dull as dried paint. Soon the petals seemed to individually fall from the stem, turning black before hitting the floorboards. I caught each in my hand as if that would help, yet they still turned black within the blink of an eye. Soon each petal was resting in my palm no longer on a stem, no more did a beautiful Lilly grow yet a withered-up weed. The sunlight seemed to stop shining leaving me alone with my thoughts.

The old wooden door creaked open revelling Vinsel, my dear servant. His facial expression seemed to droop just as the flower did.

‘’I’m so sorry my lord, it would seem as if your assumptions were correct, Alice took her last breath just moments ago.’’

A single tear fell from my eye, rolling down my pale cheek. The feeling of my heart being ripped into two was worse than being stabbed in a duel. And yet I only had my old self to blame. I opened my mouth to speak yet only air came out, silence seemed to overtake the room. A cold hard silence that seems to sting even the toughest people. I let the dark petals slip from my hands, vanishing as soon as they hit the floor. No more did a bed of flowers lie just a dark depressing room. With the flowers leaving so did my will to function. Yet that was promised all those years ago, when the sorceress said the price costs more than can be earned back.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, I finally opened my mouth to speak.

‘’Well then Vinsel, it would seem the debt has been paid.’’

‘’Indeed, it has my Lord…indeed it has.’’