The Villainess Doesn't Care

chapter 8 (REVISED)

I woke up sweating. My palm rubbing my throat that was burning, I was coughing, I think?

I couldn't hear; I couldn't see.

I felt somebody touching my arm and rubbing it, almost like trying to wake me up or something.

I heard a faint voice, it was mumbling, no, maybe it was whispering?

"ASTHERIA!" Somebody slapped me wide awake. I felt my body hitting the ground as a loud gasp left someone's mouth.

"Your highness!!" Hana's voice familiarized with me as she immediately begged for forgiveness, I looked around to see I wasn't in my room, nor did I recognize where the hell I was.

"Sister, are you alright?!" Calix asked worriedly, I looked up to see Ariliana sobbing quietly, her face was overflowing with tears as she bit her napkin to not make a sound.

"Where am I?!" I asked frantically while Calix and Arilliana shared a look of confusion. "You're at the royal infirmary, you've been here many times sister." Calix calmly informed me as he kept rubbing my back to stabilize my breathing.

For some reason, it seemed like he was used to me like this. His voice was calm and steady, he made sure to not look big and overpower me, and he kept reassuring me as my mind was still in shambles.

"Where is your appointed knight?! Why was your maid the one who brought you here??" Calix furiously said as Arilliana was still as a statue not knowing what to do.

I felt a heaviness in my chest, a familiar sensation that made me want to cry but I couldn't. It weighed on me, and I couldn't help but silently plead for God's help. Paranoia seeped in, wondering if something or someone was out to get me, or if it was just a side effect of Anastasia abruptly pulling my soul.

But the heaviness was more than just weight; it was emptiness.

"Sister, please answer!" Calix trembled as he locked eyes with me. I'm sorry, but I didn't have the energy to reply to him.

"May I, brother?" Ariliana's voice quivered. Her eyes were red, and she reached out her hand towards me.

"I hope none of you will tell Mother about this," Ariliana said, her hands glowing. Calix's eyes widened, evidently witnessing Ariliana's power as a saintess for the first time.

The Blessing of Gabrielle, one of the most potent and energy-consuming spells, known only to the most skilled bishops and holy magicians in the temple.

And yet, I was here, the first recipient of Ariliana's spell, well aware that she feared the Empress and the possibility of her using the power for darker purposes.

I felt my body relaxing, as it gradually felt better. I didn't even notice that Ariliana was holding my hand.

"Somebody get the royal physician, now." Calix ordered a knight while he picked me up and left the infirmary, Hana and Arilliana right behind him.

"The infirmary might be too stressing for you sister, let's go to the garden." Calix smiled at me while I just stared at him with blank eyes, I was still trying to regain little energy I had left.

After a few minutes of them running, my eyes laid upon the ytril tree. My eyes widen, I felt something magnetic attracting me to the tree. I need to get closer to that tree.

"Sister we'll wait for the royal physician here, is it alright with you?" Without even paying attention to Calix as soon as he put me down, I nodded my head and immediately approached the tree.

I turned around to see Hana and the others vanished, I didn't think anything of it and started to examine the tree.

The leaves were gorgeous, that heavy feeling or emptiness inside me vanished, I felt calm, I felt warm.

I feel weirdly in love with this tree, what was it's history again? It doesn't matter, I feel so connected with this tree, now I know why I always catch myself staring at ytril.

"Don't worry you're safe here." Ytril said softly as I nodded without a care, I hugged it deeply and felt myself sinking slowly but the more I sink the safer I felt.

"YOUR HIGHNESS!" Somebody's yelling alarmed me. But why would I care if Ytril is here to help me?

I snapped back into reality when somebody pulled me out of Ytril's embrace. Memories came rushing back in and my sense of reality.

"Your highness!" I familiarize myself with Xaervin's voice as he kept frantically breathing, sweats dripping down his forehead.

"Y-your highness can you hear me?!" Xaervin stuttered as he tried to catch his breath. I gazed to my back and saw the tree still standing there, but it's alluring aura disappeared.

"Majesty, Princess Anastasia!" The physician came running to me as he immediately bent down to my size as we were facing face to face. "Your highness! Hasn't anyone told you about how dangerous the Ytril tree is! You haven't fully healed, mentally and energetically!" The physician scolded.

But I didn't care, what I'm more worried about is how did Ytril managed to hypnotized me.

Ytril is a majestic tree known for being the first kingdom that the fairies lived in, it was abandoned after the great war, numerous mages visited it.

Mostly, dark mages.

Bloodshed happen here as the mages experimented with the soul's alchemy. The mages who were obsessed with eternal life figured a spell to counteract the natural balance of life and death. 

The mages who were greedy to tamper with the laws of nature faced the consequences sooner or later, because of them, the royal family vowed to never use magic and cut off the connection to the mage tower.

The black magicians were punished by turning into gruesome monsters who roam this lands.

Ytril who stood still despite of everything that happened, was believed to be cursed until a certain prophecy came. The day that Ytril fall, a dark entity would arise.

It was a massive plot point in the book, where Xaervin revealed himself as the 'dark entity'.

"Your highness," the physician addressed somebody in front of me, I gazed up to see my 'father' staring at me with pity.

"Anastasia-" I cut him off, I don't want some half ass rant of him pitying me. "Can somebody bring me some water? I think my head hurts more when his majesty is here." I said as his eyes widened, he looked hurt and stepped back.

Thank god.

"Your highness," Hana handed me a glass of water, I gaze once again at Ytril, it's presence was now chilling.