Spellbound

20

BRICE

I rinse the soap suds off Soleil's body for the second time and watch the foamy trail flow down the drain. The water is clean and so is she.

Soleil smells like the citrus and rose body wash I am used to wafting off her skin.

I shut off the water, walk out of the cubicle, and retrieve one of her towels. She's still in the stall naked and afraid when I wrap her in the bath sheet before leading her out.

I coach her onto the bed before returning to the bathroom to dry myself off and slip on my briefs. I take a look at the man staring at me in the mirror. He looks stressed and uncertain. 

How did I get here?

I go back into the bedroom and chance a glance at Soleil who hasn't moved from where I deposited her. I want to go back to my dorm, but I can't leave her like this.

I have an internal battle with myself on whether to go or to stay. 

I find myself making the decision when I slide her drawers open to retrieve a tampon, underwear and a plain T. I walk up to her, help her stand up and dry off. The white cloth is stained crimson as I wipe her legs down and in between.

I search her eyes for recognition. Her irises move from side to side, her gaze is unfocused and spaced out.

I make the executive decision to dress her when I toss the towel on her bed, unwrap the purple covering and slip the tampon inside her. It's intimate, even under the circumstances.

I help her slide into her underwear and then the shirt which falls mid-thigh. This is not my first time practicing after care, but it is the first where I'm the cause of the damage. I think of Hailey who I'd come across in a state of shock and had to nurse back to health.

It took a while but she finally told me about the sick men in her family. I'd never force myself on a woman let alone my own blood. How shameful.

I battle with myself yet again as to whether I should leave when I tuck Soleil into the freshly made bed.

Against my better judgement, I find myself sliding in behind and holding her close, willing her to get better as I try to come up with some sort of plan.

Thierry – he would know what to do, my mind proffers the solution. 

However, he's been distant. When I was younger, he'd refer to me as son all the time, yet as of late I can see the derision when he calls me boy  anytime I mess up. I have to come up with a solution that doesn't include him.

The extensive library in Paris comes to mind, however I've been warned against teleporting over long distances.

I may have been warned about porting but that doesn't mean I can't project.

It would be my mind not my physical body I would be transporting. It is my mind that I needed to find the information on love spells. There must be a book that can remedy this curse. I've spotted sections here and there in my readings, but never paid them much attention. 

I'll leave in a couple of hours. 

At peace with a plan, my mind ceases racing and I close my eyes settling into sleep.

I will fix this, I vow.

Before the lull of sleep can drag me under, I'm stunned awake by the escalating beat of Soleil's heart. It isn't long before her breath follows in quick short gasps.

I feel a cold chill settle around the room raising the hairs on my arms and at the back of my neck. I draw her closer to me as my body recoils, ready for attack.