Chapter 28: Break the curse

Yelena's POV

"That ring consumes me?" I asked. The female elf nodded. I sighed. "Can you take the ring?" I asked.

"Unfortunately…" she said. "Once it started to consume a human's emotions, it can't stop – " she told me. Her green eyes are full of pity.

My eyes went wide. "Waaaaahhhh!!!!! Why?!!!!?!!?!!? I didn't know any of this - !!!" I screamed in panic and shock.

"Your Highness?!" Emil and Oril said. I turned. They're outside the room. "You bastard - !" they cried and glared at the female elf. Then, they took out their weapons.

"Ah, idiot!" I said. "She has no fault!" I told them. They stopped. I sighed. "I, uh…" I muttered. "I'm cursed." I said in a low voice.

However, they are near me so they still heard me. Their jaws dropped. "Huh?" they said, stunned. "HUH?!?!?!" they exclaimed.

I felt like a nuclear bomb was dropped in front of me. "Ha… hahaha…hahahaha…" I laughed. I can't believe this. I thought as my eyes turned red. My laugh is full of mockery towards myself.

Oril and Emil shook with fear. "The… the princess… the princess was cursed." They muttered, shaking with fear and horror while looking at me.

I looked at them with gleaming eyes. "You want to be beheaded?" I asked, grinning murderously.

"N – no…. waaah!!!" they screamed and ran away. "The princess has lost it! She was cursed!" they yelled.

"Ugh…" I grunted and collapsed to the floor. "Damn it. I can't believe I got caught by a curse." I muttered to myself. "So even if I'm not from here – ah. I am from here. Haha… hahaha…" I laughed. Shit. I cursed inwardly as I was about to lose my sanity.

The elf sighed. "I'm really sorry for this, Princess." she said. "You can now rest. Leave saving Vincent to me – " she told me and turned to leave.

"Hold it right there!" I said. She stopped. "Damn you. You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I asked.

She turned to me, her face dead serious. "I'm not. Honestly, I'd like to ask for your help, too, but given your situation – " she said and looked at me from head to toe, then from toe to head.

I exactly know what she is thinking. "Ugh." I groaned. "This won't stop me!" I said, then faced her. "You told me that it only consumes me if I have negative feelings, right?" I asked. She nodded. I took a deep breath. "Then, I should just feel positive then." I said.

"Huh?"

I smiled. "I can do this. I'll break this curse!" I said and brightly smiled.

She blushed. "W – well, it can be." she said and looked away. "She's cute." she muttered.

Rio's POV

"Argh! Why didn't I notice it?!" I said, messing my hair. My glow is green, feeling guilty. "I'm such a failure of a fairy!" I scolded myself.

"Rio…" Vice said, then sighed. "I'm really sorry – " she said.

"No, really. It's not your fault - " I said. "I should've noticed that dark aura surrounding her." I dejectedly sighed. "She's been cursed."

Vice also sighed. "I, too, should have noticed it." she said. "She's been acting strange."

We both sighed. "How can I make it up to her?" I asked, sighing. "I could've at least lifted up the curse, and none of these would've happened." I said.

"What's done is done." Vice said and sipped the juice.

I looked at him. "You're… not angry?" I asked.

"I am." she said. "But it's not Yelena, right? It's the curse that made her…" she didn't continue what she's going to say and took a sharp breath. I rubbed her back when her tears fell. She sniffled. "I still believe in Yelena." she said.

I smiled. "Me, too." I said.

Yelena's POV

"So? What do you plan to do now?" the female elf asked.

I stopped walking. "Can't you break this curse?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No can do. Only a human can do it – " she told me.

"What?! How?!" I asked.

She sighed. "Calm down. You're starting to succumb to the curse…" she reminded me.

I stopped, then took a deep breath and smiled. "So? What should I do to break this spell?" I asked in an upbeat tone.

She rolled her eyes. "First, you should know the root of the curse." She answered.

"Huh?"

"To solve the problem, you should know first how the problem was created in order to solve it, right?" she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Tch." I clicked my tongue. "So? You know what's the cause of the curse?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Dunno. I'm an elf, not a witch nor a fairy – " she said.

I rolled my eyes. "What a lousy – " I stopped. "Wait. Did you just say 'witch' and 'fairy'?" I asked.

She nodded. "A witch makes a curse, while a fairy can detect the source of the curse. They can read a human's heart." She explained.

"Oh…" I said. "What a convenient ability." I smiled. "So either I can go to Lilia or Rio…" I muttered.

"Did… did you just say Lilia?" she asked, scared.

"Huh? Yeah. Why?" I asked.

She covered her head with a cloak and shook with fear. "I, uh… please. Not Lilia." She told me.

"Huh?" I said, then sighed. "Whatever. I'm not planning to, anyway." I said. "She's such a meddlesome witch. I'm going to Rio – " I stopped. "Wait. I can't, too."

"Huh? Why?" she asked.

I looked at her. "She's the one who stopped me when I committed a crime." I said. I sighed. "What to do now?" I asked, feeling depressed.

"Hey! Get a hold of yourself! The curse - !" she reminded me.

"Ah." I muttered, then took a deep breath. "You're right." I said and smiled.

She sighed in relief. "Anyways, can I ask what crime did you do?" she asked. "You said you didn't kill her – "

"As if I could and would – " I said.

"Then, what was it?" she asked.

I looked at him. "You don't wanna know." I spoke, my face serious. I turned and continued to walk. "Anyways, I can't go near the forest for a while." I said, then sighed. "I wonder how long could I last with this curse – " I muttered, my shoulders slumped.

"I think for a day – no, a minute. You're succumbing to the curse now – " she told me.

I blew out air, stressed. I really want to know the root of this curse. I thought. We continued to walk in the long hallway.