The bloody writing

They hastened to Lord Hoself's chamber, where a scream had pierced the air. The door stood ajar, and a serving maid cowered on the floor, her face pale with terror.

Melovine glanced at her father's chamber door and then at the maid. "What happened, we heard your scream," she asked, her voice trembling.

The maid could barely speak, but she managed to utter one word. "The master."

Melovine felt a surge of fear and pushed the door open, entering the chamber. Prince Ivive, Mizak, Teri, and Elley followed her closely.

Lord Hoself lay on his bed, motionless and silent.

Prince Ivive turned away from the lord Hoself and looked at the wall.There, written in blood, was a message he could not understand.

"You all should see this," he said, his voice hoarse.

"What is it?" Teri asked, afraid to look.

"It is a writing on the wall, but it is a strange writing. I cannot read it," Prince Ivive said.

Mizak stepped forward and peered at the wall. He recognized the writing as an ancient script, used by the old kings of Delmos. He had learned it from his father, who had been a scholar and a historian.

He read the message aloud, translating it as he went. "Ereen has paid the price. Hoself is next. You shall pay for what you did years ago. I will kill you, but not now. You know who I am."

Prince Ivive turned to him, astonished. "How did you..."

He was interrupted by Melovine, who was shaking Lord Hoself, trying to wake him up.

"Father," she cried, tears streaming down her face. "Father, please, wake up."

She looked at them with pleading eyes. "I don't know why he's not waking up, but his heart is still beating."

As she spoke, a young lady walked into the chamber, wearing a white dress. She had black, long, and silky hair, and blue eyes that sparkled. She moved with grace and elegance, as if she owned the place.

They all turned to her, wondering who she was and how she had entered.

"Who are you?" Mizak asked, suspicious.

She looked at him and then at Teri. She smiled, a sweet and innocent smile. "So you are the Teri Ereen that needs healing," she said.

"Are you the healer?" Teri asked, hopeful.

She looked at Melovine, who was still holding her father. "He was just knocked out, but it was a heavy blow. If you don't mind, lady, can you move from the bed? I need to wake him."

Melovine glared at her, not trusting her. "How do I know you're the healer, and not one of the king of Delmos' minions, like the deceptor and the illusionist?"

She glanced at Melovine, impatient. "You are wasting my time."

Melovine did not want to let go of her father, but she moved from the bed, reluctantly.

The young lady slanted her hand towards Lord Hoself and struck the air and it hit him.He immediately woke up, as if from a nightmare.

The healer looked at the wall, amused. "I thought you would be the one to welcome me, but the bloody writing on the wall did."

Lord Hoself sat up and got off the bed. He recognized the healer and bowed his head. "Healer," he said, respectfully.

"The writing talked about my father, Ereen. Lord Hoself, did my father do something he should not have done years ago?" Teri asked, curious.

"Do not worry about that, lad," Lord Hoself said, evasive.

"Father, do you have any idea who wrote this?" Melovine asked, worried.

Lord Hoself grunted, annoyed. "It is not your problem!"

"Father!" Melovine said, hurt.

"How long will it take to heal the boy's eyes?" Lord Hoself asked the healer, changing the subject.

She turned and walked to Teri. She stared at him as she stood in front of him. She moved closer to him, placed her hands behind his head, and untied the blindfold.

"Definition of a perfect face," she mumbled, admiring him.

"What did you say?" Teri asked, not hearing her clearly.

"Open your eyes," she said, softly.

Teri opened his eyes and then she raised her hand and moved it from left to right in front of Teri's eyes.

"Do you see any movement of the light?" she asked.

"No," Teri said, disappointed.

"Then what do you see?" she asked.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing," Teri said, resigned.

She put her hands down, walked to a chair in the room, and sat down. "How long have you been blind?" she asked.

Teri sighed. "More than nine years."

"And your mother was there when you got blind from the poison?" she asked, glancing at him.

"How does that question have anything to do with healing my eyes? If it can't be healed, you can tell me. I never really had hope that I could see again," Teri said, bitter.

"Your mother was a saint and a healer. If she hadn't given up her powers, she could have saved you. But can you blame her? She did it because of love," she said, softly.

Possible rewritten part:

She rose from her seat and approached Teri again. She moved her hands in front of his eyes, but this time she did not wave them from side to side. She was trying to heal him.

Teri groaned in pain and covered his eyes with his hands. "What was that?" he asked.

"Forgive me that you were hurt. It is because you have been poisoned for years. You need not worry, I will not hasten the process," she said.

"And how long will it take you?" Lord Hoself asked the healer.

"Weeks, months, or even less than a year. I am not certain. But I am very sure that if I hurry the process, his eyes will burst and that will be the end," the healer said.

"We cannot tarry here for long," Teri said as he removed his hands from his eyes.

"Then I will have to journey with you," she said.

"Then you may," Lord Hoself said.

"We will speak of that later, but for now, we must speak of the bloody writing on the wall," Teri said.

"I told you, you need not trouble yourself about it," Lord Hoself said.

"Father, do you understand the writing?" Melovine asked.

"I do," Lord Hoself said.

"If it is not Lord Hoself's blood, then whose is it?" Prince Ivive asked.

Lord Hoself widened his eyes. "Has anyone checked on Darlene?" He leaped from his bed and ran out of the chamber hastily. They followed him.

************************************

They entered Darlene's chamber. She was sitting in front of the dressing mirror, wearing her nightgown. When she heard them enter, she turned to them and stood up.

"Is there any problem?" she asked, looking at them.

"We wanted to see if you are safe," Lord Hoself said.

Melovine glanced at her father. "Who is we?" she mumbled.

"Well, I am safe. I am grateful for your care," she said.

Prince Ivive heard a sound coming from a barrel at the corner of the chamber. He walked towards it.

Lady Darlene noticed him and followed him.

"Are you looking for something, your highness?" she asked, smiling falsely.

"I thought I heard a person's sound coming from inside this barrel," Prince Ivive said.

She laughed lightly. "Your highness, are you saying that there is a person inside this barrel? Well, I will open it for you to see."

She opened the barrel and Prince Ivive looked inside.

He gasped and looked at Lady Darlene and the barrel.

Lady Darlene looked at him and sensed something wrong. "Your highness? Why do you look like that?"

Prince Ivive chuckled nervously. "It is empty. I thought I heard someone from the barrel. I misheard."

She nodded. "It is well," she said as she closed the barrel.

"Well, since you are safe, we can go," Melovine said as she walked out of the chamber. Prince Ivive, Teri, Mizak, and Elley followed her.

As they were walking outside, Prince Ivive put his arm around Teri's shoulders and brought him closer to himself.

He leaned to Teri's ear and whispered, "I saw something in the barrel. I do not know if you will believe it."

"But you said the barrel was empty," Teri said.

"To others, not us," Prince Ivive said.

"Us? Like people that can communicate with ghosts? Did you see a ghost in there? Even if you did, it is not our problem," Teri said.

Prince Ivive stopped and turned teri to face him, while his hands were on his shoulders.

He wanted to say something but hesitated.He looked towards Darlene's chamber and faced Teri,"That lady is not your sister,that is not Darlene.".

Teri furrowed his eyebrows,"what do you mean. "

Prince Ivive tried to calm down to speak,"I saw her.The real Darlene.

She is dead Teri and her ghost is sealed inside that barrel."