Lorelei awoke at the gray of dawn if what she had done for the past several hours could be called sleeping. She tried to recite the verses of the Twilight Mass, but her mind was not in the prayer. There were two concerned gray eyes constantly appearing before her - sweet, alluring, and full of worry. Eyes she might not see ever again. The condemning words of Bishop Petronius hurt even more since there was some truth in the cleric’s madness. If Noah contracted the Red Plague because of her, she’d never forgive herself.

“He’ll be fine. He must be!” she whispered, clasping her palms together. “Dear Fathers, please, protect him. Spare his life. It was all my mistake. Punish me, but let him emerge unscathed. He shouldn’t suffer for my weakness and ill judgment.”

Lorelei swallowed the knot lodged in her throat and tried pouring her sincerity and remorse into the prayer. As long as he remained unharmed, she was ready to face whatever retribution awaited her soul in the afterlife.

Her thoughts trailed off as she suddenly remembered Orhana’s spirit and the dream-like silver world she inhabited. The ghost’s warning rang again in her ears: ‘The regret and love you carry can turn you into a wraith that would feed on the ones you hold dearest.’

“I’d better make sure that Rish or Rasha cleanse my soul after I…,” Biting her lips, Lorelei couldn’t speak aloud the words that her heart had already accepted. Throwing a guilty glance at the gray sky outside the window, she pressed her hands together. “I’m sorry, Holy Fathers, it’s just a precaution. This is Norden. It’s just in case something goes wrong and my soul doesn’t find its way to Father Lustris. We… don’t need a remorseful ghost plaguing the lands. I hope you understand and forgive me, venerable Fathers.”

As expected, there was no answer, no thunder of retribution, or saintly manifestation, and her body definitely didn’t turn into a pile of smoking ashes due to Father Norn’s righteous retaliation. Only the sky outside her cell turned a few shades brighter.

Lorelei hastily finished the prayer before other distracting thoughts condemned her further in the eyes of the Gods.

With this first task finished, she then began inspecting her body for any signs of the Blood Plague. Were there any dark spots? Bleeding or bursting veins? Time passed slowly, further prolonged by the dread of expectation. Thank the Gods, everywhere she managed to look seemed normal. However, despite the joy and relief of her postponed death, there was something that bothered her. She couldn’t quite figure out what it was, but it felt like she was having a long-forgotten thought hovering on the fringes of her mind and giving her nudges from time to time. Alas, every time she tried to grasp at it, it slipped away, leaving behind a pounding headache.

Lorelei grumbled and pinched her nose, but decided to let it be for the moment. She carefully wrote down her findings and frowned, rolling the stylus between her fingers. All that was left was her back, but the lack of a mirror made further examination impossible.

Just as she was considering whether the faceted windows of her cell could give her enough reflection to see her back, someone shyly knocked on the door.

“State your business!” Lorelei raised her voice, wondering who was brave and foolish enough to visit someone under isolation.

“It’s B-Bessie, my lady.” Even through the door, Lorelei recognized the stuttering voice of Pricilla’s maid. “I w-was told to bring you food.”

“Come in.”

Together with the completely hooded and veiled Bessie and her tray of food, a pungent stench entered the room. Lorelei wrinkled her nose as it was assaulted by the peculiar combination of sulfur, camphor, and walnuts. Her reaction didn’t escape the maid’s eyes. The girl’s head sank between her shoulders and she slowed her step.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“I‘m s-sorry, my lady,” she mumbled, staring at her feet. “I h-help with mixing the embalming salves for the bodies. The p-priests ordered me to. I c-couldn’t say no. T-the smell clings and won’t wash off. B-but I swear, I cleaned before I came, my lady.”

“Calm down, Bessie.” Lorelei was ashamed of her reaction. “It’s normal. Besides, the more sulfur is used on the bodies, the safer it is to handle them afterward. It somehow kills the Blood Plague, you know.”

“Y-yes.” The maid fidgeted a bit under her thick layers of covering. “The infirmarian told me.”

“See? So no need to apologize.”

“But I in… incon… inconvenienced a Limerian lady.” Bessie trembled so hard that the plate and utensils on her table rattled. “I’ve sinned. I’m sorry. Please, don’t tell Lady Pricilla what I did.”

“Certainly not.” Lorelei smiled faintly. “All that happens here stays here anyway.”

“T-thank you, my lady.”

“As we have cleared up that, you can leave the food on the table.” Looking at the girl fidgeting around at a safe distance, she thought of something. “And I hope you can do me a favor before you go.”

“At your service, my lady.”

Lorelei nodded and hurriedly explained her current examination setback. To her unpleasant surprise, Bessie became more and more reluctant with every word and even stepped back a few paces.

“I c-couldn’t… sh-shouldn’t do that.”

“But there is no need to even touch me! I just need you to come a bit closer and see whether there is something on my back.”

“N-no… I… I-it’s too dangerous. If l-look at the naked b-body of the l-lady…”

“But you are Pricilla’s chambermaid. Why are you acting so shy?” Lorelei arched an eyebrow. At her comment, Bessie’s whole body became rigid.

“No. I c-can’t. Lady Duchess, I can’t…”

“Bessie!” Lorelei snapped, her nerves thin from all the fear and fatigue “You helped the Father Infirmarian to take care of the dead bodies. What difference there is if the corpse is still breathing? Enough whining. I need you to inspect my back. Or do you really intend to inconvenience the noblest lady in Norden?”

As the last words left Lorelei’s lips, she felt a tinge of guilt. It was wrong to force the poor girl to do something she didn’t want to and flaunt her title like that, but in desperate times like this, everyone needed to do their part. And from what she could see, only the fear of authority was the thing that could move her. Lorelei swore to make sure Bessie was compensated accordingly. Maybe she could even free her from Pricilla’s clutches…

“If you order, I shall obey.” The maid’s whisper came from beneath the veil and something in its tone made Lorelei shudder.

“Good. Thank you.”

With a bitter aftertaste in her mouth, Lorelei loosened the strings of her shift and let it slide down her shoulders, revealing her back. The cold air gave her goosebumps. Pulling her hair over her shoulder, she bit her teeth.

“And?”

Bessie remained silent. The lack of response was even worse than if the girl had started to scream.

“Is it that bad?”

Suddenly, Lorelei felt warm fingers touching her skin. It took her a split second to realize what had just happened.

“You foolish girl! Why aren’t you wearing g-gloves…”

A horrible fit of nausea overwhelmed her senses. Her head exploded with pain and silver snowflakes began dancing in front of her eyes. The only thing Lorelei could hear were her own screams and the wild pounding of her heart. As the world went in and out of focus in a swirl of shimmering silver mist, her knees gave out and she fell on the rough stone slabs. Cough tore her lungs and Lorelei could taste the metallic saltiness of blood.

“... lday? My lady!?” For some reason, she thought she heard the thundering bellow of Duncan. What was he doing here? He was supposed to be with Noah and Nelini.

“You, servant girl!” The old knight’s roar seemed to shake the world. “Go fetch someone. Hurry!”

With all her remaining strength, Lorelei fought to remain conscious.