Nicholas took a deep breath when he checked the wolfsbane potion in the cauldron. This was made with double the ingredients they used the last time. So, he hoped he could finally see some results.
It didn't take too much time and now that Nicholas was alone in the forest, he could do it all and scream as much as he needed. This time, the prince was determined to stay awake and not pass out.
When that happened the last time with Sophie, Nicholas couldn't remember how long he was out and what followed his screaming… but he couldn't let his guard down. Nicholas repeated it to himself.
"Cure. Palace. Report. Introduction."
Nicholas needed to cure himself of lycanthropy and then head to the palace with Sophie. He was going to report on the lycan sighting and then finally introduce Sophie as his wife and there was nothing that his family could do.
He chanted it to himself a couple of times as the fire in the cauldron slowed down and finally died. The liquid was still burning hot and was more poisonous than he could ever imagine, but it didn't matter.
"Cure. Palace. Report. Introduction," Nicholas repeated those words to encourage himself.
He really wished that Sophie was here to help him, but he'd rather not see her hurt to know that he would suffer again. Nicholas' suffering was also carried by Sophie.
However, if there was a chance for Nick to lighten the burden? He would do it in a heartbeat. He would prefer to do this by himself and spare Sophie the ghastly sight of him fighting his demon out of his body, and becoming human again.
Nicholas' stomach pounded as he reached for the cauldron and parted his lips open. The liquid sloshed down his throat and just like before it was burning liquid literally tearing away his throat with an acid-like intensity.
The cauldron immediately clanged into the ground and rolled over. Nicholas' grip weakening but this time, his throat was too scorched for screaming and instead he felt a wave of dizziness overcome him.
"Aahh...." He pressed his head to get rid of the dizziness. His mouth called out Sophie's name. He wished she was here, but at the same time, he was glad she was not. He didn't want her to witness this. "So... Sophie..."
In the field of his vision, Nicholas started to see dancing lights. Almost like spirits or tiny faeries? He wasn't sure if anything he was seeing was real, but then his own body swayed and tumbled.
Nicholas found himself moving slowly and ever so dizzily as if he was actually aboard a ship and the waves were crashing against a boat. He rocked on his heels and nearly tipped over and yet he tried to chant or at least mouth what he had in mind.
"Cure. Palace. Report—" The man tried so hard to exert his focus. "I need... to... go.. palace... report... Sophie... oh, water..."
Nicholas' voice was hoarse and also incredibly dry that he started looking for water.
Anywhere? Water? He thought he heard the sound of water trickling and he pushed himself forwards towards the source.
Everywhere around him were sparks of lights, the sound of what seemed to have been a lycan but then, finally, Nicholas reached the outskirts of the forest. However, it was far different from where he came from. He had walked in the opposite direction of Sophie's little hut.
Nicholas tried to tug his body back and yet his body did not cooperate with him at all.
He said it again. "Cure. Palace—"
Nicholas kept moving, following where his body took him, not knowing where he was. He needed to find water, badly.
THUD.
He finally toppled over and slumped as he hit his shin against a rock and then fell over into the grass. He tried to raise his head a little and thought he saw a white mansion.
Was that his family's palace or someone else's? Was that a figment of his imagination and was even this actually real? Nicholas' eyes were half-lidded and were falling heavily before he could even force himself to stand.
Everything was so heavy right now. When he first drank the wolfsbane potion, it was as if his entire blood was getting cleaned and removing all the effects of lycanthropy. However, this time, it was so different.
A glimmer of a figure came running towards him and he could hear the shout of a woman. She might have stupidly tried to ask him if he was okay and then suddenly called for servants? Nicholas didn't even know.
Maybe he was actually facing a bear right now and his mind was pulling tricks on him.
Nicholas' eyes were already closing even though he tried to keep them open.
"Sophie? So—" he never finished his sentence.
The crown prince passed out and was quickly carried over by the servants into the Viscount's house, There was a young woman around his age who walked worriedly, following the servants. There was a pale look on the lady's face as she kept up with the pace.
Nicholas was brought into one of the rooms and the servants were quickly moving according to the wishes of their lady.
"He's burning hot with a fever, please do something!" the lady shouted at her servants but then suddenly looked around. "Someone call for a physician! Hurryy!!!"
There were a lot of things that could go wrong and the Viscount who just arrived from a trip from the capital saw that the entire house was in a mess.
He stormed up to meet his daughter but then he stopped cold. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the person inside the room.
It was Prince Nicholas Hannenbergh, the crown prince of Riga.
The crown prince was lying on their bed, his face as white as a sheet and barely a color to his lips. There was already a physician who was counting his heartbeat and trying to help. "His heartbeat is erratic, we need something to slow it back down to normal!"
"Oh, Lord…" the Viscount's eyes bulged. He immediately recognized their crown prince.
Hearing the physician's voice, the Viscount was moved from his reverie and he immediately shouted. "Make sure the crown prince lives or our deaths will soon follow!"
.
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Please, don't throw tomatoes at me. Nic chose to get his cure alone, and now things didn't happen according to plan.
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