My Once Handsome Husband - Chapter 292

Delaney followed Sophia down the rest of the stairs and through the archway back into the large room that she had been in with her before so long ago.  She recognized the earthy scent mixed with the faint smell of herbs and smoke.

The walls were still lined with the overfilled shelves of books and other things although now they seemed a bit dustier than before.  The three wooden tables were still sitting in their row but the farthest table was bare save for a few empty bottles.

Her eyes went to the last door in the row along the far wall.  The one that Luna had appeared from that terrible day.  It stood open and the room beyond it was dark.

She wondered if it was going to stay empty or if Daniel would have another witch live there eventually.  It seemed like a haunted place as she looked at it.  A chill ran over her as she thought of the beautiful but deadly woman the room had belonged to, long dead now along with the horrible twin of the lovely Queen.

“Delaney,” Sophia said quietly, startling her from her thoughts.

She realized she had stopped on the steps and now hurried down the rest of the way to join the Queen.  They went to the first door in the line this time and Sophia knocked lightly against the rough wood.

Delaney’s heart was pounding in her chest and she worked to calm herself.  It was only Helena.  She knew the woman.  Helena was good.  She wouldn’t cause them harm as Luna had.  The other witch had been evil.

The door opened and the middle-aged woman with wild, curly brown hair took in the sight of them.  A knowing smile curved her rosy lips.

“Your majesty,” she gave a slight bow before turning to Delaney, her smile growing, “Lady Adair.  I hoped I would be seeing you again.  Would you both like to come in?”

Sophia nodded and the witch stepped back, arms spread wide so the Queen and her guest could enter the rooms.

The space belonging to the witch was surprisingly large.  There was one big main room with shelves full of pots and bowls and other things that looked like they were meant for cooking but Delaney knew that was probably not their purpose.

There were also shelves overloaded with all shapes and sizes of bottles.  Lord knew what was in those.  Cobwebs hung in the corners with little fat spiders climbing over them.

There was another room towards the back with the door open, revealing it to be a cozy little bedroom with a bed loaded with different colored and patterned blankets.

A fire was burning low in the fireplace to the side of the main room even now, making it warm in the otherwise cool space. With as hot as it was outside now, Delaney had no idea why Helena would choose to make it even hotter in her quarters.  Maybe she was mad?

The woman offered her guests a seat on two somewhat rickety-looking wooden chairs on either side of a small table.  Delaney eased herself down, half expecting the seat to break into pieces beneath her and leave her falling to the floor.  After sitting on it for a few minutes and still being safe, she finally relaxed.

Helena took a seat in a rocking chair with a cushion, closer to the fire.  Delaney wondered how she wasn’t being baked in this oven, especially given the many layers of thick skirts she was wearing and the high collar on her shirt.

“Now then,” the witch smiled cheerfully, “What brings you both to see me this morning?”

“Do you already know?” Delaney heard herself asking before she’d thought it through, “Did you see me coming here and what I would ask you some time when you were looking into the future?”

Helena looked at her fondly, “No my dear, I had no idea you would be coming.  I haven’t looked at your future since the night at Win’s club.  I try not to look into my own future either if I can help it.”

Sophia looked surprised to hear this, her eyes going back and forth between the other two women curiously.

“You know one another?  You knew one another before you met in the throne room last time?”

Helena simply nodded.

“You’ve… You’ve looked into her future?”

“A very long time ago,” Helena answered without taking her eyes from Delaney, “We’ve known one another for many years now.”

The room was quiet for a moment while Delaney considered this.  She had half hoped that Helena would have already known she was coming and have some magical cure waiting for her.  Learning the woman’s knowledge of the future was so limited caught Delaney off guard and made her more worried.

“Vincent is dying,” she said quietly, not wanting to wait any longer, “The dragon poison in his body it’s… it’s killing him.  It looks like he doesn’t have much time left.”

Helena looked genuinely sad to hear this which surprised Delaney because again, she had just assumed the woman would know everything, even about her and Vincent.  It was somewhat comforting though knowing the witch couldn’t see absolutely everything that would happen.

“I’m very sorry Lady Adair,” Helena spoke sincerely, “I imagine he’s in a lot of pain.  Has… Has Opal given him anything for that?  She’s always been a master of medicines.”

“She has given him something, thank you,” Delaney nodded, remembering then that Opal was only in their lives because Helena had sent her there.

All the help the odd little old witch had been, telling Delaney of the poison, providing the medicine to help her husband with his pain, and even telling her only days ago that there was still a chance to save Vincent.  None of that would have happened if Helena hadn’t told her where to go.  She wondered again why the woman had done that.

Maybe she had seen that in Delaney’s future.  Then again, maybe she had just known Delaney and Vincent would be kind to the older witch.

“Opal’s medicine can’t help my husband anymore,” Delaney continued then, sad but determined, “The poison is killing him and it’s not natural.  It’s from a dragon so it’s magical.  That’s why I’m here to see you.  I want to see if you can save him… with magic.”

Helena’s eyebrows raised and her lips parted just a bit.  Delaney saw the woman was truly surprised by the request.  This hadn’t been in the future she’d seen either apparently.

“I don’t know that I can do that my Lady,” Helena said softly, “Nothing like that has ever been done… Or if it was, it wasn’t recorded.  I’ve never heard of it.”

She frowned then though and looked over her shoulder before she got up and went to a little shelf in the corner.  The shelves were bowing under the weight of all the different color and size books that were stacked on them.  She ran her fingertips over the leatherbound spines, pulling out first one and then another.  When she had at least six books in her arms she carried them back to the rocking chair with her and sat down, dropping them onto her lap.

Delaney and Sophia sat quietly and watched as the witch flipped through the top book, her eyes flying over the pages, pausing here and there to take a closer look at things before moving on.  She tossed the first book aside and went to the second, doing the same thing.

Delaney looked where she had dropped a book and it sat open on the floor.  The aged and yellowing pages showed strange writing in black and red ink with lots of symbols she’d never seen and diagrams that made no sense to her.  She wondered how the witch knew what it all meant.

Time ticked away as Helena went through books and she actually set a few up on the table, leaving them open to certain pages.  When she finally finished with the last book she sighed and dropped it to the floor with the other books she’d deemed to not be of any use to her.

She looked up at Delaney and Sophia who were both now sweating lightly from the heat in the room.  Delaney’s heart was beating rapidly as she waited to hear what the witch would have to say.  She silently sent up a prayer for good news.

“I may be able to help him,” Helena said quietly, “But I’m not sure.  Nothing like this has ever been done so it will take me some time to work out how to do it.  I’ll have to read a lot more and probably consult with other witches.”

“But… But there’s a chance?” Delaney asked in a voice barely more than a whisper, “You… You didn’t say it was hopeless.”

Helena looked at her with a little smile.

“There is a chance… A good chance.”