The Seahorse and the Spice 🪼🎩✔

27: Positives and Negatives

As the party came to an end, I wished everyone farewell, trying not to bleed all over myself. The blood had started to come out of all of my orifices, even the unpleasant ones, but I kept my calm and tried be the best host anyone could ever ask for. If nothing else, when I died, the people would remember this party as the last but the best party that Salem Barma had every thrown. Eventually everyone was gone except for Andrew, Minerva, Bastion and my father.
I closed the door and took off my cravat, unbuttoning my vest as well.
"The party was excellent, Salem." Andrew said, drinking a last bit of wine from his glass. "Thank you for throwing it."
"Of course..."
"Come, Bastion, I'm sure the nanny will be happy to see us home."
Bastion looked like he wanted to stay but I nodded for him to go and he followed Minerva out to the carriage. I watched them from the doorway as my life galloped away with that carriage, in more ways than one.
Once they were gone, I went to the couch and slowly sat down. I could feel the blood staining from the back of my pants and cursed everything there was the curse. Father looked at me in worry and I glared at him.
"Well, there you have it. Your brilliant plan. I'm here, alone, bleeding out of all of my holes, and what's left for me? Huh?! Death and watching the woman I love go away with someone I used to call a friend!"
"I'm sorry, Salem... truly. I thought we'd be lucky tonight."
"Well you were wrong."
I felt my eye begin to bleed again and I angrily wiped off the bright red liquid.
"And what's with all this blood!?!"
"Please calm down..."
"How can I be calm!? I'm about to die because of a stupid wish that you made based off of a whim!"
"Well wouldn't you rather die quickly than to suffer any more than you have to?!"
"I'd like to have died with some dignity and by whatever way Death wanted to take me. I look like I'm about to go sacrifice something to the devil!"
"Luckily there's no one here to see it."
I glared at my father. "You're a horrible joker."
"How else can I make light of the situation? Don't you think I'm horrified and in a lot of pain as well? I just doomed you to death... How's that for fatherhood?"
I sighed and looked at the clock. Half past eleven...
"Well... I have until night ends, right?"
"Yes."
"I guess thirty minutes is a good enough time to say proper goodbyes."

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

Minerva
After Andrew dropped us off at our home, Bastion seemed to be avoiding me. He walked in front of me and didn't even wait for me to get inside before shutting the door. I opened it as he threw his clothing on the floor.
"Bastion... Bastion!"
"What, Mother?" he said angrily, looking at me with a harsh expression.
"What's going on? You seem angry with me. Did I do something?"
"It's what you didn't do."
He started up the stairs as I followed after him.
"What do you mean?"
"I won't tell you."
"Can you at least tell me what it's about?"
"Duke Barma."
"What about Duke Barma?" I asked quizzically.
"I won't tell you."
I frowned at that but remember the conversation from the other night.
"Is this about that wish you say was made?" Bastion turned to me. "The one about Duke Barma carrying all your backlash somehow?"
"Yeah."
"I'm so sorry I slapped you, sweetheart-"
"What the- this has nothing to do with you slapping me! Ugh, forget it!"
I followed after him and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around.
"Tell me what's going on. Right now."
"I tried and you didn't listen. You're still not listening."
"I am now... something happened at the ball."
Bastion gave me a look and I looked away.
"I kissed Lord Barma, quite passionately. I don't why I felt compelled to do it; I'd never met the man until some time ago..."
"It's because you didn't just meet him. I told you what was happening and now he's going to die because of it."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Duke Barma has been taking all the backlash from three different realities and after midnight, he'll take on a fourth and die. Tomorrow, Duke Barma will be no more, Mother."
"What are you trying to say? What realities?"
Bastion sighed. "I told you, we were poor and someone made a wish in regards to him. I didn't know it was him but in order for me to fulfill the wish, I had to bend the ways of reality so that it would work. We ended up living in Duke Barma's home and cared for him. You and he were beginning to like each other a lot but I realized that I was the one who caused the problem and he got angry. I was going through backlash at the time and when I was weak, he came and wished the backlash would go onto him. The problem was that he also wished for us to have the life we should have had, bending reality again. So that was two. Then, when I got captured, he bent reality again by making the world never know that the Jacobys were aristocratic so that they would get sent to the crazy house. That was the third. Then tonight, because he's been so weak and unable to take much more, his father made a wish on me to make him able to last the night. I had to change reality again because that would be the only way for the duke to be normal for a little. But it only lasts the night! When midnight comes, all four realities will hit him and he will die. No one can take that amount of backlash and live."
"And you're saying that it's my fault for all of this?"
"He loves you, Mother... why would a man take on four bent realities with the penalty of death for a woman's children? He's loved you since we were in his house... I know you don't remember but at least... at least let him know his efforts weren't in vain. Lie to him, I don't care!"
I didn't know what to do. I loved Andrew, not the duke, and yet deep inside of my heart, I knew that I was somehow lying to myself. It was as if someone was constantly poking me with a pitchfork, telling me to be with a man I had never met... and yet I did meet him. According to Bastion, we have met and fell in love... I looked at the large clock above the mantle in the living room from the stairs. There wasn't enough time to get there...
"I don't have time..."
"Make a wish." He said and I looked at him.
He smiled and I smiled back at him. I touched his shoulders.
"I wish we were back at Duke Barma's residence."
Bastion grinned.