Chapter 38: 37
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When the dark witches began to attack them, Clarissa fought as valiantly as she could while making sure not to sustain any more injuries. The thorns in her hand were already putting her at a disadvantage. She could already feel the weakness the witches spoke about.
Her fight with the dark witches made her stray away from the others. She had resulted to using only her gun. She and Dante ran deeper into the forest as she fought off their attacks.
Clarissa dived behind a tree, keeping off from the dark witches attacks as she tried to protect Dante at the same time. But it was hard, especially with her body which continued to grow weak. She tried to see if Leonard or Raphael were close by but it seemed she had strayed off and was alone with Dante.
She had never considered the option of dying in such a manner. The thought of it provoked her. Her bullets met one of the witches and she exploded into bits and pieces.
The dark witches kept waiting for Clarissa to succumb to the effects of the bloodflower. They did everything to bring her down, now that she was weak. But she had a fighting spirit and refused to give up. At last, an opening came and they sent a branch of the tree she had been shooting from to hit her, sending her sprawling to the floor.
She struggled to get up and lean against the tree and then tried to get up but at that moment the paralysis started taking effect. She tried to open her mouth to call Mari but no word would come out from her lip. For the first time since she was little, she felt panicked.
She heard Dante screaming and crying as he was taken from her side and the laughter of the witches seemed to merge with it.
Then she heard a whooshing sound, she couldn't explain it exactly. It sounded like the wind but at the same time it did not. The sound kept moving about changing directions.
She was still able to turn her head slightly although it seemed she was starting to lose focus of everything happening around her. She saw someone dressed in black. But her vision wavered so she couldn't be sure.
Dante had stopped screaming but she heard him sobbing.
She heard the witches screaming and the sound of gurgling. She couldn't say how but she felt the dynamics of the fight had changed.
Then moments before she blacked out, she saw a face directly above her fade in and out of her vision. His eyes seemed familiar. His face was something she felt she'd seen before. She passed out and fell limp against the tree.
Kieran bent to her. He had seen the panic in her eyes as she became paralyzed. She had felt helpless and he understood the feeling quite well. What it felt like to have no control over your own body and for a moment, he almost felt bad for what he planned to do. But he was just as stubborn as Clarissa and would not change his mind.
He liked her fire and commanding aura that made everyone want to bow to her needs and every word but he desperately needed to be able to control her. He would find a way to do that and still keep that fire burning. She would be his perfect queen.
He wouldn't hand the control of his life over to anyone else. This curse that plagued him had already taken too much control and soon, someway, somehow, he would take back the control that was taken from him.
But if any of his plans were to work, he had to make sure she survived.
He walked towards one of the bloodflowers, it almost seemed to shrink, sensing the presence of a higher predator. He pulled it out by its roots and pulled off its thorns. The plant which was part animal, part plant, screamed in agony. Then he tore the petals off.
He went back to Clarissa and lifted her into his arms. She placed her head on his chest, fitting perfectly as if she belonged in his arms. Looking at her, she seemed innocent, more vulnerable than the girl she showed to the world. He wondered how much there was to her than the girl he had seen. But he would find out in good time.
" Come, " he said to Dante who stood off to the side wondering if the man who had suddenly appeared was part of the bad ladies.
Kieran started walking in the direction of the others where Clarissa had strayed from.
Dante had no choice but to follow because he had the princess.
The sound of the witches screaming in pain as their hearts were torn out and their throats slit, each and every one of them meeting their death had long begun to fade out just as they had started when the knights from Shadow's Kiss arrived.
He was well aware when his men arrived but they had arrived later than they were supposed to. One of them came in front of him, his red eyes gleaming in fear as he met Kieran's cold gaze which seemed angry to him.
" Your majesty, " he greeted, bowing his head.
" You were late," he said in a clipped tone.
" We... "
" Keep your excuses to yourself. " He placed Clarissa in the vampire's arms and the flower on her body. " Take her to Raphael, he knows what to do and take the child with you. "
" Yes, my Lord," he said with a final bow. When he raised his head, Kieran was gone. But the child was still there. He bent his back to face the boy. " climb on. "
Dante did as he asked.
" And hold on tightly. "
When he was sure the child would not fall, he moved quickly. His speed rivaled that of a cheetah who would easily be left in his dust.
Dante was awed but had no time to dwell on how fast the man was moving. He was worried the princess would die because of him.
Even when they got to the camp and he saw that everyone else was safe, his mind was still on the princess. His normally curious mind didn't even drift to why there were three more men and a woman with them.
He prayed that the princess would get well soon.
Dropping Dante from his back, the vampire moved to present Clarissa to Raphael with the flower that laid between them.
Raphael nodded, knowing what to do. " Place her on the ground. "
He made the cure for the poison flowing in her veins from the bloodflower as fast as he could. While waiting for it to settle properly, he pulled out each thorn from her hand, making sure none of the thorns broke in her hand.
She whimpered each time he dragged the thorns out. The thorns had grown longer than they were with the help of her blood. The pain was unbearable even for an unconscious mind.
Then he applied the cure. It was like placing fire on a fresh wound.
She screamed like a banshee. The pain was that unbearable. When at last the cure began to work, she relaxed enough to let it heal.
Author's note
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Gifts
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received Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
stone