Hellbound Heart

Elle was shocked to find that she had been unconscious for days.

Five days to be exact.

She had woken up in Alicia's house located in the heart of Black Forest and found out that she had been brought there by Sebastian and Alexander there that very same night they were rescued.

Elle vaguely remembered anything after she broke free from that spell that had controlled her. Except for those... those heartbreaking moments. She remembered hearing Alexander's voice while she was still coughing on the ground and fighting for her consciousness.

She also realized Sebastian had not come to her before she had passed out.

The last thing she remembered was the slightly blurry sight of him looking so... so wretched... so broken. He was just looking at her and she had been stretching her hand towards him, wanting to touch him and hold him and tell him that everything was alright now. But he had not moved. He simply looked at her. He did not take her hand.

But she believed that Sebastian must be in such extreme shock and agony in those moments that he could not even make himself rush to her side and hold her. She believed that he had held her in his arms after she passed out.

"Where is Sebastian?" Elle asked Alicia. She needed to see him. She needed to know that he was alright.

"He's not here..." Alicia looked at her and replied slowly. There was a tinge of carefulness in her tone that made Elle feel even more uneasy. "He's yet to come back. He must be dealing with things related to Elijah right now."

"E-Elijah..." Elle stammered. Her eyes widened with worry and panic after hearing that name. The mere mention of Elijah was enough to make her heart shudder in fear. "I need to see him. Elijah will hurt him again."

"Please stay still, Izabelle." Alicia stopped her from climbing off the bed. "Don't worry about Sebastian. Elijah's on the run and in hiding so there won't be any fight occurring between them anytime soon. I assure you that. So be rest assured that he's not in any danger right now. Alexander and Kyle are also with him."

The reassurance in Alicia's eyes had stopped Elle from insisting on getting down from the bed and rushing off. She clenched on her blanket and tried to calm herself knowing that right now, even if Sebastian was in danger, there was actually nothing that she could do to help him fight his enemy. She knew that right now, the best thing she could do was to stay still in a safe place where Sebastian would not need to worry about her too.

Looking down, Elle silently stared at her hands and at the wedding band that was still sitting pretty around her ring finger when Abi entered the room with food for her to eat.

Seeing her awake, Abi had quickly put down the tray of food and came over to sit beside her before warmly embracing her and Elle gave into the comfort that she provided as she held onto Abi for a long time. She was still feeling fearful from the recent experience and was also upset from not being able to see Sebastian upon waking up. Abi's hug was just the thing she needed to get herself grounded for now.

After whispering comforting words to Elle, Abi then gently let go of her and told her that she needed to eat. Looking at the tray that contained steaming food that was clearly freshly prepared for her, Elle nodded her consent even though she did not particularly feel like eating right now. However, she knew that she needed to upkeep her strength and not worry the two ladies who had been so kind to care for her when she was still unconscious.

While eating her first meal in days, Elle had found out that she had been unconscious for a long time because the witches had performed witchcraft on her to break the curse that was on her. Alicia said the spell casted on her had been very powerful, so they had also countered it with an equally powerful magic. All the magic and procedures had taken a toll on Elle's body which resulted in her being unable to regain her consciousness for days.

"With my current state, my magic is not strong enough. So we had to call for Lilith to help." Alicia answered when Elle asked if she was the one who had performed all those spells on her.

"Lilith... the witch queen!" Elle's eyes widened and Alicia just nodded with a soft smile. Elle had already heard about the witch queen Lilith the last time she was here.

The news that she was now free from the spell made Elle feel so relieved that it was as if a heavy load had fallen off her shoulders. She had finally understood why Sebastian had acted that way the night of their abduction. It was all because she was being used to blackmail him without her even realizing! The abduction was successful because Sebastian had allowed them to stab him with that syringe filled with unknown substances. And that was all because of... because of her.

Her grip on the blanket tightened. The ache in her throat stung so badly that it brought tears to her eyes. Elle felt an extreme sense of guilt as she now knew that the things Sebastian must have gone through during their abduction was caused by her being affected by that curse. Though it was not that she wanted it to happen, the fact that she had been cursed by that spell had led to Sebastian not being able to fight back was true.

"You still need a little more rest, Izabelle." Alicia's soft voice broke the silence. "Don't worry, it's just for today. Tomorrow, you'll be fully recovered, so just bear with it, okay?"

Elle nodded and thanked Alicia for her hospitality.

"Don't mention it, Izabelle. You're a family member." Alicia replied with a genuine and beautiful smile.

​ Watching her leave the room, Elle noticed how her beautiful silver hair looked kind of ashen right now. It was a bright shiny silver the last time she was here. What had happened to her and Azy during that time? She also could not help but notice the seemingly weaker air around her compared to before. It was as though Alicia was...

"Is... Alicia sick, Abi?" Elle asked.