To Be Cursed Forever

As soon as the words “cursed” uttered from the wizard's mouth, Moliugas immediately threw accusations his way, knowing he had the potential to bring upon such an affliction. But the wizard denied the claims, referencing the rind’s own disposition as an alibi of sorts.

“I would never put a curse upon someone that would end their life,” the wizard explained with dignity.

Moliugas didn’t sense any deceit in the old man’s words, feeling shameful for allegedly incriminating him for the deed. But learning he was not to blame certainly didn’t answer how it happened at all.

“How could this have happened?” he asked. “She was fine until earlier.”

The wizard explained that curses like this are rare and secretive. they appear as symptoms of fatigue, but quickly develop into far more dire conditions.

“Regardless of where it came from, we must act quickly,” said the wizard.

Saratoga had, in a stroke of luck, just finished making the philosopher’s stones. But there was one more step that needed to be taken before the mythical item could take on curse curing properties. It needed to be melted.

Moliugas, without hesitation or instruction, put the two rainbow stones into glass vials and devoured them, letting his inner combustion do the melting. His unorthodox method confused the wizard, but Moliugas’s logic had been mildly twisted by the crisis situation. The wizard didn’t bother arguing if the proper results were achieved.

Periodically they checked the condition of the stones until they had liquified. As Moliugas pulled out the vials of molten rainbow liquid, satisfied by what he assumed was the finished product, he was ready to pour it into Saratoga's mouth. But the wizard acted fast and stopped him from melting her insides and causing an accidental fatality of a different kind.

“Wait…” uttered the wizard, pulling the rind's hand away slightly from the witch. “You do realize that saving her will mean that there will only be one elixir left, yes?”

It hadn’t even crossed his mind that one of their two elixirs would be consumed to save her life. One was meant for him to turn back into a human, while the other was meant for Saratoga’s mother, who needed it to save her life.

It pained him to think someone wasn’t getting cured, especially since there were no more tears offered up by the lake. But two of the three curses were life threatening, while the last one merely was an insufferable transformation.

He clenched the glass vials tightly, knowing the right thing to do.

“You said it yourself, wizard. You don’t curse people to die. But whomever cursed them was not as scrupulous.”

The prince assigned the elixir meant for himself to Saratoga and poured it into her mouth once it had cooled. Both watched closely, awaiting some reaction to spark within the young witch. As moments passed with nothing to show, hope drained slightly from Moliugas’s soul.

“Did it work?” he asked.

“Just watch,” replied the wizard.

More time went by, and so too did Moliugas’s patience. A rather unbecoming thought intruded on his mind when he considered pouring out the second vial, but that was when things began to happen.

A light grew in the chest of the witch, brightening her flesh until her heart was shining. Light scattered over her whole body and caused a dark haze to evaporate out from any exposed skin.

Once the blinding light faded, the wizard brushed a hand over her forehead, exclaiming that she was curse free. But a new vendetta called the prince to action, because he’d never forgive the one who decided to lay this curse upon her and her mother.

“We need to find who did this and make them pay,” said Moliugas, tearing up a tad bit. “Because now I’m stuck as a pumpkin for the rest of my miserable life!”