33

Christian called the dwarves to tell them where he was. He told them he needed Sean to break the spell that kept Mom from going home. When Christian told Angus of the times we got attacked, Angus decided all of the dwarves would come. He sounded worried when he asked about Christian and me. The dwarves said they were coming, but it would take them a few days. Everybody was going to wait until they arrived, so we would have people to help us, in case Eileen and the wizards attacked. After the dwarves got to Mom’s house, everyone would go back through the forest to the city and report Eileen and her friends.

    Christian and I spent a few days with Mom. It wasn’t supposed to be fun, especially since we were still in danger and we were waiting for the dwarves to come so we could take care of everything, but, in a way, it was a little fun to be living with Mom. Things felt more right because Mom was alive and I was with her.

    While I was looking through the kitchen for something to eat on the second night there, I found an apple. I bit into it, swallowed and collapsed!

    I could still think while I was lying on the ground, but I couldn’t move my body. I couldn’t open my eyes, but I could think. 

    I was confused. 

    I was panicking, but I controlled it so I could figure out what was going on. 

    I was scared because this was the first time something like this had happened to me. 

    The fact that I collapsed obviously meant it wasn’t good. It would have been impossible to still be thinking while I couldn’t move my body the way an unconscious person couldn’t if it had been normal poison, so it must be magical. I knew that magical poison would still be destroying me. During the journey, I talked to Christian a lot about our respective interests, so he told me a lot about magic. One of the things he said was that magical poison didn’t work unless the person using it worked their intentions into it. They could be broken. I tried to figure out who could have poisoned me and why to save myself. I didn’t know how long the poison would need to kill me, so I had to figure out how to save myself before it did. I had to control my panic.

    I knew Eileen had magic and had already tried to kill me or have one of her friends kill me so it must be her.

    Eileen said she wanted to get revenge, not on me but the fact that she screwed up as a mother again. So the poison would be connected to her bitterness.

   Magical poison worked by intention. The person who was poisoned could break it if they figured out why they were poisoned. And if the person who poisoned them was wrong, the victim needed to figure out something they did that was right to counteract it.

    I already figured out that Eileen poisoned me because she wanted to be a mother. She had failed twice and wanted revenge. That was wrong of Eileen because I didn’t deserve it. It was Eileen’s failure. 

    I needed to figure out something I did that was right to break the intention of the poison, which would break the poison. That was the difference between magical poisons and normal ones.

    I started thinking of the things I did. I remembered how bad I felt for Christian, I sympathized with him and the people I protected whenever the ghouls attacked. I remembered how I defended Mom and how I assured her she wasn’t worthless when other people said it. I couldn’t stand it when someone was in pain. I thought of as many of the people I had saved as possible and how bad I felt for them. I used my compassion against Eileen’s bitterness. If my compassion was the right thing to feel and Eileen’s desire for revenge was wrong, then the poison would be broken because it was magical, not normal. I also needed to figure out why I was poisoned, which I had.

    While I was thinking of the people I had helped, I woke up!

    I saw Mom and Christian sitting next to me. They seemed a little worried so they couldn’t have been sitting next to me for long. They smiled when I woke up. Mom hugged me. I was still creeped out, so I could use the hug.

    I told them what happened.

    “Eileen could have used regular poison,” Mom pointed out.

    We all thought for a minute.

    “After Eileen’s second failure to be a mother, she must have been desperate to prove that she is good at something and she has been studying magic for a long time,” Christian realized. “Besides, when someone is poisoned with magic, only they can save themselves, so it was even more dangerous.”

    Mom took the apple and left to get rid of it.

    Christian and I stood up.

    Christian hugged me.

    “I was worried,” he said.

    “I was scared too.”

    “How are you feeling now?”

    The sympathy in his eyes made my heart jump. His compassion was one of the things I loved the most about him.

    “I’m fine,” I said. “I’m so glad I was able to break the poison.”

    “You should be proud of yourself.”I was so relieved that I survived I hadn’t thought of that. Christian looked proud of me.

    “You told me how magical poisons can be broken,” I said. “You rock.”

    He laughed.

    He smiled at me.

    We looked at each other for a second.

    My heart pounded with the comfort and happiness I got from him.

    We both moved towards each other and kissed. We showed a lot of passion with that kiss. I had butterflies in my stomach and my heart was soaring. I didn’t want to think of anything, I just wanted to feel what the kiss made me feel.

    I realized I loved Christian.