'That's sad… Can I help you?' he wondered if he had to visit her in his human form.
'No…' she replied. 'Tell me what you saw there.'
'That place is a labyrinth of magic and mazes and different portals to various planes.'
'Planes? What's that?'
'The portals open to demonic, Fae, sorceri, dragon, vampire, witch and several such worlds. They are also known as planes. They exist parallel to the plane we live in, which is earth.' He rolled his eyes. 'Well, I live in enchanted forests, so that can be counted as a different plane… not fully though…'
'Interesting,' she replied. It made her all the more intrigued about Sedora. 'So did you find anything related to Sedora?'
'Nope! There was nothing that could point me to her. So I returned empty-handed.'
'It's fine. Don't worry,' she said. 'Just don't go again.'
A low rumble emanated from him. 'Why do I see more of these trees with bulbous fruit? They are tasty. Do I need to burn them?'
'Again? Burn them!'
She heard him breathing fire. With a smile on her face, she shifted towards her husband, wrapped her arms around him and dozed off within seconds.
She woke up with a jolt the next day with a scream that disturbed the peace of the house as if the place was on some wildfire. Daryn also bolted up and looked at her with wide eyes that were red from sleep. "What happened?" he asked groggily.
"I don't know…" she replied.
Another shrill scream rocked the house. The couple jumped out of the bed. She wore her nightgown and rushed downstairs and Daryn followed her. As she descended the stairs, she could hear wails coming from Pia's room. Unknown fear gripped her and she stopped. Daryn stopped behind her, feeling her fear. He held her from behind. Slowly she stepped down the stairs and walked to Pia's room. A few servants in their night pajamas were crowding outside the door.
With eyes wide open, bit-by-bit, Dawn walked to Pia's room. The servants gave them the way. She didn't dare ask anyone. She could feel a tinge of burning sensation in her throat. When she arrived inside the room, she found that Gayle and Sedora were already standing there. They were standing with their faces as pale as ghosts. They stared at Pia who was wailing and sobbing as she clung to Caleb. The sheet under her was red. Dawn's head reeled and she staggered. Daryn held her from behind.
"What happened..." she asked in asking in a trembling voice. The sight was so ugly that she felt she could puke.
Sedora shot her a dirty glance, as if it was her fault. "Pia had an unnatural abortion," came a cold reply.
Caleb was holding Pia. The moment Pia heard her, she shot her head up to look at her. Her face was streaked with tear stains. Her eyes were swollen red. "You bitch!" she barked. "It all happened because of you."
There was stunned silence. Dawn's eyes bulged. What was she saying?
Pia unleashed her filth. "You have given me so much stress that it happened because of you. Yesterday night you fought with your mother. You were so jealous of me, of my pregnancy that I was about to deliver a pureblooded child that you couldn't handle your jealousy. It all happened because of you. You fought with Daryn and I kept wondering what I did to deserve your enmity."
"What are you saying Pia? Why would I be jealous of you? I am so sorry for your loss. Please calm down…" Dawn tried to soothe her, thinking that she was lashing against everyone. The woman just aborted her child, obviously she wasn't in her best mental condition.
Daryn stared at Pia quizzically. Had she gone mad?
Pia picked up a pillow and threw at Dawn. "You cunt! You are the main source of all the mess in this house. Because of you everything has gone awry. I was under so much— so much stress since yesterday evening after you fought with Mother that I couldn't even sleep properly. And look what happened to me?" she said pointing at the crimson sheet beneath her.
Dawn was thrown off-balance. She wanted to console her sister-in-law and now she was being accused of giving her stress. She never ever talked to Pia and always remained quiet. The party that Sedora had given for her pregnancy, she had attended that gracefully without a word. How could she be blamed for her abortion and for something so disconnected? Nothing made sense. For all she knew, it was Pia giving tension to others. She didn't believe Pia's explanation. What was she getting at?
"Caleb, take her to the hospital," said Gayle. "She needs to be admitted now and we shouldn't wait a minute more."
"No!" shouted Pia. "I don't want to go to the hospital. You should all look at me suffering and take a lesson as to what happened to me because of her."
"Take her to the hospital now," Gayle growled.
"Calm down baby," said Caleb, stroking her back. He sounded so sad that it was heartbreaking. He gave a murderous glance to Dawn. Then he got up and picked up Pia. He walked outside with her and they went off to the hospital.
By the time it was evening, Dawn was sitting in her bedroom. She was so shaken up with the morning's events that she felt lost. A pain would rise in her chest. She would shudder in Daryn's arms and then rest back. Nothing fitted. All of a sudden she had once again become controversial in front of all the purebloods. She couldn't understand the situation properly. Was it a ploy? What was it that Pia was getting at now?
The royal dramas for power were becoming too much to handle. She knew that all the purebloods would do anything for her because she was their Luna, but they didn't accept her by heart.
The whole clan knew of the news. They had gone to visit Pia in the hospital to offer sympathy. But Dawn— she was too terrified to move.
"Maybe I should have gone to the Silver Arcade…" she would mutter. "She was beginning to break.
Daryn kissed her at the top of her head. He hadn't left her side even for a minute. And only he was beside her. Everyone else was against her.
Abruptly she said, "Daryn, I want to talk to Dr. Brenda. Can you take me to the hospital?"
Daryn frowned.