Part 2
The land around the cottage had begun to heal with the death of Amaranth Liddell. New trees were growing, and the dead grass was being slowly replaced by fresh green grass. Rebecca stopped at the front door.
"Are you ready, Rebecca?" Sirene asked, having finally caught up to her.
"Ready as I'll ever be, come on." Rebecca said after a moment, opening the door.
Rebecca was surprised by who she encountered inside, it wasn't who Sirene had described at all. It was Rebecca at the age of 14, she knew immediately. Her hair was still black at that age, after all. She glanced over at Sirene, who didn't seem to be taken aback at who was here.
"Oh, I get it." Rebecca said, crossing her arms. "You look like the teenage version of whoever looks at you, is that it?"
"You're very perceptive." The teenage girl sitting on the chair replied. "Much more than Sirene."
Sirene shifted uncomfortably. How did Rebecca figure this out so easily?
"You got a name?" Rebecca asked, taking a seat opposite of her.
"An intriguing proposition." The girl replied. "You may call me... Eren."
Eren waved her hand and the small bottles reappeared on the table. "Eigengrau is far too stuffy to do this, you know."
"What do you mean?" Sirene asked.
"The cure was made by the Raven King. He loved dramatic and over the top appearances.performances. Eigen's... a dead fish. She can't cast the cure." Eren stood up, and arranged the bottles. "It needs to be done in a specific order, Eigengrau already asked him."
Rebecca took a closer look at the bottles. It felt like they were looking back at her, and they made her slightly uneasy. Still, she picked up the first one in front of her, the liquid inside a dark grey charcoal colour.
"Mmm. That one's the last one. The curse of decay, Eigengrau's portion. No, the first one we need to do is The Raven King's. The curse of dead flesh." Eren said, pointing at the dark green bottle. "Go on, drink it."
Rebecca uncorked the bottle and took an appraising sniff of the liquid inside. It smelled of pine needles and fresh rainfall, to her surprise. Deciding not to drag things out, she drank the entire bottle in a single gulp, and slammed it onto the floor. She regretted it immediately, as a searing hot pain quickly spread from inside her. She fell to the ground and screamed, holding her stomach.
"What's wrong with her?" Sirene asked, looking concerned.
"Her body is remembering how to live. Her heart hasn't beat for over a hundred years. Rebecca, feel the thunder in your chest as your heart roars back to life. Feel the pain in all your limbs as your senses return to normal. Remember that you wanted this!"