Chapter 508: A GRIEF STRICKEN MOTHER
Jasmine sat by the window, her knees drawn to her chest, her chin resting against them as she stared blankly outside.
The light from the afternoon sun spilled across her face, but her eyes did not reflect it. They were hollow, dull, lost somewhere far beyond the courtyard walls.
She hadn’t moved for hours.
The room was silent except for the faint rustle of curtains from the breeze slipping through the window.
The once vibrant Jasmine was gone, replaced by someone who seemed to only exist in fragments.
The door creaked open. Marie stepped inside quietly, her footsteps muffled against the rug.
She froze when she saw Nanny Nia standing near the bed, folding a blanket with trembling hands.
The old woman’s shoulders slumped as though she carried all the grief herself.
"How is she?" Marie asked gently, not wanting to disturb Jasmine though she suspected Jasmine hadn’t even noticed her presence.
Nanny Nia shook her head slowly, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. "She’s been like this since the burial. She barely eats. Barely speaks. She tried to go down to the kitchens once, said she wanted to help with the work, maybe take her mind off things..." Nanny Nia’s voice cracked. "But the servants whispered about her. Said cruel things. She came back up in tears and hasn’t left her room since."
Marie’s jaw tightened. She took a deep breath and walked closer, her steps deliberate, until she was just a few feet away from Jasmine.
"Jasmine," Marie said softly. "It’s me."
Jasmine blinked slowly and turned her head, but her gaze was still distant. Her lips parted, but it took a long moment before she spoke. "Marie."
Her voice was quiet, flat, as if the word itself cost her too much effort.
Marie forced a small smile and lowered herself onto the window seat beside her. "How are you feeling?" she asked carefully, searching her face for something, anything that showed a spark of life.
Jasmine stared out of the window again, her hands curling against her knees. "I don’t know," she said blandly. "I don’t feel anything."
The silence that followed was suffocating. Nanny Nia’s heart broke at the emptiness in her tone, the numbness that clung to her like a second skin.
"I’m sorry that I wasn’t here when you woke up." Marie apologized. "I was told you have buried your child."
Jasmine nodded mildly.
"Yes." Jasmine stated. "It was the only thing I could do."
"I’m sorry for your loss." Marie said.
Jasmine nodded again and looked away.
"Now that the baby is gone." Marie said. "You have to take certain herbs that will help clean your womb."
Jasmine barely seemed to be listening.
"Nanny Nia would use them on you." Marie said. "Would that be fine?"
Jasmine nodded.
Marie seemed to see that there was nothing much to say to the grieving mother.
"I’ll take my leave now."
Just as she was about to leave, Jasmine’s cold hands touched her wrists and held her back.
"My baby. Wa.... Was... she shifted? Or unshifted like me?" Jasmine asked.
Marie bit her bottom lip.
"Unfortunately the bones and pieces of flea wasn’t fully formed. So it was hard to say." Marie stated matter of fact.
Jasmine nodded numbly, let her hand gi and turned away.
Marie then went to meet Nanny Nia.
"She is grieving. I really hope she goes past this." Marie said.
Nanny Nia shook her head. "She has gone through so much already. That child was the only thing she had to live for."
Marie gave a tight lipped smile.
"And that dreadful girl I should have strangled the last time?" Marie asked.
"Anna?" Nanny Nia rose a brow. "She is always still trying to cause a ruckus. But I try my best to keep her clear of Jasmine."
Then she handed out the herbs she had brought along with instructions on how to take them.
Then she turned back to look at Jasmine.
"It’s quite a pity. Truly."
And then with that she headed down to the door and just as she opened it, Xaden stood waiting.
Marie’s face became flat.
"Hello Xaden."
His name although said in almost a whisper, Jasmine heard and her distracted lost expression became alert.
She turned instantly to see him.
"Marie." He nodded at her in acknowledgment. "What are you doing here?"
"If you must know." She began. "I’m trying to take care of the mother of your dead child."
She said it so cruelly but she knew that words barely had any much effect on him.
Especially since she was the one who has taken his heart out.
She knew him as much as his adoptive mother, her sister, Eleanor did.
"Thank you for the help." He said coldly.
"You know Xaden." She began. "I’m not morally inclined. I’ve done bad things. Very bad things. But this is a stretch. Even for me."
He said nothing.
"Eleanor would be so disappointed if she could see you right now." Marie said.
Xaden’s face tightened only for a split second.
But Marie had caught it.
Good.
At least that had gotten to him.
"And make sure that you keep that terrible monster of a sister yoy have away from Jasmine." Marie said. "She is a dreadful girl and the next time she crosses my path. It would be very ugly."
Xaden said nothing again.
And with that She walked out of the room, stopped and said. "Don’t make this any harder for her than it already is."
And with that she left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once Marie had left, Xaden walked properly into the room.
The entire room seemed to become stiff.
"I’ll like to speak to Jasmine. Alone." he added neatly.
Nanny Nia looked skeptical at first
"I assure you that she will witness no harm from me." He said.
Nanny Nia looked at Jasmine, weighing her options of leaving even though she barely had a choice
She took a deep breath. and finally left the two alone.