A MAZE OF GREED

That night Ruth could not get any sleep. Theodora's words kept replaying in her mind every time she tried closing her eyes. This time she had no tears in her eyes. The only feeling that was prominent in both her head and heart was vengeance!

She had not told Mrs Payne about it yet. The old woman had already suffered more than enough and, the time she had lived without Ruth had affected her health.

To distract her mind, Ruth picked up the book she was reading and came out on the balcony. She closed the door behind her to prevent the night wind from entering inside the home.

She had prepared small and comfy sitting in one corner of the balcony. That was her favourite corner of her home. She liked to enjoy her morning beverages and late-night reading in this corner.

Ruth wondered why the author chose such a downbeat title for the book?

FATAL LOVE

How could love be fatal? For Ruth, love was like that moment when the first drop of the rain hit the dry land. For her, it was like that first ray of sun that illuminated the world every day. It was like that full moon in the dark sky... beautiful and worthy of the wait.

Love teaches a person to think about others before himself. It is a mixture of every emotion that is known to humankind. A little bit of this and a little bit of that, mixed together well and you will get the best recipe in this world.

For Ruth love was that unique creation of God that distinguished humans from other living beings. Humans can not only describe their feelings through their actions but also through their words, touch and even eyes.

Many famous poets had created thousands of poems about love. Many writers had created epics on love. She had heard and read the works of Shakespeare and, she was a fan of his timeless epic- 'Romeo and Juliet'.

Ruth was a passionate believer in love and, she dreamed of meeting her Romeo someday. Her mother used to tell her that 'the God creates the pairs in heavens. One way or another he makes those two souls to cross each others path. All we humans can do is accept God's will.'

Then how could such a beautiful thing be fatal?

Ruth shook her head. As far as she had read that book, it was a story about a poor and kind girl who met a charming, rich man. But Ruth had not found anything negative other than the cocky hero in the story.

Flipping through the pages, her eyes began running over the black ink. Her brain registered the words and, her heart absorbed the emotions behind them.

And soon, she realised why that title justified the story.

It was a story of sacrifices and pain, that both hero and the heroine had to go through. The story narrated their struggle to win over their own demons, accepting each other's flaws and, when they finally confessed their love for each other, the society and the hero's family stood as an obstacle in their love.

Money and power!

Those were the two things that danced them on their strength. Now that Ruth compared the story, she wondered if the same was going to happen with her too.

She sympathised with the heroine and saw herself in her character. That cocky hero reminded her of the blue-eyed monster.

So would that be their story too?

Ruth closed the book and shook her head. No! Ruth could not feel those feelings. At least not now that she had found her purpose in life.

She had greater goals to achieve and snatch everything that Her mother, Lady Theodora, held dear to her. Money, status, title and power were the things that made her forget about her only child and first love.

Ruth had a clear vision after her today's encounter with Theodora.

Ruth had no time to fall in love or start a family. She had better things to do in life. Although, she did not know-how.

Ruth did not realise when she slipped into a deep slumber. When she came to her senses, the Sun was already in the sky. She realised that she fell asleep on the balcony. Her muscles are sore due to sleeping in an uncomfortable position.

She stood up, taking a minute to get used to standing up. She then stretched her hands above her head, releasing a long yawn. She stretched her body then twisted it to hear the cracking sound of her tight bones.

With a smile on her face, she turned her head to look around and her breath caught in her throat. She did not realise that the blue-eyed monster was watching her from a distance.

She could not see his expressions from that far but, she could feel his gaze, boring holes in her head.

What was he doing there early in the morning?

She contemplated waving her hand or passing a smile in his way but, before she decided any of that, he turned around and left as if he did not care.

All the excitement she felt seeing him, seeped out of her body. Her shoulders fell in defeat. He was still mad at her.

Ruth went inside, carrying the book in her hand.

"Good morning Mrs Payne!" Ruth greeted.

"Ruth, you slept in the balcony last night. How many times I have told you to not do that?! Now your muscles must be sore and-"

"I am perfectly fine, Mrs Payne! Relax!" She said, taking a towel and disappearing into the bathroom for a shower.

Ruth reached in 'the great manor' with high hopes that day. She now knew that at least Edwin was at home. There were higher chances today of their meeting. She only needed to create a favourable scenario.

As much as she wanted to thank Edwin, she also did not want to make it look obvious. Her ego did not allow her.

"Good morning Lady Elsie!"

"Good morning Ruth! You are early today. How are you feeling?" Elsie asked, sitting in her bed as she woke up late today.

"I am feeling good. Thank you for asking Lady Elsie! But I see you do not look too good. What happened?"

Ruth asked as she put Elsie's slippers near the bed for her to wear.

"I do not know. May be I am just tired. But I could not sleep well last night and I am feeling wierd since late evening." Elsie said, putting on the slippers.

But she did not feel like leaving her bed. Ruth worriedly checked her forehead for any sign of fever.

"Your body seems normal. You do not have fever. Do you have stomachache or headache? Is your any body part in pain?"

Now that Elsie thought of it, she realised the pain in her joints, especially in her legs.

"I think I am just overexhausted. That is it!" She said again, falling into the bed.

"I know that you were not taking care of yourself because of that attack on me. But I have already told you Lady Elsie that you should stop feeling guilty. You did no wrong." Ruth said as she covered Elsie with the blanket.

"I am really sorry Ruth. Although I was not involved in that attack, I could have at least brought appropriate punishment on Fannie. Yet she is roaming all around like nothing happened." Elsie said, remembering that argument with her father.

Her heart pained every time she thought of that.

Ruth smiled, running her hand on Elsie's forehead. Elsie was a year or two younger than Ruth. Well... at least her human form looked so. Yet Ruth found her compassion fascinating.

"At least you tried Lady Elsie. I know that you tried. But the rules can not be changed for any one. You cared about me and that is all that matters to me. So do not worry about it and take some rest. I will go and call the physician." Ruth said.

Suddenly Elsie felt pain in her gums. She clenched her jaws tightly together. What was happening?

Her senses heightened and, her body temperature began to rise all of a sudden. Elsie felt her wolf calling her.

Oh no!

Amidst all this, she forgot that she was a werewolf. And, werewolves needed a run periodically. But she could not go for the run until night. Taking a run during daylight was a risky affair.

And with such a strong urge of letting out her wolf, Elsie feared she might not control her wolf until night.

"Lady Elsie? Lady Elsie? What is happening with you?" Ruth's concerned voice fell on her ears.

After taking a couple of deep breaths, Elsie forced herself to speak. "Ruth can you go to brother Edwin and ask him for a red coloured medicine that he usually drinks? Just tell him that my joints are in pain, especially my legs. He will give that medicine to you then."

Edwin consumed high dosage of wolfsbane potion than other werewolves, as he needed more constraints to keep his powerful wolf in control. And, whenever he began losing control, which was a rare occurring until a few months ago, he consumed an even higher dosage of wolfsbane.

If Elsie had to control her wolf, then she needed the potion that Edwin drank every day. That should be enough to sustain till the night.

"O-of course Lady Elsie!"

Ruth quickly picked up her feet in the direction of Edwin's building with a smile on her face.

She needed a chance to meet him and, she got one easily.