The sleep I get is not exactly restful. No, quite the opposite is true. I sleep fitfully and wake early. This isn't even the worst though. I feel like I'm coming down with a fever when I wake well before sunrise. And of course I'm feeling sore in ways I have never known before.
It takes my still sleep addled mind a moment to connect the dots. When it all comes together I groan and sit up. I rub my eyes and take a moment to pet Sour Cream as she hops in from the window sill. I pour her some of her treat too and am rewarded with a happy purr in turn.
That on its own is already enough to brighten my day despite its less than optimal start. Still I take a moment to check my temperature. As far as I can tell I'm not actually running a fever. It is just my chest that feels uncomfortably hot. It feels hot and the nightdress feels a little too tight too.
Ah well, maybe a nice soak at the bath will help a little. Well with the general soreness at least. Of course it wont do anything about the slightly too tight nightdress. I decide not to fret about that though, as it probably means that the bandanna works as intended.
On one hand I'm questioning my decision to test it like this, as I'm rather uncomfortable right now. On the other hand I'm glad I didn't have anyone else test it. I can deal with a little discomfort. At least for a few days. At worst I can see it as an early warning about what life will have in store for me should I ever have children of my own.
After petting Sour Cream a little more, after she finishes with her treat and curls up on the foot end of my bed, I grab a change of clothes and head out to the bath.
The sky is only just brightening in the east and the village is still mostly asleep as far as I can tell. Thus I should have some time to myself before anyone else drops by. The cool morning air eased my discomfort a little as well. Really just a little though.
As expected the bath is still empty. It won't be for long though, thus I hurry so I'll be able to soak undisturbed. Or rather, I intend to hurry. That is all but forgotten though, the moment I get a proper look at myself when I pull my night dress over my head.
My breasts are swollen. That much isn't really a surprise. What I didn't expect though, is that they would swell this much. My left eyebrow starts to twitch a little. I have been well enough endowed before, but this is a little ridiculous. Painful too. They feel tender and hot. Maybe because the change happened on such a short term, pretty much over night?
I let out a sigh. Maybe I should have thought about this a little more beforehand. Getting some advice from Urszula or Agnieszka first probably wouldn't have been wrong either. Now I'll have to live with the consequences of my actions. At least for a few days anyway.
I shake my head and move to get some water to wash up before my soak, only to stop dead in my tracks before upending the bucket over my head. With a sheepish grin I but the bucket back down. I'm still wearing the enchanted bandanna. Silly me. I really should take it off first.
All the color drains from my face, as I think that thought. Try as I might, my hands won't obey me, as I think about taking the bandanna off. I try again, but once again my hands won't obey me. As I try harder my fingers start to shake, but that is all. Eventually I give up and slump to the ground in defeat.
“Damn it.”
That just about sums it up. I know these symptoms. I know them all too well, despite never having experienced them first hand. Its cursed. The damned bandanna is cursed.
Never mind that I checked the damned thing with my appraisal skill before putting it on. To evade detection like that means that the curse has to be at least moderately powerful.
I let out a bitter laugh only to stop right away and look over my shoulder. I really don't want anyone to see or hear me lose it like that. This is inconvenient, inconvenient beyond the immediate effect, but it certainly isn't the end of the world.
As I think these thoughts a divine whisper distracts me.
[You put a curse on yourself! The Dawn Maiden is your witness and gifts you 6 points for the Dragon Arcana as a reward.]
I let out a long sigh. Of course the divine would take notice. That I didn't curse myself on purpose apparently doesn't make a difference. At least I didn't curse anyone else. I'm already feeling bad enough as it is. I really don't want to make the life of anyone else miserable.
Thanks to the Dawn Maiden at least some good might come off this. Who knows, maybe Wislawa might earn a reward too for breaking the curse? I'm tempted to laugh out loud again, but I manage to reign in that urge just in time and let out just another sigh instead.
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This time around my sigh, or rather my state in general, does not go unnoticed.
“Valeria? What's up with you?”
Agnieszka's exclamation almost makes me jump. Not an easy feat, considering I'm still on the ground on my knees.
Wide eyed, like a child that has just been caught with its hand in the cookie jar, I look over my shoulder as she comes in.
My neighbor looks tired. Dark circles frame her eyes and her shoulders are slightly slumped. It looks like she hasn't gotten a whole lot of sleep herself. The way she eyes me it still is pretty obvious that I have her undivided attention, as she gets ready for a quick bath herself.
Finally I can muster the resolve to utter a reply.
“Cursed. I'm cursed.”
It takes a moment for her to make sense of my muttered words. As she realizes that I'm not speaking in figures she stops dead in her tracks.
“For real? The bandanna? Gods and goddesses, girl, what did you do?”
“You remember the letter I asked you to deliver? The transcript I asked you to get for me at the academy in Barter Town? They are for an enchantment I'm working on for Urszula. An enchantment to make sure there will be enough milk both for her child and Elzbieta's, eventually.”
She nods, but does not interrupt me while washing up herself.
“I pretty much had a not very elegant version of the enchantment ready already and decided to give it a try so I could compare it to the one I would come up with, with the material I asked you to get.”
She nods again, but before I can keep going in my awkward way she decides to intercede.
“And you made it and decided to put it to the test just like that?”
I blush a deep red and just nod instead of providing a detailed answer. I feel like I have to say something in my defense anyway though.
“I checked it with my appraisal skill first. There was no mention of it being cursed. I only found out just now when I couldn't bring myself to take it off.”
She nods and comes over to give the bandanna a good look. I can only guess that she is using a skill of her own on it. She hums to herself and nods in the end.
“It certainly is cursed. The cursed wetnurse's overflowing fountains? Gods and goddesses, that name alone. And if it got past your appraisal it's not exactly a weak curse either.”
She pauses and laughs out loud. At the same time she seems to take notice of my general state as well, which seems to sober her up a little.
“The enchantment seems to have worked though. In a way at least.”
I would blush even more if I could, but my face already feels like it's burning up.
“Do they ache?”
That question has me sputtering, but I can't exactly object. She isn't wrong after all. They do ache. Thus I only nod meekly.
“Ah well, maybe Urszula's youngest still has a little appetite. That should provide some relief. And afterwards we take you to the temple to see Wislawa right away. She should be able to take care of it. Now turn around and relax while I'll wash your back. It's not all bad. See it as a learning experience! Maybe you'll even earn a divine reward or two!”
I do as she tells me and relax a little. My voice comes out as an embarrassed, hoarse croak as I decide to address the last point she made in her statement.
“I already received one … for cursing myself.”
Now there is no more holding back and the older woman laughs out loud while rinsing off the soap from my back.