Zelda smiled; at least with a little more information he agreed. "Alright," she said. She guided Alfred over to his couch, and had him sit while she stood over him. She placed the earring on the cushion next to him while she pierced his ear with a spell; it would feel like a sharp pain followed by a cool feeling as the magic dealt with much of the healing of the wound. She plucked the earring back up and then, carefully, slipped the hook into the hole.
That was the easy part. For the spellcasting itself, Zelda took his hands - where he had originally touched the Pictish box - and held them in one of her own. She began chanting a spell similar to the one used by Miss Bones in the hospital; with a cooling sensation, the curse would begin drawing itself out of Alfred's body and into the new container.
Normally she would be sheepish about this sort of physical contact. But now it was almost as if she did not see him; she could only focus on the work. If she separated her thinking about the curse from her thinking about Alfred, it actually made it easier.
She felt it fighting her; it wanted to come out, to infect more people, to make it back to its original container or else to the ancient Pict who had originally cursed the object. Zelda's voice was measured as she continued the chanting, but she could feel a bead of sweat on her forehead; this was hard, and it was no wonder Miss Bones had worked so hard just to stop Alfred from choking on his own lungs.
Finally, there was no longer any fight; the tracts in the earring had darkened in color. Carefully, Zelda stopped talking and dropped Alfred's hands; she reached up to touch the earring and almost immediately pulled her hand away.
"There," she said, exhausted. "That should do it."
That was the easy part. For the spellcasting itself, Zelda took his hands - where he had originally touched the Pictish box - and held them in one of her own. She began chanting a spell similar to the one used by Miss Bones in the hospital; with a cooling sensation, the curse would begin drawing itself out of Alfred's body and into the new container.
Normally she would be sheepish about this sort of physical contact. But now it was almost as if she did not see him; she could only focus on the work. If she separated her thinking about the curse from her thinking about Alfred, it actually made it easier.
She felt it fighting her; it wanted to come out, to infect more people, to make it back to its original container or else to the ancient Pict who had originally cursed the object. Zelda's voice was measured as she continued the chanting, but she could feel a bead of sweat on her forehead; this was hard, and it was no wonder Miss Bones had worked so hard just to stop Alfred from choking on his own lungs.
Finally, there was no longer any fight; the tracts in the earring had darkened in color. Carefully, Zelda stopped talking and dropped Alfred's hands; she reached up to touch the earring and almost immediately pulled her hand away.
"There," she said, exhausted. "That should do it."
![[Image: xXXD462.png]](https://i.imgur.com/xXXD462.png)
AMAZING set by MJ
