Chapter 52 - Stinking Substance

"I want another shot" Martha said to Wookah with a frowned face. She wasn't ready for any of its impertinences right now.

"Another shot,shot of what?" it licked its lips with its tiny pointed tongue like he was drooling over Martha.

"Do not waste my time and give me the mixture you prepared" she uttered angrily. She wanted it to realize her seriousness.

"And if i may ask, what happened to the one you took earlier?" Wookah was obviously not afraid of her. It wasn't taking her serious as she wanted.

Martha was confused. She didn't know what to do, she couldn't force it to secrete that unless it wanted to do so. She was dumbfounded and was just staring at it.

"And will you stop looking at me like that?" Wookah snapped. "You are the one who did something wrong. Don't you think you should be punished?" it teased her.

"I am your master. I do not have to answer to you. Bring out the goddamn potion now" she said sternly to it but that didn't bring the reaction she wanted.

"Oh!" Wookah expressed disappointedly. "How many times do I have to tell you. You can not be my master like this. The only thing you can be to me is a mistress or concubine" it explained vigorously.

"Just give it to me" Martha said softly. She was trying not to get over the edge with Wookah.

"Tell me what happened to the first one" it insisted.

"The prince lost it" she replied curtly.

"It seems this body also comes with leniency, I presume. He lost something as precious as that and you didn't chop off one of his ears already" Wookah proclaimed.

Martha was frustrated. She felt like begging Wookah but she would never do that.

"Give me now!" she threatened.

"Or what?" Wookah looked around. "Or what little girl?" it berated her.

"I am your master" she roared with a male voice.

"Only that won't do this. Let me see my master" Wookah was just being adamant for no reason.

Martha thought it was high time he should get rid of him. If he could be so audacious by now. What he would be planning in the next few years would be horrible.

Martha covered her eyes with both her hands and groaned. All the while, Wookah kept laughing. It must be thinking it had made her felt bad.

Martha removed her eyes from her face and her body grew darker and heavier. Before a little time, she had transformed into Quentin.

Wookah shrieked. It caved its head in fear. Quentin stared at it wickedly.

"I need to put an end to your miserable life" Quentin asserted. He was breathing heavily.

"Please master, do not kill me" Wookah was now shaking frightfully. "Here is the mixture" he raised up his head.

Quentin collected the mixture in his hand until it stopped flowing.

"Next time you make me change like this will be your end" he warned him and trudged away from it.

"Forgive me, master. I will never do that again" Wookah cried.

Quentin went back, he slammed shut the box from which Wookah popped its head out from.

He groaned softly and slowly transformed back to Martha. She looked around and carried the box. She hid it underneath the bed.

"All of you just kept making this harder for me" she murmured. She put the potion in her hand into a vial. She raised it up to look at it.

"All of you" she said angrily. "James, Michael, Julia and even Wookah" she groaned with bulged eyes.

"Once you lose this one, the next thing you are losing is your life" she imagined Michael standing in front of her.

"I won't hesitate to kill you. I am tired of even being close to you. You make this harder and I will put an end to everything" she said and nodded.

She felt like killing Wookah right away but she was doubtful. She wasn't sure if Michael would use this one she was holding.

She would still kill it but its death would be postponed till after everything would have been resolved.

She heard some light footsteps right behind her curtains. It seemed someone was sneaking towards her. She pulled the curtain aside hastily but there was no one.

"Michael" she called out softly. "Michael" she repeated as she couldn't get any response. She must have been stressed and that was caused by the stupid Wookah.

"Wait, your death is imminent" she murmured.

*****************

It was early in the morning. Michael was disturbed through the whole night. He couldn't sleep. He was thinking about Julia and Martha.

Julia was pushing him to the edge. It might make him treat her bad if she persisted in doing that.

He wished Martha had not changed her mind about helping him. He didn't fully understand the potion she offered him but she seemed very confident with it.

Michael was only concerned about the potion working for him as Martha claimed. If he could be sure of his father's support, then he wouldn't have to worry about James.

He went out of his bedchamber. Martha must still be sleeping. He opened the curtain a bit and whistled. He whistled and whistled again. That was enough to get her woken up. Unless she wasn't ready to be up.

Michael moved away. He just wanted to remind her of her promise.

"Michael!" Martha called with a sleepy voice as he turned away.

"You are awake?" Michael turned back to her and smiled.

Martha was seated on her bed. She waved at him to come in.

"You are waking me up now?" she smiled.

"Just checking on you" Michael replied awkwardly.

"Yes. But we both know what you want" Martha leaned to a side to search for something after a while she brought out a vial. That was obviously the potion.

"You have made another one" Michael said happily.

"I conjured it" she joked.

Michael stretched out his hand but Martha was not giving it to him. She pretended she didn't see his hand.

"You are holding it back" he notified her.

"Yes, I am not giving it to you. You can just lose it just like the other one" she asserted.

It seemed Martha was still thinking Michael deliberately discarded the previous one.

"How am I going to use if you do not give it to me?" Michael asked in confusion.

"I am not giving it to you. I will be using it on you" she got up from the bed and stood before him.

"And that is now" she declared.

"I should take off my clothes?" Michael knew that was what she meant but he felt somehow about it.

"I'm sorry I will be rubbing it on you" she said politely. "Or is there a problem with that?" she flashes her eyebrows.

"No, not at all" Michael smiled and pulled off his shirt immediately.

Martha took some of the mixture into her hand and just like the first one. It was smelling awfully.

Michael managed not to throw up. He breathed heavily to prevent inhaling the bad odor.

Martha rubbed her hands together. She rubbed it on Michael starting from his neck to his shoulder down to his belly. She turned him around and rubbed it on his back.

"Now, put on your shirt and go to the king" she instructed.

"It is early in the morning. What am I going to discuss with him?" he was confused.

"Discuss with him? He is your father. You will both figure that out" she assured him and urged him to step out.

"Okay. I will try" Michael walked away slowly. He was feeling bad for using something stinking as this. He was smelling bad to himself. He wondered how this would make someone liked him.

"Maybe I should wait a little bit more" he stopped and turned back.

"No. This is the best time to do this, Michael. Early morning is always the best to start any thing" she persuaded him.

"Maybe I should go and wash myself then" he said slowly.

"You must be kidding right?" she showed him the vial. It was empty. She had rubbed everything on him.

"Once you wash this away. Then the opportunity is gone" she warned him.

"Please,don't you smell anything bad?" Michael walked back toward her. He had been wondering how she had remained calm despite the stench.

"Smell?" Martha chuckled. "There is no strange smell. You are getting what is in your head, Michael. Go before everything fade away" she shook her head as Michael remained glued to a spot.

"It seems you are getting cold feet. How will you lead a whole kingdom with this? You need to get yourself together" Martha said with force like she was trying to suppress a voice inside her.

"I will go. I just wish Father will like me with this on" he spoke softly and walked out of the chamber.

He looked across the hallway carefully. He wouldn't want to smell like this to a bunch of people.

He breathed heavily and walked on.