The Hybrid King's Queen

The inside of the apothecary smelled like a rainforest to Avalyn. All of the different scents combining together to form one harmonic smell. Avalyn slowly stepped to the side to examine the masterpiece around her. The walls were a forest green with daisy yellow baseboards and crown molding.

Normally, Avalyn wouldn't agree on such an abnormal mix of color, but it suited this lady's business well. Real vines hung down the walls between the little shelves she had set up with different herbs. 

"Wormwood", Avalyn whispered, as her mind guided her hands for what she needed. "Dragon blood", she uttered, grabbing another bottle. Alexander took the bottles from her, silently telling her he would carry them for her. He watched her in fascination as her mind led her. 

"Can I help you?", The cashier behind the counter asked nicely. "No, ma'am. Thank you", Avalyn spoke on autopilot. The lady seemed to take slight offense to Avalyn's monotone and glared over at Alexander. 

"She knows what she is looking for", Alexander said, letting his King show. "Your highness, my apologies", the lady bowed. "Seaweed wart", Avalyn muttered, picking up another vial. 

Avalyn handed the seaweed wart to Alexander, brushing his palm with her fingers, absent mindedly. The sparks that shot through her arm awoke her from autopilot, making her turn and face Alexander. 

"I feel like I know you. I understand your father has told me so much about you. But I feel like I know you from another life. Why?", she asked him. Alexander froze in his spot, stunned by her revelation. 

"That's a good question, malenkiy' volk (little wolf). Maybe we can try and find that out together", he suggested. Avalyn tried to shake herself out of her stunned stance. "What else do you need?", he asked, trying to put her back on track. 

Avalyn took a deep breath and tried to focus on the task at hand. "Wormwood, Dragon's blood, Seaweed wart", she repeated, as she pointed at the vials in Alexander's hands. 

She looked around, trying to zone her mind back in. Which was difficult since she now had a whole other question, she needed an answer to. "Focus, Avalyn", she uttered to herself, not unheard by Alexander though. 

He smirked to himself, feeling good that he distracted her, but also a little guilty because now it looks like she may be getting a little frustrated with herself. Avalyn rubbed her hands over her face, feeling her anxiety spike up while she was under this pressure. 

She took a few deep breaths and walked around trying to get back on track. "Unicorn hair, just one strand", she muttered, picking up a little bag with one strand of unicorn hair. "Cloves", she said out loud, grabbing a bag with a clove inside. 

Avalyn handed the two bags to Alexander. "One more thing", she sighed. She walked to the back of the store, her senses guiding her. She went straight to the last ingredient that she needed, even though to her it felt like blasphemy. 

She did not even allow it to be passed into Alexander's hands. She hates that she even has to use it. "You want me to carry it?", Alexander asked. Avalyn smiled softly and shook her head. "You already have your hands full", she said, leading the way to the counter.

"Did you find everything okay?", the cashier asked sweetly. "Yes, I did. I apologize if I came off as rude earlier. I was deep in thought", Avalyn said, as her and Alexander sat everything down on the counter. 

"No worries. Are we curing someone of a spell today?", she asked, looking over the ingredients. "Just bag them", Alexander said flatly, tired of the small talk. "Yes, your highness", she uttered, doing as she was told. 

Avalyn shot Alexander a disappointed look, but he stared at her headstrong. He did not believe that the cashier needed to know anything about what they were doing. He felt as if she was being nosey instead of nice.

"Would you like me to just put this on the packhouse tab?", she asked. "That'll be fine", Alexander nodded. "Alex, I can pay for it", Avalyn said, not knowing where she found the comfortability to call him Alex instead of Alexander. 

Alexander stiffened, "No, you won't", he stated with finality. Avalyn nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. She took the bag from the cashier and let Alexander lead the way out of the building. 

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I called you that. I apologize", Avalyn rambled, when they exited the store. "Don't. I like it", Alexander said, looking over at her. "It didn't seem like you did", she countered. 

Alexander sighed as he placed his hand on the handle of the SUV. "You only caught me off guard, took me by surprise. That's all", he assured her. "I like it. Keep calling me that", he smiled, as he opened her door for her.

The ride home felt a bit awkward for Avalyn. She looked over the ingredients in the bag multiple times. She ran her measurements through her head multiple times, wanting to make sure that she doesn't mess it up. 

"So, holy water?", Alexander asked. Avalyn hung her head. He must have read it while the cashier was bagging it up. "Yes, one drop of holy water is required to complete the purification process of the potion. It will cleanse him of evil, so to speak", Avalyn answered.

"Why do you seem so concerned?", Alexander asked. "Because holy water is a sense of blasphemy to a vampire. I am worried he may not react well to it. But it is the only spell counteracting potion that I know", she whispered, worry tinging her tone. 

"May not react to it well, how?", he asked, glancing over at her. She shook her head and looked out the window. "I don't know", she answered, honestly. "Well, I trust you. So, if anything bad does happen, I won't blame you", Alexander said, reaching over and patting her hand. 

Avalyn appreciated the gesture, but she would blame herself. Her intentions are never to hurt innocent people. "This will take a few hours to cure, by the way", Avalyn said. 

"How long are a few hours?" he inquired, quirking an eyebrow at her. "Maybe, three or four. It will take me some time to set everything up. And there are specific steps with specific words that need to be said. It will take me some time to mix this all up together", she explained.

It dawned on Alexander that this wasn't just something you could brew together and make a cure. She needed to actually spell the ingredients. "What do you need me to do?", Alexander questioned.

"Whatever you need to do. I won't need any help perse. So..", Avalyn said, dragging out her sentence. "Well just let me know. I do have some arrangements to attend to for the alphas coming in", he informed her.

"The alphas?", she asked, fret racing through her blood. "Yes. I was forced to call a meeting of the alphas by the council, before you arrived. So, I now have that fallout to deal with", he answered. 

"Please ensure that they stay away from my team", she requested in meekness. "You have my word", he assured her.