The response came quickly, as the liquid settled in her stomach.
A sense of vertigo washed over Catherine as her vision began to blur. She felt nauseous and lightheaded as the courtyard began to spin around her. Trying hard to stay on her feet, her weak knees soon buckled as Catherine slid onto the cobblestone still cool with the morning dew. Seated on the floor and leaning up against the well, her fevered mind tried to process all the questions now flooding in.
What is happening to me?
Is this the curse’s doing?
Have I failed?
Why do my feet hurt so much?
Now that was a question Catherine could answer. Gazing down at her sore and stinging feet, she could see them bulge and swell against the leather straps of her footwear. One by one the straps began to break, giving way to her growing feet. Free of their trappings Catherine watched in horror as the nails on each distended foot began to chip and shatter into filthy, little black claws.
“No! No no no no no!” Catherine screamed as panic began to set in, her face flush with heat and her stomach tying itself in knots. “This cannot be! My wish was pure! How could I be rejected?”
“Oh, I wouldn't speak so soon,” a familiar voice beckoned from behind her.