Leena stayed awake and Andrik didn't ask for the cup—which was a letdown.

But he also did nothing about Iva; he just turned her over to her care. She gave him a deep stare, like they were both asking for his intervention.

The princess thought that was a joke. It did keep the maid quiet through much of the day, gathering a change of clothes and another scant meal before toting off the fixings for a bath.

Leena had a knife with most meals. The time between each trip with the pail she spent working up the courage to cut off the tip of her finger. She suspected that her meal would come back up if she ate it, so she stabbed at the portion.

The third bucket from the stream is when Iva would pause and heat it over someone's fire. It was an excuse to start talking to one of the men she flirted with.

The candle set over her meal flickered in Iva's drafts as she left the princess alone. Leena put her blade over the flame to heat it as the statue popped into view.

"I can heal you, after."

"Yeah, and until I finish the ritual, I bleed out."

"You only need to place it in the cup. I can take care of the rest."

"I don't trust you to do it. They say I should have a few minutes."

"If you don't notice the cut, yes. You have seconds, tops. Place it in; I've got the rest."

Everything in her life kept being taken from her, even this moment where she alone decided her fate. It would be in the hands of the cup that kept pressuring her to chop off the tip of a finger.

What would become of an imperfect princess?

What would become of her if she didn't rid herself of this menace that shared her tent?

She stared at her left hand, resting on the table, while she absentmindedly roasted the knife on the tallow candle. Slowly, she bunched it up into a fist with her pinky extended.

A sound startled her out of the trance. Iva had come with the 2nd bucket of water. Leena placed the now-hot blade on the table, singeing it. She grabbed her spoon and doled a bite of soup into her mouth as the tent flap rose.

"You ought to have finished that by now, young lady." The maid sniffed in annoyance. Thankfully, the charry nature of camp soups matched the burnt table smell. "I expect you to be undressed and ready to get in with this last pail."

Like Iva had the right to order her. Still, she did.

It didn't take 3 to fill up a half-tub. It was more like 6 to get it at a reasonable depth, but as usual, she did the minimum she could get away with.

At least this last pour would be warm enough water. But Leena had had enough. "You won't have to worry about whether I've eaten to your satisfaction soon enough."

Iva flounced out, but not without a last taunt. "We grew up together, you know? Your father forced a betrothal to get rid of you. He told me himself."

"I bet he did..." Leena muttered as the tent flap closed. She didn't go for the knife—not straight off. She placed her food to the side, pulled out The Cup of Madness, and helped it unfurl into its full size. Then she picked up the knife to continue heating it.

The statue appeared. "You're serious about this."

"You have all but begged me for 3 years to do this, and now I have a reason to. Unless, you're going to kill her when she comes back."

"No. It's not advisable. I can cut it."

She grimaced, knowing what was coming, as she again extended her pinky. Leena slammed the blade across her knuckle, nearly embedding the tip into the wood's grooves. Her exuberance almost knicked her flesh.

But the statue had shown her how to guide the blade. Since the tip was basically right, she put her weight on the handle as it came down, severing the finger at the joint.

Pressing the side of the blade against the cut was agony. Her flesh seared and stank of swine. After that, she tossed it aside and let the table smoke again.

It was a shaking hand that picked up her fingertip, but she placed it in the chalice. "My bond with you is for as long as there is life in my flesh. I freely give it as an oath. Is that enough of me?"

The statue placed his hand over hers and lifted it out. "As soon as I drink, I'll be able to heal it properly."

"I think I'm going to be sick." The princess' teeth started chattering.

The statue poured the broth from her soup into the cup and lifted it to drink.

The tent flap opened. It opened way too early. Iva stood there, seeing the cup raised, resting on nothing, and her charge crumpled to the table.

"What is that thing floating?" She set down her bucket and rushed to grab the Cup of Madness.

The statue cleared it and allowed her to pull it from his grip after a tussle. Looking into the bloody golden skull, intertwined with branches more akin to worms, made her yelp as she dropped it.

She turned to the princess and smacked Leena's head hard enough to wake her. "You witch! You haven't been healing anything. You're poisoning us! You can't win the love of a dog, so you're ending us all, aren't you?"

The statue turned the raving maid around, holding her by the jaw. "Any last words, M'Lady?"

"The only person I'm out to get is you, Iva. I am trying to save..." The shock finally caught up with the princess, and she did as normal.

She fainted.

Iva's bones were piled at the feet of the duke as he met The Cup of Madness for the first time.