Dazed

by Katie Hauenstein

  Poor Darrel. How long will he make himself feel guilty about all this?

  Chapter 31

  At dinner, Father did his absolute best to make Darrel feel appreciated without actually discussing the disease. Mother, Ella, and I also tried to avoid the subject at all costs. There were really two conversations going on simultaneously. One was between Father and Darrel discussing future experiments and the other was between Mother and Ella discussing Ella’s nonexistent love life.

  I focused on my plate and tried to not miss Peter. I knew he would be home soon, ring in hand. I wondered what it would look like and if it would fit. I imagined walking down the aisle and how handsome he would look in his tuxedo and ceremonial cape.

  “Is that right, Princess?” Darrel was talking to me. Looking up from my plate, I saw all four sets of eyes on me.

  Rotting roots. I have no idea what the question was.

  “Yes, Duke Peter and Princess Miriam are engaged,” answered Ella, saving me. She probably knew where my head was.

  “Well, congratulations. May your marriage be happy and Arboria continue to prosper under your reign in the future together.” Darrel lifted his wine glass in a toast and we all did the same.

  “Thank you, Doctor Winston,” I said. “Duke Peter actually went to his estate to pick up his mother’s ring for me. That is why he is not here right now.”

  “He did?!” Mother exclaimed with a half-moon smile on her face. “I was wondering where he went. Have you thought about your dress, Miriam?” Because Darrel was present, we were using formalities.

  “Ever since I was seven years old, Mother.” Everyone laughed.

  “What about your announcement speech?” Father asked.

  I choked on the sip of wine I had just swallowed. “I thought you were going to do that,” I croaked. Ella grinned in amusement.

  “I was,” admitted Father. “However, I think it would be better if you did. I would like for you to draw something up discussing the cancellation of the Birthday Ball, the resumption of the Crowning Ceremony, and your upcoming nuptials. Have it ready by ten o’clock in the morning, please.”

  “Uh. Alright.” Whatever his reasons were, his face told me further discussion would be fruitless.

  “Ah. Look at the time. I am afraid I must be going to sleep. I have some cleaning and arranging to do in the morning and I must get some sleep before. Thank you for inviting me into the palace for dining and sleep. It is an absolute honor.” Darrel stood, bowed, and left.

  I faked a huge yawn. “Yes, I should go, too. Need to work on that speech and get some shut eye.”

  “Is that Rose-speak for ‘I need to go to my room and await my true love’s arrival with my ring?’” joked Ella.

  I slapped her arm. “Of course not!” I exclaimed, but the smile on my face gave me away and everyone laughed again.

  When I walked over to kiss Mother on the cheek, she took my hand. “Rose, I know this has been a terrible month for all of us, but I am so glad that you are going to be able to marry the man you love. I couldn’t be happier for you.”

  “Thank you, Mother,” I said as she released my hand and I kissed Father on the cheek.

  “I’ll see you all in the studio in the morning.”

  As I made my way to my guest room, I thought about everything that happened and about how relieved I was that it appeared to be over. That afternoon, Father, Mother, and I had our blood tested again and it all came back negative.

  I also considered the fact that I didn’t know that Christopher had died. It was strange. For the other five men, I had a vision of a wooden coffin disappearing or being kicked or thrown. With Christopher, nothing happened, not that I was complaining. After each vision, my migraine had returned ten-fold and I was tired of having them.

  However, it was disturbing to me that a vision hadn’t come to me. Not knowing if that meant more were going to die or if there was even any meaning behind it had given me goosebumps every time I pondered it.

  When I got to the room, I nodded to the Guard who posted himself outside the door and went straight to the bathroom to take a bath with no rose oil.

  More Princess Problems.

  After my bath, I got myself ready again for the night. Father had offered to hire me a new assistant, but I wasn’t ready yet. Marie’s betrayal still sat heavy on my heart and I didn’t feel up to training someone new yet. Still mentally constructing my speech, I sat in front of the mirror and brushed my hair.

  Deciding against a manuscript speech, I began to rehearse out loud the different ways of saying what I wanted to say. I practiced in front of the mirror so I could choose gestures and facial expressions. After a while, I looked at the small clock by the bed and saw it was eleven o’clock. Yawning, I wondered how much longer Peter would be.

  Feeling prepared for the morning, I sat on the sofa and picked up a book I had brought up from the library. Next thing I knew, I was waking up to the sound of the door chime. Looking at the clock again, I saw it read one o’clock.

  Groaning, I went to the door and let Peter in. “Hello, love,” I yawned. “I tried to stay awake. I really did.”

  Wordlessly, he smiled at my grogginess and pulled his mother’s ring from his pocket. Made of white gold with tiny diamonds circling an emerald center stone, it was beautiful. Lifting my left hand, he placed the ring on my ring finger and kissed it.

  “I love you, Rose. Get some sleep.” He gave me a kiss, then left me standing there.

  Smiling, I gawked at the ring and got myself tucked into the bed.

  Mrs. Peter Petrichoria. King Peter and Queen Miriam. I like that.

  Chapter 32

  Two coffins sit on the platform and the man who looks like the night sky circles them. Deftly, he jumps on top of the wooden one and with one giant stomp, sends it into the ground. I am not sure how I know, since he has no face, but I know he has a malicious smile spread across it. He gently drags a finger along the edge of the glass coffin containing me.

  “It’ssssss time,” he hisses in a loud whisper.

  Jolting awake, I grab my head. Out of all the migraines I had in the last month, this one was the worst. Dragging myself out of the guest bed, I made my way to the bathroom for one of my caplets, finding I was out. With a groan, I put on a robe and stumbled out the door barefoot.

  The Guard gave me a questioning look. “Out of migraine medication,” I said, still holding my head in my hands. “Need to go down to the lab and get some.” He nodded and followed me out.

  After the longest walk to the lab ever, I pressed the button to go in and discovered it was locked.

  No biggy. I’ll use my royal override code.

  Father, Mother, and I each had our own override codes so we would always have access to any room in the palace or on the palace grounds. I squinted at the bright screen, which made the migraine worse, and pressed in my code. Leaving the Guard outside, I went in.

  Inside, it was blessedly dark, but light enough. Because of the rising sun, I could see. The floor was still littered with broken glass from Darrel’s tube throwing, so I had to carefully make my way around the room in my bare feet.

  I opened the cupboard he got the migraine caplets from before, but they weren’t there. Not knowing where I would find them, I began opening cupboards and moving things around. I would apologize later for ruining his hard-earned organization and offer to help put it back together. Darrel tended to be a little protective of the way things were in his lab, which was why he went through assistants quicker than the Princes of Britainnia filed complaints with anyone who dared breathe the wrong way around them. None of the assistants could stand his obsessive behaviors for longer than a week and he couldn’t handle anyone not as obsessive as he was trying to assist him.

  Giving up on the first cupboard, I moved on to the next, then the next. After about five cupboards, I was beginning to wonder if he was out, too. As I moved on to the sixth cupboard, I thought about the vision. For obvious reasons, the night man scared m
e. I was frustrated that I could never see his face.

  Standing on the top step of the short ladder I had been pulling with me, I looked at the highest shelf and found something odd. It was a line of empty syringes, but the last one was labeled “Miriam” and had a transparent purple liquid in it.

  I wonder if he has developed something more permanent for my migraines.

  I pulled down the syringe case and set it on the counter so I could get a better look. While I thought it was a single line of them from the ladder, there were actually several rows. Pushing the ladder out of the way, I bent over and squinted at the labels on the other empty syringes. There was a date on the case that was several months prior.

  Oak. Oak. Oak. Oak. Maple. Maple. Elleouise. Maple. Willow. Willow. Willow. Willow. Willow. Willow. Willow. Willow. These must be from the vaccinations we got a few months ago for that disease Darrel said was making its way toward us. I remember thinking that was the largest syringe I had ever seen

  I moved on to the last row of abnormally large syringes.

  Royal. Royal. Royal. Miriam. Why is there one with my name on it? I already had the vaccine and it wasn’t purple.

  My eyes widened with realization. And I slowly backed away from the counter.

  No. No, no, no. It can’t be.

  When I turned to run out the door, I was stopped by two strong hands grabbing my upper arms. Shocked, I stared with horror into Darrel’s face.

  “You weren’t supposed to find that, Miriam,” he said.

  “Explain. Please tell me that it isn’t what I think it is,” I begged.

  Darrel pressed his lips into a straight line. “I can’t tell you what you want to hear.”

  “I trusted you! I was there for you over the last month and now I find a syringe with my name on it? Is it the Daze?”

  Darrel sighed. “It is. Only your variant is a more proper version of the Daze. It would make the Rose of Petrichoria a poison to her people. I had decided not to give it to you since you proved yourself so different than I thought, but you found that. Now, I have no choice.”

  At that, I lifted my hands between his arms and pushed out, breaking his grip on my arms. Turning around, I tried to get away, but he was too quick. As soon as we separated, he brought his hands in front of himself and pushed my back, making me land hard, hands-down, against the counter.

  I quickly grabbed an empty syringe and filled it with air. Turning around, I tried to stab him in the neck with it, but he stopped my hand with his and grabbed for the purple syringe with my name on it. I grabbed his hand and pushed back, stopping him.

  “You may not know your science, but you’re stronger than you look,” he admired with a grunt.

  Squeaking, I replied, “You don’t have to do this Darrel. Please.” His hand moved an inch closer to me and I squeaked again.

  “Yes, I do. You have no idea what I’ve been through trying to get all this off without a hitch. As much as I appreciated your emotional support, you made the whole thing twice as hard with all your meddling.”

  “I thought you were my friend!” I was able to get a little closer to his neck with my empty syringe.

  Darrel scoffed. “Friend. As far as I’m concerned, we only just became friends. All the Nobility ever did for me was mock and tease me. I’m a genius! A genius! And all I ever got was disdain.” He pressed a little closer and I screamed. I heard the Guard outside trying to get in. “Be a good girl and take your shot now, Miriam.”

  “No!” I screamed and got closer with mine, but he got closer, too. His needle was now pressed against my skin, but not breaking it, yet. I squeaked.

  “How did you know that shooting air into my veins with a syringe this large will kill me? I thought you were terrible with science.” He was trying to distract me.

  “Princess! Princess! Are you alright?” the Guard was yelling for me.

  “I won’t let you hurt anyone else,” I replied to him.

  “Oh. You’ve figured it out then? Yes. This was all a big experiment for me. I’m bringing the Daze back, then I’ll cure it and I will be King. If you’re a good girl, I’ll cure you first. Since you will be the first carrier, it only seems right. I might even let you be my Queen.”

  Knowing I couldn’t let that happen and he was about to inject me, I decided to do something crazy. The vision was right. It was my time. Even if I was going to die, I couldn’t let him live and destroy what my ancestors worked so hard to build.

  After releasing his hand, he fell forward. Even though he did inject me with the Daze, I got him with the air, too. When he fell forward, he had fallen right onto it. His eyes bulged and he choked, dropping his, now empty, syringe.

  I pushed him down to the ground, pulled out the syringe and refilled it with air. Straddling his chest and holding his hands down with my feet, I stabbed him in the neck with it again. I repeated the process over and over until he was dead.

  I heard murmuring outside the door. “No! Don’t come in!” I shouted as I heard the beeping of a code being pushed in. I jumped off Darrel and ran for the door. The beeping stopped. “Darrel Winston was behind the deaths. He was trying to bring back the Daze. He – he – he injected me with it. I’m contagious. I’m going back to a quarantine room. Get another doctor, get the lab cleaned before letting anyone in.”

  Silence fell between us and I was panting. I already had a migraine and now my head was easily ten times worse.

  “Yes, Your Highness,” one Guard said. “You stay here. Don’t let anyone in.”

  “Yes, sir,” said another Guard.

  I locked myself up in a quarantine room, laid down on the bed where both Stephan and Leo had died, and wept.

  Chapter 33

  “Princess?” I woke to someone questioning me. Turning over and sitting up, I saw a man I was unfamiliar with, talking through a speaker in the room. “I am Doctor Mage. How are you feeling?”

  “Horrible. I already had a migraine before he injected me,” I answered.

  The man nodded. He was older and had brown eyes, but that was really all I could see past his protective suit and mask. Not a fraction of an inch of his skin was exposed. In fact, the half-inch thick material was obviously designed more for safety than functionality because he had difficulties moving to do his work. There must have been some kind of connection between the suit and the speakers so he could communicate with me. “I still need to take some blood from you, but my team was able to test the air in here.”

  “And?”

  “From what we can tell, it is some form of the Daze. Not the original, but not what the Nobility had either. This one is contagious. He only needed to inject you with it. We gas cleaned the interior, as you suggested, so everyone outside the lab is fine.”

  “Good. Could you let the King know he needs to get the security footage over to Lieutenant Hanson, so he can close his case?”

  “Yes, Your Highness.”

  After a pause, I asked, “What happens to me now?”

  “Your Father, Mother, and I discussed it. Ultimately, it is your decision, but we all think it would be best to put you in a cryogenic chamber until we can come up with a cure for you.”

  My glass coffin.

  “How long do you think that will take?”

  “Unknown. It could be days, weeks, months, or even years. We have no idea what exactly Doctor Winston developed. As far as we can find, the only injection was the one he gave you and we have not found any cure or information about a cure on his Computer Desk.”

  I gulped. “Years?”

  He looked down. “It is a possibility.”

  I looked down to the ring Peter had given me only that morning. I liked the way it looked on my finger. Blinking, tears began to fall; all my hopes and dreams escaped me with them. Removing the ring, I handed it to Doctor Mage. “If you could tell Peter something for me, I would appreciate it. Tell him, he can do what he will with the ring. He can wait for me or he can move on.”

  The doctor nodded slowly. “
So, you will go into cryogenic freeze?”

  “Yes. Can I talk with Father and Mother before?”

  “I will bring you in a holocomm and you can talk to whoever you want. I will have a cryogenic chamber in here in about an hour.”

  After he was gone, I sat on the edge of the bed and stared lamely at my blank finger. For less than a day, I had everything I needed and wanted. Peter and I were going to spend the rest of our lives together, but I couldn’t expect him to wait years for me. It wasn’t fair for him.

  A short time later, the doctor returned and set up a makeshift holocomm station for me. “I will go speak with your parents and they will comm you when I am done. I will see you in around an hour, Princess.”

  “Alright.” It was all I could say. I felt numb – well, besides my splitting headache. He left again and I was on my own. I thought of poor Peter when the doctor gave him the ring. I hated that I couldn’t save myself better, but at least I could protect my people from the Daze. I wouldn’t allow myself to go out among them in my condition. Or risk going out there while in a Daze episode. Or leave Arboria without an heir to the Crown. No. It was best for me to go into the cryogenic freeze and let the doctors do their work.

  The holocomm beeped and I went over to the holostation. After a deep breath, I answered. Rather than Father or Mother, it was Peter’s face I saw. “Peter.”

  “Yes. It’s me. I – I got the ring – and your message,” he said sadly.

  “Please, understand, Peter. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you, but I could be in the cryogenic freeze for years. I don’t feel like it would be fair for me to expect you to wait for me.”

  “I understand. I would feel the same way, but I want you to know something. I will wait as long as possible. I love you,” his voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  “I love you, too, Peter.”

  “Uh. Ella – wants to talk with you.”