Chapter 10☆
The badge had a lion on it, and wrapped around it was a crown made of so many beautiful flowers that Rose wondered if she could actually buy one. It was overall so pretty and yet so simple. The word "light" had been written on it at the top; in the other little words around she made out a date that readNovember twenty fifth. What does that date mean?The war ended in August, and it was not any family member’s birthday. Maybe it is some holiday,she thought,or another important day for the country.Rose took it slowly out the case and then, while everyone was distracted by food, pinned it to her shirt. It seemed to shine brighter in the light, though it could have been her imagination. Around her, people at the table cheered, and she gazed up, perplexed, until Kris caught her eye and winked.
“It looks so perfect on you; he would be very proud,” Kana stated, and Rose grinned. Sometimes she felt as if she was the only one who worried about her family, but moments like this reminded her that they were known and loved. However, with the sight of Lena, her happiness disappeared. She caught Rose's eye, raised her eyebrows, then walked off. Rose, knowing what that meant, followed her.
Lena seemed more than slightly annoyed at the fact that Rose hadn't told her where she was going, so she just told her everything. After the story was finished, Lena asked rather harshly, "So you let him go?"
"Yes, but even if I was wrong, he won't get far; they're looking for him and he knows that."
"Still.”
“Well, there's nothing I can do now.”
Rose made her way to leave but Lena was not backing down, “You can tell Ana" she said threateningly
Rose spun back around, "and then she'll never let me go anywhere again.”
“Isn't this the second time you did something like this?”
“Good of you to remember, since the first time you were the–"
“The first time was different.”
“It was not different, just not exactly the same.”
For a second, Lena noticed she was being unfair and tried to make her voice go reasonable. “You have people who you know will listen to you now; why can’t you talk to them?”
“Because Ana won't go after Vister without stone hard evidence. She can take down a lot of people, but not him.”
Lena paused, knowing that Rose had a point. “We should tell Sakara." Rose had known she would say that; she shook her head. “But Noah isn't here" she reminded, and he wasn't. They had been waiting and had even begun to worry after he didn't seem to appear for three days.
“We can go without him. You know there's no harm in checking the place they were in before.”
“Noah knows them better than anyone. Most likely, if he says it, they're probably not there.”
“No harm.”
Rose pouted, for she didn't want to go now; she wanted to wait, but Lena would only go herself if she didn't. In the end she reasoned that they could at least wait for Noah. She managed to keep Lena at bay for another three days, but at the fourth she was unrelenting. Rose gave a scowl and then made the announcement as they were leaving in the morning. This time, as they agreed, they were taking Kris and Kana. Kris was happy at the prospect of going somewhere new, while Kana had a lot of questions. It wasn't hard to find them, so the journey was not long. Lena had memorized the path Noah showed her, and today they sat in virtually the same spot, only this time, when they found them, they were sitting closer to a fountain. Sakara sat in his usual middle spot while the others switched between masking and coming back; he watched them like one might see a father do, giving pointers and tips. Kris, who must have never met a masker before, stared at them wide eyed like a child.
“Thank God, Rose, you're here. I sent you a bubble a few days ago," Sakara said when she finally stepped forward and he noticed her. The other three stepped up, and he indicated for her and her three friends to sit down. The whole group seemed to have warmed to Lena and Rose, as no one made any trouble, thought they appeared to not like the prospect of them bringing new people.
“I’m sorry, I never got it.”
“I had a feeling I should have sent it by fire instead.”
“What specifically was it about?” she asked, hoping someone else at the house hadn't opened it.
His eyes flickered to the group. “I'm afraid I can only say it in private.”
She smiled. “That's actually perfect, since I need to talk to you about something very important.”
Sakara nodded and stretched, though his face was a little troubled. As he walked into the light, he appeared as if he had not had a bath in a few days, and his eyes were aching for sleep. Before he got up he picked up a black bag, told his members to keep practicing, and then the two of them walked to a secluded spot in the woods. They kept moving until they found a spot virtually quiet. "None of the others are hiding here. I would know.” Rose told him everything about the poison, the cup, and the store. At the sound of Vister’s plans, he seemed taken aback.
“And you’re saying he gets away with these things?’
“Only when there is no person or evidence to try him, though.”
"So you need spies?"
"Yes."
“And you really think that this man is partially behind all this?”
“I do. If you met him and if you lived there, you'd understand.”
"Too low born to meet someone like that. I'll do it. But in the future we may be too busy, so come to us beforehand.”
Rose shuddered. “What did you need to talk about?”
For a second it seemed that he was blushing. “It’s kind of a personal thing.” “Really, what-”
"Put that down," Hazard yelled, and they looked up.”I said put it down,” she yelled again, more threateningly, and with his nod they walked over to see the commotion.
A man was holding a metal bracelet, telling another team member, "I'll put it on you. I'll put it on you.” eventually the team member fell into the water. They began fighting each other with water, to everyone's amusement. Kris was in the back having a serious conversation with one of the older members, yet even he chuckled too. When the other fell off the fountain, onto the ground, and got up caked in mud, they only laughed more. Hazard rolled her eyes, and lightning flashed.
"What are those?" asked Rose.
"Poor people torture devices," a man said jokingly before Sakara could speak. "Shut up," Hazard said, then added, "Man made natural selection." Rose leaned closer. "What?"
“Well, no one knows their actual name, but what I said is close enough.” “I still don't understand.”
"Oh, come off it, you kids should know. Rumor is you're kids of the big men in charge."
Rose, Lena, Kris and Kana all shook their heads.
"Well, you grew up in Trearce, so maybe you don't know, even though they were almost a hit here too. You get them at birth in the other cities, and it's a ten thousand dollar fee."
"A what? Wait. What do they do? "
“Bad things you guys wouldn't be able to handle."
Rose looked skeptical. "Let me see," she said. She took it and turned it around and around in her hands; it had to be expensive, the middle was some sort of silver and the tips were gold. She examined it one more time and then slipped it on, which aroused a few gasps. It did not take effect at first; instead it just grew increasingly more beautiful. Out of nowhere the world did a three sixty and she struggled to stand. Her entire body felt weak, as if half her strength was being taken away and she could feel her powers draining out like liquid. Her senses began failing and she thought her vision might fail; it was as if she was half everything. Deaf, crippled, and blind.
“Why do people get these?" she put in lots of effort to choke out.
"You misunderstood me, they don't, the government does it against your will, if you don't pay, it doesn't go away."
“It hurts, ” Rose said, “can someone take it off?”
Lena immediately came forward.
"That's not true," Kana p
roclaimed realizing what their words meant. Many laughed while Sakara passed Lena a stick that she used to pry it open.
Rose understood the pain to be related to the people who let this happen.
"But surely that was before, during Max’s time," she added to Kana's statement.
"It was, though in some areas it never stopped. There were places that broke away from Maxilennium on their own before your aunt showed up, and she had no right to claim them or to tell them what to do. As usual the wealthy did not willingly accept them.”
"A lot of people approve of it," said Sakara disgustedly. "A way to approve your people before they become citizens and to keep classes in check so they can gain more.”
Rose studied the bracelet and then quietly put it in her pocket. "I want to keep it.” Sakara handed her the stick he had let Lena use. “Suit yourself, use this stick to get it off, or not if you really dislike the person it's on.”
“So just what have you guys been up to?” Lena questioned.
“Taking down corporations and getting rid of criminals, the usual, although I fear Rose might become better at it than us."
Rose had not heard for she could not stop thinking that a big piece was missing. “Is this why it's rumored that Trearce wants to conquer the other cities?”
“Common sense would say yes, since they suffer extremely harshly over there. Authority figures have a habit of lacking that, though, so who knows.”
“I think this stick is broken,” one of the other guys from before yelled, as he couldn't get the bracelet off, and a few people laughed.
“Knock it off.”
“It is. I swear it.”
“Can't you buy one of these yourself?" Rose asked. "Are they cheaper than ten thousand? ”
“You can make them if you have the materials. It takes a lot of practice and most on the market are fake. All these I have are real ones, Artisan taught us the trick.” The stick resembled a normal golden stick, but when she waved it she could hear a magnetic force. “Have you talked to Artisan lately?” she asked, but just as she expected the whole entire air changed.
“No. We have to go. Be safe kids”.
You're a kid yourself,Rose wanted to yell as they all left, even Hazard.Why do they hate Artisan so much?Are they the ones who beat him up?She could believe it if it were true. The others seemed happy that the meeting was over, as they were troubled by what they heard, but Rose had been hoping it would last till evening classes; she wondered what to do now. After a lot of discussion, they decided to all go back to the house, and Lena wind magiced them away. Kris and Kana went to the great hall while Lena relaxed in the living room. Rose decided to grab a blanket so she could join her and they could talk. When she made it back to her room to put the stuff away, she saw something that made all her thoughts disappear. Noah was on her bed; not only that, he looked at her, and then instinctively his whole body shook as he coughed up blood and shivered. She ran to him. "Noah. Noah."
He turned. "Rose, no, I'll be fine, I told them not to bring me here.”
She went to go grab the others at once.
Together, with Kana's help, they took him to the other bed and cleaned him up. Lena showed him how to lie to stop the bleeding. With Kris's knowledge they figured out that he had the red flu, which he had developed from all his trips to the forest. It was a disease that took about two days to kick in, and after that deterioration happened fast and stayed for what could be weeks. As he sat with his head in Kana's lap, Rose was worried, though she knew it was curable.
Aylea, who had been there when the guards let him in, peeked in her head to check constantly like a hawk. As soon as Rose told her she could get help, she fetched an old Ms. Grace to come in and examine. Ms. Grace smiled and joked on the way there, though she was obviously worried.
"Everything all right?"
"No, not at all." Rose decided to be upfront. “He has red flu."
“Back away from him now, quick. Are you mad? He's contagious, this could spread everywhere."
“He's not. We have school with him and if he was, we would have gotten it and showed symptoms by now.”
"I can get the medicine," offered Lena.
"Heavens no, I'll have to send someone with you and they're all out patrolling. You are NOT going alone"
"I have Rose." Rose gave her best smile, and Ms. Grace gave her the skeptical look most people who worked the house did, so Lena added, "And Kana, too." "I'll stay,” said Kris, "and watch him.”
Rose could see it in his and Kana's concerned eyes that they and Noah had come to be close friends in a very short amount of time. It made her sad. Grace thought for a minute, then lectured, “you four girls all go, but be back soon. I want absolutely no sneaky business. Not at all. If there is any, I won't let you go anywhere till next year." Ms. Grace gave Rose two fifties and a hundred dollar bill. They all stretched and then gathered up their stuff. For the first time, Kana showed no concern for doing her light trick.
The shop was not far; in fact you could count the things that were far from the queen, but this was exceptionally close. It was a tiny pretty shop that you would assume was just a small boutique until you saw the many things outside the door, including quarantine mask and gloves and air pumps that they put out every hour with a man to supervise. He'd change the stuff out whenever a sick person coughed and the stuff was in range, which happened often. There was a cure for every illness, ranging from spanish flu to the common cold. You couldn't see it at first sight, but there were rumors that a lot of funding went in to keeping it heavily guarded. At first Rose didn't believe it, until they all were scanned by a light and then stepped through.Human technology?Now that was expensive. She stared at the tiny bottles, that you wouldn't think were medicine. They were little pretty sparkly bottles that could have belonged to anybody, perfume or maybe just a really expensive juice. (She found herself fighting the urge to drink them.) "Do you nead helpth?” a tiny man behind a small counter said. He had a bit of an accent when he spoke, making his words thick. His clothes were pure and clean as a whistle, though his glasses were rather dirty.
"I'm looking for the cure for red."
He took off his glasses and wiped them. “How longth has de persion been daffected?”
“About six days.”
He frowned, "Comb this way. Unfortunataeily that's getting harderr and zharder to contain."
Rose was intrigued. The bottles weren't made of glass, she observed, which was very smart. Instead, they were made of a clear metal she'd never seen before. They also weren't in alphabetical order, which she knew was to trick thieves. The man seemed to know where everything was in his head and if there had been a list once, she knew it was long gone.
"Right shere," he said. "You naed to make surez you get it to dehim as soon as posstible.”
“Any other rules?”
“Make shure he stays one hundvred percent clian. When he coughs up bleod you clean it de instunt it leaves his body. If he was in a bed washe dhe sheets. Also keep him nourishhhhed. He'll have random spots of honger and thirst. Give food and wahter to him that instont as you never know when de next will come.”
“So the coughing up blood is normal?”
“Yes, don’t worry. He yount die. A lot of paople who don't work inz my fiald don’t know the truth about illnoss. Of all the diseases I have curesh for there are only sevon that can lead to deeth. The other twunty nine will just affect you really badly and youu tend to die from other, already existing causes.”
Rose checked the bottle over. The reality of the situation hit, and her hands started to shake.
“The instructions on whane to give de medicone to him are zith the bottle,” he reassured her.
“And keep him away from as many people as possible, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
“And check on him?”
“Every hour.”
She shivered, “What if he gets really bad, as in he coughs up too much blood?” He to
ok out a slip of paper with an address and handed it to her. “Take him to centrial hospital. It's a hospital made spechifically for illnass. Do not take him enywhere else as at a regoular hospital he could contaminate already sick paeple. If it's really been a few days, I promise youu he will be fine and you will not need to.”
“What if he doesn't get moments of thirst and hunger at all?”
“Give him gringer tea or just steam gringer in front of him. A very naturol remedy to a very command problem.”
“Okay. I can do that.”
“Good. Now for payzment. State your foooll name."
"Rosalie Ontari. But wait, do you have something for people to drink who've been exposed?"
“Yes.” He picked up a bottle from his pocket with a pretty pink color and handed it to her. “Drink a sip unce an haeour, no one can get sick atfter having this stuff; it's really strong so onily a sip.”
“Thank you.”
He walked behind a desk and pulled out a small computer. "Laptop," she had heard they were called. More technology, it was intriguing to watch. "Rosalie Ontari," he said and typed something in, "full price."
The small object was hard to look away from. "Why? I mean, I'm not mad I have to pay full price, but what do you need the computer for?" It seemed as if there wasn't much it could do.
"It's ok to aske, child. Many do. It's to keep track of the wealth of aour customers. Our less fortundate people get de first helf a bottle free. The second they get one fourth freed and there's always the optioun of getting a payment plan if they yon't have the money upfront."
She looked at the price and saw it read fifty dollars. Being as though anywhere else would have charged a fortune (two thousand at the least, give or take seven hundred for the paper), this was very nice of him.
"Thank you so much,” she said, giving him one hundred dollars, and then a fifty dollar tip.
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