by Ivy Clyde
Cain’s voice was beside me now, but I couldn’t understand a word he said. My mind rang with the collective moans of pain rising up in the forest. Turning away from the sight of the dead girl, I bolted into the trees, desperate for a breath of fresh air.
Eyes glazed with tears, I relied on my feet to take me away. Cain’s voice continued to echo in my mind but I didn’t stop.
It was a while before I halted, suddenly out of breath with my legs burning. I was deep in the woods now with trees growing close together. Taking great gulps of air, I filled my lungs with the scent of fresh pine. The area was quiet and that was exactly what I needed to calm myself.
Back in the village of Carran, I wasn’t this badly affected. Back then, I wasn’t responsible for any of those souls. They were Cain’s people and I was merely lending him a hand to help him and his subjects. This was different. The sick of Okarijun were my people. I was the one responsible to heal and comfort them.
Tears ran down my cheeks as my chest heaved with wracking sobs. How many more people were suffering while I remained ignorant of my responsibilities? Just how many children died without anyone to mourn them?
Leaning against a tree trunk, I slid down to the ground, bawling like I’d never done before. Every suppressed emotion came to the surface and I sobbed and whimpered, recounting every injustice done to me since I was a child.
It was a long time before my attention went to my surroundings. As calm settled after the outburst, I realized my head was leaning against something very warm. Alerted, I sat up.
“Are you better now?” asked Cain, looking down at me. All this time, I had been leaning against him without even realizing it. He remained so quiet and unmoving, it had been impossible to tell him apart from a rock.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. Silver-gray eyes looked at me with such understanding that I felt my throat choke up with another sob. His fingers brushed away the lingering tears on my cheeks.
“I saw you run off into the woods,” said Cain, still caressing my cheek with the back of his hand. It was so soothing, I leaned into his touch. “You were upset by what you saw.”
“It’s more than that,” I said, looking into his beautiful silver eyes and knowing it was safe to tell him how I felt without any fear of judgment. “I would have been upset to see people suffering anyway. It is different now, though. They are my responsibility. I have to be able to do something to make things better for them.”
“I am sure you will find a way, Dari,” he said gently. “You are an excellent healer. Check on them slowly, keep a handle on your emotions and determine what herbs would help alleviate their pain. Most of these small towns and villages don’t even have doctors. The poor suffer without ever getting proper treatment. Now that you’re here, I’m sure you can help them.”
“How do you stay so calm?” I asked, desperate to know the secret to his composed demeanor.
“There’s always a storm that rages within me, Dari,” he said, his voice low and grim. “I remember every injustice done to me, my family and my people. My brother and sister let their emotions dictate their actions. They died, leaving me alone when I was barely fifteen.”
He inhaled deeply, swallowing the sob that came with reminiscing the past.
“My inexperience as a ruling prince during the most chaotic period of our time brought further harm to my people. I made many mistakes but always found that the commoners suffered as a consequence. Had my elder brother stayed alive, the people would have suffered less. In the end, the lesson was beaten into me. My every action has a repercussion on my companions and people.”
I stayed quiet, understanding what he meant. My every action would have an impact on the commoners. Giving up hope wasn’t a solution. Neither was blaming Ivan and those who wronged me. My next action was laid out clearly before me. I had to find a cure or a way to lessen the pain of those affected with the disease.
I exhaled heavily. Cain’s confidence in me lit up a new hope inside me. With every breath I took, I felt my heart and hope strengthen. Suddenly, the fear, panic and utter helplessness vanished.
I got to my feet abruptly, looking towards the direction of the camp. If I was truly the princess of Drakhaven, the heavens would aid me in bringing peace and healing to the people.
“Are you ready to face the challenge?” asked Cain, coming to stand beside me.
I nodded. Fierce pride glowed in those silvery eyes as he stared at me with such intensity it made my heart pound.
10
I was bent before a suffering old man when I noticed Cain shouting for Daria. Looking ahead, I saw her running deeper into the woods without paying heed to Cain’s calls. My gaze lingered at the spot she’d been in. A child lay on the ground, her open eyes staring lifelessly at the world.
Getting to my feet, I went over to the fallen body.
I waited by her side but no one came for the child. For a moment, I wondered if she belonged to the sick man we’d met earlier. Did he leave her to buy some food and she died during that time? My heart ached for them. We’d been too late to save her.
Daria must’ve had the same thoughts. With her past revealed, she had a new identity to her name. Daria was no longer an assassin living in the shadows. She was the future queen of Drakhaven. It must have shocked her to see the suffering of these people and realizing she was responsible for helping them.
Being a prince was never easy. You were constantly reminded how your actions would affect the common citizen. Every relation and alliance we made had to be scrutinized from every angle. If it didn’t help our people, we rejected it completely. Princes who were meant to be rulers had it tougher. Both Cain and Norvin faced terrible situations as ruling princes. Norvin was even ready to die twice to save innocent lives.
I was about to go after Daria but saw Cain rushing past me after her.
For a moment, I was ready to follow after them but something caught my attention. Two men, garbed in white with masks over their mouth and nose, were walking among the sick. Sometimes, they would stop and feed the person spoonfuls of a thick, creamy concoction. Intrigued, I decided to follow them. Cain would protect and keep Daria safe while I gained some more information about what was happening here.
The men seemed to stop by the sickliest patients. After each administering of the white potion, the person would droop down and fall into a doze.
One of the men must have noticed me following them because he straightened and looked directly at me. Undeterred, I walked up to him.
Crows’ feet gathered at the corner of his eyes as he stared at me. “Who are you?”
“I am passing by and happened to hear of the spreading sickness,” I said. “What is it you are feeding them?”
“Poppy’s milk,” grunted the man. “It’s the only thing that helps them in their last moments.”
Poppy’s milk was a well-known powerful seductive but a high dose could kill.
“If you know there’s a sickness spreading through these lands, why come into the heart of it?” he asked me gruffly. “Were you sent by Lord Tasher to spy on us?”
“No. I don’t even know who Lord Tasher is.”
He spat on the ground, cursing. “He’s the reason these people are without medicines and perishing.”
“I don’t understand. Is he poisoning them?” I asked, thinking about the incident in Carran where Helena had poisoned the townspeople.
“Don’t be absurd,” said the second man. He’d straightened after putting an elderly woman to sleep. From his voice, I could tell he was younger. “He is not as cunning as that fake princess of Fuvaros.”
“Tasher is greedy though,” said the older healer. “As soon as he heard of the sickness spreading, he had his men buy the medicines needed to treat the disease. He is hoarding them, waiting for the plague to reach the capital.”
“Won’t he be affected by it too?” I asked, baffled. “How can he know he’ll be immune to the disease?”
“He has the herbs
to heal him if he does get sick,” said the younger healer. “When the rich get sick, he will sell them the herbs for the price of gold. The poor be damned as long as he can fill his coffers.”
“So this disease is curable?” I asked, hope rising within me.
“Don’t get excited yet,” said the younger healer in a grim tone. “Without the herbs, it’s useless. We’re just helping these people ease some of the suffering. My father and I haven’t slept properly in the past month.”
“Would it help if we traveled to another county to get the herbs?” I asked. “I and my companions are travelers. We can ride to the next town and bring you the herbs.”
The healers shook their head.
“You think we haven’t tried that already?” said the older healer. “Tasher has had those herbs disappear from the whole kingdom.”
“What is your name?” the younger healer asked suddenly. He removed the mask away from his face, revealing the features of a young man of about twenty.
“Cover your mouth, Davon,” chided his father. “You know how it’s easy to catch the disease.” He turned his suspicious gaze at me. “You too, traveler. Take your friends and flee this place.”
They turned to leave, so I jogged after them. “If I could get you the herbs, you can surely cure the disease?”
The older man stared at me for a moment and then nodded.
“If I give you a great amount of them, you can save the rest of the people afflicted by the disease?” I asked.
“Of course, but where will you get them?” he asked. “The only place where you can find those herbs is Lord Tasher’s private vaults.”
“I’ll find a way,” I said, looking both men in the eye. “What are your names? How do I find you?”
“I am Davin,” said the older man. Gesturing at his son, he said, “This is Davon. We live in the cottages closest to the woods.”
“Thank you.”
They nodded, proceeding to hand out the milk of poppy to the people in pain. The whole camp was full of such men and women. There were very few children among them. It was easy to guess how their weaker bodies gave up long before the adults’. My fists tightened at the atrocity of the nobles. Whether it be Baledonia or Drakhaven, they were the same. They would keep the rulers suppressed and suck the blood of the people.
The cart of supplies we’d brought lay ignored in the far corner of the clearing. People were too sickly to even attempt to steal anything from it. They need food and sustenance, I decided, heading towards the cart. A good meal will raise their spirits.
I pushed the cart deeper into the woods, intent on setting up a fire for cooking. Daria and Cain would soon return as well. The relative privacy would allow me to talk to them without the fear of anyone overhearing us. As the healers suspected, there might be spies among the sick.
I’d just managed to make a big pile of wood when the sound of approaching footsteps alerted me. Looking to the direction of crunching dead leaves, I saw Cain and Daria heading my way.
“What are you doing here?” she asked curiously, staring at the pile of logs in my arms.
“Setting up a cooking station,” I said, dropping the logs on the pile. “Those people are too sick to even fend for themselves. A full belly might help them survive longer. Also,” I lowered my voice, moving close to both Cain and Daria. Instinctively, they inched closer. “There is a cure to the disease. The healers know of it but a noble called Lord Tasher has had all the necessary herbs stored in his vaults. He’s bought every available ingredient needed for the cure and hoarded them. Once the plague reaches the capital, he would sell them at the price of gold.”
Astonishment flickered through Daria’s emerald-green eyes. “Of all the insane things people did for gold, this scheme sure deserves top spot.” She looked stronger than before. The fire that always burned in the depths of her eyes had returned. Daria was no longer helpless or overwhelmed. She had her emotions under control.
Daria drew in a deep breath. “Tonight we stay here and tomorrow morning, I’ll leave for the capital.”
“You want us to separate?” asked Cain.
“For now,” said Daria. “At least one of us must stay back here to meet up with Norvin. Once he returns, come find me in Fuvaros. I’ll leave Tuto with you. He will know how to find me. In the meantime, I’ll scour the noble or whoever is in possession of those herbs.”
Daria’s voice was strong. Not a trace of doubt lingered there.
“Let one of us come with you, Daria,” said Cain. “You’re not fully healed and don’t even have enough weapons to protect yourself. You are going into another dragon’s grotto. You should have one watching your back.”
“Take Cain,” I said, suppressing the stab of inadequacy I felt. He was a seasoned warrior, unlike me. I would be useless in a fight where I couldn’t expose my true form.
Cain glanced at me. There was deep sincerity in those intense gray eyes.
“Thank you for your confidence in me,” he said, tilting his head towards me. He turned towards Daria and said, “I will come with you.”
“Will you be all right by yourself?” she asked, the cold mask falling off her face to reveal the anxiety she felt for me.
“I am a dragon now,” I said with a smile, hoping to reassure her. “Only another dragon can harm me now.”
11
We ended up sleeping under the cover of a large oak tree in the woods with nothing more than our cloaks covering us through the night. The cold didn’t bother us and with Adal and Cain’s bodies pressed to my either side, I was pleasurably warm.
It was still dark when my eyes slowly opened. Even when we stayed at a distance from the camp of sick patients, I could still hear the low echoes of their moans.
While I was angry at the way a nobleman decided to use the sickness to his advantage, part of me was grateful to know there were common people like the two healers helping people in need. I was sure to remember their names until the time came when I could reward them for their service. When I become queen, I would make sure to gift citizens who were useful to others, instead of favoring the haughty nobility who were simply using the chaotic times to fill their coffers.
When I become queen…the thought came so naturally to me. It was surprising how easy it was to think of Drakhaven’s throne as mine. Only a month ago I had been content to call Linmoor my home, despite how rough life was. Now, I would be marching into Fuvaros, the capital of Drakhaven, to see my real home.
I stood up and faced the east as the first light of dawn spread over the woods. Taking a deep breath, I strengthened my resolve. Find Lord Tasher’s vaults and smuggle out as much herbs as possible to distribute among the people. If I come across the man, I may as well slit his throat and hold some justice of my own.
Draping the cloak over my shoulders, I headed to the corner where we’d cooked barley and meat stew last night. The fire underneath it had long gone cold. Bending over the pot, I found remnants of the meal still filling half its depth.
The patients had been too sick to eat much. With their strengths waning, I felt even more desperate to get my hands on those herbs. I gathered wood and twigs from the forest floor and took them to the campsite. The fires we’d lit yesterday had burned out by now.
A few people saw what I was up to and came to help. They were the family members of the sick who were staying there despite the risk of getting infected. Once we had a few piles of logs and twigs, I set them on fire. If they thought the task was too easy for a common woman, they made no comment about it. With shadowed faces, they brought their family to warm up by the flaming firewood.
Going back to my companions, I shook them awake. Both princes looked exhausted. The past few days had been hard on them. Sleeping in caves and forest floors had to be tough when they spent most of their lives in utter luxury. Still, they never complained. Smiling at me warmly, they got up and stretched their arms over their heads.
“You should go to the inn in town and wait for Norvin there,
” I said to Adal. “There’s no point in staying here unless we have the herbs with us.”
Adal nodded. “He should be here by tomorrow.”
It would have taken a few weeks had Norvin traveled to Linmoor on horseback. His superior dragon form gave him extreme speed as he flew through the skies without a single obstacle in his way, covering the distance miraculously fast.
“Keep an eye out for Tuto,” I said. “If there’s any news, I will send it through him.”
“Should we leave now?” asked Cain, drawing my attention to him.
“Yes. We should be on our way.”
Adal moved forward, bringing me into a tight embrace before claiming my lips. Fire shot through my veins as I felt his tongue sliding over mine. Heart pounding like crazy, I kissed him back. Suddenly, all my exhaustion was driven out of me as my blood pumped hard, heating me to the tips of my fingers. My lips still felt singed from the fiery kiss. Licking them, I turned to Cain and nodded.
Moving forward, he slapped Adal on the arm and drew him into a hug. “Stay safe.”
Adal grinned. “You too.” His eyes fell on me and even when he didn’t say it, I knew he hated parting with us.
We got a ride from Okarijun to Fuvaros in a horse-driven cart for a few coppers. It saved us the hassle of buying horses, thus helping us save more of our gold. In hindsight, it was the best thing to happen as the slower pace allowed me to look at everything closely. It was the first time I’d traveled this far north and while I’d been born in Drakhaven, I didn’t know anything other than the palace corridors.
Drakhaven was colder than Iorna. Vast mountains rose up in every direction and wildflowers covered the roadsides and meadows. A cold breeze always seemed to blow down from the north but under the warm sun, it felt quite refreshing.
The people we saw along the way looked poorer than the peasants of both Iorna and Baledonia and a general air of despair hung over their heads as they got on with their business.