Poisoned - Ch. 18 [Attack]

                                    

                                          
          Chapter 18 – Attack
                          

                          
          Getting to the Kitchens was easy. As I strode through the corridors, laden by several essential poison volumes for studying, I remembered again what a terrifying labyrinth the Palace had used to seem. Though it was still vast, I could now see that everything in it had a purpose, including the people. Mine would soon be fulfilled.
                          
          The atmosphere in the Kitchens was as hectic as ever, all except one gloomy corner where Cordelia, Jude and a couple others sat, wearing sombre expressions.
                          
          I dumped my books onto a conspicuously empty chair and sat down beside a gardener named Riko – a stout, brawny youth who worked with Julian in the Royal Gardens.
                          
          I looked around the silent, brooding group and felt my own spirits sink; I thought I knew well for the cause of it all. Even on the short trip from my chambers to the Kitchens, I had already counted at least half a dozen signs, hammered into the slots of the stone walls, naming the price on Julian’s head. Currently, he was worth ten pieces of gold; for many, that would be a small fortune. But I also knew that the price would steadily rise, the longer that Julian would remain missing.
                          
          “Did you know anything about Julian being a traitor?” Cordelia’s morose voice interjected itself into my thoughts.
                          
          Startled out of my pondering, I turned. “No,” I said cautiously. “Of course not; it came as much a shock to me as it did to you.”
                          
          Cordelia looked down at her mug standing before her on the cracked table. Jude wrapped an arm around her, eyes also cast downwards, his mop of straw-coloured hair falling untidily about his face.
                          
          “Do you think they’ll find him?” I was unable to keep the worry out of my voice; the question had tormented me all night long, and I had spent many weary hours tossing and turning, images of Julian being strangled and hung dancing through my nightmares until the dawn came.
                          
          To my surprise, Riko snorted. “If Julian doesn’t want to be found, it’s impossible to do so. He knows the castle and grounds better than anyone.”
                          
          He suddenly looked uncomfortable and cast an uncertain glance at me. Rising with his cap clutched in his hands, he muttered an excuse and left the table. Julian’s other friend also rose and followed him out of the Kitchens.
                          
          I remained alone with Cordelia and Jude, my books lying beside me. Even Alan, the boisterous, good-natured King’s Chef seemed particularly irritable today, and I watched as he sent a couple young boys scurrying for safety while he wielded an enormous spit, half an ox still sizzling on it.
                          
          “Julian will be alright,” Jude’s pleasant, velvet voice sounded from the corner. I turned to see him looking at me with compassion, his face soft but his words confident. “He’s a clever fellow, and Riko was right. No one can find Julian if he takes a mind to disappear.”
                          
          I nodded, immediately feeling reassured. Jude was such a comforting presence that it was difficult to keep worrying. I felt some tension lift and something unknot in my stomach.
                          
          “Are those poison volumes?” Jude indicated the books lying on the chair, sounding curious.
                          
          The tension returned. “Yes,” I said stiffly, dragging one onto the table and flipping it open. It landed on a particularly gruesome one, which caused the victim to slowly drown on the inside from excess bodily fluids. I flipped to the next page but it was equally nasty, and the one after that was even worse. Giving up, I shut the book entirely and put my face on top of it.