Chapter 14: Ardele

                                    

                                          
A knock rings through the room, and I try to tame the hair that has come out of my chignon. Looking out the window, I see the sun has started to set, and I wonder who could be knocking at my door at this time. It might be a maid coming to draw a bath. 
                          
Giving up with my hair, I undo my hair, letting the black strands fall in waves down my back. I quickly walk over the door not wanting the maid to be kept outside for so long. Pulling it open, I come face to face with the crown prince, and my body starts to tingle. After a period of time, the sensations will go down when I get used to his presence. Witches react to pure objects. And it is also our demise if we are not careful. Holy fire can kill us as well as a blessed sword. 
                          
Raising an eyebrow at him, I shift to the side, letting him come in. It is not proper etiquette for an unmarried man to visit a woman in the evening. But it does not matter as that is not why he is here. His eyes are furious, but not at me. He is glaring at me, but not at me. He is furious at the situation. And I completely understand the place the rage comes from. It comes from a place of guilt. The crown prince makes a very subtle pause that I barely catch before stepping in and surveying the room. 
                          
            "Do you need something, your highness?" 
                          
            "You need to start now." 
                          
            I cross my arms in front of me. "When the light is going down?"
                          
            His gaze turns glacial. "Yes. Get your cloak, I will show you down to the laboratory."
                          
            Grabbing my cloak from the bed, I wrap it around myself, tying it up. We are not leaving the castle, but it is freezing. The pamphlet of the king's medical documents is on the bookshelf, and I carefully pick it up. I look at him expectantly, before heading out the room first, with him closing the door behind us. 
                          
Striding down the echoey halls together step in step with a royal would have gotten me executed back in Clairemont. Crown prince Fallon on the other hand would rather not waste his breath talking to me. Curving down the intricate halls, I am mesmerized by the art and design showcased everywhere. The ceilings are painted with many beautiful items and stories. There are pillars made out of marble and quartz. The curtains are a crimson red, a stark contrast to the pale walls and floors. 
                          
Crown prince Fallon leads me down a set of stairs and takes a narrow left, stopping at two very large doors. He pushes on the doors open and flicks the lamps on. The laboratory is a beautiful white room outlined with windows and filled with herbs, medical equipment, and more. Walking over to a lichia flower, I look at the purple leaves in wonder. These flowers are forbidden in the North as they have abnormal healing qualities that are unpredictable. There are so many prohibited items in the room that makes my jaw drop. All kinds of herbs, materials, and other items that a witch could only dare to dream to tamper with. Crown prince Fallon would an outlaw at this point in Clairemont. 
                          
            Picking up a vial that has an unknown blue liquid in the glass, I mutter, "I need to look at the patient before I should do anything."
                          
            He tilts his head in agreement. "Indeed. Follow me."
                          
            I follow him out, and I close the doors behind us. He goes up the stairs in the opposite direction, heading to the converse wing I was in. The royal wing is the size of a large mansion, if not larger. The wing alone is more the size of five ballrooms if I had to guess. As we walk through, I notice that there not a lot of rooms in the royal wing. I am sure that the rooms in size must be massive. Crown prince Fallon stops us in front of two golden doors. As in two doors made out of gold. Five guards stand guard, and they bow in the presence of Prince Fallon.
                          
            "I do not know my father's state of mind currently. I hope that you will treat him with respect and grace despite his state right now."
                          
            I nod. "I will, your highness."
                          
            He pushes the doors open, and I trail behind him. The queen is sitting on the beautiful canopy bed, looking at her beloved with such tenderness. She smiles when she spots me behind her son and motions me to come closer. Timidly smiling back, his highness pushes me forward and the queen takes my hand. 
                          
            "Hello darling. I hope you are having an amazing evening. Thank you for coming here tonight to dote on my husband."
                          
            I deeply curtsey. "Good evening, her majesty. It is a pleasure to be in your presence. I am glad to be of service."
                          
            Finally looking up, she kindly leads me over to the king who is sleeping peacefully on the other side of the bed. The queen places her hand on the king's forehead, wiping the perspiration gathered on his brow. 
                          
            "What illness is the king struggling with, her majesty?"
                          
            Her mouth thins to a grim line. "Loeniklien."
                          
            Oh. That is not good. From his state, the disease has been in body for a couple weeks or so. Loeniklien is a dangerous illness to the vampire species as it makes it so that they cannot digest blood. Normally, a vampire can go for a month without drinking before the body starts to deteriorate. Even then, the body usually starts to try to heal itself, giving the vampire more time to survive depending on how healthy they are. However, this illness cancels all of that, giving the vampires no way to fight back the deadly disease, basically making it a death sentence. 
                          
Loeniklien occurs when a vampire digests a certain type of mutated vegetation. Only four vegetations can mutate in such a way, and the treatments for the four are very different. Until I can figure out which vegetation he digested, it is up in the air on whether or not he will survive. 
                          
The previous witches must have known that and failed to guess witch vegetation it was. At least, I hope that they were on the right trail. If not, I will have to on a long trial and error testing on my own. 
                          
            I glance over at the crown prince, and the sorrow haunting his eyes is chilling to the point of making me immediately direct my gaze elsewhere. A look like that could kill someone. The queen grabs onto my hand, and I squeeze her hand reassuringly. 
                          
            "I will try my best."
                          
            Tears gather in her eyes, and she lets go of my hand. It is saddening that I cannot offer her more than the words that I am sure she must have heard many times. But I will honestly try my best. I will give it all I got. 
                          
The crown prince shifts, garnering my attention. I rise from the king's side, and I whisper a calming spell over the room. His face visibly relaxes, and I cross over to the crown prince. Together, we walk out the somber filled chamber.