It was silent the rest of our walk as I processed what Queen Aefre told me. We finally got past the main hallway and she was leading me to some rooms where Death could lay down and rest. Then I could probably think too.
My heart ached though, with a feeling I wasn't too common embracing.
The image of the blood splattered on my clothes from before when her sister got this, replayed over and over in my head. I kept glancing back at her as we walked, trying not to let the memory get distorted to show her instead.
It stung my chest each time with the thought.
Queen Aefre seemed still pretty calm and in high spirits.
"Can you have the agulhas' notes sent my way for what they know so far?" I quipped. My lips slightly tight, fingers scratching my sides. Anything to try to keep the mood causal and control my real feelings.
I knew- she knew, I was troubled with the whole situation.
Yet with a simple dropping of her head slightly back and to the side. Barely gazing at me from behind. Lazily dropping her lips just a centimeter, and flashing a a very flirtatious smile, I immediately relaxed. Regardless of if I wanted to.
"Of course, " she giggled, "what are friends for?"
"Probably this." I joked. Tilting my head as a sigh let itself out.
Queen Aefre nodded at me before looking forward again. Turning right as we headed down one more corridor.
I recognized it just as I did the hallway. Different colors but still the same. Lined with beads along the tops of the walls. Orange and white, the medical hall. Where most of the agulhas stayed. Studying any and all magic they could. Even humans could join the ranks if they were unique enough, and of a good nature.
Just a few doors from the main medical entrance, she opened ours. A deep orange red door, leading to a large room with many spots for studying mostly. Even some vials of various items to test. The sleeping area's two small beds on the floor. A slot near one of the study areas, perfect sized for slipping notes through.
As we entered, someone pushed open the slot and a couple notes fell through. Landing on the stone & steel table in front of it.
Guess I'd be seeing those notes rather soon. Without Queen Aefre's need to do much at all.
The Queen laid Death down on one of the beds. Moving the blankets out from under Death, to toss them over her so she'd be covered in the warmth.
Good idea considering how cold it will get night. I nodded and whispered thanks, watching as she turned around and headed out.
As soon as it was just Death and me, I did a quick spin and headed straight for the notes. Sitting on the floor instead and grabbing the paper as fast as I could to begin reading. Names, symptoms, the stage, everything.
How could this have happened again?
I grit my teeth tightly together, holding in a growl.
More past memories flooded against the back of my mind.
The Queen's sister's symptoms had started to show at the first opening ceremony of the agulhas for that spring- an odd time to get sick with the hotter weather. Rare on this realm- even for humans. The Queen's sister, like Queen Aefre, was a kishi. A much fiercer one at that; the original to be Queen, so seeing her collapse suddenly in the middle of the ceremony was shocking. Unsettling.
The memory of my heart going from a bored hum, to racing pound, being the first thing that hit my senses as I thought back on it.
My eyes scanned through the documents, trying to translate as best I could the words. I'd spoken and read the Kishi language for many years, but hadn't done so in a while. So to help with reading faster I used a little magic to transfer the words to the Hangul characters that I was a bit more comfortable with. I couldn't transfer as fast as I wanted though. My earlier injury making it a bit overwhelming. Each letter transferring, pricking a small hole in my chest for but a moment- but a painful one at that. Like the press of a needle laced in wine. It left traces of it's burning sensation, even after the healing.
Only as I got to the last word, did the beginning pain start to fade away.
It was clear from what I read that Queen Aefre's symptoms started to show in a less dramatic fashion.
Subtle, her first noticing a few days after injuring her leg in a skirmish. The source of the skirmish did not survive Queen Aefre's offensive and could not have been the cause as it was a Boat-Breaker. Those winged scaled creatures were too weak to leave a curse. They just had a bad temper over their dug up food being stolen, but they normally kept a good distance from a Kishi.
Plus Queen Aefre's sister, never came in contact with one, and the source had to be something they both had in common.
So definitely not the cause.
The symptoms following though, they do seem the same. Just less rapid.
The silver etching the skin, vomiting blood, difficulty eating, fainting, difficulty controlling high level magic; eventually it would all lead to death.
So far, she's hidden it well. Able to tell when a fainting spell is coming and leaving to somewhere private. Hiding the magic using extra beads on her staff. Drinking extra nutrients through a soup instead. They knew more now and Queen Aefre was unfortunately more prepared.
But I wasn't. I'm not.
My fingers traced against the letters on the pages. No longer translating for speed, just slowly reading in the natural language.
"-a morte."
I lift the papers above my head re-reading over and over. Time moving like the dripping of sap down the bark of a tree.
"-eventually death."
Not this time.
YOU ARE READING
Whipping Girl
WerewolfBeing mated to an alpha werewolf who's also an assassin has its perks. Likely death, surely wasn't one of them, and puts Yeona right back where she started. Yeona gets sent off to be a prisoner to the Lor Clan unexpectedly, after claiming to commit...
