VeraWolfeFantasyWebNovels

♝♝♝♝♝♝♝♝♝♝

[Rough Draft] Chapter 56: A Temporary Respite

 

Carina looked up tiredly as the shadows of Bastiallano’s fortress gate and walls passed overhead. She smiled with relief but then started at the unfamiliar feeling of safety and familiarity as the castle walls surrounded her. ‘No point in lowering my guard now. The game’s only gotten more dangerous.’

Still, it wasn’t the strength of Bastiallano’s castle walls that drew a smile to the Duchess’s lips as she gazed absently out the window to where knights, stewards, soldiers, and now even witches all paused in their task to bow towards the passing carriage.

‘Hana will be waiting for me.’

It was strange how such a simple thought pushed away all sense of tiredness and worry. Carina could already envision the welcoming smile on the beautiful Viscountess’s face.

They barely spent any time apart lately, each taking strength and comfort from the other as they pursued their joint goals.

Hana continued to work diligently on treating Ivy’s curse with her blood, filling vials of the precious liquid to send by courier to the orphanage every morning. The task had taken no visible toll on her. Even the wounds where Hana cut herself to force out the blood quickly healed with increasing frequency. While Carina felt equally relieved and guilty every time she saw those wounds vanish, Hana always stared at her newly healed skin with a look of worry.

‘To be fair, if others discovered the miraculous power of Hana’s blood—it would make her life more difficult.’

Carina pushed down the distracting thoughts and straightened her spine as the carriage pulled to stop in front of the castle’s sizeable iron-gated door.

Larissa opened the carriage door and respectfully offered her hand up to the Duchess while the knights that had accompanied Captain Isaac hastily dismounted to await instructions. Carina accepted her newly knighted guardian’s hand and stepped down with a quick smile before her attention shifted towards the opening gate-door. The royal guest who had taken up residence in one of the castle’s luxurious guest rooms made his appearance. Prince Llyr was dressed comfortably in a dark navy blue uniform trimmed with rich velvet that alternated from black, dark green, and burgundy red depending on the light.

Llyr smiled as the Duchess moved up the stairs to greet him. He was shadowed, as always, by three male water witches dressed glittering chain maile over matching navy-blue uniforms embellished with silver knotted epaulets and dark green boots that never seemed to get dirty.

“I see you returned earlier than expected, your Grace,” Llyr observed as he stepped forward to kiss Carina’s hand in greeting. “I would hazard Lafeara’s nobles were not as welcoming as they should have been to the crown prince’s savior?”

“They made no mystery of their dislike and distrust,” Carina replied as she accepted his offered arm. “The Duke and Duchess of Hargreve, in particular, went out of their way to show that I was not welcomed.”

“As expected,” Llyr murmured with a faint smirk.

Carina opened her mouth to reply but fell silent as the golden-blonde vision appeared through the gate-door behind Strugna’s prince. Hana’s heavenly, turquoise-blue eyes filled Carina’s vision as the Viscountess smiled, then between the Duchess and Llyr. A few blinks later, Carina noticed the pretty sunflower-yellow outing dress her dear friend was wearing. “Hana, are you going somewhere?”

“Oh,” Hana’s pink lips dipped into a frown as she hesitated on the step above Carina, then sighed. “Kirsi, we were supposed to visit Ivy at the orphanage today.”

‘Damn it. I can’t believe I forgot.’ Carina grimaced beneath a twinge of guilt and rubbed her forehead as she nodded apologetically. “Yes, of course. I remember. Would you mind waiting a moment for me to change into something less—depressing?”

Hana worried expression disappeared as Carina took her hand and squeezed it.

“I promise to be quick,” the Duchess added with a pleading smile.

“Your Grace,” Larissa interrupted with an awkward cough. “You, ah—wanted to go over the locations of the plague seeds with the scouts this afternoon?”

Carina closed her eyes and let out a tired sigh as the never-ending list of responsibilities that had flourished in abundance over the last few days pressed against her eyelids with unrelenting mercy.

‘And there’s not much time before the Pope’s expected arrival for Holy Saint’s Day.’ Carina forced her eyes open as yet another apology moved to the tip of her tongue.

“It’s alright,” Hana interrupted with a raised hand. “I can go visit Lady Ivy while you focus on the plague, Kirsi. I’ll fill you in on the children’s progress when I return.”

“Thank you,” Carina breathed out with a smile of relief. Guilt still prickled in the pit of her stomach as Hana turned towards a maid who carried a cloak with the Duchess’s new sigil on its snow-white surface. Carina deftly took the mantel from the startled maid’s hands and stepped behind Hana to drape it over the Vsicountess’s shoulders.

Beneath the warm sun, Hana’s hair appeared more like threads of silken gold. Carina gently raised the Viscountess’s curls above the folded hood and marveled as that single touch sent a renewing warmth through her bare fingertips. “Please make sure that Ivy is—comfortable and has everything she needs,” Carina forced out as Hana finished tying the silken cords of the cloak and turned around to face her. “And take Captain Isaac with you. I will feel better knowing that you are being properly protected.”

“Your Grace?” Isaac arched a brow as his lips drew back into a thin frown of disapproval. Carina did not bother to hide her annoyance as she turned to face the rebellious Captain. Since Larissa had taken over as the Duchess’s personal bodyguard, Isaac had been reassigned to other tasks that kept him out of the loop regarding Carina and Llyr’s future plans.

‘As head of my knights, the least he could do is question me less in front of others.’

“The Duchess will be perfectly safe, Captain,” Llyr interrupted with a confident smile that did not appear to ease Isaac’s discomfort.

“I have Lady Larissa and plenty of other knights around to protect me,” Carina affirmed with a cold glare that vanished the moment Hana’s lips brushed against her cheek.

“I won’t be gone long. Promise you’ll try to finish up matters before supper,” Hana murmured as her fingers slipped through Carina’s with effortless familiarity. “You need to rest, Kirsi. And I could use your help with—”

The brief look of discomfort that crossed Hana’s face sent a physical punch to Carina’s gut. The Duchess squeezed the older girl’s hand gently and offered a reassuring smile. “Yes, of course, I will stay with you.”

The reason for Hana’s uneasiness was the blood treatment Carina had developed at Llyr’s suggestion that involved a collection of blood from both the Duchess and Viscountess. So far, the tonic produced from their blood with the assistance of Llyr’s physician had proven effective against the plague if given to a victim early enough. While not a cure, it offered a better chance of survival as long as the dose was administered before the symptoms of internal rot appeared.

‘As I understand it, Hana’s blood has the power to heal and reverse the negative effects of the disease while my blood prevents them from getting worse. Something to do with an Ice Witch being immune to disease.’

While the process of bloodletting had no effect on Carina physically beyond some lingering fatigue, Hana was not immune to the pain or discomfort of the needle Llyr’s physician used to draw out the blood. Carina did her best to numb Hana’s arm and distract her with whispered conversations as they lay together in bed and waited until enough blood had been collected for the physician to do his work.

And yet, despite Carina’s best effort to make the process as comfortable as possible, along with the news of each successful treatment among the patients housed in plague villages on Bastiallano’s territory, Hana was still visibly reluctant to give up more blood.

‘I should ask her if Hana if she wants to stop. It feels as though she’s forcing herself for my sake.’

Even now, just the mention of the task they undertook every three to five days, depending on the physician’s recommendation, was enough to cloud Hana’s bright turquoise eyes with a disquieting look of anxiety.

“Perhaps—we can wait until tomorrow.” The words slipped past Carina’s lips before she could hold them back. However, the relief that flooded Hana’s eyes assured her that she had said the right thing. “We’ve both been working very hard. Let’s rest tonight—perhaps I could finish reading that book for you.”

Larissa cleared her throat in apparent protests to Carina’s wishful thinking, but the Duchess ignored her. It was enough to see Hana looking less worried as she boarded the carriage and waved back cheerfully as it pulled away.

The Duchess returned the wave with a reassuring smile that slipped away when Hana was out of sight. Already the guilt of delaying treatment to those who had gathered to her lands hopeful of survival gnawed at the back of Carina’s mind. ‘The sooner I get rid of the source of the plague, the sooner this can all be over.’ With renewed resolve, the Duchess’s turned to face Larissa’s disapproving frown with one of her own. “Well, have your scouts found anything?”

Larissa blinked in surprise but quickly composed herself before turning to nod to another water witch who waited by the door. The woman bowed her head in response before she replied, “Everything has been prepared for your return in your study, your Grace.”

“Alright, then let’s get started,” Carina murmured with only a brief glance in the direction of the foreign prince, who studied her quietly on the steps above. “The sooner we locate and eliminate these plague seeds, the sooner we can finally put an end to Arachne’s curse.”

***

Carina repressed a groan as her butler intercepted them with a tray of letters from her growing list of allies. Among them, a letter marked with Master Iker’s seal caught her attention, but the Duchess waved the man away impatiently. “Take those to my room. I will look them over later.”

“Yes, your Grace,” the butler replied without judgment, then stepped aside with a hasty bow as Llyr moved forward gracefully to walk beside the Duchess.

“You seem distracted,” Llyr observed with a neutral smile. “If you cannot trust the people you have gathered here in Lafeara to lighten your load, then make use of the people I have given you. You have our absolute loyalty.”

Carina glanced over at the head of her recent and most surprising alliance yet. In the short time since the foreign prince had revealed his true identity and purpose for coming to Lafeara, Carina had gained a better understanding of Kirsi’s past and her own potential future. Llyr had also made clear the danger Carina faced if she hesitated to accept his offer in preparation for that future.

Among the “people” that Llyr had handed over to the Duchess the moment they shook hands and bound each other to promise bound by magic was Lady Larissa. The noblewoman and water witch from Strugna came with a highly-skilled unit of spies, some of which had been living in Lafeara for almost a decade.

Presently, aside from ensuring Carina’s safety, Larissa’s “eyes and ears” were focused on uncovering the location of these plague seeds.

Carina still shivered at the description Llyr had shared with her of a human—usually a witch or half-witch—cursed with a witch plague that fed off their magic until it reached full maturity. The “seeds” or rotting pieces of the original plague victim’s body were collected by the witch who created the plague and then scattered, thus spreading the plague to whichever kingdom or village the witch sought to destroy.

Strugna had nearly fallen to such a plague. Llyr’s father, his older brother and a younger half-brother, and even his twin sister had all died from that plague, leaving Strugna with his stepmother as queen and Llyr as the only rightful heir to the throne.

‘And thus far, we’ve only located two plague seeds hidden in Lafeara,’ Carina mused as two knights stationed outside the Duchess’s private study snapped to attention before opening the doors ahead of them.