by Jamie Gandy
I rasp my knuckles against the wooden frame. “Mother? It is me, Kage…”
“She is not there.” I turn around to see Gideon walking down the hall, the look of sorrow clear across his face. “She had to be quarantined last night in a separate part of the Castle.”
“Where… where is she, Gideon?”
“She is not allowed to have any visitors, Kage.”
My fists are clenched around the collar of his tunic in a flash of movement. “Gideon, heaven and earth will not stop me from seeing her. Either you will guide me to her, or someone else will.” I release my grip on him when I see the fight in his eyes.
“I know how much you love the Queen, and I understand that you want… need to be by her side. However, you must understand that you cannot risk catching whatever it is she has.” Gideon crosses his arms over his chest absently. “It is life and death we are talking about here. You have to think it through reasonably…” his words trail off, his head shaking two sharp times. “That is what I am supposed to tell you.” He straightens himself and begins to turn down the hall. “If you get sick and die, I am equally as dead for allowing it to happen. I hope you remember that.”
It takes me a second to realize what he means. “Do you mean you are taking me?” I question him.
“Obviously.” There is a brief silence while we walk down the hall. He takes me down a part of the Castle corridor that leads to the physician’s chambers. I have admittedly had to come here far more often than I should have. However, I have never gone down the dark passage further down. One that veers to the right. We continue walking for another two minutes before Gideon comes to a stop right outside a small black door. Above the frame a single red mark is painted above it. I grab ahold of the handle, but before I can turn it Gideon clutches my forearm.
“Do not leave anything unsaid…”
“Thanks, Gideon.” I quietly push open the door and step into the dimly lit room. I am immediately greeted by an overwhelming stench. I swallow hard to keep the rising vile down as I walk over to the bed where my mother lays. On the small night tray next to the bed is a basin full of water and a goblet. Next to the gobet sits a single thick leather book. Slowly I shift my eyes from the water to the form of my mother. Her quilt is pulled up to her chest, her arms folded above the hem. Clutched in her black tipped fingers is a washcloth, covered in blood. I can hear the deep rasp within her chest with each struggling breath she takes. Fear begins to bombard me from all sides. I want to turn around and run out of the room, I want to wake myself from this horrid nightmare I am witnessing. However, I muster the courage to close the distance to the side of her bed. I fall to my knees while taking her frail hand within my own. Her skin is so ghostly pale, so stiff and cold to the touch. “Mother…” the cry, the sob that chokes its way out of my throat sounds so pitiful to my own ears. I can feel the tears making their way down my cheeks without warning.
“Ka… Kage… wha… wh...what are… you…” her words startle me, they are so broken, so weak and scared. Her face, once remarkably beautiful, with no equal in all of Kallai, now looks like a decaying corpse. Her eyes, so lively just the last time I saw her, now are wide with fright.
“Shhh, do not speak, mother.” I softly whisper. I brush my lips against the back of her cold hand. “Save your strength…”
“Ge...get out… now!” She tries to sound strong and commanding, but her voice betrays her, abandoning her. Her body begins to tremble mere seconds before a brutal cough wreaks havoc on her entire body. I take the washcloth from her and gently dab the blood from her mouth. The putrid smell that emits from her mouth makes me want to vomit. When her coughing fit subsides, I fill the goblet with water before carefully helping her take a couple sips.
“Son.. please leave me… I do not want you coming down… with this disea…” she trails off when the door opens. A large man, with dark brown eyes that nearly match his short brown hair, steps into the room. A thick white cloth is wrapped around his mouth and nose. His eyes widen at the sight of me.
“What in the name of the Creator are you doing here! Your Highness, get out this instant!” I ignore his command.
“Doc, what is wrong with her?” I demand. “Tell me the truth!”
I watch the two of them share a brief exchange of looks before my mother gives one half-hearted nod of her head. The physician pulls a second mask from his pocket. “Put this on first, hopefully your stupidity does not get you infected too.” He mumbles to me as he walks over and hands the mask to me. I obey this time by sliding the mask over my face to cover my mouth and nose.
He moves to the other side of the bed and carefully examines her fingers and under her gown. “Have you heard of the Black Death?”
“Isn’t that another term for the Great Plague?” Once seeing his nod of confirmation, I also nod my head. “Yeah. Sir. Adir told Gideon and I about a family that all died from it several months ago. He said they traveled to LionsShield from the Southern Kingdom.”
“Our Kingdom, for the most part, has been lucky to have avoided this epidemic. It was said that family was our first assumed death from the plague. There are so many questions surrounding this disease we do not have answers to…” his words trail off as he walks over to the table and grabs the leather-bound book. He flips through several pages before grimly shaking his head. “Every book I have read and every physician I have spoken to have all said one thing. There is, as of yet, no cure to this illness.” He lifts his chin to look at me, motioning to my mother’s hands. “There are three signs of certain death. “He looks back down at the page he landed on. “In men and women alike, it first betrayed itself by the emergence of certain tumors in the groin or armpits, some of which grow as large as a common apple, others as an egg. From the two said parts of the body this deadly gavocciolo soon began to propagate and spread itself in all directions indifferently; after which the form of the malady began to change, black spots or livid making their appearance in many cases on the arm or the thigh or elsewhere, some patients had few and large spots, others were small and numerous. As the gavocciolo had been and still was an infallible token of approaching death, such also were these spots on whomsoever they showed themselves.”
“You are saying… she is going to die and there is nothing you can do about it?” I do not even try to leave the desperation out of my tone. Our eyes lock as his head slowly nods. The sadness mingled into his expression making it clear of his own heartache at this painful truth.
“Surely there has to be something you can do.” I beg him.
“If there was anything else, I could try… I would do it. Just look at her, she is suffering so much, this plague is running rampant through her body right now. I cannot imagine how much pain she is enduring…” His dark eyes gleam with emotion as he speaks.
I turn my attention from the physician down to my mother. Her labored breathing, the grimace of pain written across her face. I bow my head and press my masked face across her covered abdomen. ‘Creator… surely You can help her….’ I swallow through my emotions. “I love you, mother. There has to be a cure out there for you… I will find it; I promise one way or another I will help you get better.”
“It is not wise to make such promises, Your Highness,” the physician silently scolds me. “You really should leave now…”
I consider refusing again, to stay just like this for however long it takes for her to get better. I rise to my feet and remove my mask before I lean down until my cheek presses gently against hers. My lips a hair's breadth from her ear. “I love you. I will be back.”
“I love you, son…” I can barely catch the sound of her weak, heartfelt, reply. I softly smile once at her before turning around. “Thanks, Doc.” I toss the mask into the trashcan before I leave the room without another word.
“What are you going to do?”
“What are you talking about?” I question Gideon as he steps towards me.
“I know that look in your eyes, Kage… whatever it is t
hat is going on in your mind right now it is not the time for it. Do not be rash.”
“You have nothing to worry about... “I brush my hand across my damp cheeks. “I am going to save her, Gideon.”
Chapter Twenty-Three:
♞ Sebastian Ari: ♞
A chill runs its fingers down my spine as a cold wind blows off the mountains and slices down through our party of men as we guide our horses out of the DragonsDome StrongHold. I would have expected the King to beat his stallion into a full-on gallop so he could reach TigersKeep that much faster, however he keeps his steed at a normal pace. His posture and expression does give his panic away. The terror written across his face, the iron lock grip on his reins, it is obvious.
“How is Princess Esther and Lady Catherine taking it?” I hear Hector inquire from my side. Since Kage had taken Ziv back to the Castle I am mounted on his horse, Dovah. The tall solid black stallion with a single white flame along the length of his forehead is tense from the absence of his rider, as if he too can sense something wrong. I gently stroke the side of his large neck before glancing at my brother. “They are crazy with worry…” I exhale a sorrowful sigh. “We found her in the Royal Garden, I had to get a Soldier to help me carry her back to her chambers… it felt like I was reliving our mother’s illness all over again.” I force my gaze to return ahead of us. “I wish I could whisk them away from this… from the truth that she will likely not be able to survive…” my words trail off.
“Is it the Black Plague?” Adir questions me when he halts his steed next to Dovah. The look on his face is the most broken expression I have ever seen before, including my own father’s. It is a look of the utmost of love.
Slowly I nod my head. “I am afraid so…” I watch his entire body tremor once.
“Were you able to make sure Her Highness and Lady Catherine stayed away from Her Majesty?”
“Yes, Sir.” I glance around us to make sure none of the other Knights are within earshot before I quietly question Adir. “Do you love her?”
“Unconditionally.” The simple, one worded response startles me. I honestly was not expecting him to answer me.
“How have you been able to withstand loving her, and not being able to be with her? Has it not been hard?” Hector inquires.
“Of course, it has been extremely difficult. However, my loyalty is to her as my Queen, to protect her and His Majesty is my sworn duty…” he is silent for a few seconds as his gaze rests on the back of the King. “I fell in love with her while I was still a young Squire. I was with the Knights escorting her to her home lands, the Kingdom of Renil, which is far to the East. She was attending her brother’s coronation as King. Along the way there we were attacked by bandits, it was my first real fight. Needless to say, I almost got my head cut clean off, if it was not for one of the Knights. I was beat up pretty good by the time the fight was over.” I watch as a smile creeps up his face at the memory. “Once the bandits were gone Her Majesty hurried out of the carriage with her Maid servant and she helped bandage me, against most protest mind you. She was so worried about me, a mere Squire. I remember her telling me the importance of every one of Kallai’s Knights and Squires. She could not bare to see one of her men injured for her sake. Until that moment I never realized just how much she cared about the people that served her. After that day I would watch her closely when she interacted with others. She would always smile with such radiance. Aside from my own mother, I had never seen any woman talk with such affection. She never changed either. To this day she is still the most caring person I know…”
I can hear the faint crack in his voice as he speaks. “Did you ever tell her how you felt?”
His hesitation lasts a few beats before he shakes his head. “Not with words, no. But she knows it.”
“How can you be so certain?” Hector asks.
“Love does not always need to be spoken to come across. Actions can make one's affection clear enough.” He nudges his knees into his horse’s sides to encourage him to pick up his pace until he’s riding along the King.
“He is so remarkable,” Hector remarks.
“I hope one day I can become as strong and brave as him.” I feel a faint smile lift the edges of my lips. “And to know a love as powerful as his… that would be…”
“Worth waiting for?”
“Yes, exactly.”
⚔-♞-⚔
When we reach the Castle the King and Adir are greeted by a couple of soldiers who quickly escort them off towards the inner Castle. The fellow Knights leave their horses with the stableboy, while Hector and I guide our mounts towards the stables. I am surprised to see Kage leading Ziv out of the enclosure with a large bay colored horse trailing at their side.
“What are you doing?” Hector questions the Prince.
“There is a cure for my mother, I need to go get it before it is too late!” his eyes are dark and hollow. As if the pain has already started to sink its ugly claws into his chest.
“Be reasonable Kage. There is no cure for her. I understand you are hurting, but you have to accept…”
“I heard all about this Plague, I know there is no known cure for it… that my mother will die from it. I do know of one thing, one possible cure that can save her…” the way his words pause sends an uncomfortable feeling rising inside of me.
“What are you talking about?”
“Ziv is the cure…” by the time my brain registers what he has just said he is already trotting past us out of the gates.
“Kage, wait!” my scream of desperation is unheeded. I am about to mount back onto Dovah when I notice Catherine running over to us.
“I thought he was acting strange at supper… I never would have thought he wou…” She shakes her head several times to contain the emotions threatening to escape. “Let me go with you. I might be able to talk reason to him.”
“It might be a good idea,” Hector remarks before I can get a chance to rebuke her.
“She needs to stay here, with the Princess,” I scold them both. “We cannot risk anything happening to you.”
“If I get your blessing or not, I am coming with you two.” I gently grab her upper arm as she starts to storm past me to the stables. Her beautiful eyes glowing with determination as they flash on me. Her mind is set and there is obviously no changing it. “You are not stopping me from going after him!”
“Your family is such a headache.” I mutter in defeat. I release her arm and easily swing myself onto Dovah’s saddle. I offer my arm for her to grab onto to help her mount up. Once her arms are wrapped around my waist, I spot the stableboy and wave him over. “Make sure to inform Sir Adir that Lady Catherine wanted to go on a ride and Hector, and I were dumb enough to oblige her.”
“Yes, Sir.”
I nudge my heels into the stallion’s side to encourage him to gallup straight out of the Castle gates, with Hector riding along our side.
“Why would you tell him to lie to Sir Adir?” Catherine inquires.
“He would kill me if he knew I was taking you with me to chase down the Prince. Believe me, it was not easy.” I exhale a sigh. “I never want to be that kind of person, who lies to others, especially someone I admire like Sir Adir.” I allow a silence for only a few seconds before I glance aside at Hector. “Any idea where he might go?” For a split second I think I see a look of true horror cross his face, but in a blink the expression is gone.
“Yeah… I might have an idea….” He pulls on his horse’s reins to halt him. I turn Dovah around, he prances back and forth in annoyance.
“What is it?”
“She cannot come where we are going.”
“Where is that?”
“To the entrance to the underworld…” his voice is dead serious.
“What are you talking about?” It is my turn to look completely confused. “The underworld?”
“A few months back when we were taken by the bandits, do you remember that cave they were held up in?” when he sees me nod in answ
er he continues. “There is a tunnel in the back of the cave that leads underground.”
“You never told me about that.”
“Because I swore to the Prince that I would never tell anyone about this…” he hesitates again, this time longer. “He was drawn to something down there. We were guided by a fiery Salamander down a long staircase until we reached a demonic being, known as an Ifrits. This creature led us through a gate to a…” he swallows hard. “To a place where there is a Chimera and a Caberus. They led us to a chamber… where only the Prince and I could enter. Within that place there is an evil weapon… it was the thing that was calling to the Prince…. If he plans on taking Ziv’s horn to cure the Queen, I think he will try to use that sword to do it.”
I am not sure how to process exactly what he is saying. I ignore the hurt inside of me at the fact that my brother had to hide something like this from me. “That explains why you acted so strange after that incident. Are you sure you can go back? I can go alone; I will find him and save Ziv.”
A halfhearted chuckle resonates from within him. “As if I would let you. It is no place for a La…”
“If you say it is no place for a Lady, I will come over there and slap your face!” Catherine scolds him. “My cousin is already dealing with her mother’s illness; she does not need to go through this too.”
I turn Dovah to the direction of FoxGaurd. “Do not bother arguing with her. I will keep her safe.” I nudge my heels into the large stallion’s sides once more. “Come on, Dovah.”
“Can we really blame him though? If Ziv was the answer to saving our mom, would we not be thinking exactly what he is right now?” Hector inquires.
“Honestly… I do not know. Nevertheless, we have to find him.”
Chapter Twenty-Four:
♔ Kage Tora: ♚
It is not until we cross the small footbridge to the FoxGuard territory that I finally allow myself to comprehend what exactly I am doing. I stare at the back of Ziv’s glorious mane. ‘There is no other way… this is my only hope of curing my mom… it has to be done.’ Even as I convince myself of the dreaded actions I am about to take, I fail to see any silver lining. Ultimately, I will have to take the life of this remarkable creature to save the life of my beloved mother. “I am sorry…” my words are unheard, as my faithful mount leads us straight to her own suffering.
