“Yes, Your Highness right away.” The shorter guard saluted nervously, then sprinted off toward the castle. The second guard, still stunned, continued to eye me.
“You,” I attempted to point at him, but only managed to fling my arm in his direction, “I need you to tend to my horse. She is need of water and rest, so please see that she is well cared for.” The man snapped out of his daze and rushed forward to take Saffron. “Oh and give her some apples,” I added with a serious tone. The guard gave me a puzzled look but straightened into submission at my deathly serious glare.
“Right away, Your Highness.” The man bowed before turning toward the stable. Once they were both gone, I rested my full weight against the metal gate. My chest rose and fell aggressively as my breaths became more labored. I needed to sit, but I wasn’t certain I would be able to get up if I did. I rested my head against the metal, trying to lessen the faintness when I heard two sets of footsteps approach. Lifting my head, I saw the guard from earlier rush forward with Earl the butler. My heart swelled with joy when I recognized his salt and pepper hair. I stood back up as the gate swung open, and the man wrapped me into a full embrace.
“Your Highness…” He hugged me warmly and I wanted to squeeze him back, but my arms weren’t obeying me, “we have all been worried sick about you. I was starting to fear the worst.” Earl pulled back to face me, and I saw tears well up in his eyes. I felt the desire to cry too, but I swallowed them back.
“Earl, I desperately need your help.” I looked at him intensely and he snapped to attention.
“How may I be of service, princess?” His voice turned icy with seriousness. I was relieved that he grasped the gravity of my situation so quickly.
“I need you to bring me to my mother immediately, but I cannot be spotted by anyone else.” I leaned forward and held his gaze. “Especially not King Garrett or any of his men.” I leaned back and watched as he worked through my request. His eyes widened in shock before he nodded in agreement.
“Absolutely. Please follow me closely.” I followed him through the servant’s entrance, weaving through the different halls while avoiding any passing servants. I knew I could trust Earl to get me to the queen unnoticed. He knew everyone’s schedule better than they did, so I didn’t fear we would run into anyone. If I could just get to my mother, I could explain what was going on and ask her to help retrieve a remedy from King Garrett. I would have a better chance of getting the elixir if the queen asked him than if I tried myself. Besides, I need to warn her about her betrothed.
Earl noticed fairly quickly that I wasn’t in good shape and allowed me to lean on him for support as we dashed between the halls. After what felt like an eternity, we finally rounded the corner and stood in front of the grand oak doors to the queen’s suite. I stared at the doors reminiscently as I recalled the last time I had stepped through them. My foolish and childish self had pulled a cruel joke on my mother, but now I had a chance to make up for it all. She deserved better than how I had treated her, as both my queen and my mom.
“She is having tea with the king in a half hour,” Earl explained in a hushed tone while bracing me against the wall. “She should be getting ready about now. Her dressing maids were not called to assist her so she should be alone.” He lightly rapped his knuckles on the door, attempting to keep the echo low.
For a moment no other sounds were heard until light footsteps became more and more audible. Queen Minerva swung the doors open in a fluid motion with an annoyed expression across her face. She wore a deep purple silk gown with her blonde hair braided up around her silver crown. If I were to guess, we had just interrupted her make-up touch-ups because her lips were bright red, but her eyes remained completely bare. She first scowled at Earl before tracing her gaze to where I leaned heavily against the doorpost. Her irritated grimace switched to pure shock when she finally caught my eyes. She placed a hand over her mouth as tears streamed down her face she embraced.
“Oh, my dear girl!” She squeezed me so tightly, I was starting to see stars. She pulled back and placed a hand to my cheek. “Where have you been? We have been searching all over the kingdom for you.” She checked me over and seemed to notice my ill state. “Arabella, what’s wrong? You look awful. Earl, please fetch the royal physician at once!” She turned to the butler, but I cut her off before he could leave.
“No!” I whisper-shouted, trying not to cause any further alarm. “No one but you and Earl know I am here, and it needs to stay that way for a little while longer. Please, Mother, I have much I need to tell you, and I need your help if I am to get well.” I looked to her pleadingly, and her expression remained stunned but quickly softened.
“Alright, dear.” She supported my arm and led me into her room. “Earl, please inform the king that I might be late to tea. If he requires an explanation, tell him that I’m recovering from a headache. Just be certain to keep the princess’s return a secret until further notice.” She urged the butler onward, who bowed before leaving to deliver his message. I sighed in relief at my mother’s understanding. Hopefully, she would be just as much so to the news about the king. She assisted me toward her four-post bed and laid me upon it. I removed my cloak, feeling entirely overheated.
“Arabella, please…” she sat on the bed beside me and looked upon my face with concern, “tell me what happened?”
chapter seventeen
“King Garrett tried to kill me,” I answered flatly as I sunk into the plush mattress, instantly easing some of my aches. My wrists and ankles had now succumbed to the spreading paralysis, so I decided to get straight to the point. “I was tricked out of the castle by a Draconian assassin. He hunted me for days, so I had to hide in a laundry mill, but the king must have found out I was still alive because he sent a poison. I was exposed to it for over a week before I realized what was happening. He has been indirectly poisoning the soldiers from the western battalion as well. He is only marrying you to conquer Isalla, and he will kill you next.” I gasped from my breathy explanation. My lungs burned as I sucked in air and stirred a round of coughing from my chest. I looked up to my mother, whose face was contorted with a mixture of emotions.
She stood slowly from my side and began to walk around the room with her hand on her chin. I watched as her shock processed and she began to develop the words she needed.
“Is that why you are so sick?” She looked to me with wide eyes, “Are you poisoned?” She rushed back to my side and kneeled by the bed.
“Yes, Mother.” A tear welled up in my eyes as I looked to my mother for comfort. “A sample of the poison is in my cloak. I believe King Garret also processed an antidote for it since I saw it used on the other mill maids. I was doused in the poison before I left so I need you to find where he would have made such an antidote or else…” I bit my lip as it quivered. The reality of me dying wasn’t too far away. My only hope was that my mother could retrieve an antidote before it was too late.
Mother dug through my cloak pocket and found the poisoned soap. She looked it over intently before running into her washroom. I wasn’t sure what she was doing until she ran out with a handheld basin of water and a rag. She placed the water on the floor and began to roll up my sleeves.
“I’m not leaving you until I have at least rinsed the poison off.” She dipped her rag into the water and scrubbed my arm. My skin was growing paler by the minute as I began to look as white as the snow on the ground.
“Mother, it’s no use…” I tried to explain, but she kept wiping my skin frantically. “My friends already removed what they could. The rest has already entered my bloodstream by now.” I looked at her determined face with tears blurring my vision. All my life I wished for my mother to care for me, and here I was, getting my wish as I lay on what may be my death bed. My arms were too stiff to attempt to wipe at my eyes, so I just allowed the tears to falls.
“Oh, darling, don’t cry.” She raised the rag to my cheeks and wiped them for me. The action made my blood freeze and my heart stop beating. “It will all be over soon, sweetheart.” She smiled at me, but I felt a new kind of sick.
Apples…
Why did her rag smell like apples…?
“Mother…” I spoke the word cautiously. Terror seared through my body as she continued to wipe my forehead with a smile. “Mother, what are you doing?” My voice came out broken and raspy with horror. She smiled a little wider at my apparent fear and proceeded to wipe down my other arm.
“Oh, Arabella darling,” she taunted as she calmly spread the liquid across my skin, “you were never the brightest when it came to foreign affairs.” She placed the rag back inside the basin and wiped her hands on a dry towel. “I mean, King Garrett really? The old man can barely stomach watching a duel. Did you really think he was behind any of this?” She smiled with her perfect white teeth as she screwed the lid back onto the soap bottle.
“Why, Mother?” I rasped with a broken heart. My entire body was stiff to the point where I could barely turn my neck to look at her let alone call for help. “What have I done to deserve this?” My throat constricted around my words, choking out the sound.
“Is that some sort of joke?” She laughed maniacally, spinning with a new fury in her blue eyes. “You’re such a foolish child, always have been. Your father spoiled you so rotten that you believed you could do whatever you wanted, no matter whom it affected!” she spat, leaning toward my eyes so I could get a full view of her anger.