Malneirophrenia (1)

he path between the garden where the banquet was being held, and the infirmary was a winding stone trail that cut through a small forest.

The forest was filled with tall, thick trees that rustled in the wind, their leaves creating a soft whispering sound. The air was filled with the scent of wildflowers and fresh greenery, and the sound of water flowing could be heard in the distance.

The path was lit dimly with lanterns and the moonlight, but the tall pine trees dominated with their heavy shadow draped over whoever was walking beneath them.

As the path wound deeper into the forest, it gradually became more rugged, with uneven cobblestones and occasional roots that made walking in the darkness difficult. Eventually, it led to a small clearing where the infirmary stood.

The infirmary was a simple stone building with a thatched roof and a small garden. It is the furthest from the fortress and main buildings and, thus, the most remote of all the locations in the court. So whoever was healing inside wouldn't be disturbed by the knight's horses or the working staff.

As the princess and Juno approached the infirmary, they could see a small light glowing in one of the windows. It indicated that the royal head physician was inside, waiting to tend to injuries with their entire staff. Whenever somebody important was present, everyone was required to work full-time.

"Let's head inside and get you checked," Juno said, breaking the heavy silence they were walking under. Vivianne thought deeply, mostly wondering why she had problems controlling her emotions lately. Nothing in her routine had changed, and the food testers had all tasted her food before she consumed it.

The infirmary had a spacious room with high ceilings and large windows that allowed natural light to filter in during the day. The walls were lined with shelves full of glass jars and bottles containing various medicinal herbs and potions.

One of the nurses had patted Juno down, raising her eyebrow at the throwing blades in his utility belt. At Vivianne's death stare, she ignored it and allowed them in with a wave.

There were several beds with white linen sheets neatly arranged, each with a small table beside it that held a pitcher of water and a glass. The room was quiet except for the occasional sound of someone coughing or a nurse quietly attending to a patient.

Several screens were set up to provide privacy for patients who required it. The air smelled of antiseptic and herbs, which gave the room a calming and healing aura, except it was worsening Vivianne's already pounding headache.

The attending physician ushered the princess into a luxurious private room, where they were soon joined by multiple nurses, assistants, and physicians, ready to examine her body. Vivianne sat on the comfortable bed, allowing them to feel her pulse.

"Weak pulse," Doctor Rune that had examined her the other day, said, his thick eyebrows furrowing in concern. To him, it appeared that the princess was declining by the minute. Her skin was sickly pale, clammy with sweat, and easily bruised, as merely holding her wrist left a mark of red.

"My eye, there's this intolerable pain in my eye," Vivianne gritted out through clenched teeth as she clutched the left side of her head. The lights from the hallway had been the last nail in the coffin. Her breaths were shallow and weak.

With a nod, the nurses and assistants scattered out of the room. Juno turned his back towards the pitch-black window to give them privacy. The inspection was silent, except for the physicians humming and scribbling.

"First off, let's treat your migraine with a hydroelectric bath, Princess." the physician said, calling for the nurses to carry Vivianne to the bathtub. Using electricity on the vasomotor nerves would cause the temperature to decrease in the tissue and constrict blood vessels in the face and body.

He would have given her pills, but he wasn't sure her liver could handle foreign substances.

While the other staff was busy attending to Vivianne, Doctor Rune ushered Juno to sit on the sofa facing the window while waiting. He hadn't expected that the old man would sit next to him as well.

"Let me speak plainly; if whatever makes her sick doesn't get discovered, she won't last long," The physician dropped on him. Juno was staggered by the news, but it would be a lie to say that it wasn't a possible explanation for the sudden illness the princess was experiencing.

"I hope you are doing your job properly because if what I'm thinking is correct, you'll likely be a prime suspect," the man said, suddenly looking older than ever.

Why was he telling me that? Juno thought, but he settled on stiffly nodding instead. The man slapped a palm on his shoulder and disappeared after the princess.

...

Near the bed, incense had been lit, and a tea can was placed on top of the nearby nightstand. For how long she had slept, she couldn't tell with how dark the night was, just like when they had initially arrived. By the window, Juno was looking outside with an absentminded smile.

She wondered what it was that he was reminiscing about.

The duvet crinkling when she shifted around alerted him, and their eyes locked for an everlasting second before he averted his eyes and walked to the tea can. He poured her the chamomile tea and placed it in her trembling hands. The migraine was gone, and she could finally think straight.

"Thank you," she said quietly, and he smiled timidly. A sip of the warm tea warmed her from within. For once, it felt like time didn't exist and that they were in a herb-scented pocket dimension, where nothing spoken left the room.

A dangerous thought process, but thinking destructive thoughts was about taking a step back from the world and caring about your freedom first and foremost—a nice change of pace from her usual calculated mind.

She had a feeling that Juno also felt that secluded feeling because he hadn't averted his eyes again. His eyes didn't wander or disengage; they were like dark voids staring at her, staring at him.

Ultimately, she broke eye contact, rising to her feet with a blanket wrapped around her. She felt like retiring for the night but couldn't sleep comfortably outside her room. He rose after her, putting the tea can back on the nightstand but didn't walk toward the exit.

"Can you really stop your brother?" He asked her with a measured gaze. Vivianne didn't bother turning around. Instead, she wrapped the blanket harder around herself, heading for the exit.

Outside, the temperature had dropped significantly, with the wind howling and rustling the early spring leaves.

"A storm is brewing," Vivianne absentmindedly said, keeping a firm eye on the cobblestoned path to avoid any branches tripping her. In front of her, Juno walked silently, hand on the hilt of his sword.

He abruptly stopped, causing Vivianne to walk right into his back; just as she was about to speak, a firm hand placed itself on her mouth. Juno dug into his utility belt and pushed a flare into her hands.

He gestured for her to hide in a nearby bush, and she quickly obeyed his order. Left on the path stood Juno with his sword drawn out, awaiting whoever he sensed.

The princess suddenly heard the sound of footsteps walking toward them. She turned just in time to see a cloaked figure emerge from the shadows.

"Show yourself," Juno said, his sword raising higher.

The cloaked figure didn't say a word but lunged forward with the sword, the blade glinting in the dappled light filtering through the trees from the moon. Juno blocked the blade quickly in response, stumbling back from the blow and striking back with a counterattack that got easily averted.

The fight was intense, the clash of metal ringing out through the forest as the two combatants exchanged blows. The princess watched in horror, her heart pounding with fear.

Finally, with a lucky and decisive move, the guard managed to disarm the cloaked figure, knocking the sword from their hand. The attacker stumbled backwards, tripping over a tree root and falling to the ground.

Juno moved in to apprehend them, but as he pulled back the hood of the cloak, he was surprised to find that the attacker was someone he recognized - a member of the royal guard, one of the guards that often guarded Vivianne's door. He was masked, but Juno still recognized him.

Confused, he had failed to notice the man obtaining his sword again.

The masked man swept Juno off his feet, sending him tumbling down. He narrowly dodged getting sliced in the throat by quickly rolling away and throwing dirt into the masked man's eyes.

The man shouted, swinging his sword in a frenzy. Juno took the chance and sent a nearby rock flying into the man's skull.

A reasoning thud echoed loudly from impact. When the man finally cleared his vision, he glared at the boy with his bloodshot eyes, roaring like a wild animal.

Juno couldn't help but flinch, but he again put himself between the princess and the attacker.

The guard turned to the princess, wondering what could have driven one of their own to attack them in the forest. He hadn't noticed her yet, so he hoped she'd be smart enough to run away before getting discovered.

She remembered the flare that Juno had shoved into her arms. By sheer luck, the sky hadn't darkened yet, so she aimed the red-coloured stick upwards and yanked the rope at its end.

The sky ignited with a crimson trial calling for assistance. The assassin quickly turned to Vivianne and lunged at her, sword pointed at her heart with tremendous speed.

She saw a glint of bloodlust flash in the eyes of the masked figure, she shut her eyes, awaiting the unbearable pain of being stabbed, but it never came. Instead, she got the air knocked out of her from being pushed to the side by Juno.

Just as the man had lunged with singleminded focus, Juno had also sprinted forward to save her.

He was yelling something, but it was hard to hear as everything spun and her ears buzzed.

On trembling arms, she pushed herself up to witness Juno lying on his back with the figure's hands around his neck. Vivianne saw blood pool from his side, and life slowly seeped out of him.

With a sudden burst of energy, he took hold of their left arm and yanked the assassin closer to his centerline. Juno trapped the same side leg by putting his foot in front of it, saving himself from getting kneed in his injury.

His vision was blotting, and his muscles screamed for oxygen as he attempted to lift his hips and flip their positions. It was no use; they were too heavy.

He tried again.

Juno made a strong bridging motion by lifting his hips as high as possible and leaning over to the side where the arm and foot were trapped. That created a motion allowing him to buck the stranger off the top, reversing their position.

Not knowing what to do, Juno clasped his hands and held on to the best of his ability.

Hoping that help was on the way.

...

Vivianne's heart palpated at the sight of torches approaching them; she screamed and waved the knights over in a frenzy. The hooves had never sounded better as the horses surrounded her protectively.

The man was seized quickly by the knights, who were shocked upon discovering that it was one of their men. Out of the corner of her eye, Juno was still conscious, but barely. The blood was now dripping from his forehead down over one of his eyes, the other slightly open.

His breath was ragged, and his body slumped. He stumbled over to Vivianne but stopped when he saw that she was safe and unharmed. One of the guards wrapped a bandana across his waist to stop the bleeding.

Then, a heap of arrows rained down from the sky, piercing everybody without armour. The horse next to Vivianne had been hit in the eye, causing it to panic and trample on the knight close to Vivianne.

She got yanked away from the frightened animal by a woman with shagged hair and protruding muscles.

"Juniper! Over here!" Max roared while they once again were showered with arrows. The remaining knights lit several flares calling for backup and ammunition.

The heavy smoke from the flares garnered Juno enough time to stumble over to his instructor, who sheltered them under her heavy iron shield.

"Seems like my training was fruitful; still, you look rougher than I'd like!" She teased him while she drew her sword to prepare for the attack. Max knew that the arrows were supposed to hinder their movement and allow them to get surrounded. That much had already happened, she was sure.

"Now, let's put yesterday's classes to use. We will be attacked; you two take a horse and escape somewhere safe," Max said as fifty men jumped out of the heavy pine forest with their swords raised and roaring.

"Clear a path for the princess!" Max barked out the order, and the small army fell into formation, with bows aiming at the treetops and shields surrounding the princess. The remaining knights fought the attackers that had leapt out from the forest.

It was starting to tear at them as a neverending stream of support came from the enemies. Still, morale was high as soon as their support would arrive to surround the enemies as well. The clang of metal on metal and cries of pain surrounded Vivianne from every direction.

Max swung her shield, knocking out the first man that had reached them with a sickening crack. Another man sprinted at them with twin blades that tore the night apart from their force when they collided with Max's shield.

He was a heavy and scarred man, like a bear with a frotting mouth. He wore a simple black tunic and matching pants.

The two charged at each other with a wild cry, their collision heavy and ear-piercing. The blades sliced and tore at each other as they swung and ducked each other's attacks in a breathtaking dance.

Another shower of arrows descended upon them, but luckily, it wasn't as many as before, proving that their archers were successful in sticking down the hidden men above them. One of the arrows narrowly missed Vivianne; she clutched the horse's reign for support.

One of the knights with a bow collapsed upon getting pierced in the throat. He gurgled up blood and collapsed in a puddle of his fluids in despair. Vivianne jumped down quickly to seize the weapon for her use.

Just as she was about to grab the bow, a heavy boot kicked her from the side; the shock threw Vivianne off her feet; the woman punched her upside his head enough to make her cry in pain.

Suddenly, the foreign woman yanked her by the hair and tossed her to the side. Vivianne used the momentum to force herself up on her feet.

She was too powerful and muscular for Vivianne to overpower, and soon she was retreating into a nearby tree trunk, stumbling over loose rocks as she dodged the dagger aiming for her neck.

Juno had been left alone on top of the horse, hopefully, he'll escape, although Vivianne doubted it, even if it might be the best option if he didn't want to die. It was a shame he hadn't learned how to ride a horse yet.

With the enemy behind her approaching and the woman edging closer and closer, Vivianne was cornered with her back pressed into a pine tree. Facing her doom, she quickly prayed for her mother's and her subordinates' safety.

The woman howled in pain and swung at Vivianne one more time with a surge of strength, forcing her to stumble back a few steps, hard enough that she almost fell on the ground.

One of Juno's throwing knives stuck haphazardly in her left shoulder, where there was no armour. She looked at the panting boy behind her, readying her blade to kill. Then, without thinking, he threw another dagger that pierced her throat firmly.

The vein let out a shower of warm blood that stained Vivianne's white dress dark, but she was working on autopilot, ignoring the corpses around her and the bile rising in her throat, focusing on Juno, who had collapsed.

She grabbed the bow and dashed to where she saw her guard lying limply, screaming for help, but everyone was busy fighting for their life to notice her desperate pleas.

He must put tremendous focus into throwing those blades. His head hit the dirt a little more solidly than Vivianne intended; he yelped as he made contact with the ground. She had planned to drag him up, but her blood-stained hand had lost its grip.

"Back up is here! Princess, get ready!" Max shouted over her shoulder, blood soaking her white blouse. It didn't look like she would last long with how drenched in sweat she was. Trumpets signalling the royal knight's arrival tore through the air, raising everyone's spirits and startling the attackers.

It was all Max needed as she spun behind the big attacker and cut through his Achilles tendon in seconds. The ground shook as the big man tumbled down with a scream, but Max quickly pierced his heart in a swift stab.

The arriving troops hadn't reached them yet, but if they could cut the circle they had been surrounded in, it would be enough for the princess to escape, especially now that the enemy had also seemingly called for help with the blow of a trumpet.

Max quickly slit the hiding messenger's head off to prevent additional troops from arriving, but it was too late; a new heap was already alerted, and the royal knights would have a hard time getting to the path.

"Shit..I'll have to do this myself," Max grumbled in annoyance. She stole a flare and a couple of arrows before she barked out one last order.

"When the princess escapes, evacuate the infirmary! I'll signal where the path has been cleared!" Max shouted before she jumped onto a horse and rode into the forest.

The establishment was still safe, as the fight hadn't reached them, but the employees needed to get escorted to safety quickly. Max needed to join the troops on the outskirts of the forest and clear a path herself.

"Come on! Lean on me!" Vivianne encouraged as she, with great effort, navigated back to the horse. It was hard not to stumble on all the scattered limbs on the ground in the dark.

With a whistle, the stallion gracefully leapt toward them. Vivianne heaved herself up onto a horse, it had been a while since she rode a horse, but just like swimming, you never forget. She aided a pale, hazy Juno onto the horse and anxiously waited for Max's signal.

Juno's state was rapidly declining; he might bleed out in a matter of minutes. Vivianne cussed loudly as she struck the attacker attempting to yank her off the stallion. The knights that were surrounding her were slowly losing their strength.

An attacker wielding a glaive sliced the horse's shoulder; it neighed in pain, kicking in every direction. Vivianne held on for dear life, grabbing hold of Juno's belt. One of their archers pierced the attacker before they could inflict more damage.

The battle seemed neverending, with the attacker's reinforcement reaching them again. Max and her small group of knights had yet to clear a path for them to escape through. Juno wasn't even groaning anymore, but he was still awake with his eyes darting around.

Vivianne decided to take matters into her own hands, drawing her bow and aiming for a man on a horse trampling on the knights. She aimed for his shoulder, sending him tumbling down with his head first.

"One more.." Vivianne aimed again, this time at a woman with a longsword who was sneaking around, piercing people above the collarbone. She went down with a scream, quickly getting stomped on by a horse.

Suddenly, a light flew into the sky, a brilliant blue. It was Max's flare, coming from the south. Immediately all of the knights fought to clear a path in that direction. The enemy seemed to catch on quickly, as they also rushed to that part of the forest.

Vivianne leapt forward with her horse, stomping on whoever was stupid enough to stand in her way. Off the cobblestoned path, the oppressive darkness of the forest made it impossible for Vivianne to move at the speed she wanted, but she knew the forest like the back of her hand.

The wind whipped her hair around, and the dress's many layers were in the way, yet Vivianne was riding the horse like a professional. Soon, the cries of the battle were only a resounding echo far behind them.

"Hang in there," Vivianne encouraged, not waiting for a reply before she upped the pace again, finding a small path to follow. She knew that it led back to the knight's fortress. She smiled in triumph when she spotted Max waving them over.