Chapter 79: May my wrongs... Create no trouble

Chapter 79:

May my wrongs… Create no trouble

Silas's mind was muddled, full of scattered thoughts as recent memories flooded to the front of his mind, flashing like lights and dancing around his weak consciousness. As he regained his bearings, his consciousness returned. The bed he laid on was soft, and his body was covered by a thick white duvet, keeping his stiff body warm as he sat up, holding his forehead as a small, sharp pain stabbed behind his right eye. Silas groaned, catching the attention of a figure that had just opened the door.

"Silas?" Silas blinked twice, attempting to relieve the pain as the blurriness of his eyes slowly began to subside. The tall, light-blue haired man stood next to his bed and held a small glass bottle in his hand, his face full of concern as he stared at Silas, a trace of joy in his eyes. "He's awake!" Footsteps and muffled voices rang in his ears as he blurrily stared at the figures standing around him. He continued to blink as he attempted to make out the figures' faces.

Meredith watched Silas's confused expression, his joy dampened. Seeing Silas's poor state, he did not ask before he pulled the cork off of the small bottle and held the unknown substance up to Silas's lips with a frown. "Drink this. Your mana levels are dropping."

Silas nodded his head with understanding, knowing Meredith's cool voice. Opening his mouth, the liquid was poured inside by Meredith, leaving a bitter, medicinal flavor to flood his dry mouth. Silas could only hold back the nausea and drink the medicine in one large gulp, finishing off the bottle quickly before Meredith took the glass bottle from his hand and set it aside to the table.

"I need to get up." Silas asked in a hoarse voice, his throat scratchy from disuse. He moved his arms to the side, attempting to turn his body, but his limbs were too weak to support his movements and his chest fell back to the bed with a small thud. Struggling to lift himself from the bed, Silas asked. "How long have I been asleep?"

Meredith stood up, gently pushing Silas back into the bed as he said, "You've been asleep for almost a week. Your mana needs to recirculate before you can move again. Any sudden movements can damage your body." As much as Silas wanted to stand, Meredith was more stubborn, refusing to let the young man leave his bed until the medicine took effect. "Wait for the medicine to stimulate your mana stream. Your current mana levels are deathly low."

Hoarsely, Silas coughed, patting his chest as the mana burned through his body, stimulating the low amount of mana coursing through his bloodstream. The pain of low mana levels was difficult to endure for some elves, particularly elves with human ancestors. The higher the percentage of human blood, the more painful the recuperation for the elf. Feeling the burning, searing pain of the mana rebuilding, Silas could only lay back on the bed, writhing weakly as cold sweat lined his pale forehead.

As Meredith grabbed a handkerchief to wipe Silas's damp forehead, a voice erupted from the remote cottage of Eva's. "Is Lady Eva here? I must speak with her!" It was the voice of one of Eva's couriers, one that both Meredith and Neema recognized as the voice of Eva's Yursinean courier. With his presence here, it could only mean something had happened.

Meredith stood up and hurried to the door frame, watching as Eva had stepped out of the sitting room and towards the courier with a heavy expression. Vaan stood by the entrance of the cottage with his arms crossed, a thin frown on his face as he stared towards Eva, as if he were thinking of what bad news the courier had to bring. What news would weigh down on the morale of the group?

"What news do you have?" Eva asked, crossing her arms.

The courier frowned deeply, distressed by what he had to say, "It is about the elven woman you asked me to find."

"Let's go inside first. We can discuss the news together." Eva stated, motioning for the rest of the group to join them inside the room. While the room was not small, it was crowded with six people inside. Vaan stood by the door to the room, keeping watch over the cottage as the meeting between Eva's group began, joined now by the courier, Neema, and Saoirse, all three standing towards the far side of the room near the wall, opposite of Silas and Meredith.

The air was stale with dust, and the tension in the room made their lungs tighten. However, the room was quiet, filled with the sounds of shallow breaths as the courier cleared his throat and began to speak without another moment of waiting, bringing the news that Silas desperately had been waiting to hear.

"The elven woman, Maeir, I found her whereabouts. She," The courier paused, unsure if he should continue. Silas held his breath, waiting to hear news of her death, or worse. Eva nodded, encouraging him to continue, "She is being held prisoner somewhere in the Yursinean palace." Silas barely held back the scream that rose in his throat as he crumpled into himself. Meredith quickly attempted to console him as Eva signaled for the distressed courier to continue, "Her children are believed to have been captured and taken with her. At this point, we do not know their specific conditions, but they are reported to be alive, in stable condition." The courier reported steadily as he added, "Though there is currently an event happening at the palace, the royal hunt. I believe there may be a connection between the two."

Silas weakly pushed Meredith away from him, and he attempted to lift himself off of the bed again, but Meredith pushed him back down and said, his voice breaking, "Silas, you have to recover first. Going after them in this condition would be certain death!"

"If I don't leave soon, he'll kill them, Meredith!" Silas yelled, clasping his hands tightly around the heavy down quilt that covered him. "I can't stay here like this! I've already lost them once. I can't lose them again!"

"Silas, calm down." Meredith held Silas back to the bed as Silas clutched his abdomen and groaned, feeling the sudden pain from the mana distribution. Gently, he fell back into the bed, his forehead still dripping with sweat as he gritted his teeth, fighting back the searing pain in his veins.

Meredith attempted to calm Silas down as Eva's gaze fell towards Silas, her eyes returning to their familiar icy stare as she then looked towards the courier and asked, "What else do you know, Rory?"

"I do have something else, but I am unsure of its credibility." The courier, Rory, adjusted the bandana on top of his head awkwardly before he said, "There were rumors that the elven woman was planned to be released during the hunt to be hunted down." Everyone's eyes silently slid over to Silas as they waited for his reaction. He was absolutely still, hardly moving, his eyes looking down at his legs, which were covered by a blanket. Eva was the only one who kept an eye on Rory, and she uncrossed her arms as she asked,

"Any other news?"

Rory nodded solemnly, "There was also news that the Yursinean crown prince's cousin, Duke Malcolm Godfreed, will be returning to the palace next week in order to attend the prince's engagement ceremony later next month."

Re-crossing her arms, Eva closed her eyes for a moment, as if she were running different ideas through her mind. Neema stood next to Rory, her eyes drifting between Eva and Silas as Saoirse quietly walked towards Meredith and retrieved a bottle of medicine from her satchel. Quietly, she spoke to Meredith about the medicine as Neema returned her gaze to Eva, who seemed to have noticed something strange.

"Rory," Eva began, uncrossing her arms as she said, pointing to a strange red letter sticking out of the edge of Rory's leather letter satchel, "Who is that letter addressed to?" Her informants had never used colored papers before, especially such garish styled paper. If it was not a letter from their network, then where had it come from?

Rory reached into his satchel and pulled out the letter, handing it to Eva with both hands as he said, "This was included with the informant's information. They said that Lady Eva needed to receive this letter." Rory bowed his head and said, "I was unable to find the source of the letter. I apologize, Lady Eva."

Eva took the letter in her hands and quietly read aloud the name written on the letter, "To Lady Valia Reed." The letter read in fine gold font, the words curved in an elegant cursive script.

"Why is it," Eva began, turning to face Silas as she asked in a low tone, "that this letter is addressed to your old disguise, Silas?" She held out the letter in one hand, passing the letter to Meredith, who placed the letter on the blanket in front of Silas. Silas first refused to even move, but with a stern prodding from Eva, Silas finally moved his hand towards the letter. With trembling fingers, he lifted the letter and read the words himself, feeling lost in disbelief. As the realization set in, Silas's eyes widened as he clutched the letter, his hands crumpling it's fine, smooth edges with heavy wrinkles.

"My word, it seems there are women even more beautiful than the otherworldly Lady Ivana." Just holding the letter in his sweating, shaking hand, memories of that fateful day rushed back to Silas's mind, the day he and Meredith had disguised themselves as dancers to find more information about his family in the Khymal Kingdom. The only person that he introduced himself to was-

"Malcolm." Silas said, flipping over the letter in his hands. The wax seal of the letter was plain, embellished only with the round stamping of a plain letter stamp. Without patience, Silas ripped open the letter, tearing the paper open under the seal as he awkwardly retrieved the letter and read it, his eyes narrowed in sudden anger.

"What does the letter say?" Meredith asked,

Silas did not respond as he continued to read the letter, full of small, complex cursive font. His eyes easily scanned over the letter, however, and he was able to make out the information written by the king's nephew himself. It was not until he reached the bottom of the letter that he found himself dumbfounded, but incensed.

"What does it say, Silas?" Eva asked impatiently, stepping forward.

Silas froze, his eyes trailing over the last line of the letter. He opened his mouth, his slim lips shaking as he took a deep breath. Then, he began reading the letter aloud.

…

The four candidates stood in the middle of the forest, grouped together, keeping their darkening thoughts to themselves as they looked around the woods, attempting to find where Annmaria and Ophira had disappeared to. Sagara stepped forward and looked at the ground with a curious expression, her dress falling around her knees and to the ground as she squatted in place, appearing unlike her usual regal appearance.

"Do you see anything?" Philomena asked, her demeanor appearing dejected after she had been chastised. She wanted to appear strong like the other women in the group, but she felt childish while she stood by, waiting for everyone else to find Annmaria and Ophira's trail.

Sagara stood up and nodded, gesturing in front of her with her slim, elegant hand, "Yes, here. It looks like some branches were broken over here, and there's a narrow path in the foliage that might get us through." She sighed before adding, "It's going to be a little difficult to squeeze through here in our dresses, but we have no choice." Even dressed in their formal riding dresses, there were still many layers, including the bustles in their skirts. Fortunately they had worn comfortable shoes in order to accommodate the trek.

As Sagara lifted her foot, ready to enter the woods, she was stopped by Olicia's voice. "Wait a moment," Olicia said impatiently, tugging at her jacket, "Before we go any further, I need to change."

Charlotte raised her brow, "Change?"

Olicia shook her head in response. "Sorry, I don't mean like that. If we are getting close, I want to be prepared. It'll only take me a minute."

Standing in the middle of the forest, Olicia lifted her left foot and tore off her boot, lifting her other foot just as fast as she was soon barefoot, wearing only socks to cover her feet. She also threw off her riding jacket, shocking the rest of the girls present as she looked as if she were ready to strip herself bare.

"Olicia, what a-'' Charlotte began to say before she stopped, noticing a buttoned blouse underneath Olicia's jacket, and a black pattern inlaid within Olicia's riding jacket.

Flipping the jacket and removing her original blouse, a servant's uniform appeared. More specifically, a man's uniform. Adjusting the blouse, Olicia placed her jacket inside out, now appearing black, plain as day as she tugged on the hem of the coat, extending the fabric another inch to cover her hips. Under the surprised gazes of the other candidates, Olicia bent down and adjusted the hem of her pants, straightening the legs as she grabbed her boots and placed them back on, now covered by her pants.

"This is better." She said, tucking her long hair into the back of her blouse. "Now if we run into Cordelia and her goons, they won't know it's me." Olicia felt proud of herself, having spent extra time to fasten this costume together with her maid. While her maid was curious, she did not question the marchioness and instead helped her prepare the strange uniform in time for the hunt.

Wearing it now, Olicia felt safer, knowing her identity was at least somewhat concealed.

Seeing Olicia's costume, Charlotte could only think to herself, Though it feels unnecessary, I guess it makes her feel safer. Maybe it's because I've always had my life threatened, but even throwing myself into immediate danger does not worry me at all. Charlotte trailed over her thoughts for a moment, shaking her head, Or it's actually because of my knight. Now that I think about it, it does feel strange to be in such a foreign place without him by my side. Charlotte's eyes scanned over the stretching wilderness, But I know he's somewhere out there.

After the dramatic costume change, the first to step through the woods was Sagara. As the tallest of the group, and the oldest, she left it was important for her to lead the way. Olicia had already been attacked previously, and if she were to lead, what if the perpetrator saw her again? With that in mind, Charlotte stepped forward next, followed by Olicia, then Philomena, who followed closely behind with a fierce expression.

"When we find them, they'll be paying to replace my dress." Philomena said with a hmph, stepping forward as the lace edging of her dress caught on a bush branch, dragging her back a little. With a fierce tug, she was able to free herself, but it ripped a small hole into the delicate edging, causing her to become even angrier. She really wanted to impress Marquis Cyernic during this event, since it would be one of the few times she would have a reason to speak with him during her time in the Yursear kingdom. She had to stand out so he would remember her. He might even grow to like her if he gets to know her. Philomena involuntarily blushed as she thought about it, before she sternly slapped herself on her cheek, earning a sideways stare of concern from Olicia. No, focus! You have to appear strong, Philomena! She thought to herself as she rubbed her cheek and smiled at Olicia, who weakly smiled back in response.

The four walked quietly, keeping their voices to a whisper as they trailed through the narrow path, stepping around logs and other debris on the forest floor. The smell of damp wood and rot was strong, but it did not bother the four women, as their focus was directed on following the footprints left by the other two candidates, Cordelia's co-conspirators.

"Look, there's a stream up ahead. But why would they go so far into the forest?" Sagara stepped out of the woods and towards a small clearing. A small stream of fresh water trickled down a thin path, making a calming sound as tiny fish swam by, paying no mind to the small group of women.

Philomena frowned sourly as she looked down at her torn dress. She had picked it out specifically to catch Marquis Cyernic's attention, but with her dress in shambles from the unrelenting forest, there was no way she would let him see her now, "Maybe we should turn around? I'm worried we're going to get lost."

"Absolutely not." Charlotte snapped, turning to Philomena with a sharp glare, "If we turn around now, we'll never find out what they have planned. Besides, we're more likely to get lost by attempting to retrace our steps than continuing forward."

Philomena grumbled as she glanced down at her dress, and Olicia lifted a brow at Charlotte, not believing her words. Charlotte remained silent under the scrutiny, and it was only until Sagara chirped like a bird that she was able to get everyone's attention.

"Fighting will get us nowhere. We agreed to do this as a group." Sagara looked at them with a sigh, as if chastising children, "Philomena, if you are questioning this, turn around. None of us will blame you."

"I-" Philomena seemed to quickly falter, her voice fading as she stumbled to find words. Sagara smiled kindly as Philomena finally said, "I don't want to turn around! I'm just worried about our safety. We're all high-ranking women, after all. And what if people notice we left?"

"Don't worry about that, I took care of it." Charlotte said with a smile.

"Philomena, it's normal to falter." Sagara said, her deep voice soothing to the flustered Philomena, "We are doing something very dangerous. There is no shame in not wanting to continue. You are also welcome to stay. We are glad to have you with us." As Sagara finished, Philomena's eyes began to tear up as she asked,

"You are all glad that I'm here?" All three young women nodded with a smile, as if it was obvious. Philomena laughed awkwardly and looked down, wiping quickly at her eyes, before she looked back up, "I'm not running away! We're a team!" Philomena said resolutely, "I just want us to be careful."

"That's why we came as a group. We'll protect each other." Charlotte said with a nod.

"Without a doubt." Sagara said, smiling at the group, "Then, let's continue."

The sun shone through the opening in the trees, brightening the area with light, which allowed for a clearer view of the footprints.

"There's a problem." Charlotte said, narrowing her eyes as she looked forward. The other three turned their heads and walked closer to Charlotte, who was standing next to the stream's edge, pointing her finger across the stream to two separate pairs of footsteps. "It looks like they split up here."

Philomena shook her head, "You've got to be kidding me. They must have done this to keep others off their tail." She waved her hand in annoyance, "Do they think we're fools?"

Standing at the edge of the stream, Olicia said, "This is dangerous. They could have done this to purposely split us up. Maybe they're going to try and ambush us." Her words made the group anxious, but it was true. They were unsure whether Annmaria and Ophira had entered the woods to lure them in, or if they were just following a plan of Cordelia's. Maybe they were just taking a walk? Either way, there was no way to know, and the thought of danger made the hairs on Olicia's neck stand tall.

Charlotte hummed to herself in thought for a moment before she said, "Olicia, you follow me and we'll take the left path. Sagara and Philomena, you both go right. Make sure you're quiet and be careful, we don't know if they know we're here or not. If they find us, they might attack us." The girls' faces fell.

Sagara looked at the right path and responded, "We've all been trained how to avoid assassins. I think we'll be okay, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't be careful." Reaching into a hidden pocket in her skirt, Sagara grabbed out two small glass bottles. The bottles were light blue, decorated with a Khymalian, geometric print around the edges and painted with a turquoise hue. Carefully, she passed one of the bottles to Charlotte, keeping one in her hand.

"What is this, Sagara?" Charlotte asked, carefully turning over the bottle in her palm, her eyes focused on the strange Khymalian text imprinted on the side.

Sagara held her bottle carefully in her hand as she explained, "My mother is an Attar in my home country, a perfumist. She gave this to me before I left for the Yursinean palace." Sagara stated, placing her bottle back inside the hidden pocket of her skirt. "She told me that if I were ever in an unsafe situation that I should throw the bottle and run." Sagara looked up and laughed as she added, "While I do not know what is inside, I can guarantee it will keep you both safe. If you run into any trouble, please use it."

Olicia's eyes sparkled, feeling grateful for her good friend, while Charlotte carefully placed the bottle away in the pocket of her jacket and bowed her head, "Thank you, Sagara. If we do not use this, I will return it to you once we return to the palace."

Sagara nodded, "Let's get moving. We have to find them."

Just as the girls began to move forward again, a loud, women's scream erupted from the forest, not far from where they were standing. They watched as a group of birds flew away from the forest and into the sky, startling them as they looked to each other, fear lining their faces.

…

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Last update of this week. I was super productive knowing I had promised a double update, so I ended up writing about 10 pages in the last three days alone :D I appreciate all the support and patience, as it really helps make a difference for me. We edited through this quite a few times, but let me know if we missed anything!

My relative did die this week, but it was expected with the state of their health. I tried to update at least ko-fi (I can't update my socials at work on work wifi, lol), but I apologize for the radio silence on our end, as we've been trying to get a lot of arrangements and other things settled. I apologize for being slow to get back to comments as well, as my heart has really not been into it. I've been pretty absent this month entirely.

This part of the novel will now lead us to Silas taking that final step to get to the palace, beyond that, you all will find out. There's only 3 more new characters to introduce, then I can really see this novel starting to wrap up ♥ Let us know how you like these chapters, and I will work hard to hurry us forward!

Thank you all for reading ♥