Tremors

The ground seemed to mimic Mairwen's convulsions. However, almost as soon as both started to shake, they suddenly stopped. The walls around them rattled but held firm. All at once,

the princess lay eerily still on the bed.

In the rooms all around them, people were awoken abruptly from their sleep. Worried cries, screams and words of comfort filled the halls, but it seemed that no one had been seriously injured by the unexpected shuddering of the earth.

"Mairwen!" Renat ran over to his wife. He place his hand on her back gently, his heart in his throat. The man's face relaxed. "She's breathing. But what's that?"

On the woman's exposed shoulder blade, a black froth bubbled and dripped down her skin.

"Just residue…I hope." Alaron took the sheet and dabbed at the wound. When Mairwen did not flinch, he wiped the liquid quickly away.

To his relief, only smooth skin remained. The thin deep gouges left by the colossal lizard were gone, as if nothing had happened. Whatever battle had happened between the potion and the poison, the victor was obvious.

"I believe we should let her rest," Eira said quietly, motioning to the sleeping beauty. She shifted uncomfortably and looked about at the disheveled room. "Uh, did the vial do…that?" The soldier waved her arms in a wide circle.

"I am not sure. I was never told about that kind of reaction before. I will have to ask Justum about a lot of things…"

"So none of that has happened when you used it in the past?" Renat tapped his fingers together nervously.

Alaron hesitated. "No, but then again I've never tried it myself before."

"WHAT?!" Eira and Renat both whisper-screamed.

"You tried something on Mairwen and you weren't sure at all what was going to happen?" Anger welled up in Renat.

"I didn't see anyone else coming up with better ideas at that moment. It turned out alright didn't it?" The Guardian pulled his hood up so that his face disappeared. While he was very glad it worked, the guilt of what happened--and worse, what could have happened-- weighed on his conscience.

"Boys, stop arguing, you are giving me a headache," Mairwen moaned as she pushed up to sit on the bed.

"Don't strain yourself! Are you ok? You gave us a quite a scare." Renat helped her roll onto her back and brought her a cup of water. Alaron placed a pillow behind her head while Eria covered her with a blanket that wasn't caked in black froth.

"I am fine—better than fine actually. I feel better than I have since that archery incident a while back. What happened while I was out?"

"An earthquake."

"A ball of light burst, shining like a star in the night."

"Black bubbles came out of your back."

Mairwen stared at the three people who had just spoken and pursed her lips. "If you don't want to tell me, just say so. It must have been something pretty embarrassing for the three of you to make up such strange stories..."

"You passed gas," Alaron said in true brotherly fashion. "It nearly took your husband's eyebrows off."

Renat scowled, but Mairwen merely chuckled, "Then next time I shall try to have better aim, brother. I always said you would look better hairless."

With some of the tension gone, Mairwen was given the events from her slumber.

"You mean you weren't joking?" she said, astonished by their words. "I was unconscious through all that?"

"To be fair, you were a little busy screaming, writhing and healing," Renat pointed out.

"So much to process," the princess admitted. Then her face darkened. "And all of it was for nothing in the end."

Alaron scowled. "What do you mean?"

"I mean we are back to square one. We cannot go back to the University. Fannur is dead, and the place is likely swarming with people looking for his killer. I only wish we had grabbed Dania's notes before we went to help the Chancellor. Now we will never get the chance."

"You mean these notes?" From Alaron's cloak, the papers appeared in all their glory. Fighting the dizziness of sitting up too fast, Mairwen took them eagerly from his hand and clutched them to her chest.

"When did you? How did you? Oh, thank you!" the princess beamed. "Thank you all. It was a group effort."

The scientist ran his fingers through the woman's hair, encouraging her to relax. Her joyous mood forced a smile from Renat as he gave the Guardian an appreciative nod.

"Your brother is full of surprises. I am glad he had such forethought."

Alaron noted the olive branch and dipped his head. "Renat was the only one of us who managed to kill one of those lizards. If not for that, I might not have had a chance to bring the papers here."

It seemed, at least for now, the men were at peace. They both turned their attention to the papers in the Princess's hand.

"Now that you have them, how do you plan on reading them? I've never seen a language like that. It's like partial letters mixed with strange symbols." Renat took a page and squinted at it. "I don't suppose she gave you some sort of way to decipher these while you were taking the notes."

"No, she always wrote the originals and I copied them over twice. I got very good at making the strange symbols. I do think this part means 'and', but beyond that I haven't a clue." Mairwen's head began to swim. The symbols all began to jumble in front of her until she could stare at them no longer.

"Do not be too hard on yourself, Your Highness. If only we knew the key, this would be much simpler," Eira offered.

"The key!" the princess squealed. "Eira, you are a genius."

"I am not sure what to do with that compliment. I have no idea what I said." The soldier furrowed her brow. She wondered if her mistress had hit her head on the bed at some point.

Mairwen was too busy to notice the guard's confusion as she explained. "The Chancellor mentioned a key. Maybe it wasn't a physical key. Maybe those lizards were looking for the key to decode the notes."

"But why bother with the key when we have the notes," Alaron wondered.

"Because there is a third set. It must be with Dania. If Taran is indeed using her, perhaps he sent those creatures to get the key."

"That's quite a jump." The Guardian said. Renat and Eira nodded.

"Do you have a better idea?" the princess insisted. "You said they took her other notes. Why would they care about human papers?

"But where would Taran get an army of lizard creatures to do his bidding? We are missing something here." Renat had known the man over a year and had never noticed anything that might indicate he was friends with magical creatures. If anything, the man detested magic.

The princess held out the papers and studied them. "I'm not sure, but if we can find the key to reading this, I think we will find the answer."

There was a knock at the door. Renat cautiously answered it. The owner of the inn stood there wringing his hands.

"Is anyone within hurt?" He asked anxiously. "My sister and I are going around to see if anyone is in need of a healer."

"No, we are well," the scientist said quickly. "The occupants of the next two rooms are also in here and safe."

The man's face turned pleasant. "I told my sister not to worry, but you know how women can be. Yours are the last rooms I needed to check so it seems all is well!"

"Thank you for your concern—" Renat eased the door shut, but the innkeeper caught it with his hand.

"Mind you, that was quite a rattling the ground did. What do you suppose caused it to give such an unexpected shake?" The large man's tone was friendly. It seemed that since the danger was over, the innkeeper was ready for a chat.

"Who can say why anything happens?" The lanky man responded, trying to cut the conversation short.

The innkeeper's face contorted in confusion. "Aren't you a scholar or something?"

"I..uh…"

"Yes, you were spouting some scientific mumbo jumbo when you came in this afternoon. My sister says you must be brilliant." The innkeeper insisted.

Thinking quickly, Renat yawned loud and long. "Let me think on it, and I shall have an answer for you in the morning. I must get to bed."

The innkeeper realized his rudeness and released the door. "Of course, my apologies. I will head back and tell my sister that all are safe. She will still be worried otherwise. Thick as thieves, we are. She's the cook and I'm the keeper of this humble place. We make great business partners, we do. My sister and I have no children and our parents are gone, so we tell each other everything…" the man realized he was rambling. "I must be tired too. Goodnight."

With a relieved sigh, the scientist shut the door. "If I had known what awaited me on the other side of the door, I never would have answered." He swallowed as he wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.

"I'm very glad you did. Because now I know where to find the key to the notes." Mairwen gave a coy smile. "Now all we have to do is find her."

"Her?" The others exchanged a glance.

The princess pursed her lips. "Dania's sister, of course. Who else?"