Bulbous Cows

Sybill and Elena entered Queen Alfariya’s chamber, eager to tell the others what they had discovered in Lucy’s chambers.

Sybill stepped farther into the room, her gaze moving casually from one familiar face to another. Sammy and Rowland were already there, while Silvi sat on the table nearby, her black button eyes fixed on them.

She wandered a few more steps in, her attention drifting to the rest of the chamber—the furniture and the walls.

A faint chittering sound filled the air.

It grew louder.

And louder.

The irritating sound seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

Tiny golden beetle-like insects began crawling from every nook and cranny. They emerged from beneath the furniture, through cracks in the walls, and between the floorboards.

Every single one of them was moving towards the exact same point.

Sybill.

They poured towards her from every direction, as though she were a beacon of light and they were moths drawn helplessly towards it.

Sybill stared down at them in confusion.

Silvi’s button eyes widened.

“No! No!”

Her voice rose into a scream.

“Protect her! Don’t let them reach her! Do something! Elena! Sammy! Rowland!”

But it was already too late.

The insects swarmed towards Sybill.

Dozens latched onto her arms and legs, clinging tightly to her clothes and skin. Tiny puncture wounds began appearing wherever they attached themselves.

Sybill desperately tried to shake them off, but more continued crawling over her. Her movements grew sluggish, and her eyelids began to droop.

For one stunned moment, no one moved.

Then Elena saw Sybill stumble.

“Sybill!”

Elena rushed towards her, frantically brushing the insects from her arms and clothes. Sammy lunged forward as well, stamping on the creatures as they fell to the marble.

Rowland hurried towards Sybill, kicking aside anything still crawling towards her.

More kept coming.

Silvi continued screaming.

“Get them off her!”

Soon, dozens of tiny golden bodies lay squashed across the marble, tiny smears of blood marking the floor red.

By then, Sybill had crumpled to the floor, unconscious, her breathing faint.

“Sybill!”

Rowland dropped beside her, gathering her into his arms and desperately trying to wake her.

Her eyes remained closed.

“Rowland, pick up Sybill! Now!” Elena shouted. “Don’t waste time!”

“Make sure there aren’t any insects still on her!”

Rowland quickly looked over Sybill’s arms, legs, and clothing.

Tiny puncture wounds dotted her arms and legs, but no insects remained.

“Nothing. I don’t see anything!”

Rowland slipped one arm beneath Sybill’s knees and the other behind her back.

He lifted her.

“Move!”

Sammy hurriedly scooped up Silvi and followed, with Elena close behind.

The few insects still lingering around the room scattered as the others fled, disappearing into cracks in the walls, beneath the floorboards, and behind the furniture.

*********

Inside Elena’s chambers, Rowland carefully lowered Sybill onto the bed.

Even after setting her down, he did not release her hand.

His eyes remained fixed intently on her face, his teeth clenched hard enough for the strain to show along his jaw. He seemed determined to remain composed, though the faint tremor in his grip betrayed him.

Elena stood beside the bed, still shaken by what she had witnessed.

“What were those things?”

Sammy carefully set Silvi on the bedside table beside Sybill.

Silvi watched her sister from there. There was none of her usual cheerfulness left.

“In the magical world, they are known as Mana Drainers. Every mage fled at the sight of them, and as the name already suggests, they are attracted to people with mana.”

Her button eyes remained fixed on Sybill.

“And Sibi…”

Silvi hesitated.

“Sibi has an enormous amount.”

Rowland’s fingers tightened around Sybill’s hand.

“To those insects, she must have been irresistible.”

Sammy lowered his head.

“It’s all my fault.”

Tears slipped freely down his cheeks.

“I can’t lose Sybill too.”

“She will recover, dear,” Silvi said softly.

For the briefest moment, something loosened in Sammy’s expression.

Then Silvi continued.

“But the moment she wakes, she needs to return to her Domain while she still has enough magic left to open the way.”

Whatever relief had reached the room disappeared almost immediately.

Rowland finally looked away from Sybill and towards Silvi.

“Why can’t we treat her here?”

His voice remained steady, but his hand was still wrapped firmly around Sybill’s.

Silvi turned towards him.

“Do you see any cows that are pink with white spots around here, Rowland?”

Rowland stared at her.

“No.”

“That is why.”

He frowned.

Silvi continued.

“Just as there are creatures capable of draining mana, there are creatures capable of replenishing it.”

Her gaze shifted towards Sammy.

“The Bulbous cows.”

Sammy wiped hurriedly at his face.

“The ones in the Domain.”

“Yes.”

Silvi nodded.

“Their milk replenishes mana.”

She looked around the room.

“I have not seen a single Bulbous cow anywhere in this world.”

Sammy slowly shook his head.

“Neither have I.”

Silence settled over the room.

There was nothing left to argue against.

No healer they could summon. No potion they could prepare. Nothing in their world capable of restoring what the Mana Drainers had taken from her.

Rowland looked back at Sybill.

His eyes did not leave her.

Then her fingers moved faintly beneath his.

Rowland froze.

Sybill’s eyelids fluttered.

His grip tightened around her hand.

Slowly, her lavender eyes opened.

For the first time since he had carried her from Queen Alfariya’s chamber, some of the rigid tension left Rowland’s face. A breath escaped him, unsteady despite every effort to control it.

Sybill stared ahead, dazed and unfocused, as though she had not yet entirely returned to the room.

Silvi watched her intently.

“Sibi.”

Sybill’s eyes shifted faintly towards the sound of her sister’s voice.

“We have to go home, dear.”

Elena stood beside a weakened Sybill, holding Silvi carefully against her chest.

Sammy stood across from them, tears still glistening on his face. Rowland remained beside Sybill, his hand wrapped around hers as though letting go had not yet occurred to him.

“Are you sure, Elena?” Sammy asked.

Elena looked at him.

“I have to be with her, Sammy.”

Sammy swallowed hard.

“It could be years, Elena. We don’t even know how many years. Time flows differently there, and—”

“I know, Sammy. I know.”

Elena’s voice was soft, but there was no hesitation in it.

“You stay here. Keep searching for Mom. You tell Dad whatever you need to tell him.”

Her gaze moved towards Sybill.

“Sybill has made enough sacrifices for us.”

Elena drew a quiet breath.

“It is my turn.”

Sammy’s mouth tightened.

More tears slipped down his cheeks, but he did not argue again.

Even he knew she was right.

“Dad will understand,” Elena said softly. “I’m sure of it.”

“We don’t have time,” Silvi pleaded.

Sybill slowly looked towards Rowland.

His hand was still wrapped around hers, his eyes fixed intently on her as though silently pleading with her not to leave.

His teeth remained clenched, every part of him held rigid beneath the effort of staying composed.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Then Sybill’s unfocused gaze shifted towards Sammy.

It took nearly all of Rowland’s strength to let go of her delicate hand.

“Goodbye.”

With a crack and a flash, Sybill, Elena, and Silvi disappeared.