Chapter 8: The North Awaits

By the time I make it to the royal infirmary, I’m coughing up blood. The royal physician lays me out on a stretcher, commanding her aides for miscellaneous medical equipment all the while. She fashions a large needle and a cold sweat breaks out on my forehead. 

Mika’s in the corner of the room cradling Phoenix who’s currently trying to eat his arms. I wince at the pain that comes from me trying to chuckle at this display. 

It feels like I’ve been stabbed; I try to not breathe so deeply, taking shallow, quick gasps of air.

“Your broken rib has punctured your lung, m’lady,” the physician informs me, “Do I have your consent to anesthetize you?”

While I’m reflecting on the notion that I don’t want to be defenseless with such a wound and the guy who caused it, Akechi bursts in, panting.

“Your highness,” the medical staff narrates, stopping whatever they’re doing with me to lower their heads to their prince. 

He waves them off almost angrily. He looks at me, with tears forming in his eyes. I sit up immediately because something must be wrong.

“Are you alright?” he asks, then watches me groan about his unnecessary concern.

“I’m alive so no. Here,” I swing a limp arm out towards Mika, “greet the High Priest of the ShArc Republic,” I introduce.

Akechi narrows his eyes at Mika-El and Mika gives him a polite smile in return.

“Your Highness.” Mika places his hand out to Akechi.

Akechi glares at it for a moment before bringing his hand up as well.

“Your Holiness,” Akechi responds, a vein popping out of his forehead. 

I’ve seen that look before. I know it well. It’s the same expression I have to try to repress when dealing with the king. He’s definitely pissed off. The grip of their handshake could snap a neck. I should intervene to elaborate.

“He’s got the same problem as us, Akechi,” I explain, careful of what I let slip, seeing as this castle’s nurses spread rumors like the plague, “he’s on our side. We can trust him.”

“Your punctured lung says otherwise,” he fumes, not breaking eye contact with Mika.

“Oh, this? Pshh. I am doing A-OK. Drug me up, doc.” I stick my arm out to the physician as she injects me with anesthesia. 

I don’t even flinch because the aching in my chest tops the pain of a thousand needles, much less one.

After a few minutes, I don’t feel her stabbing me with the massive hollow tube she uses to draw pleural fluid out of me. I feel numb but not drowsy so if anything happens, I can still fight. An hour passes and the other medics are bandaging me up while the lead doctor slaps two bottles of pills in my hand.

“You need to rest, m’lady. Your rib will heal quickly on its own, but it will take at least a month for your lung to return to its former glory. These pills are to stop infection and the others are for pain. Take one of the antibiotics twice a day with food and two of the pain relievers as needed every six hours,” she prescribes.

I nod but I don’t plan on laying up in a bed somewhere while the mines meet their demise. She walks out of the room with her attendants to doubtlessly go deal with the congregation of priests I knocked out earlier. I hold my arms out to Phoenix and Mika releases him to me, his upper appendages all bandaged to hide the scars that will soon form.

“Could you find any nobles with TB, Akechi?” I ask as soon as the three of us are alone. Four, the four of us.

“Only the baroness and the soon-to-be count. Neither would have the reach to do this so it’s a dead end. I was hoping you would find suspects who better fit the bill,” he states flatly. 

I can tell he’s disappointed that we’re not making any headway. My heart stings.

“I’m sorry, maybe the culprit’s a Northun, the first attack was in the Northern Queendom, right?” I suggest to Mika-El. 

At this point, I think everyone’s acquainted enough to drop the honorifics and formalities.

“Yes, I am sure of it. At the Queen’s ball, before the destruction of our mine, she had made propositions of a Topaz trade. I had rejected her of course as that wouldn’t uphold the Republic’s neutrality but she insisted, saying that we could trade with the South too and form a triangulation of enhancements,” he explains.

“And you’re only just now telling us this?” Akechi grits.

“I had no reason to before and I only just now put two and two together. I also didn’t know if I could trust the two of you or whether it was my place to speak on such a topic to someone other than the king of this country first. Besides, I rejected her counterproposal as well. I felt that circulating the gem internationally would go against the will of the Topaz. There is only one mine in each region for a reason,” Mika illuminates.

“What’s she like? The Northern Queen, I mean,” I ask curiously. 

She could be a pivotal ally. From what I hear, she’s conniving but we could use someone like that against the destructor. And the fact that she’s one of the wealthiest people on the planet helps too.

“Emotionless. Stoic and poised. The very epitome of grace. I don’t know much about her but what I do know is that she’s paranoid, not that a queen shouldn’t be. Her retinue is all handpicked down to her chambermaid. Her royal advisor and loyal confidant, the scholar Hehu, can seemingly enact her will without her even having to speak it. They’re who we need to watch out for.”

“You learned all this in the few days you were in the Northern Queendom?” Akechi questions the legitimacy of the High Priest’s account.

“I surmise it from what I have observed. I also have more than one set of eyes and ears,” he implies.

That’s probably why he knew my name without me telling him.

This Hehu character, they could be our perpetrator but I don’t let my colleagues know this. I could see just from how he treated Mika, that Akechi tends to aim for the jugular first and ask questions later. And I doubt the king of Topaz worshippers would let them off easy either. 

I won’t claim to be a merciful person but I at least know not to kill a suspected target without being sure first. Not to mention, ending their life would incur the wrath of the Northern Queen. Eh, no worries though, they probably love Topaz just as much as we do.

“What are we waiting for, then?” I hop off the sickbed and squat to put on my boots. “The North awaits.”