Chapter 14:

Chapter 14: Irritation

Mine Blown


By the time I awake, we’re leaving a small village, continuing on a paved road. 

Mika briefs me that he got us past the guards with a little ‘morning holy scripture’. I dare not ask him to elaborate on that lest I fall victim to a similar outcome. 

Akechi’s still sleeping, he’s probably burned himself out despite my warnings. I’ve never seen Phoenix sleep so either he’s a light-sleeper or doesn’t trust me enough to be that vulnerable around me. 

I do believe we’ve gotten closer over the last couple of days, however. I leave the car window open to let him come and go as he pleases although it's cold enough to make ice of my nervous sweats. I considered retracting that decision when he brought me a dead rat. I think he sees it as payback for when I give him treats so it must be a good sign. Or maybe he’s telling me he doesn’t like people food. At any rate, the crow comes when I call out loud enough to him now so I don’t need the whistle anymore. I’ll keep it so I can brag to Boss about my taming(bribing) skills later.

Sable clouds loom overhead; this is worse than last week on the way to the barn. The harshest weather we endured while driving was high winds and passing rains. This, this looks like a storm. I ask Mika how long until we make it to the scholar’s abode, accidentally waking Akechi in the process. He jumps like the frail-hearted victim he is before relaxing and turning over towards his door to continue his rest.

“Sorry,” I whisper to the now unconscious prince.

“It’s two more towns and then we’re there. But driving through the rain won’t do us any good so I’m planning on having us set up camp in the next town. Besides, we could use a proper bath, some new clothes, and a better place to sleep before meeting the queen’s confidant. Is that ok? It’s just one night,” he suggests. 

I sniff twice under my armpits, do we stink?

“Don’t ask me. Akechi’s the one’s paying for it,” I shrug.

Mika nudges Akechi on the shoulder but all he receives are tired grunts as answers. 

We’ll take that as a yes. 

The village is bustling with people moving their clothes inside from off the drying lines and parents coaxing their children into the house. 

I spot a salon closing its curtains and immediately tell Mika to stop the truck. With this humidity, my hair will soon be a frizzy tumbleweed; I need to get it braided quickly so I won’t have this problem again. 

The salon workers wave me off initially, claiming they’re closed but when I slap Akechi’s golden bracelet on their counter, they give me the royal treatment. Fortunately, the employees know the value of this jewelry without me having to pawn it off first. I was expecting just braids, but they wash my hair, condition it, and blow dry it before starting to feed in the weave. That ornament must have been more valuable than I thought, sorry, Akechi. I choose light brown extensions because I like how it compliments my ebony hair. There are multiple weavers at work at once, so I find myself leaving the establishment with a fully woven high ponytail in less than two hours. The rain is pouring now and one would think it was midnight considering how dark the sky is. I discover Akechi loitering outside the salon, waiting for me with an umbrella.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” I rank out.

“It’s not morning,” he retaliates, “Let’s go, Mika-El got us some lodgings at an inn. Your hair looks… functional.” 

That means he doesn’t like it. Like the purpose of me tending to my hair could only be to please him.

“It is. Much more functional than something like, oh I don’t know, an ear enhancement,” I shoot back. 

Normally, I’d have to be careful about what I say to Akechi because I know he could have me killed with a flick of his wrist. But now that we’re in the North, there’s not a damn thing he can do about it. So I’ll go all out because I don’t know when I’ll have the chance again, future consequences be damned.

Akechi doesn’t have a comeback for that one so he goes quiet, all embarrassed. Serves you right. 

Rain like this hinders Akechi’s enhancement so I have to pretend to be extra vigilant on the way to the inn. 

Mika is waiting in the guest lounge when we enter; he’s wrapped in a rosy cotton bathrobe which tells me there’s a bathhouse nearby. Mika throws my room key at me, I fumble to catch it and blame it on my rib. I make a beeline to the bath while ignoring Akechi glaring at Mika. 

I didn’t see the truck outside; it would have been wise if one of those two parked it somewhere hidden outside of the city to avoid wandering hands. 

I do hope my room has a window for Phoe, I think as I sink into the hot tub. 

My back and my knees ache from being cooped up in that car for so long. I spend so long in that bath that I nearly fall asleep. 

When I ascend the stairs to my room I notice that no one else is occupying the hallway. 

Akechi must hear me walking because the knob to his room jiggles. Shit. I really don’t want to deal with him again right now so I open and slam closed my door to avoid him. He doesn’t bother knocking on my door to see me before he returns to his lodging. 

I sigh, insistent prince crisis averted. 

A set of clothes are set out on the bed. In addition, Phoenix is flapping his wings at me on the windowsill. There’s a note tied to his leg. 

Don’t treat my crow like a carrier pigeon. 

The note and the floor inside the room are soaked because the window’s open; I close it before reading with my pruney fingers.

This room cost extra because of the window. You and your bird owe me one, Miss JJ.

-Mika-El, High Priest of the Eastern Shattered Archipelago Republic

Does that priest think that if he uses his full government name I will care? 

I relish the fact that he’s more concerned about money, not even his in fact, that he spent on me rather than meeting the royal advisor of this nation tomorrow. If the High Priest isn’t worried, then I suppose I shouldn’t be either. It’s three against one and there’s no way they don’t have at least some information on the current mine carnage. I let this thought ease me to sleep.

The ride through the other town takes a shorter time than I would’ve liked as we pull into the ducal estate. The security at the gate had no qualms with letting the High Priest and his ‘reduced guard’ enter. 

The cloaks me and Akechi are donning to keep up the deceit itches my neck, I don’t see how the normal Topaz worshippers wear this all the time. 

They also informed us that their charge was currently out on an excursion in the outer plains dealing with the preparatory field harvests for the oncoming blizzard. Hopefully, we’ll be way out of dodge by the time the blizzard hits in the next couple of weeks. 

I find it hard to believe that a Topaz mine obliterator is worrying about feeding the peasant populations but I suppose every right-hand to a sovereign has their own responsibilities. The North has blizzards and the South has droughts; Boss often complains to me about not being allowed to use Topaz as an experimental fertilizer when the heats come.

Once past the name plaque signifying the start of the premises, there is a winding path that forks into two; one leads to a carport at the entrance of the mansion, and the other curves mysteriously around the back of the estate. 

Seems like a possible escape route for the advisor so I’d best go check it out with Phoenix. 

I let him out the window and put some eyedrops in when no one’s looking. 

Akechi’s commenting on Mika’s driving skills, so I doubt they’re too worried about me right now; the rain has lightened to a drizzle and they’re debating on what speed the windshield wipers should be. 

Like children. 

Phoenix feels inclined to perch on top of the far left roof of the building. This in addition to the weather makes it difficult to see the backyard. Difficult, not impossible. 

Come on, bird, turn your head a little bit. 

I find myself (my physical eyes) squinting to observe the large shed dead center in the weeded-out patch of land. The fact that it looks new and no knights are guarding it tells me that it’s hiding something. 

I’ll have to go personally if I want a closer look, Phoenix is on lookout duty. 

A messenger was also sent to give word to the scholar that the High Priest is currently waiting for them; they should be taking the fastest route here soon. This doesn’t give us much time to snoop.

A servant bows to us at the door and leads us inside to a waiting room. 

The foyer is crimson with silver undertones on railings and baselines, the colors of the Northern flag. How patriotic. The waiting room is similar in theme to the foyer with the exception of a large portrait hanging over the fireplace. 

Ignoring the fire hazard of the picture’s placement, it does reveal quite a bit of the advisor’s character. 

Scholar Hehu must be obsessed with the queen. 

Though I have never seen the Northern sovereign before, I can gather that the woman in this photograph is her from the sparkly wreath on her head. She sits on a throne with perfect posture, hands laying on her knees. Her face has no trace of feeling, not as if she finds posing for this picture burdensome, but as if she could pose for a thousand more and they would never make her expression waver. Her aura makes her seem like a Mental, but there’s no way I can be sure from a photo. 

The person hovering over her shoulder must be Hehu. Their hand is resting upon the edge of Her Majesty’s chair. If I look closely, I can see that their nails are filed. The suit they’re wearing is the formal attire of a high-ranking Northern noble, the silver sash and cords tracing their shoulders and along their torso. The maroon hijab shrouding the advisor’s hair seems to be the cherry on top of their aristocratic cake. I hope they’re as civilized as this picture portrays; it’d be nice to be able to talk to them without being thrown over a balcony at the very mention of a mine like a certain someone did. 

I eye Mika seated next to a pouting Akechi, flipping through a real estate magazine. The servant has left and returned with his coworkers and refreshments for us. 

Quite the spread, I must say, this food will mix well with my antibiotics. 

I also figure this is a good opportunity to make myself scarce and do some investigating.

“Excuse me,” I say to the servant, “my menstrual has started, can you lead me to the restroom?”

“Are you in pain? Do you need anything?” Akechi interjects, not catching on to my detective scheme.

“Yes, I need a restroom. And some silence would be nice as well. I will be returning shortly, Your Holiness,” I glare. 

Akechi’s mouth closes while Mika-El covers his to stifle a chortle. Faking my period will give me more time to go to places where I shouldn’t be as opposed to a regular restroom break. 

The servant escorts me to the lavatory, informing me of the bathroom products under the sink. I smile, closing the door behind me, and crouch against it until I hear him leave. I pump gemmed blood to my ears to ensure no other staff is lurking around when I exit the bathroom, heading for the backyard. I dive into a janitorial closet when I hear three knights patrolling before they can turn the corner to see me. I ditch the cloak because nothing is more conspicuous than the bright gold garment of shamans. 

The rest of the crawl to the shed isn’t hard but when I reach the shack, I’m unnerved to discover that the structure is triple locked. I peer through the hinges of the twin doors to get a glimpse of whatever’s being concealed within. 

It looks a little similar to Boss’ lab with an operating table in the room’s center and medical equipment on the shelves.

I feel a hand jerking me away from my investigation as I irritatedly turn to be face-to-face with Hehu, the second-in-command to the Northern Queen herself.