Doctor Mighty

The next day, the medically induced fever finally died down and Roko was allowed to be discharged, finally letting him check up on Treesa. The poor elf was completely unresponsive, lying deep under her covers, her pale face resting on a support of multiple pillows. She didn't seem sick but she certainly didn't seem well. Like the life had been drained out of her, leaving her looking as fragile as a glass doll. Roko and company would come visit her every once in a while in the following days but she would rarely be awake to talk and when she did it was so weak and soft that it only raised more concern. And the longer she stayed there, the more concerning it became.

 "Apparently she hasn't eaten in days." Kaguya sighed, "Ever since she arrived here."

 "Is she sick with something?" Momo asked, "Like some rare disease or condition?"

 "If she's sick with anything, it's heartbreak." Roko replied, "Can you imagine how she feels after everything she learned about her husband? Well...ex-husband now probably."

 "He really is pretty scummy." Helena nodded, "Roland, make sure not to become like him."

 "What the hell man?!" Roland cried, "Why you gotta single me out like that?! I'm not ever gonna be that bad!"

 "Hmm, any vote of confidence guys?"

 Helena looked around at her group of friends, none of whom seemed interested in casting a vote in Roland's favor.

 "Oh come on guys!"

 "Hey." Corrisa's return interrupted Roland's outrage.

 "Any luck?" Kaguya asked.

 "No. She won't even drink any water." Corissa sadly placed the cup of water she had on the table.

 "She's really pulling a Roko." Momo sighed.

 "What the- I mean..." Roko growled, "You're not wrong but did you have to describe it like that?!"

 "Sucks doesn't it?" Roland smirked.

 "I don't want to hear it, playboy."

 "I prefer being called 'The Boy With the Plays.'"

 "You're going to be the 'The Boy Who Never Gets Laid' at this rate." Helena rubbed her eyes.

 "Going to be nothing. He's already there." Roko scoffed.

 "You know I can beat you right?" Roland scowled.

 "You know I can rat you out to Helena right now right?"

 "You know we're best buddies, man!" Roland laughed nervously, "We're just kidding around, right guys?"

 "Do I want to know what Roland did?" Helena raised an eyebrow.

 "Depends. Which one of you can make me a cocktail first?"

 "I mean, I can give it a shot."

 "No Helena." Roland placed a solemn hand on his princesses shoulder as he placed the other over his chest, "As you knight, I should be be the one who handles menial work like this."

 "I'll get that cocktail to you by tonight." Helena nodded.

 "I'll get that cocktail to you right now!" Roland cried as he began to run towards the entrance of the medical tent.

 Roland's escape was interrupted by the head doctor walking into the tent.

 "Doc!" Helena cried, "Is Treesa going to be alright?!"

 "Hm? Oh, yeah she'll be fine." Spark's wife replied nonchalantly.

 And then she just walked past them to Treesa's bed. And emerged from behind the curtain carrying Treesa over her shoulder.

 "Doctor?!" Corissa yelped.

 "Yeah, don't worry about it." The doctor replied as she walked past everyone, carrying Treesa out of the tent.

 Everyone glanced at each other and quickly began to follow the doctor.

 Unsure whenever they should be stopping her or not, the humans simply followed a small distance behind the head doctor as she made her way across town and into a tent. Standing in front of this tent was Spark, the elf formerly known as Root, who simply stood outside, peering in from the side of the entrance anxiously.

 "Umm...Spark right?" Helena said as they walked up to him, "What's going on?"

 "Shhhhh!" Spark hushed them away from the tent's entrance, "She said she was going to start treatment on Treesa now."

 "Is something wrong with her?" Momo asked, "What is she going to do?"

 "I don't know! She just said not to interrupt her!"

 With that, Spark returned to peeking around the side of the tent. With nothing else they could do, Roko and company joined the former elf in peeking into the events unfolding in the tent.

 The head doctor plopped Treesa's limp body onto a chair before sitting down in the chair next to her, pulling one of her legs up to rest her heel at the lip of her seat.

 "You didn't get to join the welcoming party right?" She said, "So I went ahead and prepared this feast! Go ahead and dig in!"

 The doctor held her hands out at the mini banquet in front of them. Treesa looked tiredly at the delectable spread in front of her and muttered,

 "I'm not hungry."

 "Made this all myself, you know." The doctor interrupted Treesa's depression with a nonchalance that suggested she hadn't heard Treesa at all, "Had to use some of the ingredients you brought though, I hope that's okay."

 Treesa let out a small "Tch." The shortest of noise that could've been easily overlooked but also the loudest that Treesa has been in days. And yet her next words were back to being as faint as the dead, "It's fine."

 "You want a drink?" The doctor pulled up a mug and filled it to the brim with beer before slamming it in front of Treesa, "You drink alcohol right?"

 Treesa was scowling. She knew she was being as quiet as a ghost but this "doctor" seemed to continue talking without even noticing her attempts to speak. Treesa had met the rare extroverts who would act like this, so absorbed in talking that they neglect the person they're talking to but this dark elf was not one of those people. She carried neither the excessive enthusiasm nor the self-interest that would drive their drivel. No, this quack was clearly trying to get her to do something and simply ignoring every answer Treesa gave that would resist her own intentions. Treesa had never met a more annoying individual.

 "I haven't introduced myself have I? I'm Mistral." The dark elf finally introduced herself, "I'm Spark's wife, the former elf that was your husband. As fellow wives of what essentially is the same person, I think we can get along pretty well."

 Treesa didn't respond, looking down at the ground with a slight scowl, ignoring Mistral to the best of her ability.

 "You're perfectly healthy." Mistral continued, "Just a bit malnourished from not eating. But you're perfectly capable of eating. Shall I guess to why you're not?"

 Treesa didn't respond.

 "It must be quite a shock to learn that the husband that you thought was dead for years was still alive. Then to learn he changed his name and got remarried. I dunno about you but I'd be so embarrassed~."

 Treesa looked angrily at Mistral. The dark elf just looked back with a slight hint of smugness, her accusation clearly having hit close to home.

 "I mean, grieving for so long...being angry at dark elves for so long...spending all that time on remembering his memory only to find out he's still alive and moved on? God, I'd want to just die too."

 Treesa's scowl grew only angrier and angrier though whether it was due to her malnourishment or that Mistral had yet to say anything wrong, Treesa couldn't bring herself to fight back.

 "And then there's the fact that you got everyone attacked by owlbears."

 "That's not my fault!" Treesa exploded, finally finding the opening she was looking for, "They were just attracted to the food!"

 Without even looking at Treesa, Mistral pulled out a silver flower decoration from her pocket and showed it to Treesa, "I found this attached to your lantern. Know what this is?"

 "...It's a Moonbloom." Treesa frowned, "A fake replica of one but it's me and...it's my favorite flower."

 "Yeah, it used to be Spark's as well." Mistral smirked, "He told me this was your favorite flower too."

 Treesa's hands clenched tightly as it became harder and harder for her to hold herself back.

 "Let me tell you the truth about this little flower as well then." Mistral tossed the decoration onto the table, "This flower's a drug to owlbears."

 "A...drug?" Treesa frowned, confused, "What are you talking about?"

 "You ever hear of catnip? Moonblooms induce a sense of fulfillment and contentment in owlbears. The problem is that it's highly addictive to them and once they come down from their high, they become violently aggressive."

 "W-What?"

 "It's pretty hard to trace after the fact." Mistral nodded, "And violent owlbears isn't anything new. The problem is that this is a lifelong addiction. One that affects their cubs as well."

 "Y-You're lying."

 "Owlbears are normally solitary hunters aren't they? But the Moonbloom makes them more social and they end up forming packs to look for more Moonblooms. These packs usually end up ripping each other apart when they find a flower but until that happens, they end up grouping up. Sound familiar?"

 "B-But owlbears should be able to tell this was a replica and not an actual flower! They have better senses than us!"

 "Normally yes but the Moonbloom is highly addictive to the point that any sight of them, real or fake, triggers a reaction in them. That's why we dark elves have taken it upon ourselves to destroy any Moonblooms we find as well as put down any owlbears that have been exposed to Moonbloom. They simply make owlbears too much of a danger to everything around them."

 "..."

 "Knowing that, shall I tell you what happened the night your husband 'died'?"

 "..."

 "Our team came across a family of owlbears who had just found a Moonbloom. The cubs had clearly ingested it while the mother seemed to be looking for more nearby. As per our protocol, we moved to eliminate these dangers before they spread. The mother owlbear fought very fiercely, with her cubs there and the effects of the Moonbloom withdrawal causing it to become even more frenzied. And in the middle of this fight your husband, Root, barges in and causes great amount of damage to all parties involved."

 "But you dark elves still shot him in the chest!" Treesa objected.

 "That's true." Mistral nodded, "We did do that. Well, more specifically, Volt did. That guy hates elves a lot. Really didn't appreciate Polaris' viewpoints at the time. Still doesn't, really. He's gotten a little better. A little. Really glad I didn't end up marrying him though."

 "You were going to marry him?" Treesa frowned.

 "Yeah. Mostly a marriage of convenience though. That's why I was there to to pick up Spark...or Root at the time, and bring him away to resuscitate him at the village. Still, it's true that we shot him and you have our apologies for that."

 Treesa clenched her teeth, unable to respond with the disdain she sorely wanted to.

 "Your husband was quite shocked to learn all this too." Mistral added, "Refused to believe it for the longest time. Left in the middle of his recovery to find a Moonbloom to try and prove me wrong. We ended up having to chase after him with three entire units before we managed to track him down. He did end up finding that Moonbloom though. That dolt. His stupid smug grin when we found him is one of my best memories of him."

 Treesa looked like she wanted to get more angry again but instead her eyes wandered off as she recalled her precious memories of her former husband's smile.

 "Anyway, after that we had to drag him back to the village and put him under close watch to make sure he healed properly. One thing led to another, he somehow became a dark elf and we got married."

 Treesa sat there absorbing this story, finally regaining a bit of her anger at the mention of their marriage. Mistral, ever shockingly attentive to changes in Treesa's condition pulled a turkey leg off one of the dishes and held it up towards Treesa.

 "Want one?"

 "...No..."

 "You sure? I'm pretty good at making turkey you know? Spark loves eating it. Had to smack him away with a bat to make sure he didn't sneak a piece off while I was cooking."

 Apprehension returned to the air around them as Treesa's body tightened once more. Roko and company turned to look at Spark quizzically. Spark just shrugged with a guilty look on her face. Treesa continued to not respond, though it was clear her mentality had turned sour once more. Mistral remain unreadable as always as she continued,

 "Don't want it? Well, I mind as well dig in then. But hey, eating's boring without some chatter to go with it. Why don't you tell me about your husband? You know, before he died."

 Treesa's breathing started to grow heavier as she did her best to keep her temper under control. Mistral on the other hand kept going,

 "I've always been interested in the 'Root' side of my husband's life. Surely you got some stories you can tell me."

 Treesa's mouth moved, trying to say "No" but only succeeding in mouthing it as she continued to look down, away from Mistral.

 "No?" Mistral said in a surprise moment that made everyone question if she actually had noticed Treesa's muted response, "Should I start instead? I've got plenty of stories about Spark if you want to hear them. What do you want to hear first? The time he tried making a salad? Or the time he tried fighting Volt again to try to protect me?"

 Treesa's body began shuddering. Spark tried to motion and mouth for Mistral to stop but it wasn't clear if Mistral saw him or was even paying him any attention.

 "Nothing? Anything? Well how about the first time he asked me out?"

 Treesa's body froze and everyone watching feared a bloodbath was about to break out in the coming seconds.

 "Oh, I know! I'll tell you about our marriage ceremony!"

 Treesa cried out in rage and frustration and quickly grabbed...the beer mug in front of her and began downing it without even pausing for a breath. Mistral whooped happily as Treesa slammed the emptied mug onto the table,

 "You did it! I knew you could handle your liquor! Attagirl! You want a refill?"

 Treesa just sat there gasping as Mistral refilled her mug with beer. But even after she finished, Treesa just continued taking deep breaths to calm herself, not touching any of the food.

 "You wanna eat now?"

 Mistral poked Treesa's cheek with the turkey drumstick but Treesa turned her head, angrily rejecting the morsel.

 "Hm. Well alright then. I guess it's my fault really. I can't really tell you about our marriage if I don't tell you about how he proposed to me."

 Treesa cried out in rage again as she began wildly grabbing food and stuffing it in her mouth.

 "YEAAAAHHH GIRL! Party time!"

 Mistral began to chow down on her drumstick and beer as her wildly angry patient continued to devour everything in sight next to her. Whenever Treesa's mug became empty, Mistral was there to refill it and when all the immediate food around Treesa began to dwindle, Mistral slyly slid a few more plates closer to Treesa. Once the elf had settled into a rhythm of eating and drinking, Mistral began to eat her drumstick before looking towards the audience that had been watching her this entire time, gave them a wink and took another swig of her beer.

 The onlookers pulled away from the tent once they saw that everything was going well now. With their concerns assuaged, the audience reconvened not far away to discuss what they saw.

 "You're kind of a horrible person." Was the first thing Helena said to Spark.

 "What did I do?!"

 "You couldn't at least send a letter to your ex-wife?"

 "What the hell would I even say?! 'Hey honey, sorry I became a dark elf. I got remarried already so go ahead and forget about me'?! 'Also, I'm not dead.'"

 "I mean he's got a point." Roland said.

 "Roland..." Helena sighed.

 "What?! It's true! Roko back me up!"

 "Roland, you're outnumbered here."

 What the hell man, I said to back me up!"

 "And I am telling you there's no way for you to win this fight." Roko frowned, "Pick your battles, Roland."

 "Oh come on, one of you girls have got to agree with me!"

 None of the princesses offered any support.

 "...Corissa?" Roland looked to her desperately.

 "Huh?!" Corissa yelped, "Uhhhhh..."

 "You agree with me right?!"

 Uuuuuuuhhhhhh..." Corissa squirmed under Roland's desperate plea, "I uh...I think we don't actually know Spark that well yet so he could potentially be a better person than we think!"

 "See?!"

 "You call that support?"

 "Better than what you can give, Roko!"

 "Yeah hold on, let me call the cavalry. Guys?"

 Varis and Mikado looked away.

 "See?" Roko smirked, "Outnumbered."

 "Screw all you guys, at least I have Corissa!"

 Corissa yelped as Roland suddenly lunged forward to hug her only for Varis to grab him by the face and push him away.

 "Anyway." Helena said as she smacked Roland in the head and pulled him away, "Credit where it's due, you sure have one hell of a wife."

 "Which one?" Spark smiled.

 "Both." Helena smiled back, "They're both amazing."

 "Haha. The more I see of them, the more I'm humbled. I honestly don't know how I earned any one of them, let alone two. I don't deserve them."

 "You certainly don't." Helena said, still smiling.

 "U-Uh huh..." Spark laughed awkwardly.

 "Make sure to apologize to Treesa later okay?"

 "Okay."

 "And Roland. Apologize to Corissa."

 "Why?"

 Helena shot him a bone chilling glare.

 "O-Okay..." Roland sighed, "Are we just going to leave those two alone now though?"

 "Well, what do you think we can do at this point?" Helena replied, "Those two are getting along fine now and Mistral is the head doctor. She knows what she's doing. Treesa'll be fine. What's the worst that can happen?"

 The next morning, Roko returned to the medical tent for a check-up on his condition. A soft moaning drew his attention to the beds where he found Treesa laying there, sprawled out and nauseous. Roko turned to Mistral and pointed to the moaning Treesa. Mistral looked up from her book and replied.

 "Real nasty hangover. She'll be fine."