Chapter 10

Old Friends in New Company II

"I started feeling guilty for the income that the vigilante was providing me with and decided it was time I stopped being such a burden to him. I wrote a note that I am leaving and took off. I knew there was little scope of hope for me in Antaira and left to the woods, so I could cross it and find my way to the neighboring Kingdom."

Fawn frowned. Having been raised in the woods, she was all too accustomed to the dangers it offered.

"And I lost my way until I was found by a clove of Druids", Fiore said, looking up at her friend through worried eyes.

Fawn gulped.

She knew that chancing upon the druids of the wild would never be any less than a gruesome encounter.

"Did you not run for cover?" Fawn asked.

"I had only heard of druids living in the heart of forest from books. When I saw them all standing around a fire and chanting, I held my breath and began to run. I dashed into one of the hooded druids that was walking towards the grove, and when he saw my face, he called out some words that triggered the interest of all the others. And then they chased my down until I had no means of escape", Fiore relayed, almost breathless just from the memories. "And I was captured."

"How are you still alive?" the Healer's apprentice asked, her tea almost forgotten at the face of the Fiore's vivacious past.

"Well", she coughed. "It would seem I was more fortunate than the average victim. They had me tied up in their den, and were planning to feed me the potions they brewed and use me as a test subject. But even before the dusk of that very day had shaded over us, there seemed to be a need for help."

Fawn quirked a brow. "The druids needed help? Whatever with?"

"No, they were comfortable. But the Head of the grove of Druids had returned that day from a meeting with the King of the neighbouring Kingdom. And when he was informed of my being held captive, he had mentioned that there was need for a human in exchange for some dealings with the King. Thus, I was given into the Imperial Castle as a slave, in exchange for the Kingdom to withhold from making war with another", Fiore said.

"I do not understand. Don't kings usually give over slaves to the druids to entice them into deals? This differs with my judgement", The Healer conceded, unable to comprehend.

"Yes, I learnt as much. But in this case, I went to the castle and worked there for a few months as a maid, grateful to have a job at all. And that was when I realized the true intention of why I had been sent there. The Castle had no need for a maid, of course. Not in exchange for withholding from any war, at least", Fiore explained before she paused to sip her tea.

Fawn followed the same.

"But", Fiore continued. "Here's what happened. It was no news that the Kingdom had only one princess who would be heir to the throne. They required that she should marry a prince, but not a crown prince, so the Kingdom would not be merged, and that she could always hold sway no matter what."

"But if she married a crown prince, would that not grant them reign over greater size of nation? Wouldn't that still result in advantage?" Fawn asked.

"Indeed it would, but the King wished for his daughter to hold more power in inheritance than her future husband. Like he preferred for her to have a King-consort", Fiore said.

"That is certainly new from what I hear of Kingdoms", Fawn admitted.

"It is, but there is strong intention behind it. The Princess, is hardly ever presented before public eye, or really just any eye save that of her personal physician, because she is currently bed-ridden", Fiore said. "The illness she has taken sees no cure. So she can only administer to the affairs of the Kingdom from bed, with a signet ring to approve her decisions and to hold control."

Fawn stared in complete silence before finally nodding. "So the father wants to ensure that she does not end up losing her royal footing by marrying a man of equal power."

"Precisely. It seems that if it were a prince, but a second born or later, there would be good chance that she can still have a kingdom ruled in her name, but with the help of a consort who only wins title through her", Fiore said, setting her empty tea cup down on the table.

"I see. But how will they find her a good man willing to be wedded to her for the dowry?" Fawn asked, considering all the various options of an arranged marriage.

"Naturally, it is very difficult. So the King had been in long consultation with the Druids for somehow helping his daughter with the recovery. They reckon it is something far from being able to fix. So the King threatened them with the prospect of warring with a nation that would send the forest afire. It had been done once before by another king and our own wished to follow the same. That was the dealings that I had been captivated between", Fiore said.

The thought of a forest fire triggered Fawn's worst memories, for such had been one under which she had lost her dearest family and home. Shaking her head to dismiss those thoughts, the young healer felt her face crumple with hatred. "Starting a forest fire is an inhumane, cruel way to deal with druids that have tried everything in their power to help his daughter."

Her friend nodded in response

"So how did trading you in as a maidservant help the king in any way?" Fawn asked, curious.

"Ah", Fiore began. "One day, while I was working, I was invited into the King's study as part of a serious conversation. It was rather sacred, since it was the first time I was ever to see him face to face, a privilege that even the head maid of our section had never gotten. He told me that the druids had found me looking rather similar to the Princess and that was why they had captured me so furiously in the very first encounter."

"Goodness. That must have been quite the chase!" Fawn said.

"Indeed it was. And the reason I had been given an employment at the castle and trained to understand the ways of the Kingdom was so that I could attend the Royal Academy under the alias of the ill princess, win the love of a prince and then when I return to the Kingdom, she will marry him", there was an edge of fear in her voice.

Fawn understood that Fiore's fate after that would be unpredictable. She may be exiled or even killed, for being the unjust lover of the Kingdom's future king consort.

And she wouldn't even be able to fall in love freely with a man, where she is clearly expected to.

~