Chapter 16: Bom's POV – The Forbidden Cure
We stood in silence as Queen Zare's chamber doors opened.
Her once-lively face was pale. Her arms and neck were laced with glowing blue veins, spreading like roots of poison.
The room tensed.
Clavis stepped forward, stunned. "My… my pretty queen. What happened to her?"
Bob leaned toward him with a smirk. "You said pretty, Clavis."
Faye quickly slapped a hand over his mouth. "Bob. Not the time. She's dying."
Regis moved to her side, his voice soft. "Zare… my dear friend. Stay strong. We're here now."
I knelt beside her, checking her pulse and inspecting the unnatural veins. The others stared at me, waiting. Hoping.
Then I stood and clapped my hands once. "Alright, I've got good news and bad news."
Zare's knight leaned in. "Please, start with the good one."
Faye nodded. Bob looked skeptical.
"The blue bird that bit her," I said, "it's a rare species. A Poissano Streptokiller."
Bob blinked. "Is that a type of pasta?"
Faye laughed before catching herself and elbowing him in the ribs.
I continued, "This bird species only comes from one place."
Before I could say it, Zare's knight gasped. "The place we do not name?!"
I grinned and declared, "Bloodylila."
Everyone froze. Even Regis's eyes widened.
"You're not supposed to say its name!" the knight shouted.
"I say what I want," I replied, flipping my hair dramatically.
Regis rubbed his temples. "Bom, how is any of this the good news?"
"Because," I said, "the poison is extremely rare. But I know the cure. And it's found right here in Zarethune."
The knight practically jumped. "Where?! I'll go now!"
I held up a hand. "You can't."
"Why not?!"
"Because it's in the Forbidden Woods," I said. "The cure is a flower. Petricitia. But no mortal alone at least can survive the forest long enough to find it."
The knight went pale. "No human… can survive in there…"
Bob crossed his arms and muttered, "Still waiting for the 'good' part…"
I smiled, pointed at my face, and said, "I'm not human, remember?"
Then I tossed my hair, letting the sunlight from the window hit me just right. "I'm immortal and fabulous."
Bom*Bastic.