Eldric
He had lied, he had killed, he had conned people. The council distrusted him when the king took him in. He was okay with that. He was used to it. But he did not want to let down the king and the old man Lou who adopted him. And now, surprisingly, Lia too.
Maybe because he thought she saw him and accepted him for who he was without his looks and his title. He was just Ed to her. He thought he finally had a friend. Maybe that was his punishment for even trying to live back through the days when everything was simple. Lia reminded him that. Her zeal for life and wanted to do her best made him want to believe in life again.
Life made her want to hide and stay away from people, but he could see that she enjoyed and missed being around others. She continued to push through, find a way around it that worked for everyone. Even when the people brought her down, there was still hope in her eyes. He did not want to extinguish that fire. If it was her, she could do it. Now, in her eyes, he was part of the people who wanted to oppress them.
Eldric sighed. Tonight was a long night, an arduous one, testing him physically and mentally. He would need a vacation after all of this. He pinched the bridge of his nose and snorted. Of course, that was just wishful thinking.
After he left Lia's room, he went to another room where another visitor was waiting for him. He knocked before entering and heard rustling and banging inside like someone bumping into the furniture.
The young man inside stood straight and stiff, trying so hard to hide the grimace, perhaps from the pain of bumping into the toppled chair and slightly skewed table. Eldric gestured for the other man to sit as he stood by the window and kept an eye outside.
"I heard the noise outside. Did they get her? What happened to her? Where is she now?"
"She's fine and she's safe."
"Can't I see her?" then he muttered to himself, "but maybe she would get mad if she knows that I'm here."
"Now, you tell me your story first," Eldric told the young man in front of him. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"
The young man fidgeted. "I'm— I'm called Frankie."
"You said that you are a friend of the young lady. And that she can help."
The young man nodded eagerly, "Yes, I know because I got sick because of the gin too. Then, Lia and Ta—her mother helped me get better."
Eldric frowned. Based on Lia's reactions earlier, she did not seem to know that Frankie was here. So they could not have planned this. Were these people really telling the truth? Based on the reports, not even the mayor had the antidote. Did Lia's mother really manage to have the cure? If so, that would be helpful, not just to the people, but to Eldric too. It would put a hamper on the plans of the Unseen.
"Then why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be hiding?" Eldric said.
"Did Lia say that?" The young man flushed in what Eldric thought to be of embarrassment. "Lia said that she would distract the pursuers while we flee, but I can't sit still. So I thought you would believe it if there is someone who could say that they got better after drinking. Our mothers thought so too," Frankie said.
"Mothers?" Eldric's eyebrow arched.
"Both our mothers are friends…"
Silence blanketed around them until Eldric stood up and called for Jeremiah. He came right away and under Eldric's instructions, he checked and interviewed Frankie for his medical history.
Everything he said was in line with what they already knew and even the ones that they had not released to the public. Eldric watched for any signs that the younger man might be telling a lie. But he was honest all throughout.
Once Jeremiah was done, Eldric said, "I'll let you two meet tomorrow as she is probably already asleep."
"So you're telling me, someone found a cure that the physician in the palace hasn't found yet?" Jeremiah asked once they left Frankie's room.
"What do you think about Frankie?"
"I have to observe him at least for a day. But if what he claims is true, that he got better after three days, then that medicine is effective! We should have that immediately."
"Apparently, Lia knew some medicine," Eldric told Jeremiah that she was the one who helped him with his previous injuries.
"No wonder those salves she gave you were different from the ones we used in the capital. Now you're telling me she helped her mother with the cure? Maybe I should study under her mother too!"
Eldric laughed. "I'll go talk to her tomorrow." And hopefully, things would work out.