It was like a miracle, seeing her mother on her feet and preparing dinner, unlike previous times when she couldn't get up from bed.
" Mum, how...how possible," muttered Zelta in surprise. " You're healed!," exclaimed Zelta as she rushed into an embrace from her mother.
Her mother brought out the meal and set them on the dining table.
" Dinner is served, daughter. It's your favorite," said her mother, priestess Arorah . They both sat and ate the food with great relish.
" How's the food?," asked Zelta's mother while they were still eating.
" It's so good, like the best thing that I have ever tasted. I've missed your food for long you know," replied Zelta.
Just then, there was a knock on the door." I'll get it," said Zelta in an attempt to stand.
" No I'll get that myself, you finish up," said her mother who went to check the door herself. When she opened the door, it was Tobin that stood there.
" Good evening my priestess," greeted Tobin as he bowed before her.
" Good evening to you my child, what brings you here?" asked priestess Arorah.
" pist,pist", whispered Zelta to her mother as she heard the voice of Tobin.
" Give me a second," said priestess Arorah as she closed the door to hear what her daughter wanted to tell her. Zelta knew that Tobin came for her so she told her mother to tell him that she was asleep. She silently went upstairs to her room. When priestess Arorah returned to the door, Tobin asked if Zelta was in and her answer was that around but asleep.
" Is Zelta around?" asked Tobin.
" Yes she is," replied the priestess.
" Please do you mind if I go speak to her for a moment?" asked Tobin.
" I'm sorry she's already asleep, you can come back tomorrow if you want," replied the priestess.
" Please tell her I came by," said Tobin. He was about to leave before he was called back.
" Is there anything urgent?" asked the priestess.
" No, no, no, don't bother yourself it's just something personal, that's all," replied Tobin.
" Alright then, good night," said the priestess. After he was gone, priestess Arorah went to her daughter's room to talk to speak with her. She asked Zelta why she avoided a conversation with her friend. Zelta replied that she just wasn't in the mood.
The night was bright and silent. After Zelta had been off her bed-lamp, the only light in the room was that of the moon which was shown through the window. There was pin-drop silence all through the house, except for the little noise of the flapping of bats, and the chirping of crickets. Just a few hours after Zelta had slept off, she was woken up by the continuous coughing from her mother. She overlooked it at first, thinking it was just a mare cough, but after some time it still continued. She began to feel worried and also frightened at the same time because the cough sounded very abnormal. She quickly got up from bed, lit up her lamp, and went to her mother's room. On getting there, she saw her mother laying helplessly on the floor and coughing out blood from her mouth. A chill rushed through her entire body as she saw that her mother had stopped coughing and was now lying motionless.
" Mum, mum?". Her mother didn't move. Zelta couldn't see any sign of breathing.
" Mum, wake up," her voice broke from a whisper to a silent cry. " You just can't leave me, please,". She shook her mother vigorously, but it was to no avail. She felt her pulse and saw that she was still alive but unconscious, so she began to shout out loud and raise alarm.
" Help, somebody come and help me!," shouted Zelta. She ran out of the house not knowing what to do. Then she remembered miss Miranda who was a physician. She raced to her house immediately to call her. As she ran, she heard her heartbeat beating hard and fast. She reached her house of Miranda and banged on the door furiously.
"Miss Miranda, miss Miranda!," called Zelta. When Miranda opened the door and saw Zelta breathing hard and looking frightened, she knew that something was not right.
" What's the problem Zelta?" asked Miranda.
" It's my mother, please you have to come with me now or else she'll die," said Zelta. Hearing that it was priestess Arorah that she spoke about, Miranda quickly took her medicine bag and followed Zelta immediately. Zelta wasn't thinking straight, fear of losing her mother began to accumulate in her mind. She tried to stay positive, but she was so unstable. If this happens she would become an orphan because her father Jonathan Rex, died before her birth. She thought of the responsibilities that would be left for her to carry and the burden that would be left for her to bear if things went sideways. She wasn't ready for this. When they reached her house, she met her uncle kneeling beside her mother with a piece of wet fabric, cleaning her mother's face with it. Miranda told O'Neil to lay the priestess down properly on the bed, and get her some water. He obeyed at an instant and got a jug of water. Miranda mixed some powdered contents with the water and poured it into a small cup. She felt the priestess pulse, then she put some water into her mouth. After some time she began to cough again. Miranda tried giving her different potions, but they were all ineffective. Right there before their eyes, they observed that Arorah's veins were getting very visible around her body. The terrifying thing was that the veins were dark purple.
" What is happening to her?," asked terrified Zelta.
" A very rare poison is accumulated in her heart, one that I know not much about," replied Miranda." It's so unfortunate that...,"
" Hay Miranda," cuts in O'Neil. " I don't take unfortunate as an answer, do what you have to do because it's the priestess we're talking about here," said O'Neil. At this point, Zelta couldn't take it anymore. She dashed out immediately from the house.
" Zelta!, Zelta!," called O'Neil, but she was far out of sight.
As she ran there was only one person on her mind, it was Simon. She wanted to hear from him at least, to see if he could be of any help. Dawn was fast approaching now. She had already reached the dungeon and was about to sneak into its arched entrance when she heard the sounds of approaching footsteps. She quickly hid behind the pillar beside the entrance to see who was coming out. She didn't want to get caught. She peeped in and saw moving figures of men.
" Who would these be?" she thought.
She tried to detect who they were but she couldn't see them clearly. She looked closer and saw three men coming out of the place. The one in front held a long whip with spikes attached to it. The whip was dripping wet with blood. She looked closer to detect their faces and found out that they were all soldiers. The one in front was the second in command after O'Neil named De voe. When she saw that they were gone, she silently went into the dungeon till she reached Simon's cell. When she got there, she saw him covered up with bruises and strips of the whip.
" Oh my god," said Zelta in open-mouthed astonishment.
" Zelta right?" asked Simon.
" Yeah that's me," replied Zelta.
"Why are you here so early?" asked Simon whose wounds had already started to heal.
" Your wounds are healing," said Zelta.
" I have fast healing," said Simon shortly.
" Simon, I need your help. I have no one else to meet and I don't know if I'm supposed to meet you. I mean, you're behind bars," she was talking so fast. Simon sensed that something was wrong.
" Calm down and tell me what the problem is," said Simon.
" It's my mother, she's dying, I don't know what to do," said Zelta.
" How, what's happening to her," asked Simon.
" She was coughing out blood all through the night, and now she's lying helplessly, turning purple."
" I don't get it, what do you mean she's turning purple? Is she actually turning purple?" asked Simon.
" I mean that her entire veins are visibly purple. The physician is even confused at the sight of her, we've never seen anything like that," explained Zelta. Simon nodded on hearing this, it appeared that he had an idea of what was the sickness.
" I think your mother is suffering from the dark plague," said Simon.
" What is a dark plague?," asked Zelta.
" No time for explanations, I do know that it kills swiftly," said Simon.
"But what is it cute?" asked Zelta.
"Its cure is a rare plant. You can find it in the badlands, but going there is dangerous," said Simon.
" I don't care how dangerous it may be, I'm going to get it," said Zelta. Simon removed his necklace which bore a metal whistle as its pendant.
" Take this whistle, blow it when you reach a place filled with dry tall trees, and my sister will meet you. Tell her that I am alive and that it was me that sent you to her so that she can show you the healer's flower," said Simon.
She collected the necklace from him and wore it. Simon used a pebble to inscribe a mark on the floor.
" Look, when my sister shows up, draw this on the floor so she'll believe you.
" I'll do just that," said Zelta in an attempt to leave.
" Wait, are you going alone?" asked Simon.
" I am," replied Zelta.
" I can't let you, it's too dangerous," said Simon.
" I don't care," replied Zelta.
" Going beyond this valley alone is risky for you. Call your unit, you need back up," said Simon.
" I'm not gonna do that," replied Zelta.
" Time is running out, go with them for your mother's sake," said Simon. Then Zelta rushed out and headed towards Alec's house. She didn't want to speak with or set her eyes on both Zain and Tobin.