"This poison is unknown to me," Dezra said, frowning at the blood taken from Philippa. "It's more horrible than anything I have ever seen."
"How long does she have?" Flik asked.
Dezra shook her head. "It's obviously a slow working poison. She could have days, or she could have hours. I do not know. But without a cure, she will surely die."
Flik nodded and walked out of the room, grim-faced and dreadful. He went down the hall to another room where Philippa lay on a bed alone. Bardulf was beside her, holding her hand and watching her desperately for any signs of recovery. "Dezra is unable to tell how long she has. Whatever poison this was, it wasn't any she has worked on before."
Bardulf nodded but didn't say anything. Flik glanced at the woman on the bed and sighed. If only there was some way he could help, but he had no idea what the first step in helping a poisoned person would be. Soon he left the room.
Bardulf sat there beside Philippa for two more hours after Flik left before he saw her eyes flutter open. Her hazel eyes were blurred, but she recognized him from the smile she gave. He pushed hair off her face and caressed her cheek. "You're awake..." was all he could say.
Her smile turned wider but she did nothing more. Philippa was still in so much agony and felt so tired that it took all her strength just to do the one smile. Her eyes fluttered again, but she strained to keep them open. She mouthed his name, wishing she could speak, and felt a tear roll down her cheek.
"It's okay," Bardulf said. "I'm here. You'll feel better soon, I promise."
Philippa blinked and let her head fall to the side, realizing she wasn't inside a chamber anymore, but a hospital room. She gave the king a confused look.
"We're home. Dezra is taking care of you the best she can," Bardulf explained and kissed her head. "I won't let you die."
Philippa flexed her fingers that were being held by him and managed a light squeeze. In return, he rubbed his thumb over her knuckles and gave her sad smile. She could see how worried he was for her, the fear of her dying, the hurt he was trying so well to hide. She wished she could move, if only to hug him, if only reassure him that she would be fine. She blinked again and sighed out in frustration, for once not able to share what she thought.
A knock sounded on the door and Bardulf swung his head in that direction. "I have brought a change of clothes for Luna," said a shy Lynn.
Philippa grimaced and Bardulf hesitated. "She isn't able to change," he said and carefully laid her hand down beside her. "Can you go get me some parchment, ink, and a quill?"
"Of course." With that, Lynn disappeared.
Bardulf turned back to his mate and gazed sympathetically at her. "I wish I could stay here and watch you, but I have a traitor to find and a mess to take care of."
Philippa closed her eyes, disappointed he had to go, but knowing he had duties beyond these walls. She gave a weak nod.
"My Sweet," Bardulf whispered and she opened her eyes to see his face so close to hers, his hands were cupping her face. "I plan on taking you everywhere with me when you are well again. But while you are healing, I must leave you in Dezra's care. She will be kind to you and will allow no further harm to come to you. I will return soon, I promise."
Philippa smiled and he gave her a lingering kiss on the lips, which she remembered the feel of long after he left.
Bardulf made his way down to the castle entrance and got onto a reindeer, Flik beside him. They rode towards the ruins where Philippa had been poisoned. In his belt, Bardulf carried a knife with a point sharper than any forged beyond his kingdom. The blade was sharper than any sword or glass, able to slice through bone as easy as butter.
But he was stopped in the middle of the tiny village by Ysmay who was in tears. Bardulf got off the beast and pulled her into his arms, having never seen the girl cry since she was a toddler. "What is wrong, Ysmay?"
She looked up into his eyes with tears freezing onto her face. "My f-father!"
Bardulf was confused. "What do you mean?"
"H-he's d-dead!"
Upon hearing this, Flik rode ahead while Bardulf comforted the girl. He walked her to her tipi and asked one of the women to watch over her. As he was ready to find Flik, a man sidled up to him, grabbing Bardulf's shoulders and panting. "Please!"
Bardulf narrowed his eyes at the man, wondering if this was a trick. "Get on with it, sir. I am a little tied up."
The man pulled out a vile of blue liquid and shoved it into the king's hands. "Protect the Luna, Your Majesty!" Still panting, he bowed to his knees. "Stop at nothing, for evil has come!"
"Sir!" Bardulf looked up to see Flik riding towards him with a serious expression.
He started toward him, but the bowing man held onto his cloak. "Protect the Luna! She is in danger!"
"How do you know?" Bardulf demanded.
The man looked up at him and his bottom lip trembled. "The dying man begged me to warn you."
"Sir!" Flik called again. Bardulf didn't look up at him this time but kept staring at the man at his feet. Flik came to a halt beside them and cleared his throat. Now, he had the king's attention. "Serrill is dead."
"Protect the Luna!" the man cried. "Danger lurks behind you!"
Flik looked curiously at his king who in returned slipped the vile into his pocket and sighed. "Any wounds?"
"No. Nothing," Flik stated.
"No blood?"
"No."
Philippa woke a few hours later with a sore throat. If she could speak, she would have called for Dezra. If she could move, she'd have rung the bell that sat beside her on the table.
It was dark with only a few candles lit around the room. From what she could see, Dezra had gone to bed since the room near hers was dark as well. Philippa felt numb from her pain, being used to it for so long, and she tried to move. She managed to get one hand onto her stomach but couldn't get it out to the side.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the room and she gasped, then cringed as she remembered her ribs were in poor shape. The figure came nearer, and she noticed it was a woman with white hair. She was young, had blue eyes and seemed to float through the air. Philippa watched the woman in fascination, even though some part of her body rang alarm bells that something was not right.
The woman stopped by her bed and looked down at her with curiosity. Her voice was sweet like honey when she said, "You are very pretty to be the King's mate."
Philippa nodded, feeling lost as to how else to respond.
The woman slowly sat down and lifted Philippa's hand. Philippa shivered, for the woman's hand was ice cold. How could someone be so cold? "You are hurt."
Again, Philippa nodded, wishing someone she knew would come in and shoo this person away, wishing Bardulf were here.
"How sad. Here all alone and hurt," the woman said with a discouraging tone. She pulled out a vile of something black and smiled at Philippa. "Would you like me to help you? Would you like to stop hurting?"
Philippa gave her a suspicious look.
The woman laughed: harsh and melodic at the same time. "There will be no pain involved like the past. Just drink, and sleep. Soon, it will be like all of this was a dream!"
The vile of black stuff was bubbling and looked disgusting. Philippa scrunched her nose and shook her head in answer.
The woman frowned. "You want to stay hurt? You want to be in pain?"
Philippa tried to shrug but gasped in pain.
The woman clucked her tongue and opened the vile. "Here, you should drink this. It will make you feel better by sunrise."
Philippa shook her head, keeping her mouth closed and wishing she could scream for help.
"I promise, it does not hurt one bit."
Philippa tried to move her mouth out of reach of the woman, but her body wouldn't move with the unbearable pain. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she felt the woman's hands on her mouth, trying to pry it open.
"No need for struggle," she said, and it sounded like a parent who was disappointed in their child. "No need to make a fuss. Just open your mouth, and all your pain will go away."
Philippa's mouth was just beginning to pen when she finally got her hand to slap the vile away. It shattered on the floor nearby. A light from another room turned on and the woman ran to a window and jumped out into the chilly night.