"Where are we going?" Adina rasped as she did her best to keep up with Leala.
The girl may look frail, but goddess, she can run. She sprinted through forgotten passages like a monkey on the run, nimbly stepping over uneven stairs and batting cobwebs away with nonchalance.
Adina felt fine at first, but she became increasingly lightheaded as they ventured deeper into the palace.
Was it the running, perhaps? No, that couldn't be it. This kind of activity was child's play to her. She always bested the boys whenever they raced; she could also scale buildings and jump from as much as five stories high. Why is she finding this so difficult, then?
It's almost like there's something in the air. Something thick wrapping around her lungs so that the oxygen couldn't get in.
"Wait!" Adina cried as she stumbled and planted on her face. Her legs felt like jelly, her arms like a pile of goop. Beads of sweat were forming on her brow and she felt all manner of hot and cold.
"Oh!" Leala face-palmed as soon as she realized Adina had fallen behind. "I am so sorry, I completely forgot."
"Here." Leala hoisted Adina onto her back and pushed a vial of orange liquid down her throat. "It's going to take 5 minutes, but you'll be fine."
Adina's face contorted at the taste, but she in a way she was grateful for it. Immediately, she felt the suffocating presence dissipate. Her body gradually cooled and she regained her breath. Soon, she could feel her limbs again, and she gingerly sat up with a grimace.
"Ugh, what on earth is in that potion?" She wiped at her tongue, earning her a chuckle.
"Orange moss. Counters the effects of the Emrald paint."
"Emrald paint?"
"Yeah, see those pictures?" Adina followed where Leala was pointing, and sure enough, there were pictures in the walls and ceilings. Ancient symbols in faded color of brownish red and green.
"Nobody knows what these rooms and corridors used to be, but those pictures are painted with Emrald stains. They're a bright beautiful green when you put them on, but over the years, they rust into an earthy hue, releasing toxic gas in the process."
"And orange moss is the only way to counter them?" Adina surmised correctly.
"They usually don't affect us poisoners." Leala explained further. "We build tolerance to them over time. Orange moss is reserved for the youngsters, those who still haven't developed endurance."
Leala offered Adina her hand. "You're only new here, and this was your first exposure. The way you reacted was normal. But come back here another day or two and it's just going to be another thing in the background." Leala wiggled her eyebrows and Adina returned a smile.
They continued on their way, their fingers intertwined, until they emerged from a hidden doorway at the eastern edge of the palace.
• • •
The warmth of the sun greeted them, coupled with the sweet scent of wild flowers and the minty fragrance of pines. The gentle breeze ruffled their hair as they ran across the field, their skirts swish swashing through the tall grass.
Leala led her through the cover of the trees, right to the inner heart of the forest where lies rows and rows of berry trees.
"Welcome to my favorite spot in all of Nightshade!" Leala beamed. "It's especially deserted during this time."
Adina's eyes twinkled as her gaze swept over the canopy. Hanging from bright silver leaves were bulging emerald-hued berries, their scent oddly familiar and sickly sweet.
She took a step forward and touched a tree, closing her eyes as she inhaled the intoxicating aroma.
"Come, quick!"
Adina's eyes snapped open to find Leala on a big branch, her hands outstretched for Adina to take. Adina grinned at her, and gripped tightly, hoisting herself up to a branch just opposite.
A berry hung directly over her face, so she picked it and began to sniff. "I've never seen it before, but I feel like I'm supposed to know this."
"The Emrald tree has many uses," Leala explained. "One of them is perfume. You might have encountered it in the markets of Mercantil."
Adina shook her head. It was a plausible explanation, but that wasn't it. She was about to put the berry in her mouth when something Leala said halted her in tracks.
"Wait, did you say Emrald tree?"
Leala nodded, her big hazel eyes wide and innocent. "Yep."
"Is the name just a coincidence or is this where they get Emrald paint from? You know, the one that almost killed me minutes earlier?"
"Pssh." Leala snickered. "Killed you? You're a poisoner, Adina. Sure, it could feel bad at first, but the worst it can do is knock you out."
Leala picked a berry and popped it into her mouth. "Matter of fact, it's the best way to get immune to the paint. Let it knock you out, and when you wake up, it can no longer affect you."
Adina gave her an unimpressed look. "Is that how you became immune?" The sheepish look on Leala's face told her everything she needed to know.
"Paint comes from the Emrald root, you know." Leala continued on her lecture, picking several more berries from a nearby branch. "The fruit itself is relatively harmless. Their distinctive fragrance and flavor can be used to mask most poisons, but even to non-poisoners, they're not lethal on their own."
Adina nodded, convinced, and finally tried one. It was an exquisite experience, the flavors bursting on her tongue like wildfire. But then, she spat it out. Panic enveloped her as she remembered how she had encountered the plant.
"What's wrong? Didn't you like it?"
"Purefire draught," she answered, furiously wiping her tongue with her sleeves.
"What about Purefire draught?"
"It's the same flavor. It was more muted in the Purefire solution, but that was definitely it." Adina shrugged. "At least now I know why it wasn't tangy like most poisons."
"You've actually drank Purefire draught?" Leala gave her an expression of absolute horror. "Are you into pain or something?"
"They made me drink it," Diana replied.
"Who is "they"? Leala retorted. "You know you can report that to the head poisoner, right? That's beyond bullying."
Adina only shrugged. "All's fine. I survived, didn't I? Don't worry about it." She jumped down from her perch and began to explore down the line.
"Where are you going?" Leala called after her. "Don't go too far, okay? It's not safe."
Adina mentally scoffed. "Yeah, like I didn't know that." Turning to the right, her attention was caught by another gem-like tree, its branches heavy with topaz-shaded berries. They looked particularly marvelous in the sun, as their translucent body let sunshine in to make little rainbows on the ground. Mesmerized, Adina approached and reached for one.
She smiled, pleased with the success of her small quest, that she didn't even notice just how far she is now from Leala. Her joy was quickly curbed, however, with a sudden flurry of movement and the sharp twang of a bowstring. Arrows whizzed past her, narrowly missing their mark. Adina ran back to the safety of the Emrald tree, where her new friend was still sat.
Scared witless, Adina looked in the direction where the arrows had come from. A masked figure decked from head to toe in black stood deep in the forest, his gaze fixed on her as he nocked another arrow.
"Don't shoot!" Leala jumped from her tree and in front of Adina, coming to her rescue one more time. "She's new! She didn't know. It won't happen again, I promise."
The man nodded and retreated, obscuring himself once more in the shadows.
"Who--who was that?" Adina asked, her heart still racing.
"King's guard," Leala replied with an air of caution. "They're stationed at the perimeter to ensure we never leave."
Adina reeled back in shock. "Never? Not even to go to, say, the markets within the city?"
"Naturalists grow our food for us. Anything else they can't grow, they can always order in the name of the Palace. Of course, that just means the price will be higher."
Leala sighed. "No one is allowed out of here without permission. You go beyond that red line there..." Leala pointed to the ground where a huge red line stretched from side to side. "You step past that, and you're dead."
"Dead," Adina whisper-repeated in disbelief.
"Dead." Leala replied decisively.
"You see, we're not prisoners here, but we're not free people either. We only have two choices: (a) stay here, learn, and serve the court or (b) be killed.
Adina shivered at the brutality of it all. So this is what the voice had been warning her about. Why she was getting the gut feeling never to go to the Palace.
"Is there anything else I need to know," she whispered rather conspiratorially to Leala.
"A lot," the other girl replied. "But first, let's pick some berries we can get back to the room, okay?"
Adina flashed her a warm but worried smile. "Okay."