{1 month ago}
Lina was walking around an area with large tents with curtains, which was where operations took place.
This place was the Medical Camp, her workplace.
Familiar with the smell of herbs, the shadows which the many tents cast, she saw this place as her second home.
It was a great place to work—for her—only problem being that this was the place where sick and injured people come for treatment.
As it was getting dark, she was about to leave the Camp when she saw her siblings, Dart and Aina, waiting for her.
The sight of them made her smile and her lips retract in a slight embarrassment. She said jokingly
"What? You two came to pick me up or what?"
They started to laugh at her question.
Aina replied, mustering courage as she said in bleak
"It's getting dark and father and mother said we should tell you that they'll be travelling for some time."
Her words made Lina stop smiling and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"Really? Why didn't they say sooner?"
"It was something that came up... And then they said goodbye to us all."
Dart nodded in deep thought at Aina's words.
"Right. They received a letter, and then they left."
Lina was still trying to wrap her head around all of it.
Being the first born daughter and having been born almost a decade before her siblings, she never heard of a thing like this.
It was unusual for her parents to leave in the night.
Especially in a rush. And with an unexpected letter taking them away.
What was inside the letter that made them leave without a thought?
To the best of Lina's knowledge, her parents were clean individuals.
No history of crime. No shady behaviour from both the father and mother. Just a normal peaceful life.
But then, one letter shows up and they run off.
Where to, no one knows. But it was urgent. The contents of the letter? Unknown.
Lina kept thinking to herself and began to feel a headache from the thought and long day at work.
She replied in a fatigued tone
"You know what? Let's just go home—"
"I hope I can have a few minutes."
A cold voice came from behind Lina.
In fear with her turning pale, she swung her hand at the man. But he dodged by a hair's breadth.
Then the man put down his hood.
Prince Timothy revealed his face.
"Your Majesty!" Lina and her siblings, surprised, said in unison.
Then Lina was about to get on her knees to apologise.
"Doctor Lina, right? Please, it's fine! And you all can call me Tim."
Lina was baffled at the sight of Timothy.
"Umm...Sir... What brings you here?"
Timothy tilted his head and smiled.
"To help the Camp, of course...There he is! Mr. Tain!"
Tain was the boss of the Medical Camp, Chief Doctor, and was passing with a lot on his mind.
Pay day for his staff was approaching, and there might not be enough for everyone.
There was also a need for more medicine, but there was a shortage of that too.
Retiring from work for the day with a depressed expression, the sight of Timothy brightened his face.
Even he was surprised at the sight of Timothy.
"Your Majesty what brings you here?"
Tye shrugged and smiled.
"I snuck here cause my parents won't let me move by this time without guards.
And with what I want to do, I want to do it without the town knowing."
Tain became disturbed.
"What might that be?"
Tye brought down a bag of gold coins and the sight widened the eyes of Lina and Tain.
Tain became confused.
Timothy continued.
"500 gold coins! This, I know, isn't allowed for anyone to have personally due to my father's decree.
BUT! He never said that if I gave it to an establishment that REALLY needs money, I couldn't. So, please accept this."
Tain and Lina were still shocked and silenced.
The gold coins behind them would be enough to cover tons of owed salaries, make renovations and help with equipment for months.
With her heart filled with joy as her heart felt lighter at the sight, she said with a wide smile,
"Thank you! Thank you!—"
"I need to leave now, take care all of you!"
He said putting on his hood and running into the dark street.
Lina and Tain were confused.
Dart and Aina had been watching and were left in complete silence, completely baffled.
Dart murmured to Aina.
"He's one strange man. That's why he's an enigma."
Aina nodded without looking at Dart, as they watched Lina and Tain laughing and talking, as Tain was counting the gold.
The gold would be enough to support them well into the future.
Just enough to keep them on their feet, from Sudden that would strike one month later.
{Present day. One month later.}
Lina, Yiss and Kti were surrounded by people in cloaks and masks, wielding daggers, who just emerged from breeding trees.
Lina thought back to that day from one month ago, thinking about the coincidental donation that Timothy made just a month before a mysterious epidemic would strike the country.
With her heart leaping endlessly in fear, she clutched hard onto the hilt of her mace and thought:
"Oh, Timothy! Why did you vanish when the country needed you most?"
Cause now, his ruthless uncle was in power.
Timothy's mother had disappeared and with his father dead, he was meant to be the ruler of Kiltar.
But due to embezzlement of funds and policies that worsened Kiltar's condition, the country needed a true ruler now more than ever.
At the thoughts of this, she pressed her lips together, wondering.
"Why? All this trouble? Where is our true ruler?"
***
Tye quickly sprang up to his feet as a woman in rags and bloodshot eyes was right next to him.
"What?!"
As he moved, the woman only watched him, squatting. As if waiting for him to do or say something.
As she just watched Tye without movement, Tye noticed that her eyes were biting into his courage and replacing it with fear.
From his standing up to subtle movements to the left and right, she only stared at him with wide-open eyes.
As his feet moved over the sand in a dim lit cave, the only sound to be heard were his feet.
In complete silence, the woman staring at him had corpses behind her and other ones scattered all around.
The lack of ventilation, combined with the apparition's presence, made Tye's discomfort even worse.
He tried to calm himself down as he clenched his fist, and asked.
"What are you doing here?"
At his question, the woman slowly stood up.
Tye's heartbeat doubled and he took a step back and she took one forward.
With every one step Tye took back, she took one step forward.
So far he had encountered what people that look like her are capable of. Madness. Enhanced speed and strength.
Which meant not escaping would mean his country is ruined and his life removed from the surface of the world.
Tye gritted his teeth and scanned the area of the cave for escape:
There were several other parts, but the cave itself was large.
Tye held his breath and the woman sent a chill down his spine as she asked in a clear but scratchy tone:
"Do you have the fruit?"
Tye was filled with so much fear he only furrowed his eyebrows and tightened his jaws.
"Your blood. It will be enough."
"What do you mean?!" Tye asked enraged.
The woman stared at him. Then began taking step after step towards Tye.
He began walking backwards, then drew out his sword.
"Miss, please! Why are you here?"
She didn't respond and only quickened her steps.
Tye didn't want to harm her like this, so he kept his sword and clenched his fist.
The woman stopped when he did that.
"Are..." She began as if recalling something.
Tye, taking notice, inquired.
"Are? Are what?"
The woman began pulling out her hair and screaming in pain.
"Aaahhh!!!" Her voice echoed throughout the cave walls and sent a chill through Tye's spine.
Then the woman began to fall to her knees and then to ground, clutching her head in agony.
The sight made Tye switch and his heart skipped a beat at the sight, leaving ashened.
Frozen in fear, he didn't know what to do next. Then he mustered courage and walked up to the woman.
Still groaning and rolling around the floor in pain, she didn't realize when he walked up to her.
Still frightened at the sight, he slowly stretched out his hand to pat her on the back.
Immediately he touched her, she sprang to her feet and grabbed his neck.
Tye couldn't react fast enough to dodge, and was slammed into the floor as a result.
"Aargg!"
Before he could even recover, the woman—still holding his neck—slammed his back onto the wall.
Filled with pain and fear—with barely any time to recover—Tye asked in a cracky and fatigued voice.
"W-what are you?"
The woman's widened eyes that were deep into her eye sockets glared at him.
Replying in a chilling voice.
"How would you like to die?"