XVII
Deep in the palace, a council meeting was taking place.
"This is an absolute outrage! Who would dare attack the palace!?" Viscount Orlowe roared.
King Edric raised his hand. "Calm down; losing your temper will not aid in any way. Besides, we have already gathered intel on who set up this whole operation."
"Who?" Duke Edison asked calmly.
The Commander of the royal guard stepped forward.
"We captured a palace worker who was near the explosion when it happened. Turns out, they weren't a real palace worker at all. They had infiltrated the palace staff and were sent to set the bomb off in the ballroom when all the nobles were present."
He threw a photograph onto the round table that depicted a particular symbol: "This was found painted right outside."
Gasps were let out across the room. The symbol was unmistakable.
"King Cassian..."
"That mad king did this!?"
"Oh my Irene."
The symbol of Thovaria was there, clear as day.
"But why would he have done this?"
"You don't think..."
Everyone in the room slowly turned to face Edric.
Edric nodded his head. "He has made a direct attack on Renetia because of the Queen."
Viscount Orlowe scoffed. "How could he honestly believe we aided in the escape of his mate?"
"That's preposterous." Duke Edison commented.
"King Cassian was never known for being the most reasonable. He swears that we're secretly harbouring her in the kingdom and demands we return her at once. But there is not a single record that indicates she has set foot on Renetian soil." The Commander explained.
"From what I've heard, no one knows what the Queen even looks like. She'd been locked inside that castle since the day they were wed. How on earth does he think we were involved with her escape?" Duke Edison scoffed.
"Hang on..." another council member trailed off.
Everyone in the room turned to face him.
"This is mere speculation, but you did say that Prince Lennox's mate was present last night, right?"
Edric nodded.
"And, after the explosion, the mate just disappeared and hasn't been found since?"
The room grew into an uncomfortable silence as they began to understand what he was trying to say.
"I'm only bringing this up for the minute possibility that maybe...this isn't a coincidence."
The commander of the royal guard shot up from his seat. Edric turned to face him and nodded. Not a few seconds later, the commander had exited the room.
All the men had worried expressions on their faces. Oh... their poor future queen.
———
Said future queen was currently making more healing salves only a little ways away from where that meeting was taking place.
Their stock of healing salves was running dangerously low, and they desperately needed more.
Most of the critical patients had already been taken care of and were now advised just to rest as much as possible and would be checked on every few hours by one of the senior healers.
The worst of the injuries had passed, which allowed Y/N, Dante, and Leon a bit of rest. But they were all working very diligently to make plenty of salves while using only the best-quality herbs and flowers.
There was quite a bit of commotion coming from outside in the hall that grabbed the three's attention. Guards were seen running around, urgently speaking to one another. All of them looked surprised by whatever information was relayed to them.
"What do you think they're gossiping about?" Dante jokingly asked.
"Seems pretty serious," Y/N noted, a feeling of discomfort making its way through her body.
"Whatever it is is none of our business; we have one job right now. Don't get distracted." Leon reprimanded.
Dante jokingly saluted and went back to his work. But Y/N couldn't stop staring out into the hallway. A pit formed in her stomach. Something was very, very wrong. She could feel it in her very being.
She stood up from her seat. "I need to go to the washroom."
The two didn't so much as shift their gaze towards her. They simply nodded in acknowledgement and continued with their work.
Y/N stepped out into the hallway and immediately noticed how frantic the guards were. While she had seen how frantic they were last night trying to evacuate everyone, she almost felt like this was more.
And like a beacon of light, Kent came into view. Y/N felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of him. He was alright. She hadn't seen him since the explosion because of how busy she had been. While he definitely looked a bit dishevelled compared to last night, he was still a sight to behold.
"Kent!" Y/N called out to him.
Kent looked up and let out a sigh of relief as his eyes landed on her. "Y/N, you're safe."
"You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" she ran up to him and began frantically looking over him for any injuries.
He gently placed his hands on her shoulder and made her look him in the eyes. "I'm perfectly fine. I'm actually more worried about you. I've heard all the healers have been working to the bone, taking care of everyone. Have you been taking care of yourself?"
"Yes, I've been looking after myself as much as I can. But when people out there need help, I come running."
Kent smiled down at her. "Your kindness and generosity are what I love about you."
"L-love?"
"Oh. OH! N-not like that. I mean... I mean you're a friend I care about a lot, so of course I lo- like you!" he quickly corrected.
"Ah, yes! I really like you too!" she agreed.
"G-great!" Kent gave her two thumbs up.
Y/N burst out into laughter at their ridiculous conversation. Kent looked down at the laughing girl and couldn't help but let out a chuckle too.
"Yoshida!" Laurence called out from behind him.
Kent turned around, and Laurence was able to see the person he had been talking to.
"Oh, Healer L/N, good to see you're alright. I apologize, but I need to steal Yoshida for a second." He turned back towards Kent, "The Commander wants to speak to all of us. He said it was urgent."
The smile on Kent's face dropped. Y/N felt uneasy.
Kent nodded his head. As he went to follow after Laurence, Y/N caught his wrist. Kent looked at her in question.
"Will I see you again soon?"
His eyes softened, and he gently took both of her hands in his. "I promise to come see you as soon as I can." He gave them a light squeeze.
Y/N nodded and reluctantly let go. He raised his hand in a farewell motion, and she returned the gesture. Once he was out of sight, she let out a sigh. An emergency meeting with all of the palace guards and the Commander? A shiver ran up her spine.
Two guards exited the Physician's wing, with Prince Lennox in their grasp. They helped him walk, considering the rather large wound on his abdomen. They, too, were heading in the same direction that Laurence and Kent had gone.
Y/N quickly walked over to them. "He shouldn't be up and walking yet."
"I'm sorry, Healer, but we were told there was an urgent meeting and the prince needed to be present."
"Meeting for what?" she questioned.
The two guards looked towards each other, wondering how much they could reveal to her.
Lennox interrupted their silent conversation. "For the future of this kingdom."
Y/N's gaze locked on Lennox's, and she realized that sinking feeling in her stomach was most likely right. This meeting had something to do with her.
Her tongue was tied. She didn't know what to say. While she might have lied about needing to use the washroom before, she wanted nothing more than a toilet to throw up in.
"Let's go." Lennox declared, and the guards continued walking down the corridor.
Y/N could only watch their retreating forms in dread. Her heart was beating so fast she felt like it would rip out of her chest. Her palms grew sweaty, and she felt the overwhelming need to throw up the little food she had eaten today.
She rushed to the closest washroom, which happened to be the one she had barged into not even 24 hours ago. And she was just as panicked as she had been before. It felt as though the walls were closing in on her.
Oh, Irene, how had things turned out this way?