Chapter 13 #2
“I am never, ever too busy to help you.”
This was a softer side of the Lord she had never seen before.
Except in the garden. Her face flushed at the thought, then morphed into anger. Here he was laying it on thick for another man’s wife. Shameless.
The main doors opened and thudded shut. Lord Bryson shot to his feet just as Ellis and a woman bearing a stunning resemblance to him entered.
Damn. He’d nearly been caught. Apparently today wasn’t her lucky day.
Ellis whisked over to Millicent, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head, then Emmaline’s. A smile lingered on Millicent’s face. Anya always adored seeing the little moments that made up the lives of her subjects. She only wished the circumstances were happier.
“Your Highness.” The woman resembling Ellis bowed low. She spoke with a thick brogue. “It is an honor to have you in Balcott. I am Baroness Ella Dacre. Forgive my brashness, but have you come with aid?”
“I have.” She nodded. “But not as much as you may be hoping.”
Lord Bryson leaned over. “We don’t have any—”
She tried to ignore his breath on her ear as she pulled the cinch bag open, revealing the shining mana stones. The Baroness peered in and gasped.
“This is incredibly generous, Your Highness!”
“Have your mages said how many they will need to cure all of them?”
The Baroness sighed and rubbed her temples. “About forty times this much. This amount could fully heal one or two children, but it doesn’t seem right to heal a few while the rest suffer. Still, it hangs heavy on my mind.”
“I cannot imagine the position you are in,” she replied. The Baroness shared the last name of Ellis and Millicent. It must be tempting to use these to heal her new granddaughter. “But perhaps our expedition will make it a little easier.”
“Yes! Yes, our expedition!” Lord Bryson’s eyes lit up as he straightened. That was the knight she knew—jumping in right when she was about to take the lead. “We are going beyond the glacial wall to establish a trade route with the Kingdom of Aquillas.”
The Baroness put a finger to her chin. “That is intriguing. But how do you know there is anything there? I always wanted to study the glacial wall and find a way past its enchantments, but my studies of Centarians took precedence the past decade.”
“We do not know, unfortunately.” He exhaled. “But pay incentives are also being issued for miners. Hopefully you will have more stones than you know what to do with before we even get there.”
Anya bit her lip. She knew Aquillas was more than a barren, icy wasteland—there was an active kingdom, and mana stones. But she couldn’t betray Marg’s confidence.
But maybe she didn’t have to.
“Baroness, may I see you for a moment in private?” she asked.
“But of course,” the Baroness answered, leading her down a long hallway.
They passed room after room where sick children of all ages slept, read, or played quietly.
Unlike so many of the orphanages she’d visited near the coast of Elva’s Harbor, this place had heart to it.
Huge swaths of parchment were pinned to the walls outside the rooms, with handprints in colorful dye strewn across them.
“Who are you?” A little girl with black hair and carmine eyes tugged at her dress.
Anya crouched down to eye level with her. “My name is Anya. What is yours?”
“Mabel,” the girl said softly. “Want to see my doll? I got her yest—” The girl coughed until her eyes watered. Up close, she could see gray circles under her eyes, a runny nose and pallor in her cheeks.
“Sorry…” Mabel cast her teary eyes to the floor and clutched her doll close.
“I would love to see your doll.” Anya smiled again, hoping to bring light to the girl’s eyes.
“She has eyes like me,” Mabel said in a scratchy, quiet voice, holding the doll out to her. It was a handmade toy, with shiny red buttons for eyes and dark yarn curls just like Mabel’s.
Anya marveled at the doll for a moment.
Someone put a lot of effort into this.
The girl was beaming an incredible, pearly smile. It was hard to imagine that such a young child had lived through the horrors of the islands. She almost teared up but swallowed it down. Now was not the time. She couldn’t cure the girl now, but she could make her happy.
“Your eyes are beautiful, like rubies!” She hoisted Mabel into her arms. The girl giggled and squealed with delight, clinging to her tightly.
“Here should be fine, Baroness,” Anya whispered. “You can treat all the children’s symptoms without worry. I cannot tell you how, but I know there are mana stones in the north. We will return with enough stones to cure them all, including your granddaughter. I swear it.”
The Baroness’ mouth sat agape for a moment.
She shook her head. “My academic heart wants to pepper you with questions, Your Highness.” She sighed.
“But alas, I shall place my trust in your words alone. Please make haste. Most of the children are still mobile, but many have become bedridden. Our healers say it will only get worse.”