21. The Volunteer
The Volunteer
They had descended into the grand throne room, where chaos reigned as King Velo fielded a hurricane of questions.
More people had continued piling in, military personnel and courtiers quickly filling the open space.
Flora stood off to the side with Heron, Noec, and Davy.
Heron hovered protectively in front of Flora, but nobody seemed to be paying attention to her anymore.
Noec’s hand brushed against hers, and before he could pull away, Flora curled a finger around his and pulled him closer.
King Velo moved through the crowd toward them, with Aria close behind. Flora watched as Princess Aonia intercepted several questions for her father, impressively adept at keeping a crowd tame. Flora was impressed, but she was by no means surprised. Nia was born for this.
Velo finally passed through the sea of people. “Heron, I’m going to need your influence. We need volunteers for Aria’s… plan. I’d like to start with the sick, those who already don’t have a high chance of survival. I don’t want to risk–”
“I volunteer.”
His voice rang in Flora’s ears. It was the first she had heard him speak since their arrival. Leaning casually against the wall, his demeanor betraying none of the fearful urgency eating away at the rest of them.
“Davy!” Flora hissed, her eyes wide with alarm.
“Excellent,” King Velo said with a nod of approval. “I applaud your courage. We will need all the volunteers we can get, and I don’t intend to force anyone into such a fate unwillingly.”
“Then I volunteer as well,” Flora said firmly.
“Flora,” Davy hissed back.
Velo offered a thoughtful smile, though his words remained adamant.
“I’m not so sure, my dear. You are very valuable to us.
If you were to die, the bridge between our worlds would collapse.
We have enraged the moon goddess enough with our cruelty to your predecessor.
” He nodded toward Heron, who breathed a sigh of relief.
The king added, “We will be focusing our efforts on keeping her out of harm’s way. ”
Aria grabbed Davy by the arm and whispered with a lethal grin, “You’re coming with me, handsome. We have twenty-four hours to spend together.”
Aria pulled Davy out of the throne room with Flora and Noec close behind. Two attendants in matching white and red uniforms opened the doors, revealing the vast, barricaded courtyard encircled by the castle's imposing walls.
A small man-made moat lined with vibrant fall blooms ran along the inner fortress, and banners of the Asilian Realm adorned every surface. The white symbol in the shape of a scythe stretched its thorny wings, a stark reminder of its ominous presence.
At the center of the courtyard was a flat-topped fountain.
Though it was less grand than the statue in town square, it was certainly more inviting, with water that was gentle-flowing and adorned with blushing water lilies.
Normally, the sight would have been a peaceful reprieve.
But today, the quaint charm of the courtyard was replaced by something morbid.
Romeo’s blood had been drained into the fountain, his shell cracking like porcelain as the floral scent of violet blood filled the air.
Flora turned her head and imagined that the scent came from the flowers lining the moat.
“Blood! Wonderful, such a charming use of resources!” Aria exclaimed, reaching into a box left next to the fountain. She brandished an odd tool, filling it with the purple liquid. Turning to Davy, she held the syringe aloft.
“Davy, isn't it?” she asked with a grin. Clad in a black blouse, a pouch at her hip, and baggy brown trousers tucked into her boots, Aria still had an otherworldly enthusiasm. “Since you’re our first volunteer, let’s get to work while the blood is still fresh.
We’ll head to the old prison downstairs.
Don’t worry, the guards won’t let you kill anyone during the process. ”
Davy smiled reassuringly at Flora, but she could see that he was nervous. She wanted to beg him to reconsider, but she knew she couldn’t do anything to stop Davy, not when his mind was made up.
“See you soon, bean,” he said.
“Davy, you don’t have to do this,” Flora pleaded.
He smirked slightly. “Disagree to disagree.”
“Aren’t you… afraid?”
He flashed the same brotherly smile as always, the one she used to see on the playground that told her she was finally safe.
“I’d be afraid if I was only being brave for me,” he said.
“But I can’t be afraid. Because I’m being brave for you.
” Davy nodded to Noec and turned away. “Besides, I’m guessing there’s no desk chairs down there. ” He smirked over his shoulder.
“Fuck desk chairs, amirite?”
Noec snorted, nodding as he smothered his laugh. “Good luck, Davy,” he said. Noec crossed his arms, his gaze softening as he smiled at Flora. “Though I hear Flora’s bodyguard can handle just about anything.”
Davy waved back as he jogged after Aria. As they vanished into the dark labyrinth of the castle, Flora heard Davy find the audacity to ask Aria if she was single. Flora gritted her teeth as if to smile, but she couldn’t.
“Almost gave me a heart attack, volunteering yourself earlier,” Noec scolded, wrapping his forest green jacket around Flora like a cape. They had returned to the courtyard as the chill of the evening began to set in. His slight smile faltered as Flora continued on by with no response.
Noec and Aonia watched nervously as Flora trotted back and forth along the row of flowers, her arms crossed tightly in front of her as the arms of Noec’s jacket flapped in the wind behind her.
She had been distant all through dinner, where even the comical sight of King Velo acting out stories of Heron’s glory days didn’t seem to phase her.
Aonia and Noec had exchanged a worried look, seeing as Flora’s food had remained untouched.
The three of them had since returned to the courtyard, where they were to wait for an update from the Shrouded Village activity.
“What am I supposed to do?” Flora finally said, still pacing. “Sit back and watch?”
“Precisely,” Noec replied.
“I want to fight,” Flora said angrily, kicking at a stone on the ground and nearly tripping as she missed. She gestured to the fountain bubbling with purple blood.
“No,” Noec stammered. “That’s not an option.”
“I want to at least be strong enough to fight,” she said, annoyed, as she continued on.
“If you’re strong enough to fight, you will fight. If you fight, you may well die,” Aonia replied. “If you die, Flora, we have no idea what horrors await. The last time we lost a Sleepwalker, Lunara cursed us with the Scytherax of Night Sky Forest.”
“What?” Flora huffed, but she wasn’t going anywhere near that right now.
“Flora, I really believe your brother will be fine. Davy is strong enough to get through this,” Noec assured her as she breezed past, continuing her pacing as she muttered to herself. “Flora?”
Flora paused, then sighed without turning. “I have to get back to the village before midnight,” she said. “But I don’t want to leave Davy.”
Noec stiffened. “You can’t go back to our spring,” he said. “Not if they’re expecting you there.” He glanced at Nia, adding, “Maybe we could bring her to the edge of the creek, then back in the morning?”
Aonia paused for a moment, then responded thoughtfully, “If the Scytherax are as intelligent as Aria seems to believe, then they will be surveying Lunara’s water all the way from Lunara’s Spring to Crescent River. Flora, we may not have a choice...” she trailed off, looking to Noec.
Noec sighed deeply. Cautiously, he continued, “Pixie… you might have to stay.”
Flora squeezed her fists, exhaling a seething breath. “Noec, if I’m not home by midnight, both Davy and I will be trapped here until the next half-moon alignment.”
“I know,” he replied softly.
“How do I even know when that will be?” Flora felt herself spiraling. “Even Sona didn’t know.”
In an instant, her mind ran through all the awful things that might happen if she failed to make it home.
Flora’s family would be horrified when she failed to return in the morning, their fear only worsening when they realized Davy was missing as well.
They would call Lila to ask if she had seen Flora, and in place of her worry, Lila’s anger and disenchantment with Flora for her lies would bubble back up to the surface.
And Sona—Sona would be pissed beyond belief.
Flora swallowed and closed her eyes. She felt a strong but gentle hand on one shoulder, then a dainty but sure hand on the other.
“You won’t be ‘trapped’ here on your own,” Aonia said.
“You’ll be here with us.” Flora looked over, meeting the cheerful reassurance in Noec’s eyes. He squeezed just slightly and added, “Just like always.”
“Excuse me?” a tentative voice spoke.
The three of them paused to look. A young woman hobbled forward, with sunken eyes and jaundiced features. She was roughly their age—mid twenties at most. “I was told... I heard rumors there was a new medicine. One that could cure anything.”
Flora and Aonia exchanged a worried look. This girl was too young to be on death’s door, but if she was anything like Perri, the Darkvein Elixir could bring her broken body back to life.
“Miss,” Noec began. “We know the medicine you’re speaking of, but you should know there is risk of death, and the side effects–”
“I’d try anything,” she interrupted, desperation breaking through. Her arms trembled, her ashen hands folding nervously in front of her. “I’d do…” Her voice broke as she trailed off. “I just want to live.”
Her eyes darted to Flora, desperate. “Please.”
Flora swallowed, then exhaled steadily. “I… I don’t believe in miracles,” she said. But to the girl, she granted a small, reassuring smile. “But illness is a cage just waiting to be unlocked,” she said, echoing her late cleric’s words. “Maybe… just maybe our clerics have found you a skeleton key.”
Still, there was a reason Aria hadn’t taken the next step in her research: Sona had been right.
Subjecting a human to such turmoil against their will was...
unethical. But now, Aria had willing, motivated volunteers.
As news of her blood medicine spread around the city, a handful of other volunteers began to trickle in.
By nightfall, seven citizens waited in iron cages alongside Davy’s, all of them with a few months to live at most. Patiently, they waited for the medicine to take root as their twenty-four hours began.
Slowly, updates started arriving from the southern villages.
Soon, it became all too clear that Flora didn't stand a chance of going home tonight.
Things were looking far more grim than anticipated, and scythes were beginning to move with an ominous cohesion.
Packs were leaving the sheath of Night Sky Forest on foot, disappearing into the mossy green woodlands to the north as though they were making their way to the city.
And finally, news came in from the Shrouded Village.
The queen rose from her throne, unraveling the letter to read aloud for the others.
A number of scythes had infiltrated the village, reportedly in search of Florabelle.
While the message indicated that the creatures were taken care of, no details of casualties or injuries were provided.
Noec stood aghast as the queen finished reading the report, inhaling deeply as he slowly looked over to Heron. Heron barely held his composure.
“Elia,” he said quietly.