The Eternal Queen

Chapter 36: Ardele

The ride back to Arcana is tougher than usual. The enquiry team had medic that cleaned up mine and the prince's wounds well, but I still ache everywhere. My body is stiff, and my movements jerky. I fear that they have gotten infected from how long the wounds were exposed, but hopefully all is well. We get back to Arcana in four days, two days longer than before. But it is okay. I am glad to be back.

The investigative team unloads the luggage, and I exhaustedly lean my head on a stone pillar, watching the last few stragglers grab their items, before leaving. The crown prince told everyone to go home and rest after the long journey. No one objected; except for Daniel as he tried to unsuccessfully convince the crown prince to treat him to a drink.

A large figure moved behind me, and I tilt my head back. The prince looks drained, his steel-grey eyes less bright than usual, the crease between his brows deepening, making me want to smooth it out for him.

"How is your leg, your highness?"

He nods at a passing man before turning his attention to me. "I am doing fine."

He is practically lying through his teeth. I can literally see the way he favors his left leg over his right. Looks like we both full of pride, hm? Apparently I said the last portion out loud because the prince's mouth quirks up. I roll my eyes at his manners.

The crown prince sticks his hands into his pockets, pulling out the dust bag we acquired from Illea. There is a tense pause in the air as I slowly take the dust bag from him. Peeking in, I sigh, glad that our evidence is still intact.

"Do you understand what this means?" he asks, after a while.

I stay mute, letting him answer his own question.

"This means war, Lady Ardele."

I nod, crossing my arms across my chest. "It was inevitable."

With so many questions in the air that both do not want to voice, questions that we do have answers to, I hesitate before deciding to voice one.

"But what I do not understand is why King Maximus of Clairemont wanted your father dead."

The prince stares out into the night sky. "More mysteries that needs to be solved, unfortunately."

Tucking the dust bag close my chest, we both look out into the night sky. The bright lights radiating from the stars, wash the courtyard of the castle with a gentle glow. The creatures out in the courtyard laugh and smile, so unaware of everything going on. Peering back at the bag in my hands, I let out a soft breath. What an unfortunate turn of events

The next few days past sluggishly, but I was grateful as I needed time to heal and regain my strength. On the fourth day, I push myself out bed, stretching my tight muscles. Apparently after the explosion, the crown prince and I were missing for about five hours. Our group had to lay low as King William's subjects were questioning many. After a period of time, a small group slipped out to find us. Daniel and some others luckily found us before it was too late.

A lot of guests in the ballroom got injured, with the walls crumbling and everyone trying to save themselves. The ball was called off, and many had to return to their homeland for immediate treatment. Everything was in a complete disarray according to Clara.

There was a search party for missing guests, dead guests, and King William finally decreed for all the guests to return to their homelands until his people straightened everything out. Rubbing a hand down my face, trying to get rid of lingering sleepiness, I get ready quick. I cannot stay cooped up in my bedroom any longer.

I head out into the laboratory, my hands itching to get experimenting. The laboratory is stark clean. The counter was wiped down with a sterilizing spray, the scent still lingering in the air. My eyes latch onto a lone textbook at the end of the counter with a uliope root on the cover, and I move it off the counter, putting back onto the shelf. Since the explosion, I have been wondering if mutated uliope roots react to fire. It is the only logical answer, so I have been itching to test it out.

The crown prince has the bags full of the evidence. I need the bags so that I can extract some of the powder to put into a small vial. Hopefully, he has not sterilized the evidence yet. Nikolai eventually hands me the evidence after I had pestered him enough. The crown prince was apparently too busy to do it himself.

I carefully extract the powder from the gloves, sterilizing the environment twice over for safety. Placing the powder on thin glass sheets, I add them to the pile of materials on the cluttered counters. The experimental components are ready for testing.