The Horse in the Prince's Stables

Chp. 22 (pt. 1)

           He turned when Gabriella sighed again.

           "You've mentioned that at least three times now. Face it, we don't have any new information..." Rubbing at her eyebrows she stepped over to her potions table. Almost absent-mindedly she began mixing different liquids and powders together.

           "What are you doing?" Henry felt a sense of déjà vu. He watched her, mesmerized she grabbed bottles and little boxes filled with dusts and powders with no second glances and dumped them in with precise measurements. The end result was a vial filled with clear liquid. 

           Henry gaped at her.

           'That was the same stuff you mixed up for that girl!" Gabriella didn't smile at the baffled look on his face. "Except... you used more ingredients... Why?"

           "The other 'stuff', as you put it, was merely another version of this one," she rubbed her temples as she spoke. "I'm just trying to think here, do a little brainstorming... Except nothing's coming to mind..."

           "Hmmm," Henry replied quietly, half lost in thought, and half concentrating on Gabriella's words. He met her eyes in the next second. "I'm curious how you knew what to create in the first place. How did you know that would even cure her?" Gabriella merely shrugged.

           "I honestly am not quite sure myself. One moment I was at a lost, and then the next I knew she was in trouble." She glanced at him from the side. "I guess you could say I have a little bit of a connection with the girl."

           "Please, explain yourself." With curiosity peaked, Henry sat himself on a tall wooden stool he pulled up directly in front of her. "This sounds interesting. How and why would you know who the prince's companion is? And, while we're at it, you claimed that the prince wouldn't survive if she died." Henry held an unwavering stare. "I'm not stupid you know."

           Gabriella shot him a little glare before she began swirling the clear potion inside of the vial. "It's complicated. Don't ask a witch how she knows these things."

           "But you just said you had a connection with her and I want to know what that is!"

           With a roll of her eyes, Gabriella continued. "I've known who she was since she was born. Happy now? Plus, this conversation isn't getting us anywhere.  It's not, and it won't, help us get any closer to finding his royal highness."

           Knowing that he would get answers eventually, Henry decided to let it go for now. Instead he decided to go back to his original unanswered question.

           "You honestly don't know how you were able to cure her? Wouldn't you need to know what poisoned her first?"

           A thoughtful look crossed Gabriella's face. She paused for a moment, her mind rapidly sorting through potion recipes and spells. 

           "Why, I guess you're right." She said at last, a hint of shock in her tone.

           "I'm not stupid," Henry muttered under his breath, but with a faint smile playing on his lips.

           "Hmm, let's see. Some of the ingredients I used..." Turning, she began to sort through her bottles, vials, and boxes of different substances. After a few minutes of clinking glass and shuffling through papers, Gabriella looked back again at Henry, holding a small white coin between two fingertips. Henry climbed off the stool and plucked the coin from her fingers. Gabriella resumed her searching.

           The object was milky white in color, and incredibly thin. Though it had a firm and smooth texture, he was sure that if he wanted to, Henry could crush it with a little squeeze.