Shatter Like Glass-Cinderella Retold

Part Twenty-Five

A knock sounded on the door. Ashen looked up. The person in the hall knocked again.

Groaning, Ashen said, "Go away, Smiegal."

"Ashen, this is Alena. May I come in?" her aunt's voice asked. Ashen sighed and pushed herself onto her feet. She felt a jolt of pain in her hand when she turned the doorknob. Trying not to let it bother her, she peeked out into the hallway. Alena stood in front of the door. The gashes on her neck and cheek were still bloody, though they seem to have clotted. Her aunt seemed concerned, anxious even.

Of course, Ashen realized. She wanted to know if her daughter was alright.

Stepping aside to let the queen into the infirmary, Ashen noticed Alena wasn't alone. Behind her was Nikolai. Ashen suppressed a scowl.

Her stepfather did not look nearly as good as her aunt did. His entire front was covered with blood. Two medics escorted him into the cabin. They helped him lie down on a cot near Natalya. Ashen tried not to look at him.

"Ashen, are you alright?" Alena asked. Ashen glanced at her.

"Oh, yes, your healing elixirs really helped."

Alena gave her a small smile, then walked over the cabinet. She pulled out several more vials of the solution, drinking one herself and setting the others on the night table next to Nikolai.

"Is this really necessary?" Nikolai asked impatiently. "I feel . . . I feel fine."

He sounded—and looked—weak. Ashen wasn't surprised when one of the medics shook her head.

"We cannot have the king dying on us," the medic told him, "and your wounds are quite serious. You will need two vials to heal them completely."

"Two vials!" Nikolai exclaimed. "Two vials will force me into the long-sleep."

"The long-sleep will ensure you do not overexert yourself before your injuries have healed," the medic told him.

"No," Nikolai said. "I am the king! I cannot afford to be lying unconscious in the infirmary."

Alena pleaded, "Please, just rest. You need to heal by the time we reach East Sienna—"

"Are we still going there? After everything that has happened? Alena, we can meet with the Bahari another time. We need to get back to Azure. Natalya can better recover. We can find someone who might be able to help Markael. There is a man in the capital who does work with children like that. Remember, he was the one we had work with Veida."

"No," Alena said sharply. "We have come all this way. Not only would refusing to stay with them be discourteous, but we need supplies. If we must stop there anyway, we might as well carry on as planned."

"The queen is right," the medic said. "With these elixirs, I have no doubt that you and Princess Natalya will be fine and awake by the time we dock. It would not be worth risking a diplomatic incident over a small skirmish with pirates."

Ashen scowled. "Tell that to the guards lying dead on the deck. I don't think they would think it was a mere skirmish."

Everyone turned to her. They seemed to have forgotten she was there.

"I am thinking of them," Alena insisted. "If we turned back and head for Azure, it would take nearly a month to return. We would have to bury our dead at sea. Their families would be distraught. In East Sienna, though, we may be able to convince the Bahari family to let us bury them on land."

Nikolai's face slackened slightly.

"Fine," he relented, taking a vial from the night table. He raised it to his lips, then hesitated. "Who will take command of the ships? We do not have enough people to stretch across four ships. Perhaps we could get three of them to East Sienna, but four? We cannot just leave the pirate's ship in the middle of the ocean. Alena, I must handle this matter. I must stay awake and ensure we reach the kingdom safely."