Poisonous Love

Chapter 18: The Port of Karmillia

Karen...

"Karen is a girls name" I stated blankly. She gave me a weird look before a small smile lifted on her cheeks.

"I know right! Hehe... so, you should probably get outta here. The taxes are outrageous since he came, and nobody wants to leave their house in fear of incurring him and his minions fury" She said.

"What are you doing out then?" I countered. She looked sad for a minute.

"My ma is sick, she got poisoned after eating some strange fish" her puppy dog brown eyes made my heart ache.

"I know a thing or two about poison, why don't you let me take a look? By the way, I'm Rose" I said sticking my hand out. Her eyes widened again and she smiled gratefully.

"I'm Hana" She said brightly, unbefitting of this abandoned port.
Hana was kind enough to take me and Ricin to a small house near the docs, and I saw her mother, who I realized gave her genes to Hana, laying pale on the small single bed in the home.

Hana was nervous as I took the woman's pulse, realizing she was indeed poisoned.

I turned towards Hana. "Can you show me what poisoned her?" I asked, she nodded and left the room only to return with something wrapped in cloth...

It's a puffer fish! Normally someone would die immediately after eating this wrong?

I checked Hana's mothers temperature, and I found it odd. This wasn't puffer fish poisoning, she'd most certainly be dead otherwise.

"Hana, what else did she eat with this?" I inquired softly, Ricin was at the base of the bed using some sort of magic, though I couldn't place it as he seemed concentrated.

"She had some potatoes and a few herbs with it... " she began confused.

"Bring all the ingredients that were used" I commanded, I pulled out of my space a small all cure- which can usually mitigate small doses of poison regardless of the type.
I gently poured the liquid down Hana's mother's throat.

Shortly after she coughed but went back to sleep peacefully, a little color returning to her cheeks.

Hana returned shortly with the ingredients.

"Thank you Hana" I said happily, and sure enough, it wasn't the the puffer fish- instead it was a wild grass local to Karmillia, oavix, a short brown grass which is normally boiled for several days and provided as a clouting treatment.

"Hana, where did you find this?" I asked, holding up the bundled grass. She seemed confused but answered.

"It was given to all citizens on behalf of the King"

This was bad. This grass was not properly detoxified, and the fact that it was given to all citizens... it meant it wasn't just Hana's mother. It meant a whole lot more casualties if this spread.

I quickly pulled out a table and test set from Ricin's space ring, which was on my hand for the time being. I had to test and create a cure, otherwise, the citizens might face even greater casualties.

The real question was why? Why would the King of this country, and my mother's own father, poison his citizens?

Did this Karen mafia lord have a hand?

I couldn't be sure, the best I could do was make a cure first for Hana's mother.

It took 14 hours of continuous work, and Hana's diligent aid to produce a stable cure. Ironically, I made it out of the poisonous puffer fish's gills.

It meant that the puffer fish, which was native to Karmillia and was over abundant, had a purpose now. It could serve as a cure for small poisonings like this, as well as serve as a new scar treatment remedy as I found it was high in cologne and antioxidants. Only the gills of course!

I gently fed the small vile of broken down membranes and filtered gelatinized puffer fish Gill to Hana's mother. We both sat for another hour waiting before Hana's mother finally coughed, threw up, and was conscious again. Her mother was still to weak from malnutrition to leave her bed, but she was no longer on the cliff between life and death.

Hana's dark brown hair was matted from the day's of labor and stress, her soft tan cheeks streaked with dirt and her large doe eyes watery.

"Thank you Rose... thank you... and..." she sniffed cutely, making me and Ricin smile.

"And I'm sorry..."

I was confused. What did she have to apologize for-

Before I could even ask it was too late, the door to the small home burst open, and men in dark black suits were already apprehending me.

I twisted my torso to knock unconscious a man which grabbed my arm, but a sudden jolt of pain in my neck made everything go black.

Hana's sweet but sorrow filled eyes were the last thing I saw before I fell unconscious.

When I woke up, my head and body ached as if I had run a marathon.
My eyes, slightly blurry, stared at a plain white ceiling.

I then noticed my current situation.

I was shackled to the small bed I was laid on, my arms and legs separated and tied to each end of the bed post.

Ricin was also no where in sight, nor was the space Ring.
I couldn't feel my needles or dagger as I twisted my body to test my restraints.

This was bad. Panic began to set in as a cold sweat formed on my head and back. Where was I?

I couldn't even feel my connection with Ricin currently- though I'd account the reason being the odd text covering the stone walls in the plain room. Only a bed, a small empty desk, and a chair, were present.

No windows, only one door.

I relaxed and tried to ponder. I was likely sold out by Hana who didn't expect me to actually cure her mother... I couldn't blame her. I could only blame the country which forced such a sweet girl into the position.

Did it mean the King had me, or Karen?

The door to the room finally creaked open, the light front the magical light sphere dimming in comparison to the natural light let in.

I was a bit shocked to say the least.