Dronark was milling about the kitchen while Caeweth stirred awake on the couch. Dreams of being chased by a shadowy, unknown entity danced through her mind like a horrific ballet. She bolted upright with a gasp, startling Dronark, who promptly dropped what he was doing, including the dish he was washing, and rushed over to check if she was alright.
"Sweets!" He exclaimed before scooping her up into his arms, "What happened?"
She leaned into his embrace, comforted by the scent of pine and woodsmoke.
"I am alright," she mumbled, "It's nothing."
It felt nice to be doted on, especially after a bad dream.
"It didn't sound like 'nothing' to me sweets," he huffed, giving Caeweth a little squeeze, "You had another nightmare."
"It wasn't that bad..." she groaned.
"Judging by the gasp you emitted it's safe to say it was, indeed, 'that bad'," Dronark lightly teased, sitting down on the sofa, "You can tell old Dronark all about it."
"I was being chased by some... shadowy beast thing," She mumbled, "It chased me through some dark, wet, stoney tunnels."
"Sounds just like my dreams, except it's my stepfather chasing me," Dronark replied.
"You never got along with him?"
"Absolutely not," Dronark huffed, "It's a long and rather painful story, but my stepfather is the reason I live here and not in the Draklunds. I don't think I would have stayed in the Draklunds either way, but at least my life would have been happier if my birth father never died, and mother had never married that prick."
"Would you like to talk about it?" Caeweth asked, twirling a lock of Dronark's silvery white hair around her finger.
"No," he replied, "Not now, it wouldn't feel right. Besides, Astrid will be here any minute with our supper."
Caeweth glanced at the wall clock, it was 5 o'clock in the evening. Normally she would be asleep till at least 6, maybe 7, or awaken at 8 o'clock or 9 at the latest. She gave Dronark a hug before sliding out of his lap to stretch a little before dinner.
As if on que, a knock resonated from the door. Caeweth opened it to find Astrid standing outside, holding a basket of food and a bottle of red merlot.
"Hello Caeweth," she said with a beaming smile, "I didn't expect you to be up this early. How are you and Dronark getting along?"
"We're getting along fine," said Caeweth as she took the basket, "It's been peaceful with him around."
"You know, Caeweth," Astrid flashed her a sly, knowing grin, "Dronark has a lot of good things to say about you."
Caeweth felt her cheeks flush a bright red.
"O-oh?" she stammered, "like what?"
"He thinks you're cute," Astrid continued, "And he says that you-"
"Thank you very much Astrid," Dronark cut in, pulling Caeweth back into the cottage before any of the guard could see her night fae appearance, "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Farewell Astrid."
He quickly, yet gently, closed the door before Astrid could get another word in.
"Ah, true love," Astrid giggled to herself as she happily skipped back to the castle.
"Do you really think that I'm... 'cute'?" Caeweth asked Dronark as he unpacked the basket.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't," he replied, pulling out a bottle of cabernet, a loaf of bread that had been perfectly sliced, a block of exotic cheese, and a freshly smoked brisket, "Maybe it's just the amount of time we have been forced to spend together in this tiny cottage, but yes, I think you are cute."
"I'm not sure if you are being sarcastic, genuine, or both," Caeweth commented.
"Slightly sarcastic, but mostly truthful," he said, "It's true that I do think that you are cute. I was being sarcastic about how much time we spend in this cottage. I fear I may have a bit of 'cabin fever'."
"Oh no, I hope it's not contagious," Caeweth said sarcastically, followed by a little giggle.
"A woman after my own heart," Dronark said with a smirk.
Soon the table was set, and Dronark poured two glasses from the bottle of cabernet, offering one to Caeweth. She took the glass, and smelled the deep red liquid inside. The smell made her recoil. There was an overpowering bitter, earthy, loam like scent intermingled with the aroma of grapes emanating from the deep red wine. She thought she noted a faint odor of metal and berries, making the scent even harsher. She stifled a gag, drawing Dronark's attention.
"Too strong?" he asked.
Caeweth nodded, trying to stifle another gag, handing the glass back to him.
"More for me then," Dronark said, pouring her serving of wine into his, "Cabernet has a particularly potent flavor. It's one of my favorites."
"It smells like wine soaked dirt."
"That's one way to describe it," Dronark laughed, taking the first sip and then shaking his head, "It's quite pleasant once you get past the overwhelming bitter flavor."
"I prefer sweet wine," Caeweth said, sitting down at the table.
"I never would have guessed, given your demeanor."
"Oh very funny Dro."
They bantered back and forth over dinner till half of Dronark's wine was consumed. His vision had started to blur, which was odd seeing as he had only drank one serving of wine. He looked at the wine glass, he saw two half full glasses where only one sat. His words began slur, and his head was spinning.
"Dronark, are you alright?" Caeweth asked, concern coloring her voice, "You don't look so good."
He began to pale, his legs wobbling as he tried to get up.
"M fine, juss need go bed," he slurred.
He stumbled, then fell, his body hitting the wooden floor with a thud. Worried, Caeweth ran right to his side. He was out cold. She shifted him onto his side, then checked his pulse. His heartbeat was slowed, but consistent, as was his breathing. He was alive, much to her great relief, but something felt very wrong.
Was the food tainted? Impossible as she had eaten her fair share of the bread, cheese, and meat with no ill effects. Was it the wine? She had seen him get drunk from wine before, but only after several glasses. He had only finished half of a double serving. On a whim, she studied the wine. She swirled it around the glass, then sniffed it. The bitter aroma made her wince slightly, but she pressed on. There was that metallic scent again. It was light, but noticeable. She dipped her finger into the burgundy liquid and touched her tongue. Beneath the strong bitter flavor was a sweet metallic taste which tasted exactly like blood moon berries, a potent sedative.
Such berries were incredibly rare, only ripening on nights of a lunar eclipse. Because they were so rare, they were only used in specific rituals and ceremonies. Someone had gone through a lot of trouble to gather enough blood moon berries to poison the wine, but who?
She didn't have time to think about who or why, when Dronark was in for a rough night. Along with the sedative effects, blood moon berries could have frightening effects if prepared incorrectly. One raw berry alone had enough power to send the consciousness of a non night fae to the realm of Selene, several could induce horrific, maddening nightmares and hallucinations. Who knows how many moon berries were used to create the poison?
She carefully pulled his arm over her shoulder, and dragged his unconscious body up the stairs, frequently stopping to catch her breath. He was heavy, not unexpectedly so, but it was a struggle to bring him to the top of the stairs. Once at the top, she paused to catch her breath before finally pulling him into their shared bedroom, and tucking him into bed. she glanced at the halfway finished wedding dress, and let out a sigh. There was no way she was going to be able to work on it tonight. She sat at the foot of the bed, hugging her knees to her chest.
"Ava?" she called.
A small chittering noise came from beneath the desk in response.
"We have a bit of a situation on our hands..."
Ava chittered as she crawled out from beneath the desk.
"No! Nothing like that!" Caeweth huffed, "Look, someone poisoned the wine given to us at dinner, wine that was intended for both of us to share."
Ava looked at her with big, round eyes as she chittered.
"I highly doubt it was Astrid," Caeweth responded, "She knows I am working on her wedding dress, so why would she try to poison me?"
Ava tapped her fluffy pedipalps in thought before chittering once again.
"It had to be someone outside the castle, that's for sure. Someone with access to blood moon berries..."
Ava squeaked in surprise.
"I Know," Caeweth sighed, "The most difficult to find moon berries on the whole of the Ioan continent. Selene only knows how they were collected, since our forest contains so many lethal dangers."
Ava chittered once again.
"Honestly, I don't know," Caeweth sighed, "It could be anybody outside the castle, which doesn't help to narrow down the possibilities. All I know is that Dronark is in for a rough night."
Ava chittered.
"Astrid has enough on her mind already," Caeweth replied, "besides, we are the only two around here who know how to treat something like this."
More chittering.
"I know for a fact that Aaron never treated non-night fae with such an overdose. The berries are extremely rare, even for our kind."
Extra chittering, but with a question mark at the end.
"I want you to keep a look out, and alert me if anything strange happens."
Ava crawled the door, and shot Caeweth a questioning glance.
"I'll be fine, I still have my trusty dagger. Dronark needs someone here should his dreams become unmanageable."
Ava saluted, and squeezed her way under the door, leaving Caeweth alone with a comatose Dronark.
'Only one way to lessen his discomfort while the moon berries work through his system,' Caeweth thought as she used levitation to pull a pin from the dress.
She pricked her finger, causing a small droplet of blood to form. She crawled crawled across the bed, squeezed her finger, and let that droplet of blood fall into Dronark's mouth.