Alys felt much less anxious after she awoke from her nap. She was alone in the room, and there were no angry voices coming from the dining room.
Hoping that this might mean some ordeals had been discussed and figured out, Alys slowly got up and walked into the sitting room. Dastrehan sat on a sofa with the captain they had seen before standing in front of him. They were talking quietly until Dastrehan saw Alys approaching.
"Did you sleep well?" Dastrehan asked her as she came to stand beside his sofa. His voice was full of concern, and Alys felt guilty for being such a hassle.
"I did," she replied quietly, "it's nice and cool in there."
"Good," Dastrehan turned his attention back to the captain, "you were saying?"
The soldier nodded to Alys in a brief but polite greeting and filled them both in on the updates for the palace's situation.
The guards had found 3 men hiding in the stable, one who was the man who had escaped after the ambush in the hall while King Dastrehan and Alys had been eating. The guards had managed to get enough information out of them to find 11 more men and 3 women who were disguised as various palace workers, all of whom were planning further attacks in the palace. After more interrogations, the traitors had given up the name of a previously disgraced reeve, who had provided the information to allow for so many people to take up positions in the palace without being noticed. The guards had gone to retrieve the former reeve, but he had already escaped with the help of the men and women who had been planning on carrying out further attacks at the palace.
It was too much information for Alys to take in, on top of being extremely alarming.
Dastrehan slowly rose to stand up and walk to the large window at the back of the room when then captain had stopped talking.
"Who was the man that provided the information to the others?" He asked calmly, his back turned to them.
The captain hesitated for a moment, glancing quickly sideways at Alys.
"That would be the former Captain of the King's Guard, Lord Gax."
Dastrehan clenched his fists but was silent. Alys stared at the captain in shock and slowly sank down to sit on a sofa.
Gax had betrayed the king.
Alys shook her head; that could not be correct.
"But he's been locked up in the dungeons for months." She protested weakly.
The captain said nothing.
The sun was setting, casting dark yellow and orange light through the large window and around Dastrehan. He looked as if he was trying to draw strength from the final rays of the sun.
"How many guards have we lost?"
Dastrehan's voice sounded choked. Alys could not begin to fathom how upset he must be.
"Seven. An additional three are in the infirmary and are expected to recover."
Dastrehan reached his hands up to run his fingers through his dark hair and sighed deeply.
As shocked as she already was, Alys still felt her heart drop when she heard the captain's words.
Seven men dead. 3 more injured.
Gax's betrayal has already cost 7 lives.
Alys suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She stood up faster than she had thought possible in her condition and hurried through Dastrehan's bed room and into his bathing room.
Before she could decide the best place to go, she was vomiting her last meal onto the beautiful burgundy tiles of the bathing pool.
When her body was done, she stayed where she was; kneeing with her elbows on the side of the pool, and her head in her hands.
Gax had been stripped of his lordship because of her. He had lost his placement as a reeve due to his interactions with her.
If Alys had said no to Dastrehan when he asked her to be the mother of his child, would Gax have been caught mistreating her?
If she had accepted Brom's proposal, she never would have crossed paths with Gax in the palace.
If she had stayed in the market area for just a few more moments, she would not have been in the way of the King's Guard in the first place.
Seven men are dead because I disturbed Gax's life.
"I want him found. Immediately." Alys heard Dastrehan order the captain from the sitting room, "Take as many men as you need."
Footsteps approached, but Alys stayed where she was.
She kept looking at the burgundy tiles, thoughts whirling through her head.
Red. Red like their spilled blood.
Alys fixated on the tiles, ignoring Dastrehan when he entered the bathing room, squatted down behind her, and put a hand on her back soothingly.
An image flashed into Alys's mind for a split second.
Dead men around her feet. Blood from their bodies all over the forested floor. Blood on Alys's hands.
That weird feeling of a lost memory trying to be found.
A sharp pain in her head.
Alys gasped and quickly shoved herself back from the bathing pool, landing against Dastrehan's chest. She pressed her hands into the sides of her head.
Dastrehan caught her.
"What's wrong?" He whispered in her ear, alarmed.
Alys sucked in a breath and whimpered.
"I saw something that I don't remember," she murmured, "And then the same feeling I had when I shot that arrow into the target, followed by pain."
Dastrehan didn't say anything. He tightened his arms around her for a few moments, and her breathing started to slow.
It was well into the night when the lockdown on the palace was lifted. Even so, King Dastrehan saw to it that extra precautions were put in place; the guard presence in the palace was doubled, prisoners from the dungeons were assigned positions as food testers to prevent anyone from poisoning any advisors, guests, the king, or Alys, and no visitors would be allowed into the palace or it's surroundings unless they were thoroughly searched and escorted upon their arrival.
Alys was starving by the time that the servants brought a late night meal to Dastrehan's chambers.
Alys was sitting on a sofa in the sitting room, and Dastrehan was speaking with Rohan and one of his advisors. They were waiting for the king's military advisor to return to the palace sometime during the night to attend a second meeting with all the advisors, the captain of the King's Guard, and a couple of military generals.
A servant handed a bowl of soup to Alys with some plain bread and a cup of water.
Alys thanked the servant and started eating right where she was. The soup was welcome to her aching stomach, which had been emptied earlier when she had gotten sick. The bread, though plain, was gentle on her tummy and filled her quite nicely.
Dastrehan and Rohan ate their soup standing, still in conversation. From the conversations they were having, Alys learned that Rohan had been a military general for the late King Althalos. She was surprised that Rohan had never mentioned this to her, but he had told her that he had served in the palace before.
Alys retired to Destrehan's bed before the arrival of the king's military advisor. It was well passed the middle of the night, and she could barely keep her eyes open.
Meetings with various officials, advisors, and important guests filled the next couple of days. The guard presence in the palace had tripled, and Alys spent the majority of her time within Dastrehan's sight. She learned a lot more about Tarkam, Marniac, Catesh, and even Balear within those few days than she already knew; more than she could remember she knew, at least.
After 3 days of consulting and arguing, the king finally made the decision to send out a peace convoy to Balear to try and smooth things over and invite some of the important Balearian advisors to come meet with him. He also ordered that a special unit of men be sent to find Prince Leoford before he could cause any more damage.
Many of the King's advisors disagreed with his choice to pursue his half-brother; they argued that it took up men that were valuable towards fighting Catesh. King Dastrehan was more concerned about the threat that Leoford had to him and the others in the palace. If he were left to his own devices, who knows what he could do? The unit also had orders to figure out which lords were loyal to his half-brother.
After the king had made his decisions, an early evening meal was served to the men. Alys stayed, knowing that she would have a difficult time convincing Dastrehan to let her eat by herself. She was fine with that; she was safer when she was closer to him and she knew it.
The meal was noisy, and Alys stayed quiet as usual. She couldn't imagine how Princess Jocelynn would have been able to get a word in with these men hollering and shouting at each other the way that they did during their meetings and meals. Or maybe would they have been quieter in her presence simply because she was royalty?
Regardless, it didn't matter to Alys. She was not planning on being present in these meetings once their baby arrived. She would be tasked with raising their child, and sooner or later another woman would marry Dastrehan and take over any queenly duties that were required. She was just happy that she wasn't responsible for those responsibilities at all.
Out of her peripheral vision, Alys noticed that one of the advisors was watching her. Alys didn't recognize him as one of the advisors that had disapproved of her carrying Dastrehan's heir, but he always seemed to be more of a neutral opinion on most topics.
Alys brought her hand up to her mouth, suddenly feeling quite nauseous.
"I think I need some air." She said quietly to Dastrehan as she rose slowly from her chair.
"What is it?" Dastrehan asked, a touch of worry entering his voice.
"It's nothing," Alys tried to wave off his concern, "I just feel a little ill. I just need to walk it off." Her stomach was suddenly churning and she felt dizzy.
Dastrehan stood as well, "I'll come with you."
Alys moved towards the door with a hand still pressed to her lips. She tried to recall how she had felt in the morning, but she had no memory of feeling ill. It was odd that it had come on so quickly.
As they stepped out into the fresh air, Alys took a deep breath. She stopped in the courtyard and leaned the right side of her body against the wall of the palace while she took some deep breaths.
"Are you feeling better?" Dastrehan asked, stopping beside her. He put his hand on the hallow of her back to let her know he cared. He felt powerless whenever she was suffering and he couldn't help her.
Alys nodded but didn't respond. She had her eyes closed and was focusing on her breathing.
The nausea has almost passed. A couple more breaths.
Dastrehan watched her closely, concerned. A messenger came to alert the king that his advisors wanted him to return to finish the meal and start their meeting, but Dastrehan waved him off. In the back of his mind he knew that his advisors would be upset if he put them on hold, but he was not leaving Alys until he was sure she was fine.
"Can you talk about something?" Alys asked, taking her hand away from her lips. Her eyes remained closed, "I need a distraction."
Dastrehan racked his brain for an interesting topic that Alys wasn't familiar with yet. His concern for her was inhibiting his brain from proper thought.
"I used to have a pony named "Dog"." He said, still watching Alys closely. It was the first topic that popped into his mind, so he went with it.
"I don't remember why I named him that. I was quite young when my father gave him to me. But I remember that he was always escaping from his stall."
Alys forced a smile. She liked horses. She hadn't been around a pony before that she could remember, but she thought she would like them.
"He got into the area where they stored the bread, somehow. He ate so much, he couldn't move when they found him and tried to take him back to his stall. He made a terrible mess of the-"
Alys pitched forward suddenly and brought a hand back up to her mouth. Despite her best efforts not to let the nausea win, her body forced her to vomit up the contents of her stomach.
Dastrehan fell quiet and rubbed a hand between her shoulder blades in an attempt to comfort her.
The anticipated relief that always came after throwing up did not come. Once Alys was finished throwing up her meal, she continued to vomit a dark liquid that was soon followed by a black foam. Between fits of vomiting, Alys reached for Dastrehan.
"What do you need?" He asked, grasping her hand.
Alys barely managed to get out "something is wrong" as she took short gasps of air in between waves of retching. She had never experienced anything like this before.
Dastrehan waved to the nearby guards, who were already standing ready and waiting for orders.
"Get my healer, now. Make sure it is Aldyth."
By the time that Aldyth arrived, Alys was sitting on her knees and leaning against the courtyard wall waiting for another fit of vomiting.
"What happened?" Aldyth asked Dastrehan, moving to squat in front of Alys.
"We were in the middle of a meal with my advisors. She said she didn't feel well and wanted to go for a walk. She's been throwing up for a long time."
Aldyth surveyed Alys quickly. Alys was pale and barely made a sound when Aldyth called her name.
The experienced healer surveyed everything quickly, already sure of what had happened. Alys groaned and doubled over, her hands on her stomach.
"We need to move her inside," Aldyth said, standing and already moving towards the palace. She pointed at a couple of Alys' personal guards, "Go make sure all of the other healers know that I need them at my disposal."
"Aldyth, what's going on?" Dastrehan called after the healer as he carefully gathered Alys into his arms and stood. Alys's body felt hot against his arms and chest even through the fabrics of their clothing.
Aldyth kept moving towards the palace entrance, not wasting any time.
"We don't have time." Was her only reply.
Dastrehan could detect the urgency in the healer's voice, making him grow even more concerned than he thought possible. He followed Aldyth through the halls to his chambers, trying to be gentle as he carried Alys but not wanting to waste time. He carefully set Alys down on his bed.
"I need light in here," Aldyth ordered, unconcerned about the usually respectful formalities that went with being in the presence of the king.
Dastrehan did not even notice. He was too focused on doing whatever he was instructed. With in a few moments, several lamps and candles were lit in the room, lighting it up much better.
Alys groaned and tried to turn from her back onto her side.
"She must stay on her back." Aldyth instructed Destrehan while she dug in a sack she had brought with her. She pulled out some kind of herb medicine and started crushing it in a mortar and pestle. Dastrehan sat down on the bed next to Alys and gently guided her to lay on her back again.
"Alys, you can't lay on your side," he whispered as calmly and soothingly as he could. He knew his voice must be shaky, but he had to try his best.
"You're going to be okay. Aldyth is here."
Alys briefly opened her eyes to meet Dastrehan's.
"Please don't leave." She murmured, her voice weak and fearful. Dastrehan grasped her hand tightly and placed his other hand on her forehead.
"I'm not going anywhere. I promise," he reassured her as he bent forward to kiss her forehead. Alys closed her eyes and let out a long breath, squeezing Dastrehan's hand.
Additional healers and assistants started to arrive in the bedchambers, bringing with them jugs of hot water, additional medicines, and other materials and supplies Destrehan didn't recognize.
"Aldyth?" Warrick entered the room and wasted no time in seeking his fellow healer, "What's happening?"
"She's been poisoned." Aldyth replied as she added water to the crushed dust in her mortar, "I think it's brought on labour as well."
Despite how stressed the king already was, Dastrehan still felt his heart sink when he heard Aldyth's words. He stood slowly, switching the hand that he held to his other one so he could face his head healer.
"We have several Tasters in place. There is no way that it could be poisoned food."
Even as he said the words, he couldn't force himself to be hopeful that his healer was wrong. She was never wrong.
"Trust me, My King, she has been poisoned. I'd bet my life on it."
Dastrehan ran his free hand through his hair. Warrick quickly surveyed Alys and then walked back to where Aldyth was, "I agree."
Alys groaned again, louder this time. It seemed to hit Dastrehan like a warhorse smashing into him on a battle field. A servant brought him a simple chair and set it next to the bed by Alys' head.
"Sit down, Your Majesty," Warrick instructed. Dastrehan numbly sat in the seat set behind him.
"Help her drink this," Aldyth passed him the mortar with the soupy mixture in it. Dastrehan moved onto the bed and carefully pulled Alys to a sitting position with her back up against him. It was a slow process, but eventually Alys managed to swallow all the mixture.
Dastrehan held out the mortar to a servant. The servant took it, and Rose came forward with a bucket. Dastrehan looked at the bucket blankly while Alys lay propped up against him.
"She's going to throw up," Warrick said when he noticed the king's confused look, "The medicine will pull some of the poisons out with it."
Dastrehan took the bucket and hugged Alys close to him to try and offer some sort of temporary comfort.
Within minutes, Alys was vomiting up the medicine and more black foam. Warrick kept a close eye on them while Aldyth continued to prepare other medicines and for the delivery of the baby. Once Alys was done, Dastrehan let her lay back down and returned to his seat beside her on the chair.
Alys fell into a restless sleep, which Aldyth said to let happen while she had the chance. Her body was trying to fight the poison. Her rest was short lived; Alys was soon woken by labour pains that caused her to moan and cry out.
Warrick attempted to convince the king to leave while they took care of her, but Dastrehan refused. There was no way he was leaving Alys' side.
"Is the baby going to be okay?" He forced himself to ask, though he was not sure he wanted to hear the answer.
"We are going to be lucky if we don't lose them both." Aldyth replied quickly, focused on her tasks.
Dastrehan gripped Alys' hand tighter and looked down at her pale face. He touched his other hand to her face and fought for composure.
"If you must choose between them, you save her. Save Alys."