Cress's POV
I leave my room when the sun is just peeking out from the mountains in the distance. It's early dawn, so the air's a bit chilly as I walk to the front gates of the castle grounds. My cloak fluttering in the breeze, I pull my hood over my head and quicken my pace when I see the others waiting for me. I hope I didn't keep them waiting for too long.
"I'm not late, am I?" I ask as I stop in front of Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki, who are handling their horses.
"No, you're not," Mitsuhide reassures me while he adjusts the saddle on his horse. "You're right on time."
"That's good to hear." I sigh in relief.
"Uh, Cress?" Zen's eyes move up and down my outfit. "Are you really going in those clothes?"
"Yeah?" I reply, confused. I cast a glance at my clothes. I'm wearing a simple gray sleeveless top with a pair of my regular black leggings and black boots. And over that, just my cloak. "Is something wrong with it?"
Kiki looks up. "We're going to Laxdo, you know," she informs me. "It tends to get very cold there, with all the snow it gets."
"Oh," I suddenly realize that everyone else is wearing long sleeves and multiple layers, even though that's how they normally seem to dress. "Well, it's too late now."
"We could wait for you to go and change." Zen suggests. "We wouldn't want you to catch a cold."
"Oh no, that's okay," I say quickly. "I won't mind the cold, really. I'm used to it." I don't want them to waste time because of me. What if Mitsuhide and Kiki get annoyed with me?
"Okay, if you're sure." Zen replies, mounting his white horse. "It's almost time to leave... Where is she?"
"Where is who?" I ask, and then I hear the pounding of feet approaching behind me.
"Sorry I'm late!" yells a familiar voice. I turn around to see Shirayuki screech to a stop next to me, panting. "I was talking to Chief Garak."
"Shirayuki?" My eyes are round. "Why're you here?"
"I'm going with you on official court herbalist business!" The red-haired girl says proudly and with excitement. "Zen, I hope I'm not making us late." she turns to the prince.
The white-haired prince laughs, shaking his head. "Of course not. Don't worry; we're right on schedule. I'm glad you're coming with us." Zen brings forth another horse. "Shirayuki, you can ride with Cress. Cress, make sure to ride gently."
"Yes, my prince." I resist the urge to roll my eyes at his affectionate request regarding the assistant court herbalist. So maybe he is in love with her. "Come on, Shirayuki." I jump onto my horse and then pull her up, settling her down next to me. "We've done this before."
"Everyone ready?" Zen asks, and when we all nod, he starts riding off through the gates. "Then let's go." As I ride my horse after Zen with Shirayuki grabbing on to my waist, I look back briefly at the closing gates. So I guess he's not coming after all. I think about Obi for a moment, then push the thought to the corner of my mind.
***
"It's getting pretty cold," Shirayuki comments as we track through the path of the mountains we're passing through. Indeed it is. Snow and frost covers the ground and the wind is relentless. I'm not shivering yet, but I will be if it gets any colder. "Are we close to Laxdo?"
"Yes," Kiki answers her. "Just a bit longer and we'll arrive there."
"This climate is certainly different from that of sunny Clarines." Mitsuhide adds. "Very different." He asks with interest, "So why are you heading all the way to Laxdo?"
Shirayuki replies, "It's part of my job. A clinic in Laxdo needs someone to help out, so Chief Garak decided to send me there for additional training."
"Being a court herbalist must be hard." Mitsuhide comments. "I can't believe your job requires you to travel all the way here."
"It is sort of hard," Shirayuki agrees. "But I've been learning so much! It's very enjoyable learning about all sorts of new herbs, actually. I'm really glad to have gotten this job."
Listening to their conversation, I can't help but wonder if I'm going to like my job as much as she likes hers. Well, I guess I'll find out soon enough.
"We've arrived at Laxdo." Zen stops his horse at a fork in the road. I see a town close by when I follow the left path with my eyes. The right path keeps stretching on, and I assume it leads to the Fort.
I help Shirayuki get off my horse, and she thanks me before turning to Zen. "I guess we'll be going separate ways," she says with a hint of nervousness, but smiles nevertheless.
"Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?" Zen asks her, a concerned look appearing on his face.
"I'll be fine," Shirayuki laughs, and they hold each others' gazes for a few seconds before Zen nods and starts to ride away.
"Take care!" Shirayuki waves as we disappear from view.
It doesn't take us long until we arrive at the Fort. While we're approaching it, I feel like something is off. My eyes uneasily dart around when we stop our horses at the gate of the fort. I see nothing. There's no one on watch and I can't spot any guards. "Where is everyone?" I voice my thoughts out loud. Everyone else also looks confused.
"Hello?" Mitsuhide yells as loud as he can, and his voice echoes around the apparently abandoned fort. "Is anyone here? We're from the royal guards!"
Silence. Then I hear the squeak of a single window opening. Glancing up, I spot a figure above us, who yells, "I'll be right there!"
The window then closes, and it only takes a few seconds before the front door bursts open and a young boy runs out. He doesn't make it far; he trips over his feet and lands face-first into the ground. At least the snow broke his fall, I think as all of us jumps off our horses and rushes to the boy's side. "Are you alright?" Mitsuhide bends down, helping the boy sit up.
I narrow my eyes. The boy doesn't look well. He has dark circles underneath his eyes, and is so skinny that I can see his cheekbones jutting out from his face. Something is wrong.
With terrified eyes, the boy glances around at the four of us from the castle. "Y-you're all here. The prince, too!" He gulps loudly, sounding more and more desperate. "You have to leave! You can't be here!" he pleads to Zen, who looks more and more confused by the second, and I can't blame him.
"Why not?" Zen asks, but before the boy can answer, a shout rings out over the fort walls.
"Master!" My jaw drops open as I gaze up at the top of the wall, where a figure is jumping down. "We have a problem! Everyone in the fort is asleep!" That annoyingly familiar voice... It's him.
Obi crouches down in a perfect landing in front of me. "Why, hello there, Blue." he winks at my shocked face. "Did you miss me?"
"In your dreams," I find myself saying. "I was just surprised."
"U-uh," I look down at the boy, who looks even more terrified now. "Who... are you?" he gasps at Obi.
"I'm Obi." says the cat-eyed ex-assassin with a grin. "The prince's personal attendant."
"Your trial period isn't over yet, you know," Zen sighs. "And what did you say before?"
"Oh, yeah." Obi face changes to a more serious one. "Everyone in the fort is asleep," he repeats, slower this time. Asleep? What happened to them?
"What?" Zen's eyes widen, and he starts to walk toward the door. "I'm going in."
"No, wait!" The boy cries desperately. "Stop! Your highness, you can't go in there! This place is possessed by some sort evil spirit!"
"Evil spirit?" Obi's eye grow wide with curiosity, and mine do, too. "What do you mean?"
"Well," the boy says nervously. "It started three weeks ago. Everyone in the fort started to get sick. They'd complain about their limbs feeling weak and heavy, and they said their vision was blurry. They got dizzy and lost their balance a short while after, and everyone started collapsing. We called a doctor, but he ended up getting sick, too." The boy sighs. "We couldn't pinpoint the cause of the illness, so it has to be the work of some evil spirit!"
An illness? I glance worried at the fort. That's awful. "What's your name?" I ask the boy kindly.
He blinks in surprise, then answers, "S-Shuuka."
I smile at him. "Well, Shuuka, are you sick as well?"
"I'm feeling better than anyone else in the fort," he answers sadly. "But I'm not well enough to venture out in this cold to get help."
"I see." Zen resumes walking. "I'll go in and take a look."
"What?" Obi and Shuuka gasp at the same time, and even I am surprised. "You can't go in," Shuuka cries. "If it's contagious, you'll get sick too!"
Zen gives him a small smile. "I'm willing to take that risk. The soldiers need us, so get some rest, Shuuka."
"Don't worry, the Prince knows what he's doing," I try to reassure Shuuka as he stares hopelessly at the prince's back as he walks inside. I hope he knows what he's doing. I hurry and follow Zen inside the door.
"Zen, be out by sunset," Kiki says sharply once we're inside.
"I will." Zen replies briskly.
We make our way to the main room of the fort. It's pretty warm inside, with a fire burning in the big fireplace. All the soldiers are gathered in this room, lying on blankets on the floor. Someone coughs occasionally, but most of them are unconscious, their breathing shallow. "This doesn't look good," I say worriedly to Zen, who frowns in return.
"We'll take a good look around the fort," he decides. "We'll see if we can find the cause."
We all follow Zen as he goes from room to room, checking everything thoroughly for any clues. "What if it really is the work of an evil spirit?" Obi says in a creepy voice, making a creepy face to match.
I roll my eyes and Kiki just scoffs. "You actually believe in that kind of thing?" she says icily. "I'd rather fight ghosts than an evil spirit."
We reach the armory. As Obi cracks open the lock on the door, a specialty of his, apparently, he mutters, "I don't see why it'd be affected...oh." His voice breaks off as he opens the armory doors, and all our jaws drop as we see that the armory is empty. Not a single weapon or tool remains.