Amy swung open the door. She held her botany book. Ariel lay on the bed, hyperventilating. Moving closer, she shook his body.
"Ariel, wake up!"
Ariel's eyes fluttered open. "What...?"
"All of us are poisoned. Gerald got us."
Placing his hand on the bed, Ariel tried to get up. His hands shook as he rose. He sat on the bed anyway.
"What can we do?" he asked in a shaky voice.
Amy opened her book and pointed at a flower named "Moon's Heart." The flower had three petals. Each one of the petals was colored in a gradient of purple to white from center to the edge.
"We need this flower, two cups of wine and a pinch of the pherax."
Ariel narrowed his eyes. "Pherax?"
"The white flower from the Crimson Forest."
Yeah... How can I forget that? Ariel rubbed his forehead.
The door opened again.
"The Palace maids gave me this paper." Peter said, handing over the paper.
Ariel stared at the paper for a good minute. Then he let out a small chuckle.
"What happened?" Amy asked.
"Gerald, he really got us good. Tonight he's holding a Grand Feast."
"Meaning?" Peter asked.
"We're stuck here. We either die from the poison or get executed for refusing the offer." Ariel put the paper on his side.
Amy turned to Peter. "You do not seem affected by the poison."
Peter rolled his shoulder. The grayness had spread, though far slower than the other two's.
"No, they got me as well." Peter exhaled through his nose.
"I'll distract the participants. Peter, you get the required items, Amy you translate the script."
"You two still need to make an appearance and make sure they don't notice your absence." He added. "We only have about two hours."
Amy handed the botany book to Peter and opened the relevant page.
"Where do I find that? It seems like a royalty pig." Peter said.
Amy blinked. "What's a royalty pig?"
"Oh, right. You scholars and royals don't use idioms. It's like something endangered or hard to find."
"They have a greenhouse near the Palace. It should have the flower." Ariel answered.
Ariel pushed himself out of the bed.
"Ask the servant for clothes, you need to look formal in the feast. I'll get mine from the mansion."
"Are you sure you can do it alone?" Peter asked.
"You can barely stand." Amy said.
"Don't worry about me, do your part of the job." Ariel walked towards the door, and moved outside.
Peter and Amy exchanged glances.
"He's right, we don't have much time." Peter stepped out, Amy followed him.
Peter walked in the long corridor. The Imperial House's banners were hung symmetrically on the walls. At the split of the corridor, a few servants frantically ran from side to side.
"Even for King Gerald this is too sudden! How are we supposed to cook for fifty guests, Ugh..." A maid exclaimed.
"And Lord Ariel gave this recipe, I never saw this 'dessert' in my life." A butler added.
What am I supposed to even say?
Walking closer to them, Peter cleared his throat. Servants' gaze shifted to him.
"Does the palace have like a... guest clothes? I don't have formal outfits."
A silence followed.
"Uh, we can figure it out if there isn't..." Peter gave a small smile.
"We do! We do! Just, don't say anything to King Gerald about what we said before." A butler said, beads of sweat forming at his forehead.
"Sure, we will not," Amy said.
"Jane! Show the way for these guests."
A maid stepped forward; she had a long, red dress with loose cuffs and an apron like the rest of the servants. Her black hair was cut shoulder length. She was a bit shorter than Amy.
She walked towards the door in silence and opened it.
"Follow me," she said. Amy and Peter obliged.
Behind the door, horizontal wooden rods stretched from one side of the room to another. On each rod hung a different type of clothing than one beside it. Refreshing scent of mint filled the air.
"What should we choose?" Peter asked.
"It's not my problem." Jane sighed. "Just pick one."
"This life is not for me," she muttered.
Peter ran his hand between the clothes, looking for something that would fit him.
It's that stressful in the palace, huh? I'm happy that I don't work here.
Amy looked around, after a while she walked towards a rod and picked a white empire type dress with flower motifs on it.
"You like that type of dress, huh?" Jane said.
"It reminds me of my fatherland." Amy answered.
Peter emerged from the corner with a long red cape, a white shirt and earthy brown pants.
"How do I look?" Peter struck dramatic poses.
"Take off the cape." Amy said.
"Why!? It looks cool! I look like a hero." Peter defended.
"Just take them off." Jane said.
"Ugh! Fine." Peter hung the cape to a rod.
He walked towards the door and stopped beside Jane. Amy walked to the dressing corner.
The silence stretched.
"Give this to Gerald's brother, Atsa." Jane said, handing him a letter.
Peter held the paper in his hand. He ran his finger across it, the paper felt rough in his fingers. The flowery scent of the paper hit his nose.
"What's this?" Peter asked.
"Don't question it, just say 'Maid Jane wanted to give this to you.' and that's it"
Peter rubbed his chin.
"If you do me a favor, I will."
Jane tilted her head. "What's it?"
I can't trust her with the mission. Peter thought.
"The thing is, I don't want to be in the feast. I'm a peasant," he whispered.
"I don't even know any table rules!" he laughed.
"Help me when I want to leave the feast, and I'll help you with the letter, okay?"
Jane narrowed her eyes. "Why so? Meeting with royals gives you a huge leverage."
"Or gets you executed." Peter answered.
"You know that's not what I'm asking. Drop the flower tongue." Jane countered.
She's good. Peter sighed.
Peter looked around for a while.
Worst comes to worst I'll have to kill her. The thought sent shivers down his spine.
"We got poisoned by the king's assassins." Peter let the sentence linger in the air.
Jane looked at his eyes.
"Sounds like something he'd do." She said.
Peter blinked. "You said it without any doubt."
"You see how rulers really operate in the palace." She answered.
Jane lifted her hand. "It's a deal then."
Peter grabbed her hand and shook it.
"What do you need from me?" Jane asked.
"Uh, there's a flower I need to fetch for the antidote. Ariel said I can find it at the Royal Greenhouse."
Jane rubbed her chin. "I never saw the greenhouse. They hide it for some reason."
"I see. Then distract the guests when I cough three times." Peter said.
Jane nodded her head.
Amy emerged from the corner in clothes she had picked out.
Her eyes shifted between Jane and Peter. "Let's go," she said.
"Oh, okay." Peter walked out of the room with Amy close behind. After a few steps, she spoke.
"You are lucky that she was not a loyalist." She said.
A large door appeared in front them. Behind the door, ceramic bowls and plates clashed. The chatters grew louder and footsteps increased as the night dominated the sky.
"Time really does pass quickly." Peter said, beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
Amy put her hand on the handle of the door.
"Let's go in before they declare us as gone."