Finding The Cure: An order of Love

“Come on, Nera! Wake up! We have very important company today!” The shrill voice of my lady's maid Hana cut through my dreams like a knife. I groaned, curling deeper into the tangle of sheets, I didn’t want to get up. I was having such a nice dream of the forest. Another knock on my door had me finally dragging myself upright. The cold stone floor bit at my bare feet as I sat up helping me wake up further. I shivered in my thin sleep gown and glared at the window that a terrible draft always seemed to find itself through no matter what was done. I hated being cold. “Important company? Yea, right.” I muttered to myself making sure it was low enough Hana wouldn't hear. Hana would smack me if she heard my sass or saw my eye roll. Rubbing the grit of sleep from my eyes I began to wake myself up for whatever torment waited me in the form of “important company”. That usually meant more of Father’s tiresome suitors, each one awful in their own way. He was eager for me to choose one of the three, but I still had four months before my twentieth birthday, and I intended to cling to every last day of freedom I had left. Not that I had much freedom anyways. Unlike my brother who had all the freedom I could only dream of. Why couldn’t I be like my brother, riding off on adventures, free to see the world? Instead, I was trapped in these suffocating walls, my only escape the wild woods beyond the estate. At least the woods gave me some reprieve. Whenever I could, I slipped through one of the forgotten escape tunnels by my room and slipped into the wild. I felt like I could truly breathe when I was in the forest. I never ventured too far, even though I was dying to. I didn't though with the risk of Father’s wrath and the punishments he could dull out. Scars on my back burned in reminder of how cruel his punishments could be. The sharp scent of pine and damp moss, the crack of twigs underfoot, the distant cry of a hawk. It was all a song that danced in my heart, and I ached to be in the forest to listen and dance until I collapsed in exhaustion. In those moments the forest felt more like home than the velvet-draped walls of this estate ever had. Even though I went out with my dog belladonna, she would run off to chase an animal like a bunny, while I did my own thing. So I was often left alone when I adventured into the woods. Unlike the eyes always watching me here, waiting for me to mess up. Once, I did have someone to share them with. Ivy, a village girl with more heart than skill, had begged me to teach her the ways of the forest. Her laughter still echoed in my memory, bright and unrestrained, so unlike the stifled politeness demanded here. I remembered how I would often tell her if she pulled her hair back the black locks wouldn’t cover her blue eyes making it easier for her to hunt her prey. Every time she’d miss or grab the wrong plant. Her blue eyes glittered like the ocean full of amusement. One day she bent over laughing when I asked why she rubbed mud on her face like that. She told me it wasn't mud, it was freckles. We both laughed until we cried. I smiled at that memory. I had a lot of memories like that with her until Father caught me sneaking back one day and saw her with me. All she wanted to do was make sure I made it home safe because it was getting later than usual for me to be out. He had called her a “bad influence” and forbidden me to ever see her again. He thought she was the reason I snuck out into the forest. He was wrong and did not believe me when I had told him that wasn’t the case at all. His mind was made up and there was no changing it. When he made the mistake of forbidding me from ever seeing her again. He should have been more specific with his rule. He had said we couldn’t see each other. He hadn’t said anything about leaving notes tucked beneath tree roots or hidden under rocks. Ivy’s recent letter was informing me she was married recently. She wrote to me about her husband, he sounded like a decent enough person to spend your life with but she didn’t sound like she was in love with him. Still, she was content, and that had to be enough. I still bring her herbs, berries, even games to sell. I didn’t need the coin. I needed the practice and the sense of freedom only the forest could provide me. Practice for what? For the dream that had burned in me since childhood. To adventure. To matter. To live beyond these suffocating walls. To feel the bowstring’s snap against my fingers, the thrill of tracking prey, the joy of finding the correct plants needed for cooking and medicine. It all made me feel alive. It gave me purpose. “Come on, Belladonna. If I have to be awake, so do you.” I shoved gently at the great furry mass hogging my blankets. Bella cracked open one amber eye, huffed a hot breath that smelled faintly of venison scraps, and sprawled wider across the bed. Her thick coat was warm under my hand, her ribs rising and falling in a soft rhythm. “Lazy beast,” I whispered, though affection softened my voice. She was more like a wolf than a hound with her size and colors. Brown and grey like the wolves out in the woods, yet she was larger than any I have ever encountered. Somehow Father had let me keep her. He wanted to toss her out when he found her in my room. I was so lonely and wanted a pet for company. I found her with an injured paw but she protected me from would be kidnappers that night my father discovered her. Or so he thought. I was able to protect myself just fine as I was secretly trained to do. But it worked out I still hadn't gotten rid of her. I lied and said she protected me, when I was really protecting her. So I used that instant to prove my case to keep her for protection. And it worked. “Nera! We need to get you dressed!” Hana’s voice carried through the oak door, clipped with impatience. I sighed and pushed to my feet. My reflection in the polished metal mirror showed wild hair and a sleep-creased face. Not exactly ready for whatever “important company” awaited. Bella rumbled a deep, amused growl as I left her to my warm side of the bed. The dressing room smelled faintly of lavender and hot wax from the candle flickering on the table. Hana stood ready, her sleeves rolled up, a brush clutched like a weapon in one hand. Across the chair lay a gown the color of midnight skies, trimmed in gold thread that caught the light like fire. Not house colors at all. “So…? What’s going on?” I asked, eyeing the dress with suspicion. “An important guest has requested an audience with your father and everyone of importance that is currently staying in the estate, including you.” Hana said, her grin sharp with excitement. “So why am I to be dressed in blue? And not my family’s colors?” I loved the dress but father will be angry if I show up in anything but green and brown. A disrespectful act in his mind. “You're not truly part of house Ver—” Hana shut her mouth really quickly before she could finish what she said. But I heard enough to question her meaning. “What? What do you mean by that?” I asked. “Sorry, Nera I missed spoke. I meant to say is that they are marrying you off. So really, you won’t be a part of this family much longer. Why not stand out. And put on a beautiful dress. I think this dress will look amazing on you.” Hana said sweetly. It made sense. Everyone will be in the house they belong to. No house has the color blue, So I wouldn’t be showing favoritism. Also not being in house colors while everyone else was would make me stand out. Then I remember we had a special guest that she was rushing me to go see. So who was it? I narrowed my eyes. “Which one of my dreadful suitors is it this time?” Sometimes one of them will request an audience to showcase some sort of skill or gift to “win my affections.” They never worked, I would not be bought by silly gifts that don’t have any personal value or meaning. She smacked my arm with the brush. “Mind your tongue! Some of them will be present, true, but no, this is someone else entirely.” She lowered her voice to a whisper, the candle’s flame flickered as if it too was listening in on a secret. “It’s an old friend of your father’s. He brings news….” Hana pauses, taking a steading breath before continuing, “about the dark plague.” The words landed heavy in the quiet room. For just over five years, the dark plague has crept like fog across the southern lands. I’d heard the stories whispered in the kitchens. Villagers collapsing with black veins spreading like roots beneath their skin. Wolves turning rabid and twisted. Children vanishing into the woods and returning as something unrecognizable. Scholars poured over ancient tomes, mages burned themselves out casting wards, but nothing had stopped it. The air itself seemed tainted where it spread. It was devouring the south and creeping ever northward. If it reached us, if it reached the forests I loved, nothing would survive. The thought of that broke my heart. Dread filled my body like always at the thought of the plague. Somehow, the thought of an important guest, who wants everyone who is important in attendance. A spark of hope lit inside my chest. Maybe this guest brought news of a cure. Maybe the plague was ending. Maybe then Father would delay my marriage, loosen his grip, even let me—I smothered the rest of my racing thoughts before it could take root. I couldn’t get too excited before I knew what was going on. I took a deep calming breath and made my face stay carefully blank as Hana tugged and twisted my hair into order hiding shameful scars. Hana watched me in the mirror. She looked like she was trying to suppress a smile. She knew me too well. “Well,” she said at last, stepping back admiring the work she did. She always knew the right colors and style that would make me shine like a rare gem. That's what she always told me when I would fight her on getting dressed for events. You are a rare and beautiful gem. All will love to look at you. I never felt that way. “Well that was the easiest time I’ve ever had getting you ready. Not that I am complaining, but are you okay” The gown’s fabric was cool against my skin, the weight of gold trim pressing at my shoulders. I felt like a bird with her wings bound. Still, I stood tall. “I don’t want to keep Father and his important guest waiting.” I said, my voice flat, though excitement clawed beneath my ribs. “Mm-hm,” Hana hummed, amusement dancing in her eyes. “Whatever you say, dear.” Together we stepped into the dim corridor, footsteps echoing on stone. My heart beats faster with every one. Not for suitors this time. Not for courtly games. But for news that could change everything.