For Him

9. Our Solitude

"Can you explain in detail everything that happened when you took the toxin?"

Maxi sighed irritably, eying the ceiling for patience as she swallowed her food tightly. Ruth met her irritated gaze with his own, note and quill in hand as he gave her a pointed look despite the steaming plate of food in front of him.

"It would be beneficial to get down all details of what happened as soon as possible while you remember it as well as you can. I certainly can't ask you to do this again," Ruth muttered quickly at the look Riftan gave him.

"Yeah but wizard, this ain't the time." Hebaron sighed, obviously annoyed with the exaggerated chatter from the wizard about work. "We're eating. It's dinner. You need to take a break as well-"

"The sooner my questions are answered, the sooner I'll shut up." With a flick of the paper, Ruth turned a pointed look to Maxi who groaned inwardly. "Now then my lady, I will ask and you'll give me answers. Please provide as much detail as you can."

"I've a-answered your questions a-already-"

"Not the questions I'm about to ask. That was all private so we can ensure better security in the future-"

"Oh for god's sake!" Riftan groaned and Maxi sighed heavily and waved her hand in surrender to Ruth who quickly outlined his first question.

"Alright, first off, when you drank the whole vial - do tell, how did it taste as well - did you feel any changes straight away? If not, how long until you started to feel something?"

Maxi grimaced in distaste, wishing she were anywhere else but she'd been answering as much questions by Ruth with her current self and now he was following her to the dining hall where a few of the knights and Riftan were eating. She'd hoped for a reprieve from questions but she should've known Ruth better afterall.

"It tasted...b-bitter I think from w-what I-I recall but not strong b-bitter, just gross. Afterall, it w-was mixed with other ingredients. And no, I did...didn't feel anything straight a-away. I'm not s-sire how l-long but I g-got scared when I knew a-a werewolf w-was too c-close and started running."

"Maybe adrenaline pushed the toxin quicker." Ruth murmured scribbling the words down quickly with a scratchy rushed sound. "The werewolf-"

"Caught m-my back." Maxi muttered stiffly. "I was f-feeling sluggish once I-I reached...the top of t-the road."

"Describe the sensations." Maxi rolled her eyes at Ruth's persistence but she narrowed her eyes thoughtfully as she tried to recall it all.

"Um, I guess it f-felt akin t-to fatigue almost. F-feeling heavy and sluggish. I-I forgot about w-werewolves and just felt l-like I was s-sleeping."

"How did you feel? Did you feel cold? How was your senses?" Riftan glared at Ruth who gaze him a look back. "The sooner the clearer the picture. Let me have this. The lady is the second person possibly known to have ingested this toxin and got away with it. The last person is long dead now so this is all science and should be-"

"Christ, okay, just do as you please quickly and leave my wife alone." Riftan snapped, grumbling as he rubbed his ears from Ruth's nagging. Maxi snickered, patting Riftan's hand comfortingly.

"It's f-fine, Riftan. B-best to get this o-over with." Riftan frowned at his food, and Maxi turned back to Ruth with a frown. "Yes, I felt c-cold. More like n-numb, I had n-no sensation. Like I was d-deep asleep." The other knights were even listening in while they could, not bothering to hide it.

"So you couldn't feel then. As noted. What about sounds? Smell? Were your senses clear or not?"

"I could...h-hear." Maxi stammered, quickly nibbling on her bread as Riftan tensed beside her. The sounds of a mournful scream echoed faintly in her head, sending a shiver down her spine. "Not...much." Thankfully Ruth didn't ask what she heard and quickly scribbled down notes.