Abby and the Mad Prince's Son. The Outpost: Episode One

Chapter Fifteen

Scared for their lives, only a small fraction of evacuees left their dormitories the next day, the outpost looking like a phantom town.

And as Abby and Esme crossed the Alchemist Quarter, ready to start on Fury Fog, Abby couldn't help but wonder how Princess Edina was doing. She couldn't have died, or they would have heard. They had gone past the Infirmary to enquire earlier but were turned away by a group of soldiers keeping guard at the entrance.

However, they were about to get an update as Baron Ren walked out of the scriptorium looking weary, his hands behind his back.

'Has he been in there all night looking for what ails the princess?' Esme asked Abby.

'It looks like it,' replied Abby. 'I wonder if he's found anything. I hope he has.'

Baron Ren walked over to the two and gave a tired bow. And the two bowed back.

'Your Highness,' the two girls said before Abby asked, 'Any news of the princess?'

'I'm afraid she hasn't improved,' Baron Ren replied.

'Sorry to hear that. At least Her Majesty isn't getting worse.'

'That's very true. But with luck that will all change.' Baron Ren took his hands from behind his back, revealing a hefty book with a picture of a walking skeleton etched in its leather and more elvish words inscribed.

'Have you found something?' Abby snapped, heartened at the thought.

A mournful smile grew on Baron Ren's face. 'I'm sure of it. Being that the surgeon's apprentices have no idea what ails the princess, it got me thinking. Either it's something new that they just haven't seen yet or it's something old. Ancient Ailments and their Cures is what this book's called.'

'Ancient as in Ancient Times?' asked Esme. 'Ancient as in chimera ancient?'

'Precisely,' said Baron Ren.

'So, what ails her?' asked Abby.

'From what I've gathered, she got bit.'

'Bit?' Abby and Esme panted.

Baron Ren nodded. 'Not pricked by a thorn as the princess thought. I think Her Majesty must have disturbed its nest and that's how the bush regrew so fast. By its magic.'

'Magic? What bit her?' asked Abby, eager to know.

'A puck. An ancient magical evil sprite that had long died out. An ancestor of fairies, pixies and the like.'

'Long died out like the chimera?' asked Esme. 'Is this puck your father's making?'

Somberly, Baron Ren replied, 'Possibly.'

'Is there a cure for the bite?' asked Abby. 'For Princess Edina?'

'There is. And I think we have all the ingredients except for one, the purple bark of an elder tree. The problem is I haven't seen an elder tree here in the forest.'

'I have,' Abby spurted out. 'I saw one from the greenhouses. It's far but less than a day, I'm sure.'

'That is good to hear. If you can tell me precisely where it is, I'll start planning an outing there.'

'If you need anyone to accompany you, I'll be happy to come along.'

'Thank you but maybe the two of you could start on the cure, the potion, while I'm gone.'

'Yes, we'll definitely do that. Is it hard to make?'

'Let's go inside the Apothecary and I'll show you.'