Quest for the Eighty-Eight Keys

Chapter Forty-One: Equuleus

WARNING: NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE!

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Freed looked at the berries that Lucy had crouched in front of to examine. He glanced back at Rufus and Midnight, who were both still packing up the group's campsite for Virgo to take back to the Spirit World. He turned back to the berries. The shrub wasn't small, but not large either. The leaves were a striking, dark green color and the flowers were a lovely purple color, bell-shaped in a way that reminded him of those bell-shaped flowers that Evergreen had taken to growing in her Fairy Hill's residence. The berries were round and shiny, with a purplish-black color to them.

He looked over at Lucy and asked, "do you know what these are?"

Lucy gave him a teasing smile. "The all-knowing Freed doesn't know instantly know what berries these are?" She then gave him a light jab to the side.

Freed chuckled, feeling his cheeks heat up a little and a fluttering feeling beginning to fill his gut. He then responded, "I'm afraid my knowledge of the many species of berries is quite limited."

Lucy gave a light laugh. Freed smiled at the sound. When was the last time he heard a genuine laugh pass through her lovely lips? He had forgotten how much he loved the sound and he felt a growing urge to make her laugh more. Or, to at least make her forget their mission and the heavy weight that was placed upon her shoulders, if only for a few peaceful moments.

Lucy's sweet voice brought him out of his thoughts, "they're called Atropa Belladonna, also known as Deadly Nightshade. There are several highly toxic and potent psychoactive tropane alkaloids in the belladonna berries. All parts of the plant are poisonous. Symptoms of poisoning include rapid heartbeat, dilated pupils, delirium, vomiting, hallucinations, and death due to respiratory failure. Even handling the plants can cause absorption through the skin and cause severe dermatitis. Belladonna has many uses, both medicinal and in warfare. For example, they can be used to poison an enemy army's food reserve. Atropine, which is found in belladonna, is used to dilate pupils for eye exams and surgery. It's also used as an antidote for opium and chloroform poisoning, and as pain relief from sciatica, gout, and cardiac palpitations."

Freed raised an eyebrow at her. "How do you know all of that?" He would be worried about her knowledge of the poisonous berries if he didn't know better.

Lucy smiled at him. "Before I ran away from home, I would read the books in my Dad's massive library. At some point, I went through a phase in which I was weirdly obsessed with learning about all sorts of poisonous plants. I don't know why."

"You probably worried most of the staff."

Lucy almost barked out a laugh at that. "Yeah! Yeah, I probably did!"

Freed listened as she laughed a bit more. His smile grew and his cheeks warmed as the fluttering feeling in his gut became more prominent and his heartbeat became just a little bit faster. He watched as Lucy continued to observe the berries. As the morning sun shined down upon them, he couldn't help but notice how her blonde hair glowed an almost golden color in the sunlight. The slightly chilly breeze rustled her hair just a little. Her brown eyes sparkled in the sunlight, a sight he hadn't seen in a while. Not since all of this started. He hated to think about it, how the ever-present sparkle in Lucy's eyes was put out by this crushing mission.

His eyes rested on her lips. They were plump and had a bit of a pink tint to them. Before this mission, he's had an almost constant temptation to press his lips against hers, to find out what her lips feel like. Now, he was tempted again, for the first time in weeks, to find out what it feels like to kiss her. Of course, he doesn't give in to temptation. That would be very rude and improper. Now also wasn't anywhere near the right time to even try to tell her of his feelings for her. It would be better to wait for the success of this mission.