The Choices We Make (Snow White With Red Hair Fanfiction)

Chapter 18

A furious Prince Izana stormed through the palace. A stature worthy glare was premently on his face. Ever person to cross his path, rushed out of his way, as his gaze didn't even falter. Onward he went to the medical wing of the palace. There in his arms was a Maiden with long light hair, eyes clenched close, and cowering in pain. Not from the prince's genital grip at her knees and support of her head, but from the stomach she was painfully clenching.

The court herbalists weren't prepaired for the crown prince to rush in with a poison victim. "Whatever you are doing, stop," he commanded them all. With the commotion just down the hall, Shirayuki couldn't help but become curious. Her curiosity turn to worry when she saw her sister unconscience in the crown prince's arms.

"What happened?" she asked, helping set her sister down on a suck bed. "What did she try to fight? What did she eat?" Shirayuki was frantic. She knew how frail her sister was, and feared for her most of the time. But she also knew she was strong, intelligent, skilled, and determined. Nothing but many things could stop her.

"Shirayuki," Garak snapped at her, "You need to calm down." The medic was tacking the unconscious girl's pulse from her wrist. Weak, but there.

The red head took deep breaths, while brushing her sister's hair out of her face. She could feel the developing fever. Sadly, Shirayuki has seen this reaction before. "She's poisoned," Shirayuki said, with so much pain. Jot the one full of hurt, but the calm one. The one from experiencing the trauma before.

"How are you so sure?" Ryuu questioned, getting a siringe ready to get blood to rub tests.

Shirayuki just gulped, unable to find the words. She thought these happenings were all in the past. Her heart hurt just seeing her sister in all this pain, again. She could no longer find words to explain. Luckily she didn't. Her sister always had two things on her, a dagger, and a piece of paper. Her paper held the basics of her medical history. And there it was, tucked in the same fold of her dress, as it always was.

She handed the small scrap the Garak, too frightened to open it herself to see the development of her sister's hand writting Through the years, keeping track if every thing that befell her.

The medic's eyes widened with every line she read. Garak could barely believe the woman lying in front of her was still alive with all that has happened, and thriving none the less. But one look at Shirayuki, Garak knew better than to cause the young girl anymore pain, and mask her consernces. "So this is nothing new," the head medic sighed.

"How was she poisoned?" Ryuu questioned. He was getting down to business. They couldn't do anything without learning what the poison is.

Izana had just been observing silently. His face, while still stoic, had crease marks of worry in his forehead. "She te something," he informed them, "I left it behind, but I can retrieve it."

"That would be helpful," Garak informed the prince, "I doubt we could get much from her blood." The herbalist glanced worried at the slip of paper and vile of blood in her hands.

The prince left the medical wing, still the same stoic face he ever wore. His aids, guards and servants were all waiting at the door. All were shocked to see him as such in the morning. Nine even knew the woman in his arms, while some recognized her for her relation to Shirayuki and Zen. "Get me a list of all the gift the suitors had given, pay extra attention to the cakes," he commanded to no one in particular. A few survants scurried away from the mass of people following two paces behind. "I must go retrieve something."

With that one statement they all figured to stop following the crown prince. While unsure what exactly had happened, they knew it had a great effect on the prince. In no way, a good way. The prince needed no one at the moment.

In the clearing, the one thing he wanted to avoid is what caught his eye. The bland colored splatters over a near bush. She knew she had been poisoned. Which brought too many questions to mind. What was her thoughts of him? Did it make her hate him? How did she know she was poisoned?

He gathered only what he needed, and left the rest to be gathered by others. He didn't have the time. Yet when he returned, all there was, was time. Izana tried to do his duties, but he could not focus. He had been able to berfor when Akarozu was avoiding him, but now, knowing where she was, he could not. This lead to him just sitting in the medical ward, waiting.

"You're still here Your Highness," Garak commented as she entered the main room. "We figure out what Akarozu ingested."

The prince sat up straighter than he had before, which would have seemed impossible. "It was just a common herb, had anyone else ingested it, they would have had a bad case of food poisoning."

"Then, why is she like that?" the prince finally asked. The herbalist words were not matching what was happening.

Garak's face went sullen. It was obvious she was debating something in her mind. "I do not mean to be rude, but what is your relationship with Akarozu, your highness?"

Izana bolted out of his chair. Many would believe from anger, when in reality it was from fear. "She will be my wife," he said what he believed, what he hoped. Now that he had her, he was never letting her go.

The chief herbalist looked surprised, but soon let out a sigh. She pulled out a slip of paper. It was old and wrinkled, but still obviously taken care of. Garak handed the prince the slip. "Saddly Akarozu dose jot have a clean bill of health," she let out a sigh, "From life long illnesses, to previous poisonings. The herb reacted with something else in her system, we are still trying to figure out which. Right now she is only in a deep sleep."