The Crown's Fire - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: In the Water
The next day, Tarah woke up alone early in the morning. It seemed that Prince Ezekiel was already out even when the sun was yet to rise. Preparing herself, she was about to step out when Cora entered her tent again, carrying a tray of breakfast for her.

“Milady, please have breakfast first,” Cora informed her. “Prince Ezekiel has to eat with his men, so he told me to dine with you just in case you’re uncomfortable eating alone.”

Tarah nodded in agreement. She would love to look around and tend to the wounded as much as she could, but breakfast came first.

“By the way, where are you from, Milady?” Cora casually asked. “From what kingdom are you from?”

“I was born in the kingdom of Zion,” Tarah answered as she began eating some bread.

“Is your family still there?” Cora asked. “Isn’t it…”

Cora was unable to continue her question, so Tarah took the initiative to finish the thought for her. “Yes, it’s now a fallen kingdom under Helion’s rule. I have no family left. They all died during the siege,” she morosely stated. “Devon murdered them all, and I was fortunate to be away when it happened. I’m a wanderer, so I’m usually not at home.”

Some of the details she said weren’t true, but they weren’t entirely wrong either.

“I’m sorry,” Cora muttered, bowing her head low.

“It’s fine, Cora. It’s all in the past. Three years already passed since that incident, and there’s a reason why I’m still alive. My family wouldn’t want me to dwell on it,” Tarah reassured her. “I’m sure they would want me to move forward and live my life to the fullest for them.”

Cora raised her head, and Tarah chuckled as she switched topics. “Do you want to hear about the vision I saw yesterday when I met you?”

“You saw an event with me in your vision? Is it good or bad?” Cora eagerly asked before quickly pouting. “Ah, never mind, I hate spoiling the future for myself, milady, so please don’t tell me about it unless it’s bad enough that I might need to prepare for it.”

Tarah simply nodded, and their breakfast went on as planned. After they were done, Cora led her to the tent of the wounded soldiers.

“I heard that people in your kingdom are also good at magic and spells,” Cora remarked while she assisted Tarah in treating a badly injured soldier.

“But not as good as the mages in Ebodia,” Tarah corrected. “I still need to learn a lot of things.”

Of course, she would like to learn more spellcraft from Ebodia, especially on how to break a particular binding spell called the Tophet Bloodchain Spell. She also understood that the current Queen of Ebodia, Ezekiel’s mother, was the only person who knew how to break such a spell.

“Oh, that’s true. But not all Ebodians are born with that talent,” Cora snorted. “Like me. I would’ve loved to become a mage myself, but unfortunately, the level and amount of inner energy I have doesn’t qualify for it…”

“It’s fine,” Tarah reassured her. “You have your physical strength anyway.”

“Did you see me fighting in your visions then?” Cora asked with wide eyes.

Tarah remained quiet. Yes, she saw that Cora wasn’t just some servant assigned to her. She was a part of Ezekiel’s special unit, the Dragon Royal Knights, a warrior he assigned closely to her.

Seeing her chuckle, Cora’s lips twitched as she murmured, “Looks like I won’t be able to keep a secret from you, milady.”

Tarah remained silent and simply smiled as she continued treating the wounded together with the other healers.

At first, it wasn’t easy to control her abilities. There were times that she would feel dizzy because of some vision that would suddenly come to her. Sometimes, she would even pass out after the vision. In addition, she’d had a few dreams that she was struggling to interpret. But over the years, she gradually managed to get a grasp of her abilities and use it to her advantage.

A few moments later, Tarah suddenly felt so exhausted that she almost fell when she got up from a chair.

“You should take a break,” Cora remarked as she pulled Tarah out of the tent to get her some fresh air. “You used a lot of inner energy today.” She then led her to a bench under a tree to sit. “Stay here. I’ll get some refreshments for us, Milady. You worked hard.”

Letting Cora leave, Tarah allowed herself to look around. There, she saw the meeting tent near Ezekiel’s. She heard from Cora that every one of the high ranking officers were currently inside there, discussing important matters regarding the war against Helion.

Her gaze then dragged itself toward the tent that some soldiers and servants were building. It was where she was supposed to sleep tonight, and a timid smile carved itself onto her lips upon seeing how the tent had no space between it and the Prince’s tent at all.

“I bet there will be an adjacent entrance and exit there for Prince Ezekiel too,” Cora suddenly added with a wide grin. “To put it simply, he just gave you a bit of personal space.”

Tarah supposed that she was right. Ezekiel wanted to monitor her closely, and he had enough reasons to do so.

From there, Cora put cups of water and a plate of some fruits on the table. Tarah grabbed a cup to drink, but her eyes suddenly widened in horror as a vivid vision flashed before her, revealing a looming danger that threatened everyone in the encampment. Many were vomiting blood before they eventually lost their lives in a split second after drinking the water.

She looked at Cora who was about to drink from her cup. Without a moment’s hesitation, she moved, reaching out to snatch the cup from Cora’s hand just as she was about to take a sip. She then hurled the cup away, making it clatter onto the ground.

“Milady?!” Cora burst out.

Tarah stared at the spilled water on the ground. She then looked around and saw a nearby soldier who was also about to drink from his cup.

“Stop!” she shouted at the soldier.

The scene she caused had already drawn the attention of those around them, and they stared at her with a mix of confusion and concern on their faces.

“It’s dangerous! There’s something in the water! No one must drink it!” Tarah exclaimed, her voice cutting through the murmurs that had begun to spread. She then turned to Cora, her eyes filled with a mix of urgency. “We need to warn everyone.”