Hey guys. I had this story doen and published on the Amino three days ago but I forgot to publish it here so I'm doing it now. A little late, but here it is.

Meilin entered the private room in the infirmary while rubbing her neck. There was knot there, a knot that generally meant no good. Now Meilin had already figured that out so the next step was trying to find a solution.

And Meilin wouldn't be herself if she wasn't determined to find that solution the same day.

To her surprise, everyone was already there. She raised one eyebrow slightly and asked. 'Am I late?' She was never late.

Lenori shook her head. 'No. Come in. Conor had a dream however, that's why we are all here.'

Meilin glanced over at Conor and noticed he had that tired look on him that he always had when he had a particularly difficult vision. She sat down, nodding at Conor in indication that he could start.

'I saw the Evertree,' Conor told them. It dropped a momentary silence.

'The... Evertree has something to do with this?' Rollan repeated in doubt.

Conor shrugged. 'Yes. I suppose so. It was obviously a vision and... it had a connection to the flowers.' He quieted for a moment before going on. 'There were tiny flowers and petals showering down from the top of the tree. Blood red ones. I saw a small pool with the clearest water I've ever seen too. But when the petals dropped in there the water became... well turbid I'd say. The petals disappeared in it as if they became one with the water.'

'Do you think the Evertree might have a clue as to how to heal this illness?' Meilin wondered out loud.

'I'd say that is probably so,' Lenori agreed, nodding at Meilin.

'You four should head to the Evertree, today still, to see if you can find something there,' Olvan decided. He looked at each of the teenagers separately. They all nodded in agreement although Rollan still seemed doubtful.

'What if we can't find anything?' He questioned.

'Let's not think like that,' Meilin said decisively. 'We might at least find a clue.'

'Okay,' Rollan admitted. He stood up. 'Shall we get ready then?'

The other three nodded, standing up too and making their way out of the room. As they closed the door they heard Lenori cough viciously. They shared a worried glance for a moment but all went on. They had a mission.

Abeke rode at the back of the group in silence. She didn't know what was going on with her, but she felt like her insides were on fire and tied up at the same time. And her throat was as raw as it had been during their mission in Stetriol to defeat the Conquerors once and for all. How long ago that seemed.

Someone came up to her and she forced herself to focus. That was becoming more difficult too, where generally she was one to have a brilliant focus and patience it just seemed to have disappeared.

It was Conor, who leaned forward to peek into her face with worry. 'Are you alright?'

'I'll be fine,' she told him, forcing herself to smile as truthfully as possible.

Conor frowned. He didn't seem to believe her.

Abeke reached out to take her canteen and drink some water, but to her shock it was already empty.

'Would you like some of mine?' Conor asked, holding out his canteen.

Abeke took it with gratitude, letting the cool water slide down her throat. It didn't do much to sooth the dryness however.

Abeke handed the canteen back to Conor and when their hands touched she shuddered.

Conor's look of worry only increased. 'Abeke-'

'I'm alright,' she told him. 'Just a little feverish maybe. We have to focus on finding some antidote now.'

'Well I don't want to have to find the antidote for you too,' Conor told her.

That made her stop. Conor stopped next to her, reaching out to take her hand. 'You can trust me with anything, yes?'

Abeke frowned internally. Should she tell him? Not yet, she decided. 'I'm fine still,' she told him. 'Really.'

Conor nodded although he didn't seem too happy.

Abeke forced her horse on again, Conor following with her.

~ Time skip ~

It was on the boat that Abeke was truly reminded of her fear. Did she have the disease too?

She watched the sliver of puke wash away in the ocean. It was too light green, way too. And the shivering feeling and dry throat she had felt the past day hadn't disappeared either.

Abeke sighed deeply, sinking down to sit on the wooden deck. It eased her stomach a little. They had pretty rough weather but going downstairs was something Abeke really did not want right now.

Mainly because it would worsen her urge to throw up. But also because if she did, she had the risk of the others finding out about the strange colour of everything that came out of her. She didn't want to worry them yet.

So Abeke lifted her head and watched the greyish sky determinedly as the ship sailed on and on.

Two days on a ship and two days riding to the Evertree. That was four days in total getting there and four days going back. Long. Probably too long, a voice whispered in the back of Meilin's head.

She shook her head, trying to get the little voice out.

'You okay?' Rollan asked from beside her. His voice was serious, not joking like he would normally be. Lishay's illness had caught on him badly.

'I'm okay,' she assured him. 'And you?'

'Fine,' he told her, voice neutral.

Meilin glanced at him sideways. 'Are you sure?'

'Yes of course. Why not?'

Meilin glanced ahead again, waiting a moment before answering. 'You seem... down since Lishay got ill.'

'Yes, well I'm not cheering of course.'

'I mean more down than any of us.'

Rollan's response took a moment. 'I don't want to lose her like Tarik.'

It suddenly hit Meilin. Of course that was it. Rollan still took Tarik's death badly, although usually subconsciously, and now with Lishay he was scared for a repeat.

'Hey.' Meilin leaned over to him a little. 'It's going to be okay. We'll find an antidote, or at least a clue at the Evertree.'

Rollan nodded wearily.

Meilin reached over, taking his hand in hers. 'I promise you it's going to be okay.' She smiled a little, squeezing Rollan's hand gently.

He didn't reply much but a small smile was possible.

Meilin suppressed a sigh and instead simply rode on, holding Rollan's hand.

~ Time skip ~

Meilin glanced up at the far above her towering Evertree. She had forgotten just how huge it was. She turned around, looking over at the others. 'So? What do we do?'

Conor took the lead, speaking up. 'I think we should try and find some sort of pool like in my dream. Muddy with petals and flowers that dissolve in it.'

Meilin raised her eyebrows just slightly but nodded. 'Very well. Rollan and I will walk around the tree from the left side if you and Abeke take it from the right. We will meet up at some point then.'

'Okay,' Conor agreed. Abeke remained silent. The Niloan girl had been unusually quiet during the journey, a little set apart from them even.

Meilin looked over at Rollan, who nodded at her and they set off.

~ Time Skip ~

They had been walking for over an hour now Meilin guessed, and not found anything like Conor had described. She was starting to get the idea that they were searching in the wrong place.

Rollan sighed next to her and stopped suddenly. 'I say we take a break.'

Meilin hesitated for a moment, part of her wanting to go on but her mind agreed in the end. 'Okay.'

Rollan gratefully slid down the tree's trunk, closing his eyes as he angled his head up to the sky.

'Watch out that you don't fall asleep,' Meilin warned.

Rollan didn't open his eyes but murmured out. 'I won't.'

Not truly believing him but letting him be, Meilin set off towards the trees surrounding the Evertree. At the edge she stopped, staring into the thick bushes. Then she looked down.

A suspicious looking puddle of water stared up at her. Meilin knelt down next to it, hand skimming over to touch the water. The moment she did, a scene unfolded.

A human was kneeling in the water, coughing and grasping his throat as he tried to breathe. Another human entered the scene, and she touched the coughing person's shoulder gently. The coughing stopped and slowly the man managed to get up. His arms wrapped themselves around the woman's back and they stood in an embrace in peaceful harmony.

The scene dissolved, leaving Meilin gaping. How had she just seen that? Visions were Conor's specialty. And what had it meant?

Meilin flexed her feet, still kneeling and deep in thought. The man had been healed from the coughing when the woman touched him and afterwards they looked... in love. What if...

Meilin shot up, gasping. She turned around sprinting back to Rollan. 'I know it.'

'Wh... what?' The boy had actually half fallen asleep.

Deeming that as not important, Meilin hurriedly went off to explain what she saw. 'Love is the antidote,' she finished.

Rollan frowned. 'Would you think so?'

'Yes of course.'

'So how is Lishay going to heal?'

'By love.'

'From who?'

Meilin fell quiet.

'It's obviously a romantic kind of love, and the person who she belongs with on that front is dead,' Rollan harshly spoke up.

'How do you mean?' Meilin asked.

'It's Tarik,' Rollan stated. 'Tarik's dead, he can't give Lishay love, she will die too.'

Meilin cursed.

'Yeah,' Rollan muttered. 'My thoughts too.'

When they met up with Meilin and Rollan again, there was an air of excitement and tiredness around the two.

Abeke frowned, asking them when they were within earshot. 'What happened?'

'We have found the antidote,' Meilin stated.

'What is it?' Conor asked.

'Love,' Meilin told them. 'I saw a person, in a muddy puddle, who was coughing the same way like Lishay but he stopped coughing when a woman touched his shoulder and they embraced. Love heals the coughing, and the other symptoms.'

'The only problem is, this illness is probably caused by some lack of a romantic love and getting a romantic love can heal everything, we suppose. Lishay got the illness because she lacks love, because her love is dead. It's Tarik. And since he can't give her love, she will die, eventually.'

Conor and Abeke fell into a silence.

'Well, at least we know what it is if other people fall ill right?' Conor suggested.

Rollan and Meilin shared a look. 'Probably. If we are correct then yes.'

'It seems very logical,' Conor told them. 'Let's go. We should get some rest tonight.'

Later that night, as the other three were sleeping, Abeke lay awake. She stared up at the sky wondering about what they had found out that day.

Love was the antidote. But who was her love?

So what do you think. I personally love the fact that I wrote about the suspicious looking puddle. How in the world does a puddle look suspicious? Well, lol, I hope you liked this. Review to let me know and until the next chapter.