Chapter 10
The following two weeks passed quickly. Frey spent mornings training with Forte and afternoons cooking with Porcoline. She ended each cooking session by offering Arthur a plate of onigiri and a glass of Relax Tea. He wasn't always able to eat it with her but on the few days that he was they would sit together and chat. They talked about different things but their most popular topic was each other's work. Arthur spoke at great length about recent contracts and trade deals while Frey rambled on about soil maintenance and monster care. One afternoon Arthur was in the middle of telling Frey about a gift that he'd received from his trade partner when Forte entered the office. The knight had a stern look on her face as she walked directly over to Frey. Frey looked up at her with her brows furrowed.
"Forte? Is something wrong?" She asked.
"Another person was brought to the clinic from Yokmir." Forte replied grimly. Frey looked confused.
"Is that all? The butterflies didn't hurt him, right? Why do you look so upset?" The knight's jaw clenched before she spoke.
"No. This one was injured. He had abrasions all over his body." Frey's eyes widened and she let out a small gasp.
"They hurt someone? Why…?"
"I'm not sure. But I'm not going to let it happen again. I'm going to take care of this tomorrow. Will you help me?" Frey looked up, her face now determined. She nodded.
"Of course. First thing in the morning." Forte seem to relax a bit before bowing her head in thanks.
"Thank you. I'll see you then." She nodded politely to Arthur before leaving the office. Frey stared down at the empty plate of onigiri that sat in front of her. Her face was flooded with worry and confusion.
"Why would they…" She mumbled quietly to herself. She couldn't imagine why the butterflies would suddenly start hurting people now. Had they waited too long? Was this her fault for not being ready two weeks ago? Just as the guilt began to twist in her stomach she heard Arthur's voice.
"Frey…" His voice was serious. She looked up and saw that his face reflected his tone. She could see worry in his eyes. Not wanting to upset him further, Frey smiled. She hid all of her doubts and fears behind her smile, hoping that he would smile back. She didn't want him to be upset too.
"What is it?" She said as cheerfully as she could. Despite her efforts, Arthur's expression did not change. Her smile began to falter.
"Please let me go with you." He said quietly. Frey could hear the concern in his voice. If she was being honest, she wished he could go. She couldn't help but think that having him there would make her feel better. She always felt more comfortable when she was around him but she knew she shouldn't risk it. If something were to happen to him then the town would surely suffer.
"I'm sorry. I just can't let you go, Arthur." The prince frowned. He opened his mouth to argue but Frey cut him off.
"You don't have to worry though! I'll have Forte! And...I'm not too shabby in a fight myself, you know! I've been working really hard and I can tell that I've gotten a lot better. So...I'll be fine, okay?" Frey beamed again, hoping to make his frown disappear. Arthur looked at her with the same worried expression. She could tell that he wasn't happy but she didn't know how else to convince him.
"A-anyway. I'm sure you have lots of stuff to do and I need to go get ready for tomorrow so I'll see you later." She stood, deciding to leave before he could convince her to let him come along. She was out the door before he could reply.
Frey turned as she rushed out of the building. Before she could stop she bumped into Vishnal, causing the item in his hands to fly into the air.
"Waahhh!" The butler screeched as he scrambled to catch it. Just as he realized that he was going to miss he saw Frey's hand reach out and grab it. She held the frames in her hand curiously before recognition flashed in her eyes.
"Ohhhh, thank you Princess! I would have been mortified if I broke these again!" He exclaimed as she handed the glasses back to him. He immediately took a small cloth from his pocket and began cleaning them.
"Why do you have Arthur's glasses? He said he lost them." Frey asked. Vishnal looked up from polishing the lenses.
"Oh...well. I accidentally broke them when I ran into Arthur a couple of weeks ago. I found them on the ground after he had gone but they were broken! So I took them to Bado to fix. Unfortunately, Bado had to order special parts to fix them. They finally arrived yesterday so now I'm bringing the fixed pair back to Arthur." Vishnal's eyes fell to the ground and his voice grew quiet.
"Um...Princess? Do you think...he'll be angry that I broke them? He is a prince after all...Bado was saying something about going to jail for breaking something that belonged to the royal family...I don't want to go to jail, Princess! I-I…." His eyes were tearing up as he grew more panicked. Frey grabbed his shoulders and tried to calm him down.
"Vish, you need to relax. Don't listen to Bado. He was just teasing you. I'm sure Arthur is going to be happy to have them back. You don't have to worry, okay?" Vishnal nodded and she let him go. He took a few deep breaths and tried to relax.
"Thank you, Princess. I'll take them to him now." He smiled at her and continued into Arthur's office. Frey chuckled. It amazed her how gullible her butler could be. She stood there for a moment before deciding to pay Nancy a visit. She wanted to see the man who was injured and if they were going to the forest tomorrow then they were going to need some medicine with them. She looked up at the darkening sky and then hurried down the street.
Arthur was gathering the dishes onto the tray when he heard the bell on his door jingle. He looked over to see Vishnal holding a pair of glasses. Arthur looked from the glasses to Vishnal a few times, causing the butler to become nervous again. Vishnal threw his head down and thrust his arms out in front of him.
"I-I'm very sorry! Please forgive me, Prince Arthur!" Arthur's raised his eyebrows and walked over to pluck the glasses from Vishnal's hands. He looked them over for a moment.
"These are mine." He said. Vishnal raised his head slightly to peek at Arthur through his hair.
"Y-yes. It's the pair you had on when we ran into each other… I tried to catch you before you left but...the frames were broken...I'm so sorry!" Vishnal bowed his head again. He glanced back up after a moment and saw the prince examining the frames and chuckling lightly.
"You had them fixed?" Arthur said.
"Of course. I couldn't return them as they were. I-is...is that okay?"
"No, it's perfectly all right. It's just that this hinge was already coming loose. I was meaning to get them fixed but I could never find the time. It seems you've saved me from having to do it myself. I appreciate it, Vishnal." The prince smiled and removed the pair he was wearing so he could replace them with his newly repaired frames. Vishnal let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried that you would be angry even though the princess said that you wouldn't be. I just couldn't help-"
"You mean Frey?" Arthur asked, his lips curling down into a frown.
"Yes. I ran into her outside just a moment ago..." Vishnal noticed the change in Arthur's demeanor. "What's wrong?" He asked. Arthur shook his head.
"It's nothing." He said quietly as he turned and walked to his desk. Vishnal stood in place for a moment before following Arthur.
"Are you sure?" Arthur turned to face Vishnal from across the desk. His eyes shifted to the wall.
"She and Forte are going to Yokmir tomorrow." Arthur replied with a sour tone.
"Oh...you're worried for her." Vishnal realized. Arthur frowned at him. Vishnal thought the prince might yell at him but instead he sighed.
"She won't let me accompany her… What if she gets hurt or… " Arthur cleared his throat. His cheeks turned a light shade of pink. He didn't know Vishnal very well and here he was, blurting out the things he had, until now, successfully kept in his mind. Vishnal's eyes softened.
"I know how you feel. I'm worried about her too. But I think...right now the princess just needs us to believe in her. She's been working very hard." Arthur sighed again.
"You're right. And I do believe in her. I just… I want to know that she's protected." Arthur looked down at his hands. 'Protected ' He thought. Arthur moved his hand up and placed it over the green pendant that he was wearing under his coat. The pendant that he had worn every day since it saved his life. His eyes widened.
"Vishnal. Can you wait here for a moment?" Arthur asked as he moved from behind his desk. Vishnal looked at him quizzically.
"I...suppose. But what-"
"I'll be right back." Arthur cut him off and dashed up the stairs. He was only gone for about a minute when he came rushing back down the stairs holding a small box. It was a plain black box with a decorative green trim. He held the box out to Vishnal.
"Can you give this to Frey? Ah...but...don't tell her I gave it to you, alright?" Vishnal eyed the box for a moment. Then he reached out and took it from Arthur's hand.
"I can do that but...why can't she know it's from you?" Vishnal asked. Arthur thought back to how Frey reacted when he tried to give the pen to her.
"Ah...I don't know that she would accept it, if she knew." Arthur replied. Vishnal opened his mouth to ask another question but Arthur raised his hand, silencing him.
"If you could just...see that it gets to her. I would really appreciate it." Arthur smiled. Vishnal stared at him for a moment before nodding.
"Of course. I'll be sure to give it to her." Vishnal decided not to question the prince anymore and turned to leave. Arthur watched him walked out the door before sitting in his chair with a sigh. 'Hopefully it will protect her too.' He thought to himself before shifting his concentration to his work.
Meanwhile, Frey was almost to the clinic when she turned the last corner and stopped short. She looked down and saw Kiel sitting on the ground alone. He was sitting against the wall with his knees to his chest and his head down. Frey walked up to the boy and dropped to her knees.
"Kiel? Are you okay?" She asked as she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Kiel raised his head and Frey could tell that he had been crying. His eyes were puffy and the tip of his nose was red.
"Nancy kicked me out…" His voice was hoarse.
"Out of the clinic? Why?" She asked. Kiel rubbed his nose and sniffled.
"Forte and I were arguing. So Nancy made us leave. She said the patient needed to rest and that we were being disruptive." Frey shifted so she was sitting against the wall next to him.
"What were you guys fighting about?" Kiel frowned.
"Forte says the butterflies hurt that man. So I told her that they wouldn't do that. They're not bad guys. But she wouldn't listen. She said she's going to 'take care of them' tomorrow." Kiel turned to face Frey, his eyes pleading.
"Please, Frey. Don't let her hurt them. I know they didn't do this! I doesn't make sense that they would start hurting people now. Something else must have happened!" His eyes began to tear up. Frey smiled sadly back at him. She didn't want to hurt the butterflies either.
"I hope you're right about them. And I'll do whatever I can to find out what really happened, Kiel. So don't be upset, okay? Forte just wants to protect you and the town." Kiel looked down and nodded silently. Frey ruffled his hair and stood up, holding her hand out to him.
"Now come on. No more moping, got it?" He sniffled one more time and then grabbed her hand. She pulled him up and patted him on the back.
"Thanks, Frey. I'm glad you're going out there with her. But be careful, okay? I don't want you to get hurt." Frey waved her hand dismissively.
"Nah, don't worry about me. I'll have your sister there! No monster is gonna mess with me while she's around." The two of them snickered.
"Yeah, you're right. Haha." Kiel looked up at the now dark sky and started. "Oh, I have to go start dinner! Thanks again!" He waved as he turned around and took off towards his house. Frey waved back as he ran. She looked at the clinic door for a moment before deciding to come back in the morning. It was late and she didn't want to disturb Nancy while she was tending to her patient. Especially since she had already kicked two people out tonight. She turned and walked up the nearby stairs, on her way home.
Later that night Frey was walking over to her wardrobe to change into her pajamas when she heard a knock. She turned and saw Vishnal standing in the doorway with a small box in his hand.
"Princess?"
"Oh, hey Vishnal." Frey smiled and walked over to the butler. "Did you need something?" She asked. Vishnal looked down and the box in his hand and fidgeted.
"I...um. I found this in front of your door. I think it's for you." He said as he held the box out to her. She took it from him and eyed it curiously.
"It was outside? I didn't see it before. I wonder who left it there…" She pondered. Vishnal chuckled nervously.
"W-who knows? Haha...ha.." Frey opened the box and pulled out a green pendant. She held it up so it was swaying slightly in front of her face. Vishnal's eyes widened along with Frey's.
"Wow...it's so pretty…" Frey whispered. She tucked the small box under her arm and reached out to touch the green gem. It glowed dimly in response to her touch. She jerked her hand back with a gasp.
"Be careful, Princess!" Vishnal reached out and snatched the necklace from her.
"It's okay. I'm fine, Vishnal. But...what do you think that was?" She asked. She took the necklace from him and gently placed it back in the box.
"I don't know...Maybe you could ask Bado?" He replied.
"Good idea. I'll take it by on the way to the clinic in the morning. Thanks for giving this to me." She smiled at him.
"My pleasure, Princess. Have a good night." He bowed and disappeared through the door. Frey opened the box again once he was gone. She reached down slowly and pressed her finger to the gem. It hummed and glowed faintly at her touch. She inhaled sharply but left her finger there a moment longer. Once she was confident that it wouldn't cause her any pain she took her finger off and closed the lid. 'Must be something special...' She thought to herself as she set the box down on her nightstand. She quickly changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed. She stared at the box and tried not to worry about the next day until she fell asleep.