Welcome back!

I'll be publishing a new chapter every Monday until this story is complete.

Now, without further ado, here's chapter two!

Sorry, I had to take the time to make a little rhyme...

Oops, there I go, again! I guess that was a slip of the pen.

Ignore me. Enjoy your update.

Jude watched the seahaven wake up from the front steps of the inn. He hadn't been able to rest after finding Alvin in the hall the night before. He'd tried to deduce exactly what he'd managed to catch, but to no avail. He rubbed his face. He knew he needed to rest, but he just couldn't close his eyes long enough to sleep.

The door opened behind him and he looked up to see Milla walking out to stand beside him. At first, she didn't speak. She just sat down next to him and sighed.

"He's still sleeping," Milla said, "Elize is watching him, now."

Jude shook his head slowly. "I don't know what's wrong with him. I thought maybe it was flu, but it's not flu season. He'd be waking up more in the night, too. Something just doesn't add up."

"Maybe it's not a virus, after all," Milla suggested.

Jude met her eyes and turned his head to the side. "You're not saying that maybe someone..."

"It's entirely possible," she said, "You said it yourself last night, Alvin has plenty of enemies. We don't always know who he comes in contact with, or even that he's entirely safe when he does. It's possible that someone found out he was near-by and slipped him something without him knowing, as well."

"But what?" Jude asked, holding the sides of his head.

"That's a good question," Milla said, "It's hard to say. It's likely just luck that no one else was harmed."

"When we boarded that ship at the Aladhi Seahaven, had he started acting strangely yet?" Jude asked, trying to remember on his own.

Milla hummed, thinking back. "He was quieter than usual, so yes."

Jude nodded. "Right," he said, "He hasn't spoken much since we left Xian Du."

"He did seem rather nervous when he returned to the inn the night before we left the city," she said, "Could that have been when this all started?"

"But that was weeks ago," Jude said, "Surely it wouldn't have taken that long to take effect."

"Who ever did this may have followed us," Milla said, "They very well could have been planning this. As much as I love humans, I know how conniving they can be. He may have been worrying over a threat he'd received in Xian Du. That would explain his uncharacteristic silence."

"But most poisons kill so quickly," Jude said, staring at the stones under his feet, "It's true that there are some that would take this long to do anything, but they're all really hard to find and the antidotes can be just as illusive."

"The only question that remains is simple," Milla said.

"How long does he have and will he survive the long walk to Sharilton?" Jude finished, as if it weren't already obvious.

Milla stood up. "We should talk to the others. If we're lucky, someone might know something."

Jude hopped up and followed her inside. Rowen and Leia were sitting at a table in the front room. Leia nearly jumped out of her seat when they came up to them, catching the looks on their faces.

"What's wrong?" she asked, leading Jude to the seat beside her, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Jude shook his head.

"We may have figured out what's happened to Alvin," Milla said, "Although I can't say it's what anyone would call a good thing."

"Well," Leia said, "Come on! Tell us."

Rowen raised his eyebrows and looked up to Milla, waiting for her explanation.

"Jude," Milla said, "why don't you tell them?"

Jude nodded. "We aren't entirely sure, but Milla and I have a feeling that Alvin doesn't have a virus. It's likely that someone managed to poison him without us knowing."

Leia turned pale. "But when? How did we not notice?"

"It may not have been meant for Alvin at all," Rowen chimed in.

Milla sat next to him. "What are you thinking, Rowen?"

"If you are correct and Alvin is in fact poisoned," he said, "Then it may have been another attempt on your life, Lady Milla."

Leia shifted. "Then it could have been any one of us laying in that bed right now?"

Milla touched her chin. "That is something I hadn't considered. Although, I would have thought that most of the people that were hunting me before are either dead now or in hiding."

"Whom could it have been?" Rowen asked.

Milla shook her head after a time. "I doubt that matters now. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"So if Alvin did receive a threat like we thought," Jude said.

"Then it was likely a threat on my life, not his own," Milla said.

"That would explain why he didn't try to get off the radar by abandoning us again," Jude said, holding his fist in front of his mouth.

Leia stared wide-eyed at the table. "The other day," she said, "when we ate at the Aladhi Seahaven Inn, Alvin made sure he got a certain plate before they could hand it to you, Milla. You don't think he saw them do something to that food, do you?"

"The server did look a little nervous when he did that," Rowen agreed, "Although, one would think they would try harder to pass that plate to Lady Milla."

"If they resorted to poison," Milla said, "they were likely scared they would be found out. Killing Alvin would potentially aid in their cause, anyway. His death would mean one less person around me, after all."

"But if he knew they poisoned it," Leia asked, visibly distressed, "then why did he eat it? It doesn't make any since. He could have told us they did something, at the very least."

They were all silent. Jude shifted, turning his head to avoid eye contact. Milla hummed and touched the side of her head, closing her eyes. Rowen sighed loudly, his shoulders slumping.

"If I'm not mistaken," he said, his voice low, "we are all thinking the same thing."

"You don't really think he'd want something like this to happen to him?" Jude asked, "Do you?"

"After what he did at Hamil and the whole thing with Presa," Leia said, trailing off.

"Don't say it," Jude said, propping his arms on the table and pressing his palms to his eyes.

"It could very well be a form of self-punishment," Rowen said, voicing Jude's worst fear.

Milla stared at the table for a moment. "The only one that knows for sure could very well be dying in the other room as we speak."

Leia teared up. "Sure, I don't trust him – he shot me, for cryin' out loud – but I don't want him to die, not like this."

Jude clinched his fists. "None of us do."

"Alvin may feel that sacrificing himself for us is the only way to make up for what he's done," Milla said, her voice echoing in their heads, "I understand how you both must feel, but Alvin is likely just as desperate. I doubt he truly wants to die."

"He likely does not see another way," Rowen said. He rose from his seat and glanced down at Milla. "We should go to him. If we can confirm this as truth, we may still have time to save his life."

"What if we're already too late?" Leia asked, her tears starting down her cheeks. "I know there are poisons that you can't cure after the symptoms crop up. What if it's one of those?"

Jude rubbed the side of his head, trying to keep his emotions in check. He stayed where he was and combed over Alvin's symptoms one last time, racking his brain for a solvable possibility while the others started toward the back.

"Jude," Milla said, pulling him back to reality, "a fresh look at him may help to shine light on what he may have been given."

He looked up at Milla and nodded. He pulled himself up and the four of them headed back to the room where Alvin had been resting.

When they opened the door, they found Elize had pulled the chair as close as she could manage, her small legs pulled up into the chair as she hugged Teepo. She made eye contact with Jude as he came in. She pushed the chair back and wandered over to them, still clinging to Teepo.

"He hasn't changed much since I've been in here," she said, looking up at them with her big, green eyes, "He hasn't moved more than a little, either."

Jude slipped past her and looked down on him. His eyes had sunken in some and his face had turned an ill gray color. He shook his arm and he stirred lightly, coughing as he woke.

"Alvin," Jude said, tapping his face.

Alvin groaned and stared feverishly up at Jude.

Elize turned her head, watching Jude as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Alvin," Jude said, "you have to answer me honestly, okay?"

Alvin closed his eyes, swallowing hard. He nodded.

Jude glanced up at Milla, fear flashing in his eyes. Milla braced her hand on his shoulder and he looked back down at Alvin.

"It's a simple question for now," Jude said, "Do you know if you were poisoned?"

Alvin's eyes flicked open an he stared at Jude in shock.

"Answer him, Alvin," Milla said.

Alvin flashed his eyes from Jude to Milla and back again. He didn't have to speak, his expression spoke volumes.

Leia nearly snapped, rushing toward him, her frustration pouring off her. "Why didn't you tell us? You could die!"

Alvin looked up at her, surprise in his eyes. He opened his mouth a crack, but couldn't bring himself to make a sound.

"Why won't you say anything?" she cried, reaching out and grabbing the collar of his shirt. She moved him without any resistance and she froze, tears in her eyes as he laid limp in her grip.

Jude pried her off him and pushed her toward Milla, who pulled her away. Rowen took her out of the room without a word and Milla returned to Jude's side.

Alvin's eyes grew heavy as he watched them move silently. It wasn't long before he was fast asleep again, his head still turned slightly toward them.

Jude looked back to him to find him unconscious again. He hummed softly and looked up at Milla.

"I've got a hunch," he said, getting up. He turned back to Alvin and placed his hands over his chest, a soft glow emitting from his palms. Alvin's expression changed and he relaxed significantly. He took a deep breath – but didn't wake – laying much more peacefully afterward.

Milla studied Jude. "What is it?"

"There's a poison called Aldivynt that does this," Jude said, glancing sideways at her, "We can slow the effects by channeling healing artes, so we should be able to limp him along until we can get him an antidote." He picked Alvin's wrist up and checked his pulse, counting it carefully. He nodded, momentarily satisfied. "We have to hurry. If we take too long, it won't matter how many artes we use."

"How long do we have?" Milla asked.

Jude squeezed his eyes shut and touched his temple again. "I'm not entirely sure. It could take a week or less to kill him depending on how high a dose he ended up with. One thing's for sure; he's only going to get worse. We've got to get him to Sharilton if we want him to have much of a chance at all."

That's that for chapter 2!

At least he's not dead, right? They'll probably have smooth sailing from here, I doubt that too much could really crop up at this point.

**** Aldivynt is a poison I fabricated for my original story's world. It's not a real poison and is not based off any poison from reality or fiction. I just couldn't find a real poison that suited my purposes, so I looked to my own works for help. ****

Thanks for reading!

I hope you hang on for the next chapter!

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