The stunned Matron went slack jawed at the sudden question. "Black Grass you say?" she finally regained some control of her senses and questioned.
"Most honorable Matron the smell is pungent to me. Whoever poisoned the girl placed a substantial amount in the food" Wilyn remarked loudly while still eyeing the partially stunned monarch. Cranis looked away from his mother and back down to the girl at his feet. He noticed her breathing was labored and there was beads of sweat forming on her forehead. He leaned down to gather the girl from the floor when his mother jumped up and grabbed his wrist.
"What do you think you are doing? You will not allow this creature to touch you" she spat the words out angrily. Her eyes shifted from their brilliant red to a deeper shade. His mother's eyes always reminded him of fresh blood when she was angry. As a child this would frighten him, but as he aged, he realized that she would never hurt him. He carefully removed her hand from his arm and scooped the girl up from the floor. Her body was burning to the touch and her limbs were completely slack. Wilyn moved from her place to in front of the Prince.
"You dare to stop me" he spoke authoritatively and the girl stopped in her tracks for a moment. "Honorable Prince. I am an experienced herbalist. I specialize in poisonous plants and my help will be most valuable to her" Wilyn spoke confidently placing her hands behind her back and puffing out her chest. He thought her statement over and nodded allowing the young herbalist to follow him out.
"Cranis! Come back here!" his mother shouted at him as he exited the hall. He shook his head while carrying the limp doll toward her room. The silent Wilyn carefully watching him cautiously. 'What is he planning to do?' she wondered glancing at the pale Creegins’ face. They rounded several corners before approaching a long dimly lit hallway. Wilyn was confused by where they were as all of the other girls were staying near one another in the tournament wing. Yet this girl was being forced to stay far away from everyone else. Wilyn started to think that the monarch family was somehow afraid of this girl. The Matron has treated her vastly different than the other girls as well as she always spoke with some form of disgust or hatred towards her.
The three of them approached a door and Cranis shifted the girl's weight to free a hand so that he could open the door. Once inside he strode over to the side of the bed and gently placed her limp body down. Wilyn watched as he carefully placed her down as if she was fragile. Wilyn may not have ever seen or met a Creegin, but rumors among the herbalist are that they are near impossible to kill. So why was he treating her as if she was some sort of doll? Her face changed and expressed mild confusion at the Prince's actions. He stepped aside and motioned for Wilyn to examine her.
Wilyn slid closer to the girl and monitored her breathing and temperature. The girl was hot to the touch and her breathing was only getting more labored as time went on. Wilyn reached down and checked her pulse. "Weak. Just how much Black Grass was she fed" Wilyn spoke her thoughts allowed.
"What can I do?" Cranis asked, his concern for the girl showing in his desperate plea. "I need a few things; will Honorable Prince retrieve them for me?" Wilyn glanced back at the Prince. She took note of how his eyebrows were creased together, a frown pulling at the corners of his mouth, and his eyes never seeming to leave the Creegins’ face. "Absolutely. What do you need?" he spoke quickly without looking at her. "I need Whisper Branches, Moon Lilly’s, Gray Fern and one Feast of the Hunt. Also, retrieve a healer to help monitor her vital life" Wilyn commanded as if she was speaking to a young apprentice in the herbalist house. Cranis turned and left the room without a word. Wilyn turned back to the girl and examined the remnants of her gown. The light silver sleeves torn off leaving only slivers of fabric attached to the gem encrusted metal strap. What was once beautiful silk was shredded like parchment. Wilyn noticed small blood stains randomly scattered around the fabric. This prompted the herbalist to examine the girl's hands. Sure, enough the skin around her finger nails was raw and bloodied. Her fingernails were slowly growing into sharpened claws. Her eyes traveled up to the girl's face. She noticed that there was a small drop of blood at a corner of her mouth. Carefully Wilyn opened her mouth and noticed her teeth were changing and growing more canine.
"This is bad" Wilyn stated backing away from her pale form slightly. The door opened and Cranis jogged in with a Healer and two young attendants following him. He closed the gap between him and Wilyn with three long strides. He held up a sack and she grabbed it from him, checking the contents. Everything she asked for was there indeed. She turned to walk toward the basin on the table when she watched the healer vanish and reappear beside the Creegin girl. Her moment of shock vanished as she remembered the task at hand. In the empty basin she placed the herbs and added cold water. After a few moments she reached into the basin and grabbed the Feast of the Hunt. The herb was leafy and had small bulbous bits stuck to the stem. It had a deep brown color and smelled strangely like meat. Wilyn placed the herb in her palm and covered it with her other hand. She focused her energy to her hands which immediately let off a light green glow. After a moment she carried over the mysterious herb.
Once again, she had to open her mouth, the canine teeth becoming more pronounced. Wilyn reached in her mouth and placed the herb on the girl's tongue. All five onlookers waiting patiently. Cranis resumed his place next to the unmoving girl while the healer checked her pulse.
"Her pulse is steady. Now she just needs to wake up" the gentle voice spoke through her veil. Now they only had to wait to make sure she would wake up from her animalistic nightmare.