The Witch of Flowers

Iris woke with a start, wrenched out of the terrible nightmare of pain and blood. Her body ached, but she was in less pain than she had been since her capture. Her surroundings were much lighter than they were since then as well. The familiar scent of herbs embraced her. She was on a soft surface, a bed, Iris realized after a moment. How long had it been since she had slept on a bed. Too bad she hadn’t had a chance to enjoy it. Iris suddenly remembered what had knocked her unconcious this time. The child of the one who controlled her slave crest had taken up the whip her father had used so many times in the past. She remembered pain, and the person who had snuck downstairs, shrouded in magic. Iris had feared they would be spotted and subjected to the same agony she suffered. Hopefully, they were safe. Her face, Iris recalled. The whip had cut through her eyelid, at least she had thought it had. The fact that she could blink and see through both her eyes suggested that it had been healed and that she still had both eyes.

Iris instintively reached for her face to try to confirm her assessment of the situation. She was surprised when her arm moved without the slave crest cutting through her being. Iris moved her lips attempting to speak, but her body was too weak, her throat too dry to allow words to escape her, still the slave crest didn’t interfere. Iris nearly wept. Was she free? She forced her body upright, once again amazed that the slave crest wasn’t restricting her movements.

Thirst, she remembered. She hadn’t had fresh water since her capture, and the water she had been given had been much less than even the smallest of children could live on. Iris cupped her hands and used her magic, thrilled that the slave crest didn’t cut off her access to it as water filled her hands. Iris sipped the water, knowing that it was dangerous to drink too much at once. Iris noted how thin her arms were, how weak her hands were as she continued to take in her situation. Her hair, she noticed after a moment, as a strand slipped out from behind one of her ears and in front of her face. It was still green, but not nearly as vibrant as it had been when she had seen it change when she stopped the slave traders from capturing the other captives. She hoped they had remained safe during her captivity, that they had managed to stay away from the slavers. She touched her hair, noting that it wasn’t nearly as soft as it had been, it was almost brittle under her fingers, feeling like plants that had been starved of light or water, or those that had been nearly killed by drought. The flowers in her hair were similarly wilted, not quite dead, but definately struggling. It was likely a reflection of her current health. It wasn’t like she had been recieving much in the way of nutrition as she had been given only rotting food every few days, or perhaps it was even less frequently. Iris hadn’t been able to gauge how much time had passed during her confinement in the dark dungeon with cold stone floors and walls.

Iris stiffened as she heard a door open. A gasp escaped whoever had entered the room. “You’re awake. When you were brought here I wasn’t quite sure you would ever wake,” Iris glanced at the young man wearing clothes that her grandfather often wore when he was working with his potions. Iris tried to speak, but could still barely manage more than a weak rasp. She flinched as the person reached for her. The young man quickly backed away, “I apologize, I was just trying to assess your current condition to see if there is anything else I can do to help you recover. I should probably explain what happened first. Your captors have been arrested and the slave crest has been removed. You were brought here to recover while everything is taken care of.”

Iris struggled to speak, to ask if she could go home, but all that came out was a barely audible rasp, “Home?” she managed.

The man looked uncomfortable. “I, er, I’m not sure if you’ll be able to go home for awhile. You probably shouldn’t travel very far until you are fully healed, and things regarding your situation are a bit…complicated.”

The man looked like he was about to explain when the door opened again. Iris’s gaze immediately locked on the two people who entered the room. She immediately recognized one as the young man who had been shrouded in magic in her previous prison, the one she tried to send away so he wouldn’t get caught. Now that she saw him in more proper light, she could make out his features, his black hair, his eyes as blue as a clear winter sky, he was well-built as well, though his strength was disguised by his formal clothes. “Y-your Highness,” the person in front of her immediately bowed to the young man who had rushed into the room. Iris swallowed. Highness, that meant that he was a prince, right? Iris tried to move to bow herself, to show respect.

“Enough with the formalities,” the prince said. “This is an infirmiry not a formal function. Have you had a chance to explain the situation to the young lady?”

“Not yet, she just woke up. I believe she was trying to ask about going home. I was about to explain why that might be difficult when you arrived.”

“Believe?” the prince sounded concerned.

“She seems to be having difficulty speaking. I assume that is because of the conditions she had faced. She is severely malnourished and dehydrated. It will take time for those effects to fade.”

“What of her other injuries and scars?” the young man demanded.

“The injuries are still healing. While she was unconcious, we couldn’t use any potions for her treatment. With her current condition, it will probably be a few days before we can do so anyways. With the current potion shortage, I’m not sure the scars can be taken care of completely as only basic potions are available.”

The prince looked almost furious at the man’s words. “I see,” the words came out strained. “Get started on a proper treatment plan so she can recover as soon as possible. I’ll explain the situation as it stands.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

The moment the man stepped away from her the prince closed the distance between them. “I apologize for the suffering you experienced, and that Count Maelifos’s wrongdoing was able to escape detection for so long. The Count and his family have been arrested. During their arrest, several other crimes were uncovered, so they will be sentenced to death once the investigation is complete. I understand that you would like to go home, and I would agree under any other circumstances, but we are still tracking down the slavers that were responsible for your situation. If we were to send you home before they are captured, it is possible that they will come after you again in an attempt to get rid of the evidence for their crimes.”

Iris frowned. If she got in contact with any of the great spirit lords, they would bring her back home safely. This prince wouldn’t have to worry about wasting resources protecting her and could focus on taking down those slavers before they harmed anybody else. She tried to say as much but all that came out was, “Want to go home.” Her words were a little clearer this time, but still barely audible.

“I am sorry. It is too dangerous for you and for anybody else who lives around you for now. I…if this isn’t resolved before you are fully recovered…no, hopefully the situation will be handed by then so it is not an issue.”

Iris frowned but nodded. She could wait a little longer. She could go home when all of this was resolved. Even if they didn’t feel comfortable sending her back home, all Iris had to do was touch the soil and the great spirit lords would know exactly where she was. She didn’t doubt her disappearance had likely caused something of a stir, especially when her grandparents were no longer alive. How was the forest’s barrier holding up?

William was infuriated by how slow the investigation was moving. The Count initially tried to deny the whole thing, but the proof was more than damning, especially once they captured the man from the market. They had sung like a bird. The Count provided poisonous plants in exchange for eighty percent of the seller’s profit. Between everybody he questioned, he was able to figure out that the slavers were the trading partners for the poisonous plants. Still, locating the slave traders was proving more difficult than he had hoped.

He visited the young woman every day since she woke, at first just wanting to see how she was recovering. She had finally been able to talk clearly after a couple days. It was only then that he learned her name, Iris. It suited her, especially when he considered the flowers that grew in her plantlike hair. Every day those flowers looked less wilted, likely indicating the rate at which her condition was improving. He wished he could give her good news, that she no longer had to fear the people who had stole her freedom in the first place. Unfortunately, that was not the case just yet.

Brent would be back later today to report on the state of the territories fighting against the monsters. He had sent all the supplies he could, but William knew it likely wasn’t enough. Healers wouldn’t be able to keep up with the wounds the monsters would inflict. They needed more potions, but the plants used to make those potions were in short supply, as were mages with enough skill to create strong enough potions to heal the severe wounds monsters inflicted. His father, the king, had pushed an open recruitment of people skilled in potionmaking, but recruitment was slow and interference from corrupt nobles was making it even slower. Damn, he couldn’t think about that right now. There was nothing he could do yet, as much as he hated it.

Finally, he arrived at the palace’s infirmiry. Iris was sitting at a table facing the window in the infirmiry when he walked in. The doctor was standing next to her. William felt a shift in the magical flow within the room before the doctor let out a startled shout. Iris didn’t seem to respond. William drew closer to see what was going on. An orb of water was floating above Iris’s palms with a rare medical plant inside. Iris moved her fingers and the plant swirled in the fluid. More rare plants appeared and were slowly ripped apart by the water’s current. More magic was added before the first plant disintegrated in the liquid which was taking on the color of one of the rarest of high grade potions. Suddenly, the orb of liquid moved towards a potion bottle he hadn’t noticed before. A little of the potion missed the opening and landed on the table. Iris let out a disappointed sound. “This is…” the doctor said in awe, staring at the potion. He quickly sealed the liquid so it wouldn’t spill.

“My magic control still isn’t quite what it was before. It took more energy to make one potion than usual too. It won’t be as effective as the ones my grandpa and I used to make together,” Iris sounded disappointed. “It won’t last as long either.”

“How long do the potions you make usually last?” the doctor asked.

“Last time I made some under my Grandfather’s instruction he told me they’d have their full effect for at least ten years, and the effectiveness would decrease over time afterward. This one probably won’t last more than three since my magic input wasn’t nearly as steady as usual. It should heal the majority of wounds though.”

“Were you taught the Saudien Method?” the doctor asked. William knew he should say something. It seemed like the doctor was trying to recruit her as a potionmaker for the contry. He wasn’t sure what he thought about it seeing her skill. Once she fully recovered, she could be an invaluable asset if they recruited her to make potions to help reduce the effect of the potion shortage. It would be the best thing for the country if he managed to do so. Yet, the thought made him absolutely miserable. He hadn’t even managed to get rid of the cause of her current condition, the suffering she had faced during her captivity. Did he even have the right to request her help on this when his shortcomings as one who protected this country were the cause of the pain she suffered? His mouth went dry as he remembered the count’s daughter whipping Iris, nearly taking out her eye with the last blow. If he had been stronger, a better prince, perhaps the nobles wouldn’t have dared to work with slavers, perhaps his people wouldn’t have suffered. No, he didn’t deserve the right to ask Iris to help with this when all she wanted was to go home. He would do everything in his power to make sure he took care of every last remnant of the slave traders before he had her escorted safely to her home, wherever it was.

“What’s the Saudien Method?” Iris asked, bringing him back to the present.

“It’s a specific way to make potions, but it’s quite difficult to pull off. I don’t know of any in the country that have more than a theoretical understanding of the method. It requires quite a large pool of magic.” the doctor explained.

“I’m just using the method my grandfather taught me. Is it not any good?”

“No, quite the opposite. I have half a mind to send a recommendation for you to join the emergency potionmaking force after all this business with those slavers in handled. It pays very well, so it might help you get back on your feet after all this is over.”

William cleared his throat to announce his presence. “Iris has expressed several times that she wants to go home once the slavers are handled.”

Iris’s body jerked at his sudden response, but slowly turned around to look at him. She gave him a clumsy half bow while staying in her seat. William barely held back his frown at the displeasure he felt at Iris’s respect. He didn’t deserve her respect. “I don’t particularly mind making potions to help with the potion shortage. I heard it was caused by the monster attacks on the border. My grandpa used to sell his potions all the time. I’m not sure if that trade route is still available though.”

“We can discuss this more when you are fully recovered and the slaver situation is handled. I apologize that it is taking so long to take them down,” William managed.

“It’s not your fault. You’re doing all you can to find them,” Iris said softly.

“No,” William shook his head. “It is my responsibility to handle this situation in a timely manner. It is bad enough that you were enslaved for so long without detection. If I were a better leader, then I would have taken them down long before they became a danger to you and others.”

Iris frowned at him. “I’m not sure that’s the case. I’m pretty sure the slavers were operating across borders since the people I rescued before getting captured appeared to be from Sauriel. They were somehow able to avoid detection here and there, perhaps in their routes. They also seemed pretty well organized.”

William didn’t know what to make of Iris’s observations. “I wonder how they managed to evade detection at the border between our kingdoms.” He’d have to talk to his dad about increasing border security. That would be a bit complicated. Father would probably need to contact the current king of Sauriel to make sure he knew that this slave-trading ring was operating across both their borders.

Iris frowned like she was pondering the question herself. Damn it. This shouldn’t even be a concern she had to think about. She should have never needed to worry about this in the first place. He needed to put an end to those dispicable criminals. How many more victims had fallen through the cracks? He had to make sure to find them all, the victims and the slavers.

What could he do to fix the situation for Iris and the other victims he had yet to find. How could he claim to be a good leader if he couldn’t protect the people under his father’s rule? Iris frowned while looking at him. “I’m not sure, but considering everything, they might have been using the Great Forest of Lux to hide their movements, not sure how they managed it though.”

Shit, he hadn’t even considered that. Iris had been enslaved since around the same time as the Great Forest of Lux closed off their borders. If slavers had been using their forest as a trade route, it explained so much. The great spirit lords were insistent that slavery was abolished in all bordering nations before he was born. Two powerful mages had championed the efforts to ensure the abolishment was made law. Vessa, the great warrior mage, and Garrick, the unrivaled healer, had done so much for the establishment of the treaties between the nations and the leaders of the great spirit lords. They lived within the Great Forest of Lux, only leaving when emergencies at the borders of any country being targeted by monsters. Together with the great spirit lords, they maintained the barrier that protected the Great Forest of Lux and beyond.

Wait, when the forest closed its borders, it had cut off the ability to ask Vessa for help at the border fighting monsters and Garrick to help with the potion shortage. However, the barrier protecting the borders from monsters was weakening. Had the treaty completely collapsed because of the slavers? Had something happened to the great warrior mage and unrivaled healer? That would be something he would have to explore once he managed to find the slavers and ensure they were fully brought to justice.

The healer cleared their throat. “Iris will likely be well enough to leave the infirmary in a week, though I am a bit concerned about the stability of her abilities when it comes to traveling home, even if the slavers were not a problem. That being said, as she recovers from the malnutrition she suffered over the past year the stability should get better. It could take up to a month before she is fully recovered.” William frowned at the reminder of how much Iris had suffered during the time he had failed his duty. “As I’m sure you know, no woman of age can remain on palace grounds during the Princess Selection unless they are in the employ of the royal house. Considering that it begins in a week, I won’t be able to monitor Iris’s condition once it begins. I won’t be able to justify keeping her in the infirmary either, not unless she officially becomes a palace healer herself. However, that won’t be possible since that requires at least three referrals from other healers. Never mind the fact, that becoming a palace healer is almost always a lifetime role, and Iris wishes to return home as soon as possible.”

Damn it. Why did he have to remind him about that? Iris looked a bit confused which wasn’t too uncommon outside of nobility. Bringing two or three commoners into the princess selection wasn’t completely uncalled for. It had happened in the past a number of times. Even his own father had a commoner among his own princess selection. While she hadn’t become queen, she had become an important advisor after the Princess Selection was over. Still, he’d have to convince his father to include her in the event despite his discomfort with the whole ordeal in the first place. It would only tie Iris up even more if he managed to find the slavers during the selection. Still, all he had to do was find a reason to disqualify her from contention in that case. He hated to drag Iris into that situation though. It wasn’t exactly completely safe, especially when the bad nobles could use underhanded tactics to harm her. Letting Iris experience even more danger after all that she had faced while enslaved... he recalled the blood that had flashed across his vision when that nobleman’s daughter had whipped Iris the night he had found her. He couldn’t let her get hurt like that again. Still, he had to prepare for the worst case scenario, “I’ll talk to father about the situation. Perhaps he could find a loophole in the rules to allow her to remain at the infirmary until we find the slavers, and to make preparations in the event that we can’t before the end of the week.”

William quickly backed out of the room, cutting his visit short. He didn’t want Iris to ask about the Princess Selection. He didn’t want her to be exposed to the nastiness that happened between participants of the event. He returned to his room, getting ready to write a proposal to his father to justify Iris staying in the infirmary until the slavers were caught, only to be surprised by Brent leaning against the wall of his room. Brent wasn’t supposed to get back until tonight or tomorrow morning. “You look frustrated,” Brent said simply.

“Because I am. How are things at the border?” William scowled. He knew he shouldn’t take out his frustration about how poorly the investigation was going on Brent. He was his best friend along with guard, so all being short with him was doing was just making things worse.

Brent didn’t look too bothered by his sharpness, but William knew he’d have to explain his bad mood soon. “It’s a mess. Luckily there haven’t been any civilian casualties, but there have been injuries. The knights from the noble family’s on the border are suffering significant losses due to the potion crisis. Mostly it’s severe injuries that aren’t healing enough to keep up with the onslaught of monsters at the border, but there have been a few deaths. The old farmlands are almost completely destroyed. Recovery after we manage to repel the monsters will be difficult if it’s even possible. Disease is already starting to become a problem. Luckily no severe illnesses yet, but it’s only a matter of time before the cold season hits. Once that happens, people will congregate in even tighter quarters to keep warm. That will just lead to faster disease spread. We have resolved the food issue for now though. House Laurine’s fields are out of the monsters’ reach for now and should remain as such as long as the other noble houses at the border can hold the line. I’m sure it’s because House Laurine is sending their daughter to the Princess Selection this year or self preservation, but they are still one of the more decent noble houses if I’m honest. They had sent someone to negotiate winter food supplies with the other territories at the border to make sure their own people were safe from starvation too. Apparently, they had found out that some merchants that the farmers traded with in their territory were underpaying the farmers and severely gouging the noble families on the border. They expelled those particular merchants from their territory and took over the food trading for the winter. Duke Laurine had also sent quite a few healers along with the negotiation party in an attempt to smooth the waters over not catching the merchants before they caused harm to the people.”

“Did Duke Laurine’s healers and our own solve the shortage of healers?”

Brent shook his head, “Unfortunately, no. No healer can work nonstop. They barely fulfil the minimum of what is necessary to protect those fighting monsters at the border. Still, the demand is less so. With the soldiers we sent, at the very least there shouldn’t be as much of a risk of the border collapsing completely. We are still low on potions. We barely have enough of the plants used to create strong healing potions available, and very few healers can make strong healing potions.”

That brought William’s thoughts back to Iris. “I’m sorry for being short before. I’m not making much progress with the slaver situation. I really don’t like the fact that if this draws on more than a week, she’d be forced to be exposed to more bad nobles. She has already been hurt by nobles before, never mind the fact that all she truly wants is to go home.”

Brent grimaced. “Does she know that?”

“The palace healer in charge of her treatment talked about it in front of her, so I doubt he won’t answer if she asks questions as to the nature of the Princess Selection,” William groaned, “I’m going to need to talk to father and get his permission for her to stay until the situation is resolved. She can always be disqualified from the Princess Selection for a made up reason once they are caught, but in the meantime you know how nobles are.”

“I could focus on that case now that I’m back in the capital,” Brent frowned. “Iris seems like a sweet young woman, and it is quite distressing to recall the state she was in when we first discovered her.”

William felt a strange discomfort in his chest at Brent’s words complimenting Iris, but quickly pushed the unfamiliar sensation away. “She is also quite an amazing healer in her own right. She made an incredibly rare high grade potion right as I was walking into the infirmary. She hadn’t even needed any supplies with her unique magic involving plants. And this was with her magic being unstable thanks to her condition. When father hears of that he might try to recruit her himself. Considering the only other way she could stay on palace grounds during the Princess Selection is a lifetime position I’m not too excited to tell my father.”

“She could solve the healing potion shortage just by using her unique magic once she’s recovered fully. Part of the shortage is the ingredient shortage. At the very least that wouldn’t be a problem any more if we had her help,” Brent said simply.

William scowled at the thought of using her the same way that disgusting former duke had done. “And stealing her freedom again?”

Understanding reached Brent’s eyes, “I didn’t mean it like that at all, but I do understand what you mean.”

“She did say she didn’t mind helping with the potion shortage, mentioning a trade route that used to come through the forest she lives in. Though understandably she wasn’t sure if it was still active after her year of captivity.”

“Trade routes don’t often change, but with the monster outbreak I’m not sure if the trade route would still be safe. She hasn’t indicated which forest she lived in prior, right?”

“No, and I haven’t asked yet. She gets a bit quiet when the topic of home comes up. Despite wanting to return home, she isn’t pushing the issue since she understands the risk, but she seems sad about something.”

“We could probably establish a special trade route if the old trade route is dangerous,” Brent reasoned.

“True, that will probably be the best case scenario if father doesn’t force the issue of her remaining here. Under normal circumstances he wouldn’t but, considering that the situation at the border is so severe, I’m not sure what he’ll do. He needs to protect his people too, so it’s not like he can just ignore that she has the ability to do so,” William grumbled.

Iris sighed as the week’s end closed in. She had asked the palace healer more about the Princess Selection and wanted no part in it. It would be a hindrance to her desire to return home. Still, she could get out of it pretty easily once she was allowed to step outside, even on palace grounds, all she had to do was touch the soil to alert the spirits of her location. She doubted that Lux was very happy with what had happened to her. She swallowed, the border to the Great Forest of Lux had been closed down. It was probably because of the slavers and her abduction, but she didn’t dare say such a thing. Without proof, people would think her lying, and perhaps even condemn her for speaking blasphemy towards the great spirit lords without knowing the truth of her statement. Of course, it could be a totally other reason that forced Lux to close the borders of the forest.

“Iris,” Brent greeted her as he entered the infirmary. He had spoken with her a few times over the past several days to get more information about her abduction, trying to find more details. Most of the time William came with him, but this time was an exception. Iris was strangely worried about it. Brent was his highness’s bodyguard. Still, she supposed he was within palace grounds so perhaps there were other guards. “His Majesty made a decision about your case,” Brent said grimly. “You will be participating in the Princess Selection with the caveat that the moment the slavers are caught you are able to quit voluntarily. His Majesty said you can stay on palace grounds for some time after the slavers are caught since arranging travel to your home would be our responsibility.”

Iris bit her tongue to avoid saying she could just call for help from here if she was allowed outside. “Will I be staying in the palace infirmary?”

“No,” Brent sighed. “That’s why I’m here. You are going to stay in the same building as the other princess candidates. The first of them are expected to arrive tomorrow so we need to prepare a room for you there. I wanted to talk to the palace healer about what would be necessary for your recovery so I can make sure nothing is missed.”

“He’s out tending a patient from the knight’s training grounds now from what I understand. I think he’ll be back soon,” Iris sighed.

“How are you doing?” Brent asked.

Iris shrugged, “I’m not particularly sure. I mean, from what I understand, my hair and these flowers,” Iris gestured wildly at the various flowers growing in her hair. “They indicate my current health, at least their condition does. They still look pretty frail to me, but nowhere near as wilted as they did when I first woke up after being freed from captivity.”

“Indeed, physically you do seem to be recovering, but I know that what you went through must have been traumatic,” Brent said softly.

Iris shuddered, “I’m doing better for the most part. I don’t immediately flinch when people approach, and I can handle it when the palace healer reaches for me to check my condition, but the knights that sometimes come to the infirmary sometimes get a bit too close for comfort.”

Brent looked almost upset, but it didn’t seem directed at her. “I must apologize that we did not find out about your situation sooner.”

“It isn’t anybody’s fault other than the criminals that thought it was okay to break the laws abolishing slavery. If I had called for help instead of charging in the rescue the other victims that day, this situation might have been resolved much sooner and with much less suffering, but I wasn’t exactly in the best state of mind at the time.”

“I...see,” Brent seemed to hesitate, but luckily didn’t ask anything.

The door to the infirmary opened again, “I swear, those knights are reckless in the training grounds. I could count the number of days in a row without an accident on one hand, and most of the time that is zero. Ah, Sir Brent, what brings you here. Do you need my assistance with something.”

“Indeed, Iris will be moving to the Blue Palace tomorrow in anticipation of the Princess Selection and will be staying there until the slavers are captured. I wanted to ask you what preparations should be made to ensure that Iris’s condition will continue to improve. Her health and safety is our primary concern.”

“Her diet needs to be carefully managed. I’ll write a list of things that she needs to avoid for now. She can slowly start to reintroduce them to her diet once she can manage, but at least for the next week or so she needs to be cautious with what she eats. She will need to eat smaller and more frequent meals until her body fully recovers. Iris’s health will also need to be assessed at least twice daily. My own assistant will probably be the best solution for that issue. None of the other candidates would be able to complain about another woman being present, and she is just as skilled as me. She’s supposed to return from her scouting mission tomorrow, hopefully with a handful of potential healer candidates to help with the healer shortage at the border.”

“Good. I’ll make arrangements for a separate attached room for your assistant in case something comes up that requires her assistance,” Brent nodded.

“I didn’t think about that, but yes, that would be for the best. While her focus will be on Iris’s health she could easily assist in assessing any sudden issues that come up around the other candidates and send a message for me to send a palace healer or come myself if necessary.”

“And then the issue of someone claiming preferential treatment would be avoided,” Brent frowned. “Is there anything else I should be aware of?”

The palace healer glanced at her with a worried look on his face, “Ah, um, it’s a bit...It might be best to have a palace mage place a selective sound barrier on whatever room she uses. Iris has been suffering nightmares that can get quite loud. Iris doesn’t seem to remember having them upon waking. It might cause some false alarms among the palace guards in charge of the Princess Selection. I wouldn’t mention them otherwise.” Why hadn’t he told her? She hadn’t even realized that she was disrupting things in the palace infirmary. Perhaps that was why some of the other healers eyed her with a sense of worry.

Brent’s facial expression darkened. “I see. I’ll see to it that we fine tune it to make sure that if she is actually in danger the barrier doesn’t prevent her from being heard.”

“That’s a relief.”

Iris didn’t know what to think of it, the whole situation was more than she was prepared for. Being around nobles that might be like Count Maelifos sent a shiver of fear down her spine. She didn’t think she could survive being held captive again. If she could just step outside, she could avoid all of this. Iris shook the thought from her head. She couldn’t force it or they might accuse her of blasphemy against the great spirit lords despite the truth of her statement. No, she could wait until she had a chance to touch the earth without alerting anybody to what she was doing.

The following morning Iris was escorted to the Blue Palace. Its exterior walls were the same color as its namesake, a deep blue that reminded Iris of some of the gemstones her grandmother had shown her, ones that could be used as power amplifiers if enchanted with the right magic. She had said that they were usually used for protection spells. Iris wondered if the gems were embedded in those walls, but they didn’t have the same sheen, so perhaps they just took inspiration from the gem’s color. Iris didn’t know what to think of the palace healer’s assistant. She barely showed her emotions, her facial expression hardly changing as her superior explained the situation. Iris hoped that everything went well and she was able to leave the palace grounds soon.

Upon arriving in her room, the healer’s assistant quickly checked over her condition, shooing away the escort. When she was done the stern woman let out a sigh, the stiffness leaving her face like it never existed in the first place. “Finally, a moment away from them. How are you feeling?”

“Still weaker than before my capture, but much better than I was back when I was first rescued,” Iris frowned. “My magic still feels a bit off. I think your boss said that it should stabilize further over the next few weeks or so.” She wondered why the woman was so stiff earlier if she was really like this.

“What a relief. When I got the letter from Harrison, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Slavers are absolutely terrible. To think of any operating within our borders is distressing to say the least. I hope they are caught quickly so you can return home.”

“I’d like that too. I doubt I was their only victim considering that there had been three others in the slaver’s carriage. I managed to save them, but I know there were more in that underground slave market,” Iris tried to think if there was anything else that she remembered about the slavers, something that would help track them down. She had done so several times since her rescue, recounting exactly what she recalled from her capture to her rescue, but they were still struggling to find enough information to take them down.

“The name’s Bianca by the way. When nobody else is around you can call me that. If we weren’t going to be around nobles I wouldn’t care, but they are a bit...difficult to be around with all their strange formalities. I try to act as professional as possible when in public to make sure I don’t do anything to offend them. The boss is usually the same, but he seemed more relaxed than usual this time,” the healer sighed. “As long as we don’t get in trouble for it I don’t mind, but some of the bad nobles will take any chance to cause trouble if it gets them something.”

“Bad nobles?” Iris asked.

“Well, er, um,” Bianca sounded hesitant, “A lot of the nobles care more about themselves than the people under their care. Some are negligent but others are downright exploitative. His majesty and his highness do their best to remedy their actions, sometimes managing to even eliminate a few of the more problematic ones, but unless they actually commit a crime there isn’t a lot they can do currently.” Bianca shook her head, “Don’t get me wrong, there are a decent number of good nobles, especially those near the border fighting against monsters. They protect their citizens the best they can, but it’s been especially hard for those nobles lately. Luckily with the royal decree other territories can’t gouge them when selling resources, but before the royal decree came down it was pretty bad down there.”

Iris wondered if her grandmother would have been called on to fight the monsters if she had still been alive. Probably, Vessa would have had no hesitation to rush into the situation to help. Iris struggled to consider the fact that people would take advantage of people who were struggling against monsters. If those people could no longer guard the people and the border, the monsters would break through and hurt other territories too, wouldn’t they. Monsters killed everything in their path from what her grandmother and grandfather had taught her, or perhaps not everything, but most of the people who crossed their path would die an excruciating death. She wished she could help like her grandmother used to, but she hadn’t been trained to fight beyond basic self-defense, self-defense that had been substandard when it came to protecting her from the slavers. While her family and friends had wanted her to travel outside, they had been insistent that she travel with others to remain safe. Especially given how she had been forced to leave the forest, she doubted they would let her go to the borders that were under attack. Still she could provide potions of better quality once she was fully recovered.

She sighed, wondering what else she was supposed to do as part of this Princess Selection. “So, these nobles. Are there any I should look out for, ones I should avoid contact with or something?”

“Not exactly. It isn’t possible for those participating in the Princess Selection to avoid each other in the first place. Part of the purpose of the whole event is to make sure that the Prince’s partner will be able to stand up for themselves in the face of adversity. Though, it isn’t exactly meant to be dangerous or anything. Still, I’ve heard stories of previous Princess Selections turning out quite dangerously in previous generations. The current king placed a bunch of new regulations on the selection to make sure that those who initiate such dangerous activities would be immediately disqualified so it shouldn’t as much of a problem now. To be honest, most of the princess candidates are people you should be cautious around. I suppose the candidates from the border territories are the least likely to cause problems. Most of those that have families that protect the borders from monsters don’t have the same manipulative edge as nobles from safer areas. Protecting the commoners under their care comes second nature to most of them. I honestly, doubt you’ll have much trouble at all as long as you just try to avoid attention in general. Though, I guess that will be difficult just by the nature of your presence. You are quite a strange person. Your hair is distinctive and your circumstances are another thing completely. I could see some of the nobles from the border trying to recruit you if they knew about your abilities. I mean, someone who can create plants at will could easily help reduce the famine most of their people face since the monster attacks ramped up this past year, never mind the fact that Harrison said that you created a high rank potion without much of a problem while you were still recovering. I think, just about anybody would want you to be part of their territory for that alone, even the nastier nobles, since it could help them directly and even give them a sense of prestige to have such a strong healer under their control.”

“I see, so what I really should be doing is trying not to cause people to focus on me for bad reasons. It’s not like I have any plans to stay anywhere but my previous home after the slavers are caught after all. Like I told your boss, I have no intention of staying in the capitol. I really just want to go home,” Iris murmured.

“That is understandable given what you faced. I’m sure your family and friends will want to see you safe and sound as well,” Bianca said gently.

“Do you know anything else about the Princess Selection?”

“It’s more of a noble thing so I don’t know much except for what has been shared with the general public. It is mostly an event that lasts around a month or so for each prince of a country. Noble ladies try to impress those judging the event by showing poise and sophistication, though depending on the prince, the qualifications are different. When a lady does something that outright disqualifies them they are sent home. At different intervals princess candidates are either sent home or remain to participate in the next stage of the Princess Selection. After awhile, the prince directly interacts with the women so his personal choice isn’t completely ignored,” Bianca explained.

“Is there a reason it’s like this?” Iris asked.

“A long time ago, and I mean long, like a couple hundred years ago, political marriages were used for princes as well. Unfortunately, one of these political marriages led to a prince who was passed over for succession raising a rebellion using their spouse’s family. The ensuing war caused a lot of death. Even neighboring countries were dragged into it. The rebellion was eventually quelled, and in response, the king of our country at the time met with those of other countries to for the groundwork of the original Princess Selection as a way to mitigate the chances of collusion and rebellion. The great spirit lords joined in the talks, ensuring that a pledge was sworn between the countries to avoid letting large-scale wars spread to other countries whenever succession issues occurred. The great spirit lords were quite upset that their home was disrupted by the war and death. The Great Forest of Lux was established as their definitive territory officially. Nobody was allowed to harm people within its boundaries, and its citizens were restricted to only those the great spirit lords allowed.”

“And then the treaty more recently opened the forest’s borders to trade but required quite a few conditions,” Iris added excitedly. She knew that part. Her grandparents had taught her that.

“Yes, the current king along with each country’s counterpart formed a complete non-aggression treaty at the behest of the great warrior mage and the unrivaled healer. They had formed a treaty with the leaders of the great spirit lords, and had managed to gain permission to live in the Great Forest of Lux. The conditions were quite strict though. Our king was quite happy to comply with the abolition of any and all slavery, since he had already fought to outlaw it before the treaty had been discussed. His majesty was a champion for the people and does all he can to protect the people under his rule.”

Iris frowned at the explanation. She didn’t remember anything about a great warrior mage and unrivaled healer in her grandparent’s explanation of the events that led to the treaty. Still, those people must have been amazing. To champion a treaty that protected people across the entire continent was awe inspiring.

“Harrison said that your magic was still unstable. Could you explain your symptoms?”

“It’s mostly that my control is a bit shaky compared to usual. I can usually control my magic’s output so well that there isn’t any noticeable variance aside from when I get distracted. When I made the potion in front of your boss, I spilled some of the potion. I haven’t spilled any potion while making it since a year into my grandfather teaching me how to make potions.”

“Could you show me?” Bianca asked.

Iris nodded, “Do you have an empty potion bottle, or just about any container I guess. It won’t be as useful or have as long a shelf life as any of my usual potions anyway so it doesn’t matter what we use.”

Bianca produced an empty potion bottle and sat it on one of the many flat surfaces in the room. Iris sat in front of the bottle and quickly used her magic to create a floating orb of pure water. Iris let her unique magic create a plant used in healing potions. Iris heard a gasp from Bianca but ignored it as she guided the plant into the orb of water with her magic. She shifted the magic to quicken the current within the water, tearing apart the plant and infusing its essence into the beginnings of the potion. Her unique magic activated again creating another healing plant and another before those too were added to the liquid. Iris felt the first instability then. Luckily it wouldn’t be enough to eliminate the potion’s usefulness but it would still be substandard considering the ingredients she was using. Iris tried to remedy the issue by using yet another plant, this one the blossoms of a rare plant. Iris had only seen a couple of them in the Great Forest of Lux. Iris was relieved when the color of the potion returned to a satisfying color that proved that she had succeeded in fixing her initial instability. Iris quickly worked to complete the finishing touches on the potion floating in the air. Iris finally started to guide the potion towards the bottle, trying to funnel the liquid directly into the bottle. Once again the magic fluctuated unpredictably, leading to a few tablespoons on the liquid landing on the small table. Luckily, the rest remained in the potion bottle, which she quickly stoppered. “Two instabilities happened when making that one. This one should last longer a year longer than the one I made last week, but it’s not as strong as my usual ones. The fix I made to try to compensate for the first instability will only be effective for that long.”

Bianca was silent for a long while. Iris turned to face her only to see shock on her face. “Can you create any plant?”

“Not any plant. I have to recognize the plant, know its general characteristics and the like. The more I know about it the less magic it takes for me to create it. Flowers are easier to create than plants in general so I try to create a full flowering plant usually so the process is optimized.”

“What about extinct plants? If you were to read about it in its entirety could you create that plant along with its roots.” Bianca sounded excited.

“Yes, I’ve done it a few times with permission. It’s easier with flowering plants though, flowers are usually where the seeds are coming from in the first place, so it’s easier to propagate the plant that way. I can create a plant with its roots too, but that takes a lot more magic.”

“Amazing. There are so many possibilities with that. There are healing potions in history books that use long-extinct plants that I’d love to see made once more. I’d like to see how their effectiveness compares to modern healing potions,” Bianca blushed. “Sorry, I love researching potions so I get a little overenthusiastic when it comes to new avenues of research.

“I don’t mind. After the slavers are caught and my magic stabilizes properly I’ll try what you mentioned. I’ll let you know of any differences or comparisons I see.”

“In the meantime, you should rest. You can still use your magic but be careful not to overextend yourself.”