They stumbled into a long room of cream tiles and faded wallpaper. Rows of beds stretched down either side of them for harbouring injured and ill soldiers and castle staff. All of them were empty and neatly made, fresh white sheets tucked into the thin mattresses which the princess knew would be stained with crimson soon enough. At the far end of the infirmary, tall shelves towered into the arched ceiling. Each one held everything you could need for even the strangest of wounds. From slings to casts, from spools of thread to thin needles. If you needed fixing by the healers, they would be sure to take care of you.

However, not a soul could be seen dealing with the paperwork that injured soldiers came with or taking stock of the supplies the infirmary held. The healers must have been catching dinner while the kitchens had a brief moment of respite after dealing with banquet preparations. With her power, Ilyana didn't need them.

She helped Cloven over to the nearest bed and, once she was settled, she rushed over to the other side of the room. While a wide bowl filled with warm water, the princess searched for clean cloths, bandages, and a pair of forceps to assist in getting the bone out of the wound. Once everything was placed on the table beside her patient, Ilyana nudged a stool with her foot until it was also at the side of the bed.

"This is going to hurt," she warned as she soaked a cloth in water.

"Oh, really? Thanks for the reminder. I thought this would have been a massage." Cloven managed to bark out a snarky response as she gazed down at her wound. At the sight of the blood that flooded from it, she returned it to the ceiling.

Ilyana rolled her eyes. "Keep your mouth shut or I'll leave you like this."

"You would never." The captain tried to smirk, but a hiss of agony broke through her lips and sabotaged the attempt. Her tunic was lifted and tucked under her chin so the cloth could be pressed around the outside of the wound.

"Don't test me." Her returning glare — shadowed by the cerulean glow of her necklace — was enough to send chills down anyone's spine.

Cloven swallowed anything else her mind could have conjured to say. "Yes, ma'am." She gripped the edges of the bed with a death-like grip, turning her knuckles a violent shade of ivory.

Once Ilyana was certain the surrounding area was clean, she began to focus on her magic. It filled her veins, pushing through to her fingertips with eager excitement. She didn't heal the injury yet, instead, she felt around it using her power to try and find the bone that was stuck there. The threads of magic spread around Clove's skin, tinging them with blue, as they delved into her body. With a few flicks of her fingers, she guided them toward the wound. The deeper her power went, the more she could sense a small, jagged lump that was embedded in her flesh. From the shape of the edges, it had to be the cause of the injury.

"I've found the bone, but it's not going to be nice to get out." The princess grabbed the silver forceps and adjusted them so they were at the opening of the wound.

"That's fine," Cloven said through gritted teeth. "Just hurry."

Taking a deep breath and honing in on where the shard of bone rested, Ilyana pushed the forceps into the injury. The captain's scream and the tears that rolled down her cheeks made her heart lurch with anguish. She plunged further into the wound and secured the bone, gently pulling it out and being careful not to create any extra cuts.

"It's okay now. The bone is out," Ilyana assured. "I'll seal the wound now and you'll feel better in no time, alright? You just need to hang on a little longer."

She received no response from Cloven except from the sudden hand that interlinked with hers. Her grip was so strong that she could feel her knuckles roll against each other. Sweat coated her freshly pale skin and blood coated her lip from where she had bitten into it.

Quickly placing the forceps back onto the table, she pushed her power into the wound. The princess guided the threads, commanding them like puppet strings to weave the flesh shut seamlessly. Excess magic cleansed the area around it, fading the swollen red skin.

A wave of nausea rushed through her and she rested her arms on her knees to combat the sudden vertigo, letting go of Cloven's hand. Now that the healing had finished, her necklace finally calmed down. The gemstone stayed hidden under the bodice of her dress, pressed comfortingly against her chest.

"How do you feel?" she asked, watching the captain with a suspicious glare.

She was prodding the area where her wound had just been with a finger, the colour already returning to her face. "I feel great. Perfect, even. It was like I was never skewered by that crazy woman."

"Please still be careful. It will be tender for the next few days and you've still lost a lot of blood, so you need to rest," Ilyana instructed.

Cloven bowed her head. "I will be sure to follow those orders."

"Perhaps you can follow another order too." The princess crossed her arms. "I want an explanation. Now."

"Right. There's... it's a long story."

"And I've got all the time in the world. If I need to miss the banquet tonight, so be it." There were a plethora of questions that raced through her mind and she had no idea where to start. She needed to know every detail of what had happened, what made her forget about her. "When did you get back?"

The captain refused to meet her pale, blue eyes. "Maybe a month or so ago?" she offered.

"And I'm only finding out about this now?" The blade of betrayal only buried itself further into her heart. "You sure worked your way into a captain position quickly."

She nodded. "King Mortas still remembers me from when I used to train with the guards when I was little. He gave me the position because... for reasons."

"Seriously? You're still keeping secrets from me too?"

"It's not mine to tell," Cloven replied with a shrug.

Ilyana's brows narrowed. As soon as she saw her father again, that would be the first thing she pressed him about. "What happened to your promise?" Her voice wavered as she questioned her. "You said you would send me letters and keep in contact while you were gone, but all I got from you was silence. You left and never looked back when I needed you, Clove. All these years by myself in this castle has been torture."

Cloven grabbed the princess' hand and stroked the back of it with a blood-crusted thumb. Ilyana relished in the touch for a moment before snatching it away.

"I'm sorry. I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am and I know it will never make up for it. When I got to Nicitor, there were a lot of complications — situations I wasn't expecting. I wasn't able to get anything back to Wyrith, whether it was a letter through boat or even a raven." The captain swung her legs around so she sat beside her old best friend, their legs a mere hair's breadth away from each other. "Believe me, I tried. Every month for thirteen years I tried to get something back to you, but nothing worked."

The Kingdom of Nicitor was renowned for the grand mountains that lined their borders. Strange creatures were known for living inside the caves that formed in them and others for creating nests at the highest peaks. Some were small birds with peculiar abilities, while a few of the creatures were claimed to be dragons. With all of her research into the kingdoms surrounding their island for her future as queen, Ilyana didn't know anything about mail restrictions between the two places.

"Did you find your parents?" Tears stung Ilyana's eyes. If she had been gone for so long, her journey had to at least be worth it. When Cloven only nodded, the princess continued. "Then why did you come back? Surely you would have just left and-"

A blazing light flashed from outside, forcing them to turn away from the windows and shield their eyes. When she was sure the flare was over, she looked up to find her vision filled with dark spots dancing across the infirmary.

"What the fuck?" Cloven's gaze was fixated on the window. She stood to investigate what the cause of the strange light could have been and Ilyana joined her.

What the princess saw through the glass made her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. Stretching as far as anyone could see — from the buoys that surrounded the island to the tallest spire of Celnaer Castle — a thin wall surrounded the island. The translucent, violet sheen rippled with magic and not the kind that Ilyana was familiar with. It was something ancient. Something that had awoken from the depths of an archaic slumber.

"What is that?" The captain questioned, squinting between the window panes.

Ilyana knew all too well what it was. The dreaded notion of a wall surrounding the island had been drilled into her skull since she was old enough to talk. It was a fate that meant certain doom throughout Wyrith — spreading panic and erupting chaos.

The Necromancer's Curse was active.

Chapter Word Count: 1610
Total Word Count: 5962