Hmm? She turned and looked and caught a glimpse of Earth Mother vestments. For a second, she thought maybe Priestess had asked the question—but no. This girl’s frame, the length of her hair, and her facial expression all resembled Priestess but only superficially.
Her eyes met Cow Girl’s, and the smile she gave her was like the sun coming out from behind the clouds. “Sorry to drop in!” the girl chirped.
“Y-Your Highness?!” There was a shuffle as Guild Girl abruptly straightened up.
“Highness?” Cow Girl said, cocking her head.
Guild Girl was still flustered. “Wh-when did you get here?! Uh, er, please excuse my rudeness…”
“It’s all right, really. I snuck in. Or snuck out, I guess.”
The king’s little sister (Cow Girl didn’t know that’s who she was) laughed out loud and waved away Guild Girl’s concern. She had a puckish twinkle in her eye, which soon settled on the girl who looked so much like her. “It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“Yes!” Priestess replied, and her smile was like a blossoming flower.
They definitely look like each other, but…not exactly.
Even two girls who looked virtually identical were clearly distinguishable if you knew at least one of them. But in any case, more women meant more chatter—and more loveliness.
Above all, no one in the booth objected to the addition of another friend.
Lizard Priest slid his massive body over, High Elf Archer pressing in as well, to make a space into which the new girl slipped. Guild Girl shifted, evidently feeling awkward about something, but Dwarf Shaman laughed jovially. “What’s this, then, Princess?” (Cow Girl cocked her head again: Princess?) “A bit o’ hooky, eh?”
“That’s right. I couldn’t stand another minute of that meeting; it just wouldn’t end! So I showed myself out.” She stuck out her tongue playfully; Guild Girl placed her hands on her stomach and tried to restrain a smile.
Huh?
Priestess blinked as she observed the scene. Her color was poor—not the receptionist’s, the king’s little sister. She was paler than Priestess, of course, and her skin looked dewy enough, but it was more than that. It looked like her circulation was weak—maybe like she was tired—or then again, maybe not quite.
“Um, are you okay…?” Priestess asked. It was a natural question. She felt a twinge at the back of her neck, a bad feeling she couldn’t seem to shake.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Doing great. I think I’m just a little tired,” King’s Sister replied.
For her part, High Elf Archer seemed bothered as well—or maybe it was pangs of sympathy since her social position was much like this girl’s. She peered into King’s Sister’s face, then said in a chiding tone, “I know human lives are short, but you don’t have to hurry around quite that much!”
“If only we could all measure things the same way the elves do!” King’s Sister laughed. She abruptly slouched over.
And then, almost before the others could register what was happening, her delicate body crumpled.
“Yikes!” Priestess exclaimed.
“H-hey!” cried High Elf Archer. At moments like this, no one moved faster than an elf. She was already in motion before Priestess could even reach out, catching the girl in arms that were far stronger than their delicate appearance would suggest.
The limp young woman’s face had gone beyond pale; she was practically white now and breathing shallowly.
“This is bad news. She’s got a fever,” High Elf Archer reported.
“Your Highness?!” Guild Girl yelped in spite of herself. Cow Girl was likewise halfway out of her seat. You didn’t have to know exactly what was going on to recognize it didn’t look good. Any questions about the girl’s title were swept from her head.
Cow Girl was quickly at the young woman’s side; she knelt down and loosened the girl’s collar. “We can’t let her outfit constrict her! What else should we do?!”
“Something to drink—we have water, right?” Priestess said. “We should wipe away the sweat…”
While High Elf Archer held the girl, the others tended to her. Guild Girl watched them, stupefied, until Priestess shouted, “A doctor! My healing miracles can’t do anything about sickness!”
“Understood!” Guild Girl said, snapping back to reality. She prevented herself from wasting time just nodding along.
She heard Goblin Slayer say softly, “Then I’ll go, too.” He leaped nimbly to his feet, unclasping his shield and the pouch at his hip in a single fluid motion to make himself lighter. “Show me where to go. And call whomever we need to call; I don’t know who.”
Guild Girl understood what he was asking for in his own gruff way. She used all her considerable wit to mull over the situation, then replied with much gratitude, “Yes, I will.”
It’s all right now. I’m calm. I can do this.
She nodded at Goblin Slayer, who nodded back. The metal helmet turned. “Apologies, but can I ask you handle things here?”
“Ask us? We’re volunteerin’!” said Dwarf Shaman. Like the long-necked Lizard Priest, he was already out of his chair. Not only that: He was digging through his bag of catalysts, while Lizard Priest stood with his clawed hands and feet at the ready. It was an extraordinarily quick response to someone collapsing; they had seized the initiative, so to speak.
“Just say she’s got a bit overwhelmed spectatin’.”
“Indeed,” Lizard Priest said. “It’s all a bit too stimulating for a cultivated young lady.”
They spoke pointedly, but Guild Girl agreed and indeed was grateful to them. She gave them each a quick bow.
“Don’t stand on ceremony, just get goin’. This ain’t lookin’ good.”
Dwarf Shaman waved them away, and before Guild Girl could reply “Yes, you’re right,” she found herself floating into the air. “Eep!”
“I’m going to run,” said a voice near her abdomen. She finally registered that she had been lifted onto someone’s shoulder. “Tell me where to go.”
“Huh? I mean… What?!”
After that, everything happened at once. They were racing down the stadium hallway; she was being carried along at a furious pace.
They’re going to think I’m the patient like this!
She felt confusion, panic, embarrassment, all assaulting her disheveled brain. But still, she couldn’t forget the last thing she’d heard as they left. Priestess had looked at the king’s little sister’s neck, and in a shaking voice, she had said, “This mark…”
There are endless seeds for adventures in the Four-Cornered World. And consequently, wherever there are adventures, there will be adventurers.
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