“Not at all, Princess Annabel.” Harold shook his head. “Never mind what Karina says. I think it’d be a great idea for your magicians to take a look at Elena. I mean, we don’t even know what it is she’s sick from. I’ll show you to her room sometime, when Karina is otherwise engaged. So, what do you say? Will you do it?”
“Yes, of course. Najir is happy to help Nigren with anything it requires.”
“Thank you. Ah, by the way, Princess Annabel, is there anywhere in particular you’d like to visit while you’re here?”
After that, Harold changed the subject to lighter matters. I think he was trying to make up for the unpleasant scene from before. But Karina’s outburst had deeply upset me and snuffed out all my feelings of excitement.
After dinner, Daniel got to his feet from his place further down the table and came over to say hello. He was wearing a pale brown frock coat and looked very dashing.
“Princess Annabel, are you well?”
“Oh yes, very well. Thank you.”
“That’s splendid. Your beauty has only increased since last we met! How about a date while we’re both here visiting?”
“And I can see you’re in fine spirits as usual. I’m glad to see you well too, my prince.” I responded to his causal flirtation with a little joke of my own.
Daniel raised an eyebrow, clearly caught off-guard by my wit. “It was a genuine request, not a joke, Princess.”
“So…I assume you asked Karina on a date as well, to make things nice and even?” I raised both eyebrows and grinned.
Daniel responded with a wry smile. Aha!
But then Daniel’s smile quickly faded and his gaze became somber.
“Actually, I need to talk to you about something in private.” Daniel lowered his voice to a whisper, looking over his shoulder. But at this late hour, a stroll in the gardens wasn’t feasible. And we couldn’t very well talk in either of our rooms at night without attracting suspicion.
“How about tomorrow in the morning?”
“I have to meet the Minister. What about the afternoon?”
“No, that’s when I have to meet the Minister. Before the banquet in the evening then? We’ll probably finish around teatime.”
“All right.” Daniel nodded, still gazing somberly at me.
It sounds like something really important. I wonder what it could be?
Maybe it was something that affected our two countries. In that case, I should have Claude join us. Just as I was mulling it over, someone said “Princess Annabel” from behind me.
I turned to see Prince Harold.
“May I speak with you a moment?”
“Yes, of course.” I smiled and nodded. Daniel nodded politely to Harold and excused himself, leaving the dining hall. Harold watched him go before turning back to face me.
“About what we discussed earlier…may I make that an official request?”
“Um…what part?”
“The part about Elena.”
I stopped smiling as soon as I heard that name.
“You want me to see if I can heal her.”
“Yes. That.”
Harold’s green eyes were focused directly on my own.
“I believe you may’ve heard this from Karina already, but Elena is one of the ones who have magical powers as a result of a genetic mutation. She lived in the Eastern mountains until she was ten years old, with no one aware of her magic. When she was first brought into the palace, she was very wary of people and wouldn’t open up to anyone. She’d use her magic to intimidate anyone who tried to get close. Many were hurt by her. We were at a loss about how to handle her, but then Karina stepped in. She announced that she’d be the girl’s protector, since they were close in age. And it’s been that way ever since.”
“It sounds like Karina really cares for her.”
“Yes, very much. Elena’s always been expressionless like a doll. But Karina kept talking to her, kept trying. She’s overprotective of her, even now. She’s had the girl’s bed moved into her own chambers and won’t permit a doctor to visit without also being present. I think she’s taking it a bit too far, myself.”
Harold shrugged, palms facing upright.
“In her own chambers?”
That was a bit weird. I could understand Karina’s concern, but why move the girl into her own room, practically becoming her nurse? She didn’t even know if the illness was contagious.
“Karina hasn’t been herself lately at all. I don’t know whether it’s exhaustion from nursing Elena or just frustration over the situation. You noticed it too, didn’t you, Princess Annabel?”
I nodded vaguely in response.
It was true, though. The angry shrieking Karina at the dinner table didn’t resemble the friend I knew much at all. She was eerily like the Karina I’d glimpsed in my last timeline, though.
“Do you think Karina will agree to some of my men treating Elena?”
“In all probability, no. But I still want Elena examined. She’s a valuable asset to our country. After returning from Najir, she showed us a form of magic where she created matter from thin air. She said she learned it during her visit. It was amazing. No one else in Nigren could do something like that. Only Elena.”
“She made…something from thin air?”
From what I knew of magic, that didn’t sound right.
“Yes. She held her palm upright like so and conjured a little stone there out of absolutely nothing.”
Harold held his palm upright, tapping it with the index finger of his other hand.
I couldn’t be sure without seeing it myself, but from Harold’s explanation, it sounded like Elena had used either Transference magic or Material Composition magic.
With Transference magic, you could send something from your possession to another physical location, or you could draw something from a different location right to you. Material Composition magic was self-explanatory. Both were extremely high-level spells.
Only a few magicians in Najir could use such spells competently. I certainly made a mess of them every time I tried. Yet Elena had mastered the spell in the space of one short visit to Najir?
“Anyway, it’s of vital importance to our country that Elena regains her health. I understand that Karina wants to take care of her friend, but enough is enough. I need your assistance, Princess Annabel.”
Harold brought the subject back to his favor while I was still thinking hard about magic.
I frowned, racking my brains.
Karina’s behavior at dinner made me certain she wouldn’t take too kindly to me interfering. Even if Harold managed to keep her in check, I knew Karina would still burn with resentment.
But Harold needed our help. He didn’t want to lose a vital asset to his country’s future.
Considering my old world’s timeline, two years remained until Karina and Daniel’s political marriage and the immediate invasion of Najir. The timeline had already changed so much, but there was still no guarantee I wasn’t facing the exact same fate.
I wanted to keep relations with Nigren as friendly as possible to hopefully prevent that. Which meant that I needed to earn the goodwill of Nigren’s crown prince, Harold.
“All right. We’ll come by tomorrow morning to see Elena. I’ll bring one of my magicians with me. I’m sure Elena will be pleased to see some new magic, if nothing else. Perhaps she’ll explain things to Karina so that she’ll be all right with it.
“That’s a great idea! After all, Karina invited your magicians here for Elena’s benefit. She mentioned she was writing to you to make sure you brought them specifically.” Harold smiled, nodding.
Karina wrote asking me to bring my magicians for Elena’s benefit?
Thinking back on it, that made sense. I’d brought Ed because of the letter Karina sent specifically asking me to bring my magicians along.
“Then we’ll proceed with the plan tomorrow.”
I smiled, nodding slightly to Claude, who was waiting behind me. Claude bowed, knowing what I wanted.