Chapter 37
THE lure of sunlight shining through the windows wasn’t enough to pull Yuki from the embrace of sleep. Several times she opened her drowsy eyes only to roll over and doze back off. Falling back to sleep four times finally did the job when she woke up fully refreshed the fifth time to the strong midafternoon sunlight.
…This is the first time I’ve had a sound sleep since coming to Aridol. Or at least one not fraught with nightmares and fevers. She felt like she did on a Saturday morning when she didn’t have to set an alarm.
Glancing around, she assumed Selena was attending to patients in the adjacent room because she was gone. Cheerful voices coming from the hall brought a smile to her face.
Sounds like they’re feeling better. What a relief.
How many days had they stayed at Corona’s inn? Corona’s family made a complete recovery. The other patients they attended to had returned to their homes in the neighborhood as well.
I need to hurry to the capital.
With their promise to cure Corona’s family fulfilled, it was time to move on. Or so Yuki initially believed, but the frazzled feeling laying over her like a heavy, dark cloud wouldn’t let up.
Moving on means forsaking Fol…
Forsaken by Adolunde, Fol now had to brace for the worst with its meager strength weakened by the occupation. They would need to turn a blind eye to Fol’s plight to move on to the capital.
“I’m relieved we have someone like her still around to challenge us for our laziness. It means Fol isn’t doomed yet,” the copper-haired young man said the prior night.
But it’s not like I can do anything for them. What could Yuki do for the people suffering all over? …All over?
Cocking her head to put her finger on the sudden strange feeling she got, her concentration was broken by the room door being quietly opened. Careful not to wake Yuki, Selena pushed the door slowly to keep it from creaking.
“Selena,” Yuki greeted her from bed.
“Oh, you’re awake?” Selena gave up her attempt to slowly open the door and came in with her usual noisiness. She held a tray of food in her right hand. “Looks like someone got her beauty rest. Your complexion is much better today.”
She strutted over to Yuki’s bed and placed the tray on the side table where she poured water from the pitcher into a cup. “I brought you food thinking you might wake soon. I have better timing than I thought,” she laughed.
“You sure do. Thanks, Selena.” Yuki swung her legs over the side of the bed and pulled the tray onto her lap.
“Thank you for the food,” she said, clapping her hands together before picking up the spoon. Selena sat down on the side of the bed facing Yuki and watched her. “Is everyone doing better now?” she asked while she ate.
“They’re back to full health! Seems like Vigo and I aren’t needed anymore. Vigo said if we hurry we can make it to the capital today or tomorrow.”
“I see…”
“What? You don’t look happy. Is the food bad?” Selena asked.
Yuki shook her head and blurted out the nagging feeling she had, “Hey, Selena, why were all the patients brought into a single room?”
“What?”
“This inn has rooms for the children, the parents, and guests, right? Why didn’t they keep them in different rooms and instead put them in the adjacent larger room?”
“…Yuki, are you half-asleep? Or did you sleep so much your brain checked out?”
“I’m awake…I think. When I started thinking about it, I realized we always moved patients to one location.”
Selena finally understood what she was talking about and thoughtfully put her finger to her chin. “There are a lot of reasons for it. Take this time as an example. There were ten patients and only one woman who could take care of them. Rather than have to run from room to room attending to them, it’s easier for her to nurse them all in the same room.”
“Hmm, I see.” She brought the spoon to her mouth. Selena’s point was convincing, but thinking on it further made it become less plausible as the core reason. “By your theory, we always borrowed a house during our travels for the same reason to prevent Vigo from overexerting himself by running all over the place. Another reason was to prevent others from getting infected through foolish contact. The sicker the patients are, the greater the danger of spreading it to others, right?”
Ah! The origin of the nagging feeling she had oddly fell in place. It’s because they’re all over the place!
Tension eased, she rapidly scooped all the food into her mouth at once. Finally, she had clarity over what she wanted to do next. Wanting to move forward right away, she rushed her meal.
“Yuki?” Selena eyed her warily.
“I’m going out for a bit after I finish eating,” Yuki said after swallowing a large gulp of soup.
“Where to?”
“Fol Castle,” she said and shoveled more food into her mouth without chewing it much. With her cheeks puffed out with food, she munched away and added more food every time she swallowed some. Flabbergasted, Selena watched her.
“Fol Castle? After what happened yesterday, I’m not so sure about you doing that…”
“Eah, ow ‘hat ‘o ‘ust ‘e tinkin’ ut’ ‘eed ‘alk….” Yuki coughed out around her food, sending pieces everywhere.
“Sorry, would you please speak after you finish chewing?”
Yuki nodded and swallowed her mouthful of food and swigged down some water. “Yeah, I know what you must be thinking, but I need to talk to the people there.”
“Talk about what?”
“The people of Fol have all been nursing their sick family members at home, right? But I think that’s only exposing other family members to the risk of infection.”
“Haah…” Selena sighed, not following Yuki’s prattling.
“At this rate, it’s like sending a zombie survivor to help other survivors only for them to get bitten and turn into one—everyone will become infected with the Ten Day Fever.”
“Zombie? What’s a zombie?”
“Uh, a zombie is a corpse that has come back to life and can kill other people and make more zombies out of them…”
“What?! The dead come back to life? And make more like them?! Your country has such a monster?!”
“Huh? No, this is just an analogy.”
“It is? Then you lied?”
“No, it’s not a lie.”
“It’s not? Do we have to worry about these zombies coming by boat to attack us?!”
“Forget it! ANYWAY! As it stands, Fol will have nothing but people infected with the Ten Day Fever. I want to go to Fol Castle and convince them to open up an area to gather the infected and quarantine them,” Yuki explained and looked Selena in the eyes. “You’re the one who told me to think about what to do after a mistake is made.
“I want to see Luca as soon as I can—I’m worried to death about him—but I’m not capable of turning my back on people who are crying out in need right in front of me. If we run out of medicine, I remember how to make it. Oh, but herbs might pose a problem. Still, we can find a way to handle it…” she rambled on with different excuses until she ended by saying, “I can’t abandon the people of Fol for the capital.”
Selena assessed Yuki and let out a small sigh. “You found a way around what we stopped…” she muttered and said, “…So? What do you want from me, Yuki?”
“I need your advice on how to convince Vigo,” she whispered, not sure if it was something she should ask of her.
“Oh, that’s easy,” Selena answered.
“It is?”
“You just have to serve him alcohol during his lunch,” she replied with a wink and a vixen’s grin.