A cold feeling
Chapter 31: Avalyn’s POV
“This is treason, Avalyn. If someone else sees this with you, they will consider it treason! Do you know how long we have all been waiting for an heir to be born to King Talon?”
I felt tears begin to build at the corners of my eyes. My hands started shaking and the pills dropped off my hands. Cassie wasn’t shouting or yelling, but each word she said sank deep into my soul.
I had managed to get Talon to let me leave, what if he had seen this with me, what would have become of me?
“It isn’t mine… I swear…” I choked as the first of the tears dropped down my cheeks. “I… We- it was on the ground and I thought it was a sort of supplement for pregnant women….” I tried to explain despite the large lump that sat in my throat.
If she didn’t believe me, she would tell Greg and he would tell Talon, then that would be my end.
“I swear I was going to ask Sara about it. I didn’t plan on taking it… I- I was going to ask Sara… Please believe me…”
Dawn stepped back at that moment with lips stained with chocolate. There was a smile on her face but as she saw the tears in my eyes, she rushed to my side and held my shoulders.
“Avalyn! What’s wrong?” She asked moving her eyes from me to Cassie, who sat looking me straight in the eyes.
Cassie then picked up the red pack from the ground and red the body more carefully. “Not a lot of people in the castle have access to this… Where did you say you found this?” She asked again.
Dawn snatched the pack from her and turned it over her fingers. “It’s a human drug from the west. Only the high-ranking council members and the king himself have access to this… What is it?” Dawn asked.
Again, Cassie ignored her question and held my shoulders instead. “I believe you, Avalyn. I just need you to remember where you found it…” she whispered.
Dawn kept looking between both of us, waiting for an answer and I could tell she was starting to grow impatient.
“Cassie, come on, what’s this about? My job is to make sure she doesn’t get upset. Please, what’s going on and what is this?” Dawn asked.
My heart was beating at a rate so high, I could barely hear them as they spoke. My hands were still trembling. I couldn’t have messed everything up with one stupid drug.
Why did I even pick it up?Copyright by Nôv/elDrama.Org.
“What?” Dawn’s scream snapped me out of my head.
“Yes, that’s what this medication is for… I don’t know who would want to terminate their children?” Cassie said and I saw the confusion in her eyes.
Dawn stayed quiet and I stayed with her long enough to know what she was thinking.
“We passed the two maids on our way here…” As she said it, the possibility of them dropping it also replayed in my head.
“Yes, it was right after they passed that I saw it just laying on the ground…” I said, raising my voice to a frequency higher than before.
Cassie’s brows furrowed as she now observed both Dawn and me. “Whose maids were they?”
I turned to Dawn because I didn’t know the answer to this. They mentioned the queen was waiting for them but I didn’t know if that worked for her.
“The Queen. I recognized one of them. They are her handmaidens,” Dawn explained.
“Dawn, are you certain about this?” Cassie asked in a whisper.
I noticed she had gone pale and even Dawn had her eyes wide open in shock.
“We need to go to Sara. She will give us clearer answers!” Dawn declared as she went back to the kitchen to wash her hands. When she stepped back out, I was already on my feet.
She secured the red pack in her pocket and turned to Cassie. “When will Ethan and Nathan return?”
Cassie looked at the time on the wall and shook her head. “They won’t be back till two hours. Greg can pick them up since he is around there anyway. We have nothing to worry about…”
I wanted to ask who Ethan and Nathan were but it wasn’t the time. I would ask Dawn all of my questions when this problem was sorted out.
“Come on,” Cassie said, leading the way.
We stepped out of the house and Cassie locked the doors. Then she joined Dawn and me -as we headed toward the clinic.
My hands were still trembling and my heart was still jumping at the slightest thought that came to mind. I knew I could trust Dawn to protect me but Cassie, I barely met her today and this was happening.
Oh God! Please help me…
We got to the clinic and I noticed how everyone greeted Cassie with extra respect. One would even think she was the queen around here, yet she was very simple compared to the real queen.
The closer we got to Sara’s office my heart kept sinking. The loud sound of the beat shook me and sweat continued to drop from my forehead.
When we finally got to her Cassie -who seemed calmer amongst us, knocked on the door and waited for a response.
“Yes!” Sara responded when nobody stepped in.
Cassie turned to me and Dawn, “this is your first assignment, let me do the talking and no pointing of fingers, okay?”
“I am no newbie! You don’t have to worry about me as long as we are getting to the bottom of this,” Dawn said and I simply nodded.
The door suddenly pulled open and Sara’s furrowed brows slowly expanded into a smile.
“What are you three doing here?” She asked, moving her eyes over us like our skin could tell her what was happening.
Cassie went past her into the office and Dawn followed. Sara looked back at them and then checked outside. Her eyes slowly landed on me and her frown returned.
“Step inside Avalyn,” She urged me.
My legs moved on their own and we crowded the office as Sara locked the door behind us.
“From the look of things we have a problem here, and I hope for the goddess’s sake it has nothing to do with Avalyn and her baby…” Sara asked as she sat on her table with crossed arms.
“No, it has nothing to do with her,” Dawn answered, glaring at Cassie.
Cassie took a deep breath and got up. “Actually it does-”
“She didn’t take it, Cassie!” Dawn cried out and my lungs stopped supplying air into my body.
“I am not saying she did but she could have and this isn’t the discussion we would have been having!” She retorted.
Sara adjusted the rims of her glasses and watched them quietly.
“What exactly is going on?” She asked after they stayed quiet for too long.
Dawn brought out the pack of the pill from her pocket and placed it on the table.
Sara’s eyes immediately dimmed into tiny black beads. “Where did you get this? Avalyn, did you take it?” She asked, turning to face me.
“Ummm… I- I didn’t…” I stuttered.
“She didn’t take it and that’s not the point,” Dawn hissed out in frustration.
“Then what is?” Sara snapped. “This is a highly effective long-term medication that can not only harm her child but prevent further pregnancy development!”
Cassie stopped pacing and turned to Sara. “What has been the cause of Willow’s miscarriages?”
Sara’s eyes dimmed even more than before. “You are not suggesting that she took this are you?”
Even Dawn stopped fuming and paid close attention to Cassie. “I am not insinuating that she takes it herself. But someone else might have given it to her because think about it… She is very healthy. Talon is a Lycan. How can she lose babies every damn time! No matter what precaution we take?!”
Willow had been having miscarriages? I always thought she had a problem with birth that was why she never gave Talon any child…
“What if someone have been feeding her with this drug and she wasn’t aware of it?” Dawn asked and Cassie snapped her fingers.
“And that’s why we need to be careful of the people that come around Avalyn! What if that same person tried to give her this same drug?” Cassie retorted.
My heart stopped beating so hard as I now saw the reason for their fears. They were concerned for me…
“But… Ummm… Why would anyone want to kill a child you’ve all been searching for?” I asked. It made no sense somehow.
They all seemed very excited when I got pregnant, why would anyone try to kill my baby?
Sara left the table and came to stand by me. “Listen, King Talon has so many enemies, but here and away. We can never be too sure of who to trust and who not to…” She explained.
“We have to tell Greg about this and the queen’s guards would need to be multiplied…” Cassie said and I could see the fierceness in her eyes.
“We also need to find out who gave those maids the drug. They couldn’t have acquired it on their own…” Dawn said.
“You are right. We will have to be on alert if we want to protect the heir…” Sara agreed with them.
“I’ll go tell my brother right away!” Dawn said, dashing out of the room at once.
Sara squeezed my hand and patted my hair. “You are in good hands, Avalyn. You have nothing to worry about when someone like Cassie is on your side,” she said.
“Come on Sara, what’s that supposed to mean!?” Cassie said, rolling her eyes.
Sara left my side and started heading to the door. “It means that she is in the presence of one of our greatest warriors ever.” With that, she pulled the door and paused, “I’ll go check our pharmacy and see if somehow such pills are now readily available to anyone.”
Cassie nodded and Sara left the room. I sat there, helplessly. Everyone seemed to have something to do to solve the case and I had none.