Chapter 27: Chapter 27

Jasmine was halfway into Asteria territory, about twelve hours to the castle when she saw the courier with the king's flag.

"Stop him and make him come to me." Jasmine order some of the guards that came with her. Ken had gotten Jared letter and although all Jared asked for was physicians but Ken had also assembled a small army under Jasmine command along with the physician to guard and protect the royals of Asteria. Ken was trying up some last minute issues in Kythia before he could join them and because of the number of people moving, they had to proceed slower than they expected.

"Let me go, I have a matter of urgency to deliver to the the family of Lord Jerome. Lady Jasmine." The courier stated when he saw the flag which Jasmine allowed to fly high from the moment they left.

Jasmine straighten on her horse as she glanced at Mona.

"Who is the message from?" Mona asked.

"The royal family..." The courier started.

"The person particularly." Jasmine asked irritated already.

"Princess Alexa ..." The courier started and before the courier said anything more. Jasmine jumped from her horse, landed and ripped the message bag from the man who tried to collect it but guards held him back while Jasmine looked through the bag.

"You have no right..." The courier yelled, spittle flying everywhere.

"I have every right seeing that I am lady Jasmine." Jasmine replied as she ripped the letter open.

"I need to see your identification tag..." The courier stated and that was when Jasmine remembered that she left it at home. She shrugged and walked away from the courier and his words which he shouted. When she saw the letter, she threw the bag to the courier who held it and then addressed one of the guards holding the courier.

"Feed him now because we will be off as soon as I am done reading this." Jasmine ordered the man bowed to her as he dragged the courier away. Jasmine read the letter and when she was done. She calmly folded the letter and placed it in her pocket.

"What is wrong? What does it say?" Mona asked.

"I need a physician, his supplies and ten guards. We will ride before everyone else while the rest will come after all at an increased space. We do not have much time. Lo... Prince Jared is in danger." Jasmine yelled at at once, her words spurned people into action.

Within another ten minutes, she was riding beside a physician who had a bag tied around his neck just like her and with warriors surrounding them as they raced towards the castle, Jasmine eyes pricked with tears buts he refused to let any fall. The person who was responsible for her brother injury will suffer.

*******

Jasmine arrived in the castle the early hours of the next day. And grabbing the guard nearest to her, she demanded that she was shown where her brother was. At first she was taken unserious until a member of Kythia, Jared personal guard that was still around arrived and then led her to the physician ward in the castle where a screaming match began between Jasmine and the physicians who were there. Refusing to allow Jasmine access her brother.

Alexa came out of Jared room when the noise got too much only to see Jasmine had drawn her sword.

"I tried the sensible way out but apparently, the idea did not appeal to you so now. I will try the other way. It is either you step out of my way or I will shove your lifeless body out of my way with my sword."

"We are not preventing you from visiting your brother, all what we are saying is that the person who is behind you will stay away from the patient...." One of the physician tried to explain wringing his hand, he did not understand this lady. He thought princess Alexa was an abnormality but this lady in front of him seemed even more so and the wide look in here eyes told him of the fact that this was a lady who could kill him if he looked at her the wrong way or say the wrong thing.

Jasmine got into the face of the man preventing her from entering her brother room. "Not an option, he goes where I go and you have until the count of three to get out of my way. One."

The man blubbered, trying to explain why Jasmine should calm down but Jasmine yelled. "Two!"

"Jasmine." Alexa said. Jasmine looked beyond the man to see the princess standing behind him. Alexa hurried to Jasmine, pushing the man aside as she passed him before hugging Jasmine tight.

Jasmine stretched her sword to the physician beside her and after he took the sword from her. She hugged her sister in-law who was shaking.

"Jasmine... Jared..." Alexa tried to explain but Jasmine shook her head.

"No need to explain now, take me to him." Jasmine ordered and Alexa held her hand as she dragged Jasmine back from where she was coming from.

"Your highness..." The man started to complain.

"Another word and I will cut your tongue from your mouth." Alexa ordered and the man snapped his mouth shut while glaring at Alexa but she had already ushered Jasmine and the physician in.

"He was shot and he lost a lot of blood when they removed the arrow from his shoulder. They did not allow me in then and after they removed the arrow, I was told that he lost a lot of blood and so he was unconscious for the time being. When I was allowed to see him, he was looking this pale and since he had not opened his eyes." Alexa explained.

Jasmine shifted away from the bed after brushing some of Jared hair away from his face. It has been a while since he got an hair cut and knowing Jared, she knew he was growing his hair out on purpose so he would change the style he normally used to match his change in environment. "He will be alright" Jasmine smiled through her blurry eyes. "He better be or else I will not let him hear the end of it."

Jasmine shifted away from Jared and allowed the physician to take her place and as the physician examined Jared she explained to Alexa. "This is the Amos the second best royal physician in Kythia, he has treated all sorts of poisons, cuts, infection, battle injury and the likes, he will be able to take care of Jared and nurse my brother back to health."

Alexa breathed a sigh of relief at Jasmine words. Thankfully that was what she wanted to hear. An assurance that she was not losing Jared just as soon as she found him.

"What is wrong?" Jasmine asked Amos who was frowning as he continued to check Jared. Alexa eyes jerked open as she too looked at the face of Amos.

"I do not understand the diagnosis because it is something that is opposite of what should be happening." Amos replied.

"Tell us what you discovered." Jasmine ordered.

"His shoulder is a small wound that can be healed within a month but I am more concerned with his blood loss. If the arrow was kept in his shoulder until he got here, he should not have lost quarter of the quantity which he had lost and it of was taken out it should also be the same thing but Lord Jared is almost lifeless because he does not have enough blood in his body, that can only be done deliberately by a physician because they believe the person blood is infected but I do not think that the wound was infected not to mention the blood." Amos explained.

"In other words, what is your conclusion Amos." Jasmine asked although she already knew.

"He was being killed my lady." Amos replied.

*******

Jasmine was right beside Alexa as she found every single physician in the castle to throw in her jail, this she did after she made sure that the guards that came with Jasmine were the ones guarding the room.in which Amos was working on Jared, mixing various herbs he brought with him to give Jared in order to multiply Jared's blood as quickly as possible.

Alexa father was woken up from his sleep by the commotion in the castle mad when he finally mad his way to the center of it, he was not surprised to find his daughter there but he was surprised to hear the reason why. And although Jasmine did not say anything wrong, the king could not help but think that they made the queen, his wife the way she was too. With his order backing his daughter own, he made sure that the physicians were separated from their medicines and in jail where he planned on interrogating them.

The king retired to watch his wife as he wondered if he was not the cause of her illness since he believed the words of those who were supposed to heal her for years. He stayed by his wife and waited for Amos to be done with Jared treatment before he focused on his wife.

If Amos did diagnosed his Mirabelle and he learns that he was been fooled all along, he was going to na angry with Corthin and then his vengeance will ring loud and stain the soil with blood.

*******

Jared was right and it took almost his death before they knew. Alexa knew she was not at fault but she could not help but blame herself for his state. They were slowly killing themselves with the so called physicians that they had and they were not even aware, it took them making her mother bedridden and an outsider to recognize what was going on.

Alexa sniffed as Jasmine turned to look at Alexa. She was looking haggard, Jasmine had left during the day time in the middle of the arrest saga that happened to settle her army which arrived in the castle and then took the physicians to settle in the old physicians quarters then instructed them to find out the ingredients and every herbs which the former physicians used and then when Amos assured them that Jared would be fine soon, he was escorted to look at the queen. The diagnosis he gave of the queen was enough to make the king fly into a deep rage and then after Jasmine was done calming the king down so he would not make any rase decision or action, she went back to Jared to see Alexa there holding Jared hands and smiling that he squeezed hers back.

Jasmine had finally forced Alexa to leave Jared side to go to her room to rest for the night before she came back again and continue her watch by his side and although Alexa put up a fight, Jasmine won and so Alexa went to her room. She wondered where Betty was as she had not seen Betty for a while and then after she had shut the door behind, realizing that she forgot her sword in Jared room, she went ahead to slowly do her nightly rituals which was harder since Betty was not there to help her.

She lied on her bed with a groan as she tried to be comfortable but she still felt as if something was wrong, at first she dismissed the feeling. Thinking that maybe it is her instincts because she left Jared alone but when she heard a foreign sound, she realized that it was not just her instincts, someone was also in the room with her.

She froze as she tried to listen and when she felt a presence upon her, she tried to roll away but a hand grabbed her leg and slapped her hard across the face.

"It took you a long time to settle down. God!" The person said and she could recognize the voice. It was Flynn.

And suddenly she remembered.