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The next few days continued much the same as the previous ones had been.

The only difference being that guards were now stationed inside the Ruby Room at all times as well as outside the door.

The previous Pandreian King, when he caught wind of the Emperor and Queen being in danger, sent a dozen of his former personal guard members to them. Calix, however, sent them back without a second thought.

"The last thing we need is more assassins waiting inside our room as \'guards\'," he had scoffed bitterly, watching them march back the way they\'d come.

Instead, he opted to recruit some of his own soldiers to serve as guards both inside and outside the bedroom.

Kel was initially hesitant at the thought of having the knights watching while she and the Emperor slept, but, fortunately, Calix was too exhausted by the time nightfall came to do anything obscene while they laid under the blankets together.

Plus, she had to admit that the addition of the extra guards seriously cut back on the amount of time she spent stabbing and dodging knives rather than sleeping.

The attacks continued, however, undeterred in frequency by the increased security.

It seemed the little nightly routine would continue indefinitely, until the Dragon Emperor discovered the true culprits or finally gave up and slaughtered the two guilty council members before banishing the entire royal family.

That is, until the third night, when things took a sudden turn for the worst.

"Urk!"

Lucy grit her teeth, slowly sinking to the ground.

She\'d been scratched by one of the assassin\'s daggers that night. 

Such a wound wasn\'t unusual--in fact, everyone had a few dagger slashes on their bodies from the endless nights of fighting masked men.

But something was different this time.

The woman\'s wound wasn\'t deep, but it instantly began to swell with the skin around it turning black. Her eyes were bloodshot as she knelt on the ground, hunched over as she tried to bite back her cries of pain.

"Poison!"

Thane and Kel both shouted at the same time, running toward their friend.

She feebly put up an arm to stop them as they neared.

"S-stay back," she stuttered. "You two idiots."

The two hesitantly came to a stop at her warning, their thoughts filled with no concern for their own safety as they worried for their friend.

Thane took another step forward, ignoring Lucy\'s glare. "Just let me-"

"She\'s right," Calix cut in, striding up next to them. "We have no idea what kind of poison we\'re dealing with. It\'s not safe to touch her."

"But-" Thane tried to protest, only to be silenced once again by a stern look from the Emperor.

"Go find someone who specializes in herbs around here," Calix ordered the knight. "And call for a doctor while you\'re at it."

Thane looked as if he wanted to speak up again, but after another glance at Lucy, he nodded and briskly left the room.

"Does it hurt badly?" Kel knelt down near her friend, wishing she could comfort her somehow.

Lucy only nodded at the stupid question. Of course, it hurt badly.

"The doctor\'s coming soon, ok?" Kel offered, knowing she was once again stating the obvious but unable to just sit silently watching Lucy struggle.

Webs of purple veins began to bulge from the woman\'s arms, face and neck as she groaned in agony. Drops of sweat trickled off her nose while her hands shook as if she was unbearably cold. Her eyes which had been fiercely glowering at Thane only moments ago, glazed over and drooped.

Kel bit her lip to stifle a cry of her own, clenching her fists that were tempted to reach out and hold her friend. She turned to face Calix, whose face had twisted into a snarl.

"They must be growing bored," the man grit his teeth. "They\'ve decided to up the stakes of our little game."

"I\'ll kill them, myself!" Kel growled, pain shooting through her palms where her fingernails had broken the skin. "We should have never let them get this far!"

"Don\'t worry, she won\'t die," Calix sighed, placing his hand on Kel\'s head. "... but I am inclined to agree with you this time."

He paused, his eyes narrowing into a glare while his lips curled into a smirk.

"It seems.. we\'ll have to admit defeat this round."

Thane arrived with a doctor only ten minutes after he had left, but it may as well have been ten hours. With each second, Lucy\'s condition had worsened. She was hardly holding on to consciousness by the time help arrived.

As soon as the doctor saw the state his patient was in, he got to work immediately. Fortunately, he was able to succeed in alleviating some of the pain along with the swelling veins. 

When the herb specialist came, she began running tests on Lucy: checking blood from the wound, inspecting her tongue, and testing sweat from her skin. Everyone in the room held their breath as the woman worked. When she finally finished, she turned to them with solemn eyes.

The poison Lucy had been inflicted with was known as the most excruciating venom in the sea-side territory. Coincidentally, it was also the easiest poison to cure.

  With the vast collections of dried leaves and flowers the woman had stuffed in her bag before rushing to the Ruby Room, she was able to concoct the antidote right away.

As she crushed leaves, the herbalist explained that such poison would be useless to assassins, who aimed for an efficient kill. Rather, it was something used by those who wanted to inflict great harm upon their enemies--people who wanted to watch someone truly suffer.

Kel shuddered at the thought of someone harboring so much hatred toward the Emperor and herself.

Toward the entire Empire.

As she and Calix watched Lucy finally drift off to sleep, having been practically force fed the bitter antidote, they silently agreed.

In the morning, this sick game would come to an end.