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The king was clearly ill, and Skye wanted to check him out right then, but Magnus would never allow his tough-king reputation be affected. If she wanted his cooperation, she would have to lead him away from the prying eyes of the crowds.

After making their way to the king’s private tent, Skye immediately asked a servant for a bucket, some warm water with a rag, and some whiskey. She looked a bit perplexed by the request, but left to fetch the items with a nod from the king. When she came back, Skye asked the nanny to take the children to get a snack, then she got to work on Magnus.

Tidas knew about the last time that Skye had healed the king, but Lawrence and Shasta had no idea. Neither them or Petrie were expecting the nasty black ooze that he vomited up after Skye had placed her hands on him. Petrie actually gagged a bit at the sight and smell of it.

After Skye explained the previous time, Lawrence snapped a bit at his father; “I understand not wanting to worry me, but I am not just your son! I’m also your allied king! You should’ve Told me that someone was trying to kill you!”

Magnus sighed; “This is why I didn’t.. You always make a big deal out of everything. And I barely recall when Skye did this before.”

Skye quirked her head up at the comment; “What do ye mean ye don’t recall it?”

“I remember our conversation, but I honestly don’t remember you healing me.. But since you say it happened, it must have. I’m getting old..”

Skye digested the king’s comment with a growing pit in her stomach. ‘How could he NOT remember that nasty experience?! Maybe it was too traumatic so he blocked it out? ...Come on, self, that’s an idiotic excuse and ye know it.. I already know who’s behind it..’

.....

Skye nearly lost herself to her thoughts until she heard Magnus say; “Maybe it’s time I handed the crown off to Marco..”

Tidas, Skye, Lawrence, and Shasta all simultaneously yelled; “No!”, startling the queasy king.

“You can’t pass the crown off yet,not until the situation with yer brother is resolved,” Lucas Moonstone stated as he walked into the tent against the wishes of a panicking servant.

“Da! What are ye doin’ here?! Where’s mother?! Ima so happy to see you!” Skye called out as she got up and ran into her father’s arms for a bear hug.

“Sweetheart! I missed you, so yer mother and I came for the games. How’s me not-so-wee bairn doin’?! Tidas, me lad! How are ye?! Where’s Zazzy? I figured she’d still be attached to ye, considering how young she is.”

It took Skye quite a bit of self-restraint not to burst out in laughing in her father’s face. He didn’t know how big Zazzy had gotten..

“How about I take ye to see her after today’s events are over? I never really cared for Shot Put, anyway. And I know that you don’t like it because of gettin’ hit a few years back with the stone.”

Lucas flinched at the memory. Shot Put was a kind of track event similar to the Obstacle Run, minus the hurdles. They would run so many feet, then hurl a heavy spherical stone as far as they could. The one who threw the sphere the farthest won.

The winner from a few years ago had won by putting his shot on Lucas’ foot. He was on the other side of the field, talking with some acquaintances when it had happened. The man set a new record that year.. It was not a fond memory for Lucas.

After a few minutes to let Skye and her father catch up, and Magnus had recuperated a bit; they got into the subject of the Highlands. Petrie’s expression went serious as Magnus told him to explain his side of things...

“A few weeks ago; me, Murdoc, and a few others were out scoutin’ when we came across a half-dead man. When we started to check him for valuables, I saw that he had Tidas’ insignia on his armor. I told Murdoc, and we took him back to our... let’s call it a base of sorts.”

“Murdoc was gonna try and ransom him back-oh, his name is Ralph, by the way-”

“What?!” Tidas, Skye, and Shasta had all shot up at the name drop.

Frantic questions ensued, so Petrie assured them; “He’s Fine! He’s Fine! Still got all his fingers and toes, I swear! We took him to our Mystics, and they healed him up pretty well. Not ‘Eir-good’, but he’ll live and function as he always has.”

Tidas exhaled deeply. ‘Ralph’s wife would literally Kill me if something happened to him.. I don’t even want to imagine how his children would react..’

“So what happened to the others?” Skye asked since they hadn’t been brought up yet.

Petrie swallowed hard and shook his head in the negative; “Ralph said that they didn’t make it.. We didn’t find any bodies, but we know where they are.”

A slight silence filled the room before Petrie added; “The Old Capital..”

Suddenly everyone in the tent knew what had happened to Ralph’s party: they found Magnus’ brother. Tidas tensed all over as he walked over to stand before Petrie. In an unnaturally calm tone, Tidas asked if it had been confirmed that his Uncle Richard was in the original palace.

Skye’s heart felt like it was going to burst, it was pounding so hard. If his whereabouts were confirmed, then Tidas would have to leave immediately. Since she hadn’t had the chance to go through the Mage Trials yet, Magnus would never let her go to the Highlands.

“Not exactly.. We found Ralph several miles from there, and he said that it was their destination, but..Something got to them first.”

“What was it?” Shasta asked curiously.

Petrie’s expression turned hard; “The same thing that’s been eatin’ Highlanders for years now. We’re pretty sure it twas a man at some point, based on the shape of it.. But it’s clearly a monster now.”

“We’ve tried to kill it multiple times over the years, but nothin’ fazes the damn thing. We’ve even tried black powder, but all that did was piss it off.. Hundreds of our people have been killed, and our people won’t stand for it any longer.”

“That’s where I come in,” Lucas stated as he jumped into the conversation; “I was deliverin’ the final load of trade goods to Murdoc when he requested my assistance-”

Magnus scoffed, interrupting Lucas with a look akin to a pout; “Not that you were Supposed to Be trading that often with them..”

Lucas smirked; “But I did have yer permission to trade. Tis not me fault ye never limited me in anythin’ other than refusin’ orders of weapons or armor.”

Magnus sighed deeply in defeat as he rubbed the bridge of his nose; “No I did not, but the implication was there, Lucas, and you damn well know it..”

Skye’s father shrugged as everyone watched on with interest. Skye had never seen the banter between the two friends, or at least not paid attention to it before now. She could tell they’d been friends a long time.

As they watched on, the conversation she’d had with Magnus played in her head. ‘That’s right.. He might not be my real father-no. I’d already decided that regardless of the outcome, Lucas Moonstone is me Da, and that’s more important than whom me father is. I wonder if I should ask mother the truth?’

As Skye’s thoughts became muddled, talk of the Highlands again brought her back. Tidas was saying that the entire RMC should be mobilized and set out as soon as the Summer Games ended. As panic began to bubble up within her again, Magnus spoke.

“I don’t think we can do that yet. Not until Murdoc looks over the treaty I had Marco draw up this morning.”

The two sentences that his father had just said made Tidas’ anxiety amp up to full blast. He looked to Lawrence, but he had a similar shocked expression as himself. Before they could say anything, Shasta asked; “Why did Marco write it?”

Magnus sighed out of self-pity; “My memory hasn’t been the best lately, and my hand had a slight tremble to it, too. I thought I was just getting old..”

“No yer not! Ye been poisoned; Again! How is that not a bigger deal to you?!” Skye nearly screamed at the end.

Magnus shrugged; “Sorry my sweet, but getting poisoned isn’t that surprising to royalty. Especially if you’re a MacArthur. Even Tidas has been poisoned a few times.”

Skye looked to her husband, and he’d nodded like he was agreeing on a restaurant to eat at. ‘How is everyone not more unnerved by all of this?! Even Lawrence and Shasta seem unaffected! I’ll never get used to all of this..’

“Don’t think too much on it, sweetheart.. I don’t get it either,” Lucas spoke sympathetically to his daughter as he watched her face contort between anger, shock, and worry.

After a short discussion about how common it was for royalty to be nearly killed weekly, Shasta asked; “So where’s Ralphie? Shouldn’t he be with you?”

Petrie smiled at Shasta before answering; “Naw, he’s still in the Highlands recuperating. He still wants to check out the Old Capital for himself, the crazy bastard. That’s where it lives!”

“How do ye know that?” Skye asked with a nervous twinge in her voice that did not go unnoticed by her husband.

Petrie lost the joviality in his smile; “Because the outside looks like the gates of Hell. It, it put the bones of it’s victims all over the entrance to the palace..”

Skye thought she was going to faint. The dreams she’d had on her honeymoon were still quite vivid in her mind’s eye. ‘The creature going into the palace..’

Not thinking, Skye blurted out; “It’s Richard.”

Everyone in the room turned to Skye questioningly, but she wouldn’t look up from her hands. She didn’t want everyone to see the fear in her eyes as she connected the dots..

Without looking up, Skye licked her lips and said; “The monster is Richard MacArthur.. I know it.”

Tidas, Lucas, and Magnus all crowded around Skye, making her nerves fray even more as they asked why she thought it. Lawrence and Shasta had remained quiet for the majority of the time. Seeing the apprehension in her friend’s eyes made her rush over to get the three men to give her some room.

‘I’ve never seen that kind of fear on her face before.. There’s something she’s holding back, and I’m not gonna let these fools badger her into talking if she doesn’t want to!’

In the blink of an eye, Shasta was at Skye’s side. She pushed at Tidas’ shoulder since he was the only one out of the three that she could do it to. One she didn’t know and the other could have her killed for it. Either way, the message had gotten through to all three.

They stopped in their tracks, backed up, and apologized to Skye for crowding her. Tidas looked especially taken aback by his actions. He never did such things.. If anything, he was usually the one coming to Skye’s rescue. ‘What is Wrong with me lately?!’

Tidas pushed his thoughts aside so he could focus on what Skye was saying. She didn’t tell everyone about her whole reoccurring dream, just bits of it. She told them about running through the castle and the Ethereal Spear, but left out the part about watching their world form. It was just..too much.

She did also include the very end. Skye told them about seeing the man coming and going from the old palace, and how he’d changed into some crazy, scary-looking thing. When Magnus asked how she knew it was Richard, Skye replied; “To be honest: he kinda looked like you..”