CHAPTER 66 Death by Mana Burn

Keith

[You have 00:17:33 until Death by Mana Burn.]

The effects of [Mana Burn] were hitting him harder now. His hands had a light tremor, his head hurt, and exhaustion was eating away at his senses. As it got closer to zero, he'd be fighting harder to stay conscious.

In a way, Keith had brought this upon himself. Sir Vainbark was a stern force to be reckoned with; he would pursue a matter to the ends of the earth if tasked to do so. The elf was standing just out of site behind a tent flap, but his anger was apparent.

"We shall see what nefarious ploy Drendil has when Lady Hazelglade gets through with you," the elvish paladin told Henrietta.

Amaryllis was doing her best to dissuade him, but her "You're making a mistake!" went completely ignored.

Of course, Keith would not allow Sir Vainbark to mess with his princess.

Ahem, the princess.

Keith stood, towering behind Henrietta, and placed one shaking hand on her shoulder protectively. "Tell me, why are you arresting Princess Henrietta Doryn of Drendil?"

Everyone stopped. As expected, none of the older elves bothered to bow. They nodded politely while the young ranger in the back only bowed halfway before getting elbowed by his neighbor. The elves were the original inhabitants of the forest, and while they called him king, they did so only as a formality.

Sir Vainbark looked between Henrietta and Keith. He raised an eyebrow and demanded, "If this is the Henrietta you announced to the Dark Enchanted Forest last month, then I have to question your love life. This woman led us astray in our quest to locate Lady Amaryllis and return her to the safety of the Hollow Sanctuary."

"Actually"—Henrietta put up her hand and waved for everyone's attention—"I told you nothing but the truth. I did see Amy walking toward the castle. I just forgot to mention it was the day before."

"A likely story," the paladin scoffed.

"It's true. Also, I did run into her shortly after our meeting, and I chose not to do anything about it," Henrietta finished. "Because Lady Amy is an adult under Nilheim law, and free to act accordingly."

"She is Duke Briarthorn's daughter, and the saintess. She will never be free to do as she pleases. Her responsibilities are her life," Sir Vainbark countered.

"Is this true?" Henrietta looked up at Keith.

The matter was of political delicacy due to the peace treaty between the elves and Nilheim. It granted the Hollow a respectful autonomy of the elvish culture—including their saintess. Still, he wasn't in the best mood, and that reflected in his answer.

"It is true that a person is free from their parents' guardianship after they come of age, and Lady Amaryllis is certainly older than sixteen," he began, "but the saintess is a title and a job. As such, it has restrictions much like we face as king and princess."

Lady Amy deflated, though Henrietta simply waited for him to continue. She knew him so well already.

"Of course, it is not my business how she spends her free time," Keith said. He was happy that he had one hand braced on Henrietta now because a wave of nausea hit him, and he resisted the urge to just fall over. "I do wonder what parts of her job are so arduous that I learn of her escape every month or so?"

Sir Vainbark grew red, an amazing sight as the flush ran to the tips of his green ears. "It is her duty to meditate in the Sanctuary. No harm comes to her or any of our people."

Everyone looked at Lady Amy. She mumbled, "I would call isolation a form of torture. If boredom doesn't count."

"You are surrounded by attendants!" Sir Vainbark barked.

Keith knew the solitary life of those in power but had expected that she should have been given playmates much the same way he had. This was the first time he'd heard otherwise and felt a touch of sympathy for the young elf. He resisted the urge to grip the bridge of his nose; his temple pounded.

"Still," Keith declared, "as a working citizen in the kingdom of Nilheim, you are entitled to three days off each week. I'll assume that the Hollow elves did not forget the employment legislation they accepted and agreed to in our updated treaty five years ago."

"What?!" Lady Amy practically screamed but barely contained herself to a reasonable volume. "No one told me that!"

Sir Vainbark jerked back as if physically stricken. "That is … Wait. That shouldn't apply …"

Keith frowned at the paladin. "It applies to everyone. Including myself."

He wasn't going to mention that he ignored the rule some of, if not most of the time. He should've considered making it hour based and broken the four days up over the entire week to keep abreast of kingdom matters. His perks made managing day-to-day tasks the work of a few hours. When they weren't about to go to war, that was.

He was getting distracted.

Sir Vainbark was considering his words as Keith continued, "I've only known Lady Amy to be traveling for these three days. As such, there is plenty of time for her to return back to work for tomorrow. I see no reason for you or your men to abduct a member of the elven court against her will and in my presence, no less."

"But we were tasked with bringing her home!" Sir Vainbark argued. "It's not abduction—"

Lady Amy cut in, "It is! I'm an adult even by elven standards now that I'm twenty-five."

She looked at Keith and Ria, her eyes red with the beginning of tears. "If what King Keith says is true, then I'll gladly return to the Hollow in time for my prayers." She whipped around to glare at the paladin. "But you'll have to wait until I'm ready to leave to escort me."

It was with effort that Keith didn't let out a sigh of frustration. This all but guaranteed Lady Amy would want to spend time with Henrietta before the elf left that night to return to the Hollow.

Granted, it would be nice if Henrietta had more friends in the Dark Enchanted Forest. As much as he would like to spend all their free time together, he knew the importance of having companions to rely on. It would also make Nilheim feel more like a home, so she would be less likely to leave him—it.

Keith got another notification alert as a wave of exhaustion hit him.

[You have 00:03:23 until Death by Mana Burn.]

"If that is all, everyone get out," Keith snapped, beginning to rush. "Henrietta, can you escort Lady Amy back to Gren's Keep? I'll catch up with you at Logan's Noodle House."

Disappointment flashed on Henrietta's face and hurt his heart, but he was a minute from passing out. He managed a smile that was probably more like a grimace.

"You can't—" Sir Vainbark argued when a hand reached out and patted him on the arm. Lady Hazelglade stepped into sight "Come on, Vain, let's escort our lady to dinner with her new friend. We'll have much to talk about with the duke when we get back. Your Viciousness." She nodded at Keith in a polite greeting.

He nodded back. "Lady Hazelglade."

"Alright," Sir Vainbark finally accepted, following everyone out into the market.

Henrietta looked back at Keith. "It'll be slower to walk back with Lady Amy."

"They have unicorn mounts," he replied, reaching out and holding her hand up to kiss the palm. "Perhaps you can get the story of how that's possible. Goldenhoof's herd is notoriously proud."

She chuckled. "I'll ask."

"I just have a few things to wrap up here; I'll catch up eventually," Keith assured her. He let her go, and she ran out to catch up with the others.

[You have 00:00:22 until Death by Mana Burn. You may expend Hit Points to stay awake.]

Keith collapsed, catching himself on the chair. He reached into his storage and popped a mid-grade mana potion, barely drinking it in time.

[You have 00:03:10 until Death by Mana Burn.]

He sighed and lifted the bottom of the tent flap, letting a large construct raven hop inside pulling a bag of potion bottles behind.

"Perfect timing, Hubert. Let's see if we can't postpone this bothersome unconsciousness until this evening."