Maya's throat tightened again. She cursed under her breath, digging into her pocket for a dry-swallowing diphenhydramine tablet she always carried for emergencies.
"What is that?" Alric asked, curiosity took over him.
Marilyn hadn't expected to see the girl make any attempt. "W-what are you doing to my husband!" She demanded. "Get away from him!" She noticed Maya was carefully examining the tablet.
"I need water for him to drink," she said. A maid nodded and left the room to fetch the water.
"Are you going to kill my husband now?" Marilyn kept shouting. She did not understand what magic that witch was performing. She must never get close to the king. Marilyn paused, then when she felt the witch was carried away, whispering to the crown prince, she threw herself forward and threw the pill away.
"You will not kill my husband for me!" She yelled.
Maya blinked, "this man is dying." She said out loud to everyone in the room. "You called me here to save him. And now you are doubting my powers? Or, maybe you don't really want him to wake up," she shot an angry look at the queen who instantly flinched.
"Yes, let us allow her to work her magic," Alric said, but his full concentration was on Maya. He wondered what healing miracles she was about to perform, and did not want to miss out on it.
She nodded, then bent down to search for the pill. It was just under the bed. For a brief moment, something took hold of her and she let out a loud scream.
An image flickered in her head. It was a middle-aged man, tall, very fit. He shared her eyes, held a smile as if their eyes locked. And whispered the word; "mi corazon."
Alric gently helped her stand up, concern filled his eyes. "Are you alright?" He asked.
Maya swallowed. What kind of sorcery was that? She just saw her lost father. The man who had disappeared without a trace a year ago.
"I'm alright." She managed to say. Just in time, the maid came back with water. Maya opened the tablet and put one in the king's mouth. She took one look at the maid and suddenly didn't trust her.
"What is it?" Alric leaned forward and asked in a whisper.
Maya gave it a two second thought to know if she could trust him or not, then finally decided, "please, drink a sip from the water." She pushed back the cup to the maid.
The lady started to fidget, then stole a quick worried glance at the queen, and back to Maya.
"What nonsense is this? You dare doubt my servant?" Marilyn queried. Maya had observed the maid had come in when Marilyn and Ronard stepped in earlier, and was correct as Marilyn pronounced her as her servant.
"The divine spirit is telling me this," Maya said, like a chant. Everyone kept quiet and listened. Then she stretched her hand and pointed at Marilyn first, then Ronard, "these two need to get out for me to cleanse the room."
"That is getting too far, pretty witch." Ronard, who Alric had even forgotten was still in the room, said. "Are you accusing my mother and I of something?"
"I want you two out of here. Prince Alric, please, I need you out of here too. Everybody, out." Maya insisted.
Alric carefully studied her, "I understand. We will leave for you to heal him."
"I do not believe you, you would stoop so low to listen to this witch?" Marilyn sneered.
"You will listen to me. Out, everyone." He commanded.
Maya watched as they all stepped outside at last, though Marilyn and Ronard kept whispering to each other. They sounded angry.
Alric felt a tug on his coat. He turned back and saw Maya trying to stop him. "Wow, a little fit there, handsome." She said, then quickly put her hand over her mouth, her cheeks flustering. "I'm sorry, I mean, my lord, your majesty?--"
A soft groan caught his attention from behind. Maya shut the door tight and hurried behind him. "He's gaining recovery," Alric said in shock. "What did you do?"
Maya heaved in. "He got poisoned. Well, allergies were acting up, still, I don't think they knew he was allergic. It's poisonous to his systems, but lucky for me, I have an antidote with me. He'll be fine, but you have to watch everything he eats and drinks for the next few days until we are certain he's safe."
She watched him closely. Alric did not utter a word. Maya decided to press on. "I think...someone close to him is trying to poison him. You have to be careful."
Alric nodded. "Thank you for your help. I will see to it that you are given a room of your own. Privacy and some maids assigned to your every duties."
He pretended like he did not hear what she had just said. Would he poison his own father for the throne? "I can't stay here anymore. I need to leave," Maya thought to herself. But how? "Won't you request everything his highness has drank or eaten before he collapsed? So we can understand what–"
"Thank you for your help, uh, what can I call you?"
She blinked. Why was he ignoring her on purpose? "Maya."
"Just Maya?"
"Yes."
On her way out, she was escorted with some palace guard as they led her to her chambers. But something–or someone–caught her eyes. It was like a shadow, approaching her by the minute.
She could feel the hair on her body standing. She turned back a couple of times but saw no one. Once they were at the entrance of the door, a tumbling noise caught them off guard.
"What is that?" Asked a guard.
"I think a barrel fell." The other one replied.
Maya did not see any barrel. Someone was trying to cause a distraction. Then, she heard a loud woman's scream. "HELP!"
"What was that? Let's go check it out!" Both guards hurried. "Stay here, gate witch."
Maya thought that was her escape plan worked out by some mysterious person, until a figure appeared in front of her. She was tall and slender, with a dark scarf covering her face down to her shoulders. Beautiful set of emerald eyes gazed at Maya from the little space she set free, like some sort of Caribbean princess. She paused, caught her gaze, then stormed off.
Something inside promised Maya could trust the lady. "Well, let's get over this," she sighed, and picked a race after this silent knight.