The next day Idelle spent the morning pacing her room and trying to come up with some way of stopping the daily meals with Yseult from happening. If Yseult was buying potions from Rogerick, it meant that she intended to use them at some point. If it was a poison, Idelle didn't want her anywhere near enough to Aelga that she might be able to get her to eat it.

The problem was that Aelga was using that time to see Thellamy, even from a distance, and she would not take kindly to Idelle stepping in again. Ever since last night, as well, Torran seemed inaccessible. She wasn't sure he'd want to help when she'd rejected him so thoroughly. Which meant she had to come up with some way on her own of stopping the meals without letting Aelga know what she was doing.

She was thinking up lies, like all the meat had somehow been spoiled or the kitchen fireplace had been jammed, when there was a knock on her door. She answered it, expecting to see a page boy giving her some sort of news from the Guards on duty, but instead saw Sabena. It had been a few days since she'd been sent on her mission, and it was obvious from the dirt and grime, paired with the heavy bags under her eyes, that she had ridden hard in order to complete her task in such a short time.

Idelle stepped back, inviting her to sit, which she did with a flop and a groan of relief at getting off her feet. She smelled of horse and sweat, and looked even more frightening than she normally did. Rolling her shoulders, she accepted the glass of water and oatcakes that Idelle offered her.

"I think my legs are going to fall right off," she mumbled through the crumbs. "I think I rode more this past week than I have my entire life combined."

Idelle sat next to her, shoulders tense. "Thank you for doing this, Sabena," she said. "Were you able to get in touch with my friend?"

Sabena nodded after finishing off the last of the water. She raised an eyebrow and leaned back in her seat. "Your friend was very interesting. She had a lot to say about you. Said she once hoped to be your sister."

Idelle sighed. "My brother and she were once in love. It didn't work out." She waved her hand to dismiss it, not wanting to go over Drystan's stupid decisions right now. "What did she say about the vial?"

"Well, she had to test it which took a whole day, but she finally was able to tell me that it was a love potion."

"Love potion?" Idelle asked. She had been expecting poison or mind control, or anything sinister, really. But love potion? It seemed almost comical. She hadn't heard of anyone using such a ridiculous potion since she had been a little girl.

"That's what she said. It was composed of mostly flowers-- roses, carnations, asters, honeysuckle-- but then this man you got it from enchanted it to promote a sense of love boosting." She shrugged. "She said it will enhance a person's natural attraction to the point of becoming obsession, if enough is taken. It works up in your system through multiple doses, so the more you take it the stronger and longer the symptoms will last and be."

Idelle leaned her head back, trying to take it all in. "What else did she say?"

"Well, that it would need to be ingested to work, and that it most likely would have to be taken every day for the effects to be big enough to rouse suspicion. She also wasn't sure why Rogerick would be so protective about it, since it's not that dangerous of a potion. "

Idelle exhaled slowly as she realized just what Rogerick selling Yseult love potions meant. "It can be dangerous if you are using it to capture the heart of someone in power," she said. "Make someone fall in love and you can use that bond to manipulate them into doing what you want. Like letting your bodyguard be free to walk around the castle to do who knows what, and gaining access to shared meals where you can put even more love potion in the food." She shot up, glancing out the window at the sun. It was still just before noon. She'd have enough time to stop the meal, but barely. She couldn't let Yseult anywhere near Aelga, not when she was using Aelga's heart against her.

"How long does it take to come off the potion?" she asked.

Sabena, looking anxious about Idelle's energy and urgency, shook her head. "She didn't say exactly, just that it would take longer the more you've been exposed."

Of course this was it. Aelga hadn't shown undue love for Thellamy when she'd first met him, or even when he'd saved her from falling over in the corridor. It was only after she'd been eating with Yseult that she'd started acting strange. She'd become so rash and foolhardy, like a child not a queen. It had to be the love potion, twisting her mind and setting it on only the affairs of her heart.

With this realization came another.

Torran.

He'd always been so dependable and cheerful, focused on their work, until he'd started sitting in on the meals to keep Thellamy and Aelga apart. After that, he'd been distracted, dreamy, and he'd attempted to get her to enter into a secret love affair with him. He'd been poisoned with the love potion as well, Idelle just knew it. The man who had kissed her last night had not been Torran. Not really.

Relief flooded through her at the prospect that he would be back to normal once she got him off the love potion, but she also felt the smallest twinge in her chest. If it was a love potion, then his feelings towards her probably did not match hers toward him. She would lose the secret dream she hid deep in her heart by taking him away from the love potion, but she would gain back her only ally.

"Sabena, I need you to go tell the cook that he is terribly ill today and can't make the midday meal," she said, rushing to the door.

"Tell him he's sick?" Sabena asked.

"Yes. Make sure he doesn't send anything up to the dining hall. Just have the maids prepare a small cold meal that everyone will take in their own rooms." Idelle paused in the doorway. "Thank you for all you've done, Sabena. You may have just saved Wynherst from destruction."