THANKS FOR READING

The sunny sky shined brightly as the trees settled down. Isaac unconsciously laid on the ground, completely soaked in the dirty river water. As he stared up at the sky, his vision became blurry due to the fact that the sun was so bright. He got up and used his hands for support, then he took off his shirt and squeezed the wet parts of his clothing creating wrinkles in his clothing.

"Raven," he paused before continuing. "I need to find her."

Hoping that she was safe and still where he last put her was the best he could hope for. He smudged some grass against his boots, hoping it would soak up most of the water, but it wasn't helpful so he manually squeezed it, which was a struggle but a better decision.

When he finally got up, he began walking around the forest in confusion, having no clue where he was heading. He looked around himself and saw many trees surrounding him but regardless of anything, he knew finding Raven was his top priority, so he ran as fast he could through the forest. As he ran he thought of his mom, dad, and uncle came to mind.

All of them were to have been struggling with different things, and he knocked out for god knows how long would make his mother panic. He also thought of his father and uncle both working with different things yet in the same industry.

He finally reached a tree that he remembered going to before tying Raven up. The tree he tied her up was an oak tree that should've been easy to spot since the area had been so beautiful. The area was so nice that he had questioned if he was in paradise. He was surely close.

He turned around then heard the sound of a horse yelling, so he ran to the sound and saw Raven, on the ground completely deprived of energy. "Raven!" he yelled as he saw the state she was in.

He quickly patted her and searched her for any bags of grains that would be chained to her saddle. When he finally found one, he grabbed a handful of them and she ate them off his hand. Each time he fed her, he would always be tickled by her long rose red tongue. But it had at least made him a bit more comfortable to know he was with someone he was familiar with.

He ran his hands through her hair for a longer time, then when she got up, slowly elevated onto her back cocked his head for her to leave, but it wasn't that easy.

Instead of moving, she stood still, so Isaac gave more time to pat her gently and give her more attention, but that wasn't the case at all. Under her hair, there had been a small piece of wood stuck into her flesh. He pulled it out - and he shouldn't have.

She screeched and used her butt to push him off her. She ran around, yelling out of pain. Isaac ran to her and slowly ran his hands through her hair. "It's ok Raven, I'll get you treatment soon," he said, But they both knew that it wasn't ok.

He ripped a piece of his jacket, which again, he shouldn't have but chose to do it and he put on the spot of the blood. It had probably come from the oak tree she was next to, which could have possibly scratched her.

When she settled down, he let her rest for a bit, because he knew that she needed rest, but he also knew she needed treatment. The treatment she wouldn't get unless she rode him into that city, so with a calmer approach, he said, "Raven, you need to ride me in the city. If you need or want treatment the only way to get treatment is for us to leave this place, now."

Thankfully, she got up and let him help himself onto her back. They rode into the streets and nobody looked at him like he had just committed a crime which meant nobody had noticed he was gone.

Raven settled down when she arrived at his back yard, where ambrose sat on the bench in front of the fountain. He also waved at Isaac with a grin on his face.

Isaac saw a servant who was medically experienced so he gave Raven to her and nodded, hoping she would understand what he was asking for. She took Raven to the left side of the yard where she would try and stop the infection with some tools their house provided.

But as Isaac turned around Ambrose said, "Your challenge is done."

"What?" Isaac asked in confusion.

"You finally know how to ride a horse."

"Sure but-" then quickly Ambrose cut him off and asked, "Why are you wet?"

Isaac shook his head and sighed. He refused to tell Ambrose knowing he would probably laugh at the fact he fell into a river, trying to deliver some medicine.

"It's nothing," he said.

"If you say so," Ambrose replied.

"Whatever the case, you did that in an hour and twenty-six minutes, impressive," he said.

"That's good, I guess," Isaac said, but that meant that he hadn't been there for a long time which was good news for him.

"Well you can go inside and relax, you did good," Ambrose said,

"Alright, but am I your messenger to be sending medicine to a hut in the middle of a forest!?" Isaac said,

Then Ambrose said in a serious tone, "she needs it."

"What?" Isaac asked in confusion.

"It's nothing go inside," Ambrose said.

Isaac smiled and went inside his house and to his room. He would finally have some time for himself.

Even though the sun was still up, he laid down on his bed thinking about everything. The competition was sooner than he realized and it was overwhelming.

But soon remembering the letter he had got, the people who were in it would get their own rooms in the castle, lifting some stress to walk all the way to the castle and back home. But after he got deeper into thoughts, he immediately got up after hearing the sound of something banging on the floor which came from his mother's room.

He quickly opened his room door rushing over to his mother's room. When he got there, he opened the door and saw his mom was on the ground coughing up a particular red juice - blood. The bags under her eyes almost looked painted them on and her face had been pale and she looked desperate for help.

He rushed over to her with his eyes widened. "Mom we need to get you treatment, now!"

She coughed more blood this time and cocked her head, motioning for him to get one of the slaves who had medical experience. He held her tightly in his arms, tears streaming down his face and he rushed downstairs.

⥊⥁⥋

When he came back to the room he had a different servant who had medical experience beside him. She quickly grabbed some leaves inside a cup that she held and mixed it together with hot water.

With a wooden stick that she probably found outside. Her voice was shy probably because of the rules not to talk with the nobles but she asked, "How are you holding up?"

Scarlet squinted her eyes and nodded, then put a thumbs up. "Good," she said gasping for air.

The servant quickly touched her throat and felt it. "Oh my! How long have you had this?" Scarlet didn't respond and gasped for more air.

She and Isaac lifted her on the bed and she instructed Scarlet to refrain from talking a lot and keeping her head up. She also gave her a glass of tea which she told would help Scarlet. Scarlett drank it and closed her eyes, lying on the bed.

Isaac sat right beside her and the servant quickly exited the room.

"Isaac..." she clenched her fists tightly together. "I've hidden this from you for a long time but... the truth is, I'm getting sick, and I don't have much time left. Everyone would tell me to get treatment, but I would just lie to myself and say I would be fine," she said.

Isaac looked at the ground in shock and tried to pay close attention to her.

"They said I only had one year left..." she said.

Tears swelled in Isaac's eyes, but he refused to show her any sign of fear, or sadness.

"Even though we are nobles, there's a limit to what we can do, you know. If I want that treatment, I would have to be the royalty or governmental authority, or even higher which not even your father can access."

"And you even hid this from dad!? You knew this the whole time and you just y- you!" Then he quickly ran out of the room and slammed his mom's room door.

If his mom didn't hear her room door slam hard enough, he made sure his room door did. He slammed his room door shut and sat on his bed with his eyes tucked in his hands. He closed his eyes then got up and looked into the mirror. The bags under his eyes were so big, it made him look different and a new person.

"Mom..." he said, he looked up and then continued, "If you were to pass... dad would never come near the place of your death which means he will never come here, and I would just- I would-" He hoped the saints would listen to his prayers now, more than ever because if they didn't he didn't know what he would do.

He looked out the window and his gaze fell upon the castle. Now, he had to win more than ever, because now, everything was on the line. Now, he knew what he was fighting for... The health of his mother. And if he didn't win, he would be destroyed. The tournament was coming in two days, and he needed to be prepared.

He went to his mother's room and gently opened the door, he went to her and she kissed him on the forehead, "You're not mad?" she asked,

"Why would I be?" Isaac responded, "You're sick... I don't blame you..." he hugged her tightly and said, "Mom. I'm going now... the tournament is starting in two days. When we signed up, they gave us a paper that requested us to meet at the castle one day early but going there takes one day. They said we would possibly get our own rooms and it would help for us to gather so please don't be scared for me..."

He looked down, waiting for her to reject what he said but he was surprised. Her hands fell on his cheek and she smiled. "Win, I have full confidence in you, you can do it, go, go Isaac.," she said, he smiled and left.