"Are you sure the Prince wasn't lying to you?" Palleas asked after I had explained what Prince Andrion had told me. In all honesty, I hadn't thought about that since the time we had talked. The idea of being royalty still seemed rather odd. I wish I had time to ask my father about it.

"Why would he? He has no reason to, I don't think. Besides, that would be a rather weird lie to have me believe. No, no I trust what he said." The King told me to not trust him. However, Teren also knew this secret so it made sense to believe this fact.

"You said Lord Dazaron hid your true nobility so that the King wouldn't discover you. Perhaps they figured out who you are?" Palleas stood up.

"Before we jump to conclusions, we shouldn't. I believe you, Emilea, but with the information that you have shared with us in the past two days, I think it is safe to say we shouldn't trust the word of either." Kelrith explained. "I do believe questioning KuRath would help us with this."

"I agree. KuRath seems to be the most suspicious, currently." Bargonaan agreed.

"Getting him cornered shouldn't be too difficult, especially with you and your sword." Palleas smiled and I gave a half-smile back.

Does that mean I would have to fight again? So soon?

"What will be difficult is figuring out where he is." Beatra said.

"Oh?" Palleas raised a brow and looked at me. I shrugged. Why was she helping us again? She made it clear in the beginning that she had no reason to help us so why the change of heart? What was in it for her? Could we trust what came from her mouth? I bet Palleas was wondering the same.

"He makes a lot of enemies so he and his soldiers travel fast. They know to never stay in one place for too long. That's what makes them hard to track." Beatra explained.

Kelrith continued to ask Beatra questions. What changed? Why now? Perhaps the idea that her brother might be in danger had helped change her mind?

My eyes burned and my head throbbed. There was so much to think about. Perhaps I should write this all down somewhere. It was hard to keep track of what questions I still had. Out of the many I had there was one that still stood out.

"How do you think I was mind-controlled?" I asked them. They thought for a minute.

"Druid magic?" Palleas asked. Kelrith laughed.

"Druids are practically extinct."

"I've been to a Druid village not too long ago, so it could be possible," I told Kelrith and nodded to Palleas. I believed his reasoning.

"I've never seen or heard about KuRath using magic." Beatra yawned.

"Well then, wouldn't that only leave the Flower of the Valley?" Bargonaan looked to Kelrith. We all did.

"Ah Poppee, yes."

"Poppee? The medicinal flower used to help you sleep better?" I remember Akyto mentioning it in one of our studies on medicinal herbs.

"Normally so, however, it has been rumored that there are other uses. There is an herb created through the use of druid magic, called Black Lotus. It's found around underground markets not regulated by the King. It's extremely valued by swordsmiths for its dark black properties, as it gives weapons an intense look. But when it is burned with poppee, the vapors emitted are said to 'cloud one's thoughts' and hypothetically control another's mind. I honestly can't believe that I didn't think of it before."

"What? That's crazy." Beatra said what I was thinking.

"If you are right and I was mind controlled..." I trailed off trying to make sense of this. "How was I controlled with it? How does it work?"

"From what I heard once the substance is created, all the druid needs is a name to seal the spell." Kelrith looked at me. "I don't know if these rumors are true, they could just be rumors. But if they aren't then it's very possible that this is how you were controlled. Unless there is some other substance out there that could do it. Which is a possibility."

"How do we find out?" I asked him.

"I do know some underground merchants who might be able to confirm the rumor. Maybe even sell some to us." He smirked.

"You've dealt with underground merchants before?" Bargonaan sounded surprised. "Sounds like shady business." He eyed Kelrith.

"Don't worry Bargonaan, I have only dealt with them a few times," he waved him off. "Besides, sometimes you can get really valuable items for a great price!"

Bargonaan raised an eyebrow.

"It's true. I swear!"

Bargonaan let out a thunderous laugh.

"Sure, whatever you say."

Kelrith sighed.

"I'm more than certain that this one merchant has it, but getting him to admit it will be a difficult feat. Merchants tend to only do shady business with people who they know have a good repetition. Not to say that I don't but I've never dealt with this side of the black market before. There is a good chance he might turn us away." Kelrith had explained.

"Are there any other merchants that deal with this substance?" I asked.

"Not nearby. Don't worry Emilea," he smiled. "We will make it work. Who can say no to a smile like this?" He added a wink.

"I could." Palleas crossed his arms.

~

We walked into an herb merchant shop later that evening.

"I am wondering if you can help me buy a special herb?" Kelrith walked up to the merchant.

"Ah, if it isn't my good friend Kelrith. Well, as you know, we have everything you can think of here. So just name it."

Kelrith lowered his voice.

"Black Lotus?"

"Kelrith you know I don't sell illegal herbs here." The clerk laughed and looked around at his almost empty shop.

"I have another question for you. Has anyone recently bought Black Lotus from you?"

"Again I do not sell anything illegal here-" He looked around at nearby guests who began to watch us.

"Hardy, look at me." Hardy, who had beads of sweat dripping down his face, looked back at us. Kelrith lowered his voice. "What about Lotus and Poppee?"

The clerk paused. He eyed the three of us then crossed his arms.

"I don't know what business you got with those ingredients but I have no legal reason to tell you."

"So does that mean the rumors are true about the compound those ingredients create when burned?" Kelrith's tone raised an octave and an eyebrow raised.

"Get out."

"Hardy, we could pay you well for the information-"

"Get out before I call guards!" He pointed us out the door.

"Alright alright," Kelrith put his arms in the air.

"Don't worry about those hooligans. I sent them away. And I can assure you we have no Black Lotus here." Hardy explained to some nearby customers.

"Well, that went well," I sighed. We went back out to the others.

"At least we know the rumors are probably true." Palleas told Bargonaan and Beatra who seemed to be interested in what happened.

"That's true." Kelrith agreed.

"That doesn't tell you anything more than what you already know." Beatra, who was bound by the hands, shook her head.

"That is all the information we are going to get from him." Kelrith ignored her.

"What about asking if he sold some to KuRath? Did you even ask?" Beatra crossed her arms.

"He seemed displeased that we even asked him about the two elements together." I explained.

"So? Did you even try to get it out of him? All it takes is a little convincing."

I rolled my eyes. If Beatra cared so much then maybe she should have gone in and asked the clerk herself.

"I am not going to torture it out of him."Kelrith crossed his arms.

"Maybe you won't. But I could." Beatra smirked.

I eyed her seriously. She was not afraid to fight, that's for sure.

"Absolutely not!" Palleas growled.

"Maybe..." Kelrith put his hand up to his chin.

"You can't be serious?" Palleas complained.

I looked at Kelrith. He couldn't honestly be thinking that was a good idea.

"Look, I won't hurt him. You can trust me on this. I know how to scare someone into giving me what I want." Beatra argued.

I didn't doubt her words. But there was no saying what she would try when we untied her.

"I promise I won't try and run away." She smirked.

I don't know why she wouldn't try and run away. I can't imagine her being easily convinced to join our side. This was Beatra we were talking about. She was the one that killed my master and my friend.

"Trust me just this once. I can make him talk."

If anyone could get the information, it would be her.

"If you try anything," Kelrith began.

"Don't you worry, Kel."

Kelrith winced at the nickname.

Bargonaan untied the rope but kept hold of her arm. Again we walked into the shop. Bargonaan pushed Beatra forwards. The clerk looked up and spotted Palleas, Kelrith, and I. He stopped stacking what seemed like spices and approached us.

"I thought I told you all to leave! I am calling the guards."

"I wouldn't bother." Beatra pulled out a badge that embroidered the royal emblem. Hadn't we stripped her of all her belongings? I don't remember seeing that on her.

"My apologies, I did not know this was a Royal matter." The clerk eyed the rest of us behind her.

"I need to know who you sold Black Lotus and Poppee to." Beatra wasted no time. The clerk hesitated.

"Look, I don't know, they were just some strangers from the North." He claimed.

"I am quite sure you can do better than that." She stepped towards him.

"I swear that is all I know. They showed up one day asking for some. They said if I wanted to avoid trouble I wouldn't ask any questions. I didn't think selling it to them would cause problems. The rumors about those ingredients were only supposed to be rumors. But then they came back asking for an entire new load of it. If the stories are true and it can-" he lowered his voice, "mind control people, then I don't want to be involved. That's dark magic. That's why I stopped supplying it."

"Yet you" Beatra poked her finger into his chest, "sold it to them."

"They threatened me. Said they would kill my wife."

"How long ago was their last purchase?" Kelrith asked.

"Maybe like several weeks back. They bought the first shipment from me almost ten years ago-"

"Surely you have been keeping track of them. If you believe the stories now then I am guessing you found out they were real and now feel guilty." Beatra thought out loud. "Let me guess, you followed them."

"As a pharmaceutical practitioner it is my job to know all the qualities and properties of the goods I sell. It was logical to see if Poppee and Black Lotus could do the things I had heard." The clerk crossed his arms.

"So tell us where they are." Beatra growled.

"If they found out I had snitched to anyone-"

Beatra grabbed the clerk's collar and threw him against the wall, scattering the once neatly stacked boxes of spices everywhere. Customers who were in the store scattered and made their way towards the entrance.

"Selling goods from the underground market is a capital crime. You could lose your job. You could even go to jail. Who would be left to protect your wife then?" Beatra eyed him.

"Ok ok! Let me go. Just let me go and I will tell you!"

Poor clerk looked like he had just wet himself. In the end Beatra had come through. She had done what she claimed. For some odd reason she had helped us. Whether it was to flaunt her skills in front of us or to just threaten some poor stranger, I was thankful to her. We were now a step closer to making sense of what had happened to me. If we were lucky, these were the people who had sold it to KuRath. If not then perhaps they knew who did. Evil usually stuck around with other evil. Finding them would eventually lead us to the truth. I could only hope.