Peering through the door from her spot a few metres away, Gantalla ignored the ongoing tirade as she watched as the captain opened every cupboard and drawer. He shook out June’s cloak, looked inside her boots, then even checked on top of the cupboards lest anything had been pushed to the back to be out of view. And then finally, he checked under the bed.
Gantalla knew the exact moment he’d found something. His shoulders tensed and he took in a sudden breath. He flattened himself to the floor, reaching far under the bed, then pulled out a small basket. It was covered in a dark cloth. “What could be in here?” he asked, more to himself than to the waiting audience. He removed the cover… and there, in the shallow basket, sat a handful of mushrooms.
The captain came out of the room. “I’m no mushroom expert,” he said to Doctor Samuel. “So perhaps you’d be so kind as to identify these for me?”
Samuel took one of the mushrooms and inspected it closely. Then his shoulders sagged. “Gods above… These are purple caps.”
A cold silence settled on the group. Everyone looked stunned, as if even now they could hardly believe the truth.
“Those aren’t mine,” June said, her face almost white in fear.
“And yet they were so very carefully hidden under your bed,” Captain Leefe said. He sighed and shook his head. “June, you’re under arrest for the attempted murder of Liatra. The town mayor will hear your case and decide your punishment. I’m sorry, everyone,” he said, turning to the rest of the group. “This is a sad day for Minia, and for the warriors in particular. I would never have believed one of our own could behave in such a callous manner. But it looks like we have all the evidence we need. June, you’ll come with me.” Taking her by the arm, he strode away, dragging her along behind, leaving the rest of them staring at each other in stunned silence.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
It was two days before the gate was due to open and Gantalla’s mind was a riot of thoughts. It had been so easy to get comfortable here, somehow believing that the steady rhythm of the days was the norm. But this was only half of the city’s reality. The other half was weeks at a time spent tending to wounded warriors and listening to frantic rumours about some demon or other that had made it through the gate. Today, the hospital was in a flurry, with everyone rushing around making sure they had enough supplies of bandages and tonics to treat the wounded.
“Gantalla, go and relax!” Henrietta scolded her, when she found Gantalla sorting bandages in the storage room. “You have a half-day off. I know it’s a madhouse around here, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay.”
“I know,” Gantalla said, setting down the latest package of dressings that had arrived. “It’s just… the gate’s about to open. And I’ve never been around here when the warriors were all out at the gate. It just seems…” Her distress was easily disguised as concern about the safety of the men and fears of attacks from the demons, for all that her true fears came from a far different place. How was she going to treat patients who were spending their days slaughtering her people? What about the people from Chalandros trying to enter the human world? Should she be trying to help them? But how was that even possible? There was no chance she’d be able to get anywhere near the gate with so many warriors out on the battlefield. And how was she going to keep pretending to be a human, to take delight in the reports of how many demons had been killed, without giving herself away? Perhaps staying in Minia had been a mistake after all. She should have left for Palashran, getting herself far away from here and anything to do with the gate.
“Your first cycle will be a tough one,” Henrietta said sympathetically. “Some of the wounds we see are quite severe. And no one would think less of you if you need to take a break from it all now and then. We all remember what it’s like to be a trainee.”
Gantalla nodded, trying to put on a brave face. “I’m just not sure what I should be expecting. And with the gate open… It’s hard to imagine what might be coming through.” Or not so muchwhat, butwho. People she might know. More unicorns, to be slaughtered like dumb animals. And maybe Mintesh, the witch, with her son. More hadathmet from her own city. The list was endless.
“Go and take a break,” Henrietta told her, turning her around and steering her towards the door. “We’ve got everything here covered for now. Just relax and enjoy the afternoon. There’ll be plenty of time to help with preparations tomorrow.”
Not knowing what else to do, Gantalla headed for the town square. It was a bustling place this time of the afternoon, with women meandering about visiting the shops, traders and messengers racing around to deliver goods, and a few stalls where eager merchants were hawking their wares.
She wandered past a stall selling pots and pans, then another selling miniature pies. She paused in front of a woman selling necklaces and bracelets – nothing as fancy as she’d had in Chalandros, but pretty enough, with coloured feathers and inexpensive gems woven into leather straps. She thought about buying one, having sorely missed the jewellery she’d been forced to trade on her way to the gate.
But then a voice calling her name got her attention and she turned to see Captain Leefe marching across the square towards her.
“Gantalla! I was hoping to run into you at some point.” He beamed at her. “I just wanted to thank you for your help with Liatra’s case. I’ve been told that you were the one who came up with the idea to search June’s room. It’s a terrible situation, of course, but it’s a relief to know we caught the person responsible.”
“I’m glad I was able to help,” Gantalla said. But she still felt a wave of pity for the poor young woman. Her actions had been unacceptable, but Gantalla understood her motives, with the convoluted customs between the serving women and the warriors. “May I ask what happened to June?”
“She’s been discharged from the serving women and she’s to spend the next month in jail. After that, it’s likely she’ll have to leave town. I wouldn’t be surprised if her parents refuse to take her back in. She’d be a slight on the family name. But all’s well that ends well. If we hadn’t caught her, she might well have tried to kill Liatra again. So that’s two lives you’ve saved now.”
“Two? Who else…?”
“That young boy, several weeks ago. I’ve heard all about that heart restarter trick you did. He would have surely died if not for you.”
That, at least, made Gantalla smile. “I was glad to be able to help. And it was so good that all the doctors wanted to learn it as well. They have a wonderful team at the hospital.”
Leefe beamed at her. “Clever and modest at the same time. Well, I have more news for you that might make your day. It seems I’m not the only one who appreciates the way you’ve been helping our town. A couple of days ago, Hallix decided to buy a house. He didn’t say anything specific at the time, but when a warrior does that, it usually means he’s thinking of marriage. No woman wants to live in the barracks when she has a husband and children.
“And just this morning, my suspicions were confirmed. Congratulations, my dear. Hallix has decided he’d like to marry you.”
Gantalla’s jaw dropped. She’d seen Hallix even less in the last few weeks than she’d seen Nalyx, and the man had never once mentioned the idea of marriage. “I… Um… I… What?”
“Isn’t it a marvellous surprise?”
“It’s definitely a surprise,” she managed to say. “I had no idea he felt that way.” That Hallix would think her amenable to marriage without even asking her was insulting. But more than that, she was grossly offended that Hallix would send his proposal by way of a messenger rather than coming to speak to her himself. Back in Chalandros, if a man had wanted to propose to a princess, he would have come to the palace bearing gifts. He would have sat with Gantalla and her father, spending hours detailing his skills and qualities and taken the time to answer any questions they might have had. And then he would have given her a tour of his estate, allowed her to sample the crops he produced, and introduced her to his family. Hallix’s actions were presumptuous to the extreme.
“We have two more nights until the gate opens,” Leefe went on, sounding altogether pleased. “So tomorrow night we’ll have a wedding in the town square. A high note to end on before the gate opens again.”
A wedding? But Gantalla hadn’t even said yes yet. But then she realised that her reply was probably a moot point. From the comments around the town, a proposal from a warrior was considered the greatest of compliments, and what woman in her right mind wouldn’t say yes?
