109 She Makes Apple Peel Tea (1/2)

Once more, Robin had to drink the cup of magic water, and lie down perfectly still. But this time, she couldn't seem to feel comfortable. While the bed was fine, and the air was clean, she felt mildly unsettled.

”Please try and stay as still as possible.” Chelsea asked. ”As I am stimulating the recovery of your mana source, you may experience a feeling of mild discomfort.”

Robin sighed, and resolved herself to bear with the strange feeling. 'I should look on the bright side. At least, it isn't extremely painful. To exchange a brief half hour of mild discomfort every few days for a shortened healing period should be considered a medical marvel.'

She decided to attempt meditation. Slowly breathing in, and slowly breathing out, focusing on breathing as if she were trying to match the tempo of ocean waves. Of course, they were nowhere near the ocean. So Robin had to make do with her memory of the timing.

As she breathed, she went over her memory of the night before. 'I'm not entirely unconvinced that Bard Quinn had a hand in all this.' She thought to herself. Since Quinn didn't show up with them, he was extremely suspicious. Of course, there was a chance that he simply wasn't in range of the transportation circle, or limit. But, even the campfire was moved. Thus, for Quinn not to be taken along was, as a result, highly suspicious.

'All right! The next time I see him, I'll punch him hard in the face!' She decided, clenching her fist.

”Um, Robin, please don't move.” Chelsea pleaded. ”This work is very delicate, so I don't want to mess up and make things worse, okay?”

...Ah, right. She was in the middle of being treated. She had actually forgotten herself while thinking. Robin's cheeks were lightly dusted with pink as she made a positive sound in her throat. For the time being, she could only obey the doctor's orders.

The half an hour went by slowly, but eventually, it was finished. When Robin was allowed to move again, she went downstairs with Chelsea, to join her companions.

”Where's Christian and Jasmine?” She asked, not seeing them with the others.

”I know!” Skye replied proudly. ”They went to make an appointment with some official for tomorrow. Jasmine muttered something about 'darned beaurocrats' when she left. What are beaurocrats?” The flying kitten tilted its head sideways. though it might be older than her, there were many words it had never come across.

”Er, it's a type of official, I do believe. They aren't known for being quick to act, so she may have simply been annoyed at how slow the person is being.” Robin replied to Skye, skirting over the corruption/red tape/delay tactic issues that most beaurocrats were known for.

”Hey, somehow, doesn't it seem to be getting real dark out?” Gerard noted. It was true. Even though it was nearly noon, the ambient light had slowly gotten less and less.

But, just when they were going to head outside to see what happened, a clap of thunder rumbled overhead, and a sudden downpour of rain pelted the rooftop of the inn.

The innkeeper clicked his tongue. ”Ah, just when we had a spot of good weather. It looks like we'll be having us another stampede on our hands tomorrow.” He told his wife.

”It looks like we'll be staying inside for today.” Robin noted as she took a seat down by a window. To ward off the rain's chill, the innkeeper lit a fire in the common room fireplace. In front of the fireplace, Gerard, Skye, and Elise had fun teasing each other with small cantrip magic.

While she waited for Christian, Jasmine, and Keith to return, Robin busied herself by making some applesauce, borrowing the kitchen for a bit. After making three large jarfuls, however, she got tired and began reading the books she had found in that hidden cave.

The knights inspected their armor and weapons for any repairs needed. And, in general, the whole company passed the afternoon in relative silence. It had rained the whole time, and there was no sign of it letting up anytime soon.

Sometime in the late afternoon, Christian stomped in, soaking wet from the outside. Jasmine and Keith followed behind him, completely dry.

”You're back.” Robin noted, looking up from her book. ”How did it go?” She asked as she took in Christian's sopping wet appearance. 'He looks good even when he's wet. Is that a prerequisite for being a prince, I wonder?'

”Go? It went the way most appointment-makings went, unbearably slow. The only reason why we were still able to acquire an appointment was because of this blasted rain!” Christian grumbled in a foul mood. ”Since the rain will bring another monster stampede, that plump, puffed-up person was too scared to head out of the city gates anymore, so he used us as an excuse not to head out. It's a good thing we're not in Ekkinshire, otherwise he'd have lost his job that instant!”

Jasmine sighed, and beckoned to Chelsea. ”Chelsea, dear, could you please do something about all this water? The carriage wheel broke and we had to walk back. Christian's been so upset about earlier that he walked out of the range of my water barrier.”