June thought she would have been going crazy if she wasn't a psychic.

It hadn't even been that long, but every hour seemed to drag on with the speed of an unenthusiastic snail. She could do little more than lie in bed, think about her injury and what little she knew of toxicology, and worry about her failure or stupidity having doomed everyone who was with her.

And, of course, use her abilities. Which was what she did. Edmund was close enough, and since he was also a psychic, she could talk to him at length. Since doing it that way meant that none of the people who were probably listening in on them could hear them, she did a lot of that. But mostly, whenever she could muster the focus and mental energy, she talked to Regina and to the others, Madris, her fellow psychic students, the drones, Janis and, when she could, Kiara, though she kind of had to get help for that, considering the distance.

She'd managed to talk Regina out of the idea of coming closer, although she suspected that it was only by the combined efforts of herself, Galatea, Madris and others that they'd managed to make her remain in Cera. Regina wasn't quite reckless enough to go charging in to rescue her personally — or so June hoped, anyway — but she had clearly wanted to be closer to the action; which, to be fair, would have helped some things. Unfortunately, it was better if she didn't go off to the eastern border, that would have been a pretty big 'red flag' to everyone else.

The same went for Kiara. She'd also wanted to come and they had argued about it at length. June had managed to convince her sister that it would only make the situation worse, since she would be enough of a target that had to be protected, and she couldn't personally help much. Kiara was a good mage, of course, but her main use right now was in getting Cernlia to stay calm and prepare for war.

They were already trying to gather some forces, the others had told her, as discreetly as possible, so as not to warn their enemies. For the queen to show up would ruin that attempt at secrecy.

At least you can be sure that we will avenge you if you do get killed out there, Janis said.

June smiled and sent her a feeling of amusement at the joke. Unlike the other two, Janis was known to travel around the Empire and there was no real reason for her not to move to a city closer to her current position. It made it easier to talk to her. Although Janis would have preferred to visit Galatea and the Delvers' excavation site as well, but she'd been judged too 'high-profile' for that too, for now.

I expect at least a few statues across the Empire, June answered.

Of course, Janis said solemnly. I will personally Conjure the gold to plate at least one of them with.

How tacky. But speaking of plate, are the soldiers ready? Because any kind of firearms will work wonders against the men-at-arms the king has.

At least, the kind the Empire had certainly would.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but yes, we're prepared, Janis said. We've already assembled two strike forces, while trying to keep it quiet, of course. We can't muster them directly at the border, but the drones have already started making some tunnels and we've been slowly assembling more flying drones than we should need.

Good. Thank you. June paused. You're not planning to participate yourself, are you?

She could faintly sense Janis shrugging with studied nonchalance. Not planning on it. Unfortunately, I may be more needed right here. If it comes to that, I'll personally lead the troops on this rescue mission, though.

June suppressed a sigh. She already knew she couldn't talk her out of it. And frankly, despite her concerns about Janis' safety if she did, June found it comforting to know her friend would charge in to rescue her. Not that she would encourage her to risk her life, of course, especially since they still didn't know what King Stephen was capable of.

Have you seen any signs that they are aware of it or preparing for us? Janis asked.

Not really, no. Obviously there's a lot of activity, and a lot of people might be nervous in a more general sense. The king has definitely put his soldiers on alert, too. I think that's more of a general precaution, though. I don't think he's specifically informed about any potential attack. Hopefully.

Good. You just need to hold on for a little longer, June. We'll have you out of there soon.

As long as you get everyone out along with me, June replied, glancing at the door. In the next room, many members of her entourage were gathered. Living more or less in confinement in close quarters was uncomfortable, and didn't help the anxiety. It still wasn't everyone up here; some of them were further down in the castle, and she hadn't spoken to them since all this happened.

That's why Madris didn't just stroll in on her own to grab you and leave, Janis replied.

June supposed that was true. If it had been just her and Edmund, she'd probably already be safe across the border. I think someone is coming, she told June, sitting up in bed. I'll talk to you later, Janis.

Of course. Take care.

It turned out to be the royal healer for another checkup, as June realized by focusing on him for a moment. She tried to analyze his mental states for clues to the situation, but he was calm and only vaguely annoyed, which didn't seem unusual from the very brief time she'd seen him. Being shut up here, she was looking for every scrap of information she could get, but it had limited value.

The checkup itself was unpleasant, although she supposed it could be worse. At least she didn't have to fully undress or anything. He insisted on touching, which was valid enough, and moved her arm enough that it was quite painful, but she had an increased range of motion again, so she'd take it. June considered herself a bit of a connoisseur of healers, and while the local ones were bad — maybe because they hadn't been hired by her parents and didn't have either of them looming over them — she'd seen worse. She tried to analyze and examine everything he did, to learn how to treat herself.

"How long until I will be able to move freely?" she asked.

The healer bowed his head slightly and made a face. "It will take at least a week longer, Your Highness, perhaps several. This poison is insidious and damaging. We must be careful and ensure we do not aggravate it or cause lasting harm, but fully flush it out of your system."

June stared at him for a moment. It sounded reasonable, but she only felt her suspicions harden. Using healing magic should not risk making any damage worse except in the most select cases, and she knew enough about this poison by now to know this wasn't one such case. Plus, he still hadn't let her injury itself be healed completely. No, while she couldn't be entirely sure, she would bet they were dragging out her convalescence on purpose.

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"I am willing to take such a risk," she said. "In fact, I insist you intensify your treatment. Use more of your mana to heal instead of simply doing diagnostics."

"Princess June, I really couldn't do that," the healer replied. His tone was apologetic, but he straightened up slightly and looked her in the eyes. "It would be immoral, I cannot condone the risk."

"Your reluctance is noted. I still command it."

"My Princess —" He set his jaw. "I answer to the king, who gave strict instructions to give you the best possible care. I could not show my face to my colleagues; who, I assure you, will agree with me."

June stood up from the bed, reaching for her own mana almost on instinct. "You dare speak of morality, while being blatantly corrupt and disrespecting me." Her hand sparked slightly. "Get out."

"Yes, Your Highness." Wisely, he backed away. Not so wisely, he lingered for a moment, saying, "Please do calm down, hysterics will not improve your condition, but hysteria would —"

"Get out!"

It was a shame there was nothing throwable in reach, June reflected, as the healer quickly bowed and scurried out. Hysterics. She would have loved to throw something after him, just to demonstrate the matter. Scowling, she sat back down on the bed, sighing at another pulse of pain from her arm. I suppose I would've had to throw with my left hand.

One of the things Regina had drummed into her head when it came to healing was to respect her patient, their choices and autonomy. It was the first principle of medical ethics, if she recalled. In this case, the issue was obviously deeper, though. He'd felt free to disregard her despite June ostensibly being a royal guest, not to mention a princess. It did not bode well, but lately, nothing did.

Still, June was also a capable mage and healer. She settled back down. "It's fine, just keep them off me for a bit," she said, not looking at the people who were now tentatively peeking through the doorway. She closed her eyes and quickly touched Edmund's mind, updating and checking in with him. Then she focused on her magic and her body.

June was familiar with both, and she still had some mana in her mana pool. She activated Heal, guiding the mana of the Spell through her. She sent some of it sweeping through her whole body, but focused most of it on her injury. It prickled and burned, but the wound closed slowly. She proceeded very carefully, making sure there were no unpleasant surprises.

In the end, she felt weaker than before the checkup and her healing, despite being pretty sure that she'd improved. It had simply drained her mana and her body. June sighed and leaned back on the bed, resisting the urge to curl into a ball. Instead, she carefully stretched out her arm and tested a few movements. It still hurt, though she wasn't sure if that was just the poison, but she did seem to have full range of motion now.

After doing a few stretches and testing her finger movement, June sat back again and closed her eyes, reaching out with her mind despite the weakness dragging her down and the start of a headache. She couldn't afford that right now.

She found Edmund's mind quickly. A few hundred meters away. Good. He had snuck out when the doctor came for the checkup, as they'd discussed. June knew he was weak enough that he couldn't keep this up for long, but unless there was another psychic here, she didn't think he would be discovered as long as he was careful and returned on time.

It wasn't really invisibility; if the locals had some kind of automated sensors or the 'cameras' Regina talked about, he would definitely show up there. But they had both learned a technique to fade into the background and be utterly uninteresting to everyone they happened to pass, even guards on duty. To use it fully, the technique needed to be extended to also cover animals, and full application would cause people to look away from one's position and literally not see the psychic.

Tentatively, June reached out to him, choosing a moment when it felt like he was alone. How is it going, Edmund?

This was mostly a scouting trip; done to assure themselves that he could do it, as much as for any other gain. That didn't mean that it wasn't risky or that getting a closer look at some elements of their surroundings wouldn't be good.

I've managed so far, June, he replied, skipping her title now. The castle is clearly still on high alert. There are a lot of guards. I've heard a lot of complaints, also, though I've kept away from the truly important areas for now.

Absently, June wondered how much they really knew about the situation. They had to know that provoking the Empire was abjectly stupid; but their king had just been chosen and raised up by a god, of course they followed him. She focused on more immediate issues, though.

I understand. Could you sneak into the armory if necessary, though?

I passed by the door. Unless they change their arrangements, it should be possible. I don't think arming our entourage is going to do us a lot of good, though, he warned. Except for the Star Guard, they're not fighters. And even elite soldiers couldn't defeat every fighter gathered here. Unless you just want a distraction to cover an escape attempt?

I wasn't thinking about that, she replied, trying not to show irritation at the assumption (or suggestion?).

Their guards losing their own weapons was really what had convinced her they were prisoners now. The king had been sneaky about it, too. They'd already confiscated all spare weapons and equipment when they'd moved her people to the new rooms.

Then, their equipment had suddenly started to rust far too quickly. By the time they'd realized that the king's men must have used a Spell or Skill to do that, it was too late. Now, their weapons were largely too rusty to properly use. It was also an issue for every other metal object they had, of course. Thankfully, though, it seemed mostly to be a problem for — or targeted at — steel tools, so the occasional bronze tool (or her gifted jewelry made from platinum and other metals) was safe. June had still checked everyone to make sure there we no adverse side effects to their health.

To be honest, Princess, Edmund said, I think we may have made a mistake. It might have been better to try and fight our way out as soon as we returned, or even in the woods.

June sighed. I know, she said. I wasn't sure they would actually imprison us. And honestly, she'd been a bit too confused to think about it or plan a fight. And Stephen has only made it clear recently that we're prisoners, gradually upping the pressure.

At least we're valuable hostages, Edmund said, clearly trying to find a silver lining in this situation.

June snorted. I've had more than enough of being a hostage, honestly, she said. This is considerably worse than before. Bad service, would not recommend.

Your first time as a hostage ended with your sister becoming queen and you being apprenticed to the woman previously holding you hostage who was now an empress, he pointed out, and she sensed his amusement.

Yes, King Stephen really can't compare.

June smiled a little. It was a bit ridiculous to compare the two situations, really, but at least pretending she'd been through something like this before helped her cope — and to be fair, she very much had been a hostage, even if she'd also been Regina's patient and all. It was not an experience she'd wanted to repeat.

They fell silent, and she watched quietly for a little while as Edmund moved through the castle. June frowned at what she picked up from him. There was more movement than she'd wanted to see.

I'll try to see what's going on, Edmund said.

Carefully, he snuck across the bailey and further out. Then lingered as they saw an argument between two people dressed as minor nobles or functionaries, with a man in more practical wear standing by.

"We are already preparing everything as instructed, but the carriage still needs to be repaired," one of the men was saying. "Unless you want a royal princess traveling in a carriage that would make a knight embarrassed?"

"We'll have to make do with a supply wagon if you're not quick about it," the other man replied. "The king wants this done as soon as possible. Once Her Highness is well enough to be moved …"

June bit down on her lip and suppressed the urge to swear.

They're going to move you, Edmund said, grimly. It makes sense, I suppose. It would be much easier for the Empire to rescue you while you're here, but if they move you into Esemen or the Western Confederation …

I know. And what will they do with my entourage? June sighed. I might have shot myself in the foot with the healing.

Once the king realized she was already 'well', or much closer to it … Would he try to force her into that cart as soon as possible? Though he could have already tried; maybe he was waiting for an escort?

I can try and sabotage the carriage, Edmund offered. If it's already damaged, it should be fine.

Too risky, she decided. And they really might put me into a cart if there are no proper carriages. You can hardly break all of them. No, come back now. Your safety is more important.

They would just have to come up with something else. Maybe she could protest and drag her feet and delay everything long enough for their rescue.

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