Tears Of The Sun
POV: Alexandra
I cried into the cauldron for a while until the liquid was about a quarter of the way up the small pot. Apollo leaned me back and dabbed my eyes with a handkerchief, “My sweet baby girl, are you in pain?” I shook my head, “No, not in pain. It was just really warm. It was as if you sat really close to a fire and the warmth was unbearable. I would say it was more discomfort than pain.” He closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief and he sat back on the blanket, “Well it looks like you can definitely wield my powers too.” I sat up and looked at him, “What do you mean? Was there a question of whether I could?” He nodded, “With soul children who have two God parents, usually the power of one is manifested so much that it cancels any power out that they might have received from the other God. This looks not to be the case with you. You are a balance between the both of us. I am led to wonder what other powers you can wield in my arsenal. Light healing magic is but one power that I have.” Whisperia was quiet while we were having this conversation but she was staring at the cauldron, “What would that be called, my lord?” He looked down at the cauldron, “Those would be Tears of the Sun. They come forth when you have a memory that makes you happy. We need to get this quickly back to the tent to mix it up with the rest of the ingredients so we can try it out on the General.” He stood up and directed Whisperia to place this in her special place. He quickly gathered up the blanket and strode briskly away. We had to run to catch up with him.
We made our way to the room once we got in the tent and he directed Whisperia to place the cauldron on the table. He picked up each herb that we gathered and explained what each would do. He then took a small pinch of each and placed them in the cauldron. Each time the herb touched the liquid, a puff of steam rose up. I had to ask after the third herb he placed in there, “It puffs up each time you place an herb in, does it disintegrate the herb?” He shook his head, “Not necessarily, it’s adding the essence into the water. It would be like if you diffused water with lemon and drank it. You aren’t necessarily drinking lemonade but you are drinking lemon-flavored water.” I asked one more question, “Wouldn’t the medicine be more beneficial to have more than just the essence?” He shook his head, “No, in this case, it would be dangerous for a semi-mortal to ingest anything more than an essence of these herbs mixed together.” I nodded letting him know that I understood what he was saying. He carried on the explanation of the herbs, how much you pinch into the liquid, and what it does. He finally came to the last herb but he said he was not finished. He sighed, “This last ingredient, I will ask Whisperia to keep a hold of because it is not to be stored in the open. One day, I will show you how to make this, baby girl but we don’t have much time to teach you.” He opened a special portal and pulled out a carafe of blue liquid. He handed it to me and when I took it, I could feel a cool tingling sensation. I looked up at him, “What is it?” He smiled, “The Water of the Gods’ Blessing. There are few who can make this and I suspect you will be one of them.” I turned the carafe in my hands and studied it carefully and it shimmered as I turned it. It looked like someone infused it with fairy dust or something comically fairytale-like, “What does it do?” He took the carafe from me and placed it on the table, “It does what you need it to do in this case. I cannot explain to you what it does at this time because that information can only be known by those who are able to make it. Should we determine you hold such a power, I will tell you then.”
I understood with his instructions to Whisperia and his explanation to me just now that this was potent stuff. The knowledge of it and the item itself should not fall into the wrong hands or could spell disaster. I looked him in his eyes, “I understand. We shall keep it well guarded.” I looked over at Whisperia and she nodded, “With our lives, if need be, my lord.” He chuckled and shook his head, “It isn’t necessary to die for this but just keep it hidden when it isn’t in use. Also beyond you two, Derek and the General, please keep it secret. Okay?” He went around the room and asked if each of us could keep this a secret and each of us swore we would. He then picked up the carafe and poured a splash into the cauldron. This turned the liquid a glowing teal color. He handed the carafe to Whisperia and asked her to store it in her place. She quickly did so and he lifted the cauldron and brought it over to the bedside table next to Ronan. He took a vial and placed it in the liquid to fill it up. He handed the vial to Ronan, “Now, we will see if Alexandra’s first attempt was a success. It may not be instantaneous either. It depends on when her memory caught the tears.” Ronan looked at the vial for a little while and downed it. I gasped and he shrugged at me, “No time like the present kiddo. We need to get this show on the road and I am happy to help. I know that look and I can tell you are worried but have confidence in yourself.” I sighed, “I just don’t want to be the cause of your pain Ronan. I have confidence that I did the steps right that Apollo told me but I don’t know if I caught the tears at the right moment.” I felt Apollo drape his arm around my shoulders, “His pain will be short-lived if there is any. I can help him.” I sighed, “What about every other day that you aren’t here? What do we do then?” He shrugged, “He will have to endure. The first time will be the most painful as you hone in on your moment. He won’t have it so bad in subsequent tries.” I sighed, “I don’t suppose I was perfect this time.” I looked up at him and he squinted, “Hmm, not likely. I know you are studious and a perfectionist. You get that last part from Aphrodite. That being said, no one could hone in on something like that perfectly the first time. You’ll have to keep working at it.”
Doc poked his head into the room, “How is everything going here?” I looked back at him, “Well, we just gave the General the first prototype.” He looked at Ronan and then at me, “No reaction?” I shrugged, “None yet. Apollo says it could take a while.” Doc stepped into the room fully, “So have you been writing down your observations?” I wrote down everything Apollo had told me about each ingredient except for the last one since it was so secret and Doc would peer review my journal. I showed him the book in my hands and nodded, “Yes, everything we did up until now is in here.” I felt bad for telling him a lie but I didn’t want to go back on my promise to Apollo. I think he felt the tension in my shoulders because he gave me a light squeeze. When I looked up at him he winked at me and I knew he was doing his level best to comfort me. Doc walked over to Ronan and started to check a few things and asked me to record them in the journal. After all the checks, he nodded, “He seems fine so far.” He turned to Apollo, “When would we know the potion worked then?” Apollo smirked, “You’d know when the General’s stitches there would fully heal. It doesn’t appear that it has worked so far.” Doc placed his hands on his hips, “Does that mean it didn’t work?” Apollo shook his head, “No, that just means it hasn’t kicked in one way or another. That being said, I would be surprised if it did work the first time. She has to hit the power at the peak of her happiness. I am not sure she did so and she said she wasn’t sure herself.” Doc drew in a sharp breath, “So we can expect the General to be in pain then?” I nodded, “It is likely since I don’t think I hit the peak of my happiness.” I looked over at Ronan, “I think I might have hit my power at the lowest point in my memory. I really need to hone in on how to trigger the tears at peak happiness.” Ronan shook his head, “I volunteered, kiddo. I knew what I was getting myself into.” I sighed and looked down, “Still, I don’t want to see you hurt. You’ve taken great care of me in my time in Vellum by sending your best to keep me safe and I don’t want to repay you by putting you in any pain.”
Doc cleared his throat, “Well, I hate to change the subject but I thought you’d be interested in knowing that Melody Maigny and Rayla Ligidew have been sent home. His Majesty is being urged to leave camp today as well since he does not, at present, have an heir.” I looked at him confused, “I thought Prince Blake was the heir, no?” Doc looked down and seemed uncomfortable so he remained silent. Ronan chimed in, “Well, yes he is but, to be honest, His Highness skirts around the rules so often that the Elder Council feels uncomfortable with him being the heir. It is the very reason His Majesty was chosen to be King by his father. It is the beauty of the hierarchy here in Vellum is that a King can choose amongst his children or even his own wife on who will be the future reigning monarch. The Queen Mother declined when he named her so his father named King Lucien as a second option. Besides, Your Grace, I would think you of all people would want His Majesty to remain safe.” I nodded, “Oh I do and I will be amongst those who will urge him to go back to Tarn.” Doc interjected, “On that note, His Majesty did request your presence once your first test is complete.” He shot a glance at Ronan, “Though I suppose you will need to wait for the results before you can leave.” Apollo leaned over Ronan and narrowed his eyes, “I have a feeling you won’t have to wait much longer, baby girl.” Suddenly Ronan’s eyes rolled in the back of his head and he fell back into his pillows. He started to shake into a seizure-like convulsion and sweat was forming on his head. He was grunting in pain and I looked up at Apollo panicking, “What do we do?!” Apollo pointed, “Doc and Derek need to hold him down and you need to give him this. Make sure he gets every last drop.” Doc and Derek did as told and I did my best to get the potion poured into his mouth. After a while, he settled down into a deep sleep and Apollo sighed, “You’ve got to hone it in, baby girl. That was bad.”
