Chapter 253

253 Ugly Jealousy(Part One)

****THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS 18+ CONTENT. LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE. VIEWERS DISCRETION ADVISED**

By the time Skye, Klaus, and Ronnie sat down to eat, Skye was half-starved. That morning’s Shaman rounds didn’t take any longer that usual, but Skye had to fix a completely shattered and mashed foot. The man was moving the caber equipment when the biggest one fell directly on top of it.

A typical adult human foot has roughly twenty-six bones, thirty joints, and has over one-hundred various muscles and tendons. Skye had to reconstruct and heal Everything. He was lucky she had experience with such extensive damage..

Skye was the only person capable of healing such intense injuries. If she hadn’t been late due to the diplomats leaving, the man probably would’ve lost his foot. That would’ve been the standard course of action for any other doctor.

The man was also lucky that her technique had vastly improved. Dr. Gohan was training Skye in his spare time to become a doctor, and was incredibly impressed with her progress and work. Because of her quick wit and overpowered Shaman trait, Tien knew Skye would be able to take the first tier of the Medical Licensing Exam soon.

She would be able to treat anyone without limitations or guidance. The second tier was reserved for Combat Medics for both the RMC, and the regular branches of Alcon’s military. They had to go through specialized training that pertained to the stresses of treating soldiers in and on an active battlefield, and how to properly implement triage.

The second tier was Skye’s ultimate goal, but not until after the Highland Raid. They would be leaving as soon as Ralph got back. Petrie had told them that he and Murdoc were going to investigate the Old Capital Palace with Ralph once he got back.

Based on the timeline, Ralph should be showing back up a week or two before the Mage Trials. Tidas wanted to leave as soon as he got back, but Magnus refused him. They needed the soldiers, and all of the Pillars for the Mage Trials, or there was likely to be a riot.

The next big event in Alcon was the Mage Trials. Tidas had his birthday a few days after the Summer Games, but that wasn’t celebrated like his oldest brother’s was. Since Marco was the Crowned Prince, his birthday was celebrated almost as extravagantly as Magnus’ was.

.....

‘If the Highland Raid happens right after the trials, then Tidas and I won’t have to deal with Marco! We’ll be north when his birthday comes and goes, thank the gods.. I don’t even want to deal with him on a normal day; I can’t imagine how insufferable he must be on his day..’

Skye had lost herself in her thoughts as Alfred went to get their food. He didn’t have much left because they’d showed up so late. But he did promise to feed them enough delicious food to hold them over until dinner.

Even with limited ingredients, Alfred worked his culinary magic. He had some beef stew left, but only enough for a bowl each. He also had some cooked beef left, a few green peppers, onions, and mushrooms.

Seeing a chance to experiment, he took the medium-rare steaks, cut them and the vegetables up, then cooked them together in a pan with a touch of the stew’s liquid. The smell made all three of their stomachs grumble in anticipation.

Alfred sliced open his last six loaves of bread, and gave them each two sandwiches with a bowl of the stew. Skye usually didn’t care for cooked green peppers, but the juices from the beef had soaked in during the cooking process. Giving each bite a plethora of flavor.

They talked as they ate; mostly Alfred. Skye had told him the gist of what had happened between her and Zas as she dug into her food with gusto. Klaus and Ronnie added their bit of the plot, too. His surprise that the General would even ask the two for help was obvious.

“Sounds like he’s overly worried, and acting rashly due to it. I would try to talk to him again before the Trials, after the stress left over from the Summer Games has abated a bit. Zas isn’t the type to act without cause, you just need to figure it out.”

Skye digested both Alfred’s words and his delectable food. Once they finished eating, Skye gave Alfred a friendly hug, and walked off towards Zas. She may still be mad at him, but that was no excuse to neglect her work.

Magnus had specifically asked Skye to rejuvenate the part of the fairgrounds that was technically farmland. The amount of vendors and visitors was far more than Magnus’ council had anticipated, and they wound up flattening a good quarter acre of wheat field to make room.

The grain from the wheat was crucial to Alcon’s winter food supply. If Magnus wouldn’t have had Skye around to fix it, then he would’ve had to refuse quite a bit of needed revenue. Especially with the Highland Raid looming in the near future..

When Skye, Klaus, and Ronnie asked what still needed to be done, Zas talked and directed them like nothing had happened. It bothered her friends, but Skye preferred it that way. Open hostility or displeasure led to rumors, and the less rumors, the better.

As Skye began to bring the already cleared patches of field back to life, Zas called out to her. He asked if she would run to the medic’s tent, and make sure that the unused supplies went to the nearest hospital instead of back to the palace. She agreed, and took off while Klaus and Ronnie were preoccupied. It was just a quick run to the other side of the fairgrounds..

As soon as Skye cleared the view of others, she could hear footfalls behind her. She was about to drop the person into a pit(she’d gotten quite fast at making them), but felt someone grab her shoulder.

Skye grabbed the hand, and immediately flipped them over her shoulder. The person slammed down onto the ground hard, knocking the wind out of them. Ripping the small-framed body’s hood back, Skye instantly felt terrible.. It was Renee.

“Oh shi-I-Ima So Sorry I did that! I swear I didn’t mean to! Twas pure instinct! I swear!”

Renee had landed in a very large pile of horse droppings, and was glaring at Skye as she struggled to catch her breath. In hindsight, it probably was idiotic on her part to sneak up on the princess. She knew exactly how hard Skye was working towards her goals.

Unable to stop herself, Renee constantly eavesdropped on Skye and Alfred’s conversations. She ate at the Cat’s Paw nearly every day, and Shasta usually met her there for lunch before they trained together for the day. But the two always had hushed conversations before she arrived.

That didn’t bother Renee so much, but the friendly way they were with each other bothered her more than she wanted to admit to herself. Skye hugged Alfred every other time she saw him, and she’d been giving him gifts lately, too.

‘The only reason a noble or royal dotes on a commoner is if they’re interested in an inappropriate relationship. Not with MY Alfred! He’s my..boss...Ahh! Ima so lame, but I don’t care! I have to have some excuse!’

‘Besides, she’s married! What’s she thinkin’ givin’ another man a gift?! No wonder there’s so many rumors about her..’

Skye could see the poorly-concealed hostility Renee felt towards her. She knew that the lass listened in on her conversations, and that she followed her around the city occasionally. It had been slightly amusing at first, but now her frequency had ticked up too much.

After brushing most of the dirt off of herself, Skye questioned Renee; “So, do ye have a thing for me now, or are ye still playin’ the part of crazy stalker for Alfred?”

Renee’s eyes bulged with shock as she sputtered; “What? That’s Ridiculous! I like men! Why would ye even think I Like you, let alone had a crush on ye?!”

Skye smirked knowingly; “But ye did not deny that ye like Alfred..”

Renee turned from hot pink, to fire red in two seconds. The tips of her ears in particular were bright with her embarrassment. Which made it difficult for Skye not to chuckle, but she reframed.

After an awkward few minutes, Skye reached a hand out to pull her up. Renee sighed deeply before going to grab it, but froze with shock.

Her pointer finger shot up as she motioned to behind Skye, and she screamed; “LOOK OUT!”

Skye jumped on top of Renee, gripped her, and rolled her right as a knife slammed down into the ground where they had just been. As they tumbled sideways, Skye built her Earth magic with outrageous speed.

Realizing the mystery person wasn’t still stabbing after them, Skye shifted up to her feet, and into a defensive position. The small-framed person, obviously a woman; was instantly recognizable to Skye..

Her trepidation completely flipped to barely veiled hostility as she asked; “What the Hell are ye doin’ here, Angelica?”

Angelica Bibalow ungracefully yanked the knife out of the ground, and turned her attention towards her target. She pulled her hood back, revealing the psychotic smile on her face, and look in her eyes. She’d lost it.

Renee didn’t know what was going on, but the woman in front of them looked deranged. The bottom four inches of her dress were filthy, her hair was frizzed and sloppy, and the makeup she’d been wearing was smeared beyond repair.

She looked like a younger version of an old prostitute that used to try and pick up customers at the Cat’s Paw. Until Alfred had to call the guards on her for bothering the patrons. She’d snapped on one of the younger guards for calling her an old crone; this woman had the same mad look about her.

Skye folded her arms across her chest before speaking again; “I’ll not ask again, Bibalow: what are ye doin’ here? Don’t ye value yer life at all?”

A glint flashed across Angelica’s eyes as she cackled loudly; “What life?! You’ve destroyed Everything! You’ve taken EVERYTHING that was Supposed to be MINE! My Tidas, my title, my LIFE! It was supposed to be MINE!”

As she spoke, Angelica slowly moved closer. Skye noticed, but didn’t feel threatened at all. ‘What can she do to me that I can’t heal?’

“What’s yer plan? To stab me? Ye do remember one of me traits is Shaman, right? It’s how I didn’t kill ye the first time we scuffled? Fair warning: I WON’T be extendin’ the same courtesy again..”

Bibalow cackled again. ‘The arrogant Bitch has No Idea that this blade has been dipped in the fastest acting poison known! My life is over, it’s true.. But I Will take that Bitch down with me! If I can’t have Tidas, She Won’t Either!’