Something was wrong with the Queen. While she normally had the charisma to keep even the dullest conversation buoyant, lately she was acting aloof and erratic. Her weekly speeches from the top of the castle were normally lively and pleasant. But now, she began to erupt with harsh harangues from the parapets. Her daughter, Cleona, hobnobbed with her mother and the royal elites of the landlocked kingdom enough to know that there was a problem. The pivotal moment came when the Queen grew pyretic and could no longer speak. Her skin broke out in a rash and she experienced severe pruritus. Try as they might, with their magic widgets and spells full of palindromes, the court wizards could not fix the Queen’s thermal stress, nor her itchiness.
However, Cleona spent much of her time studying and knew that her mother’s illness could not be cured with spells, but with something medicinal. “I can heal her! I just need some help!” Cleona exclaimed, but the royal court ignored her, calling her a whippersnapper. Cleona knew that her mother’s passing meant she would inherit the throne, but she did not want that to happen any time soon. The Princess would save her mother, no matter what.
Cleona snuck out of the castle and made her way to the nearby town. She wore plain clothes and used a moniker to move about the market unnoticed. She found a kiosk selling all different types of plants. Cleona had made a list of what she needed—some mountain edelweiss, desert grevillea, leaf of dogwood, chrysanthemum, foxglove, and a pinch of thistle.
“Yo!” she called to the merchant and handed him the list. Cleona received the plants from the merchant and raced back to the castle. She ground the plants down to a fine powder, mixed it with river water, and rushed the concoction to her mother. The Queen drank the caustic potion which burned as it went down her throat. Suddenly, the Queen’s fever broke. Long live the Queen!
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