Mika stepped through the courtyard of the Head’s estate, exchanging greetings with the nearby servants and guards. He held his little box between his hands, a gift he had prepared for the Head. It was a black box, with a thin, white trim around the seam where it opened.

“Young Mika,” the Head greeted the young boy as he stepped into the room, a servant having escorted the boy to the living room.

“Good morning, Head,” Mika said, holding up the small box. “I’ve come with a gift.” The boy smiled innocently.

“A gift?” the Head asked, reaching out his hand to accept the box. He opened it, noting the small herb, which was completely black. It was long and thin, with dozens of thin leaves which splayed out. It had been dried over the course of the week. “A herb?”

“Black heartfern,” the young boy said, smiling. “One can tear off one of its many leaves and brew it into tea. It helps strengthen ones constitution. It would be best for Miss Black Hand to drink it over the course of the next few weeks.”

Rogue bowed his head. “I am sure the Miss will be happy with your gift.” He shut the box and placed it to one side. “How shall I reward you this time?”

“I just want the Black Hand family to thrive, and that will be reward enough,” Mika said, bowing his head. After an awkward moment passed, Mika smiled.

“Thank you, Mika,” Rogue said, understanding what Mika wanted him to do. He supposed that, what with the sudden influx of pills and elixirs, he should hand a few more to the Right Hand and his family.

“Good morning, Mika,” Scarlet, the Head’s wife, greeted the young boy. She walked over to the young Page, brushing his cheek, feeling his warmth against her palm. She wore many layers of black clothing, which hid her pregnant stomach for an average glance. Mika noted the presence of the three, small figures within her stomach, their life forces faint.

“Good morning,” Mika greeted, bringing his hands together as always. “Are you well, Miss?”

“Why are you calling me Miss?” Scarlet teased, reaching up to ruffle his hair. “Does our little Page want some tea?”

“I would love some tea, but I need to hurry to the guild,” Mika said.

“I thought it was your day off?” Rogue asked.

“I should help catalogue the herbs today since the guild is so busy,” the boy replied, bowing his head as he got up to excuse himself.

Once he had left, Rogue held up the box in his hands. “Mika brought you a gift.”

“A gift? For me?”

“He brought you some black heartfern,” Rogue said.

“That would make some wonderful tea for me,” Scarlet replied. “It’s good for pregnant women especially.”

“So I was told,” Rogue said, placing the box down. “Would you like some tea now?”

“I should drink it once I awaken from my nap.”

Rogue nodded.

Mika had made his way to grab a guard before heading to the Alchemy Guild. He remained silent as he always did on the journey, all the while Jin, the twin brother of the guard who was working on refining his ki, kept an eye out for any danger. Once they were at the guild, Jin remained nearby, keeping guard for the Alchemy Guild and his Young Sir.

The Alchemists were busy with their relaxed schedule, refining pills twice as quickly as previous, spending the extra time studying new recipes, as well as cultivating. Mika didn’t bother them, greeting them quickly, before making his way to the Elder’s personal room. He reached up and knocked on the large red door with a specific knock. He spent a moment admiring the wood, which was naturally red. The Elder had imported it from a far away land, and had tasked a local carver to engrave dragons all along it’s borders.

“Young Page,” Elder Yan asked, inviting the boy quickly inside. The boy had knocked twice, and paused for a long moment, before knocking a final time quite loudly.

“Do you know how to make the cure for a bloomrot fly bite?” Mika asked.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Bloomscore, lightly boiled and-,”

“Mixed with honey, yes,” Mika said, nodding his head. “What if someone has already taken treatment for a typical bite?”

Elder Yan let out a deep sigh. “I do, though I am uncertain if I have the materials on hand to make sure a cure. A draught has taken the silver hills to the east so silverthistle is currently hard to procure, regardless of how much money I’ve spent.”

“You can replace silverthistle with a leaf of the silvergum herbleaf auraroot.”

“Using a silvergum herbleaf auraroot to make a cure for a bloomrot fly bite is quite the waste, even if it’s only a single leaf. It’s far rarer, and more expensive, than silverthistle. One needs to kill a Garbazu.”

“So I’ve read,” the boy said, taking a seat on the sofa. “You need to make an excuse to speak with the Head and meet with my aunt. If you don’t manage to cure her by sundown, then you prepare to make funeral arrangements for yourself.” Mika raised his hand and a book floated up towards him, before he opened it up to read.

Though Mika had threatened him overtly for the first time, Elder Yan’s thoughts were on the floating book. ‘Did he just…’

“The clock is ticking, El. Der. Yan.”

The old man bowed his head and quickly excused himself, hurrying as quickly as he could without revealing that he was hurrying. Mika had subtly threatened him many times, often in casual conversation, though it was always private. He was glad he was too shocked to feel any sense of anger at the words, for if he did feel rage, it meant that he still held thoughts of going against the boy. He was certain the boy wasn’t the same rank as him, and yet he could do that?

Elder Yan sighed, approaching the Black Hand estate. The guards quickly straightened up, and greeted the Elder Alchemist with great vigour, before he was invited inside.

“How may this Head be of assistance?” Rogue asked.

Elder Yan smiled, before realising he had completely forgotten to think of an excuse. “I had come to speak with you, Head. I have heard that your family will soon expand, the Left Hand and yourself will soon be welcoming new children.”

“That is true.”

“It is most wonderful news,” the Elder said, still trying to understand how he was meant to try to see the Mistress. “May I speak with the Mistress as well?”

“She is currently indisposed.”

‘Damn it,’ the Elder thoughts, wondering how else he could meet with the Mistress. “I would like to speak with you both, as well as the Left Hand and the Madam, for matters of safety.”

‘Safety?’ “If it is such a matter, I will inform the Mistress.” Rogue motioned his head to a guard, who quickly left to go and awaken the Mistress.

Elder Yan almost sighed in relief, and soon met with the four. He asked the men and women questions about anything strange, before finally asking about any bug bites.

“I was bitten by a fly a few days ago, but I took some medicine for it,” Scarlet, the Mistress of the Black Hand family, admitted.

“I was bitten too, but I thought nothing of it,” the Madam said.

“Did you also take any medicine for it?” Elder Yan asked.

“No.”

Elder Yan held out a hand. “May I?”

Scarlet offered her wrist, and Elder Yan focused intently. He felt her pulse, the natural rhythm it possessed, and then focused on the children within. He had to be careful using his ki, otherwise it could harm the children. It was a difficult matter, but since he was an Elder Alchemist, he had greater than typical abilities. Upon confirming the same with the Madam, Elder Yan leaned back, growing silent.

“Is something wrong?” Rogue asked.

“It is not worrying,” Elder Yan said. “I will create a pill for the Mistress.” He wrote up a quick recipe for some soup, and offered the herb to the Left Hand. “You should brew the soup.”

The Left Hand didn’t need to ask any questions, accepting the ingredient and the recipe, before excusing himself. The Elder placed out his ingredients as Rogue assisted the women out of the room, feeling the energies of the alchemist fire. Elder Yan kept his thoughts blank, trying to keep his relief from escaping his lips.

‘Phew.’ He had managed to start refining the pill in time. He had hours to spare, and he was glad that he checked up on the other pregnant woman in the Black Hand family. ‘I’m sure the Young Master will be pleased.’

When he finally returned to the Alchemy Guild, Mika was reading a fourth tome, one heavier and bigger than all the others. “How did it go?”

“The Mistress and Madam are safe.”

“Well done,” Mika said, shutting his book. “You should find out information about the merchants who had passed by a few days ago. Chances are, one of them let loose the bloomrot flies.”

‘There were merchants who had arrived?’ Elder Yan thought. He had been busy working, so hadn’t had the chance to keep tabs on the town.

‘Should I create an underground network?’ Mika yawned.

Elder Yan waited, and waited, wondering when Mika was going to mention the updated plan.

Eventually, the boy put away his book, stretching his muscles. “Thank you for your assistance, Elder Yan.” Mika placed down an elixir he had refined, before he made his way out.

“It was my pleasure,” Elder Yan said, watching the boy go.

Mika had decided against updating his plan too much. The goal was to ruin the Tiger Fist family originally, to make them a lesser power while raising another family up. It was the best way to show them their folly.

‘How dare you try to kill those who I’ve claimed for myself.’ Mika placed his hands behind his back as he stared out towards the sky.

Jin looked down at him, having not seen the boy make this pose since he was a toddler. ‘What are you thinking, Young Sir.’

‘Should I raise them and eat them too?’ Mika thought. ‘Allow the Tiger Fist family to taste heaven before I strip it away from them?’

Mika sighed. He had so many ways of ruining the Tiger Fist family, but it was difficult to see which would be most fun. ‘I should do something I haven’t done before. Ah, but what if it isn’t satisfying?’

‘Our Young Sir is surely the cutest.’ Jin smiled.

If Jin had pressed a hand casually against Mika’s head as his aunt had, his skin would have peeled away from the thin aura of his Young Sir’s killing intent.