Ada held her shoulders one after the other while rotating her arms for relief after the long shift she had to go through that day.
Her last destination being the small closet normally dedicated for tools and dical supplies in the infirmary.
However, upon entering, instead of seeing just that, Ada was greeted by the figure of Morgana in her new appearance, kneeling before a fuming cauldron and surrounded by her personal utensils.
"How is it coming along?" she asked while stretching her arms.
There was no need in worrying about getting caught as the witch had thought of everything. A cloaking spell sufficed to conceal their presence in the cabinet. Only she and a select few were allowed the ability to bypass the magic.
"It is coming along just fine. In fact, I am positive I will be done with it this very night. We will just have to figure out a way to approach the king with it," said Morgana without looking away from her concoction.
"We will have to wait," Ada pouted and plopped down to the floor, "Even you, as the head nurse, aren’t scheduled to enter his chambers before two days,"
"I know, but do tell; how did your shift go today? Anything out of norm?"
Out of norm? What was within norm in that place?
Ada’s chest tightened, knowing full well that her mishap that early morning could have cost them the entire operation. Thank goodness for that young woman, Luiza and her quick thinking.
Although, it was also safe to assu she had heard her entire conversation with Arabella before the arrival of the hag.
Whether her intentions to keep the secret were noble or otherwise remained another thorn plunged in Ada’s lungs.
Morgana was sure to scold her if she heard a word about it.
"Nothing... Out of norm... All I had to do was patch up so small injuries that the soldiers have sustained during training. Aside from that, there were just a few fevers to tend to as well as scratches. All things I’ve seen before with my father,"
"That is good," Morgana eyed her suspiciously for a mont before turning her attention back onto the potion, "Oh! I’ve almost forgotten; Hand the vial of Silas’ blood. It will be the finishing touch,"
"Yes, of course! I had forgotten about it too," Ada handed her the vial without dallying.
Sothing within her however, refused to settle. An itch she could not, for the life of her, scratch.
And so, she ca forward with it, "Mada Morgana," she called for her attention first. Upon earning it, Ada continued, "The last ti, when we stood in the king’s chambers, you told sothing about Lord Silas’ blood that I cannot seem to fathom, but then the conversation died down because we had to move quickly. I simply wondered...,"
"About its rejuvenating effect," Morgana half asked, picking up a pouch from the floor, then dipping her fingers inside to pull a pinch of a powder out which she sprinkled into the mixture.
"Well, yes," Ada’s eyes followed every motion that the witch made, "How can it turn him back to his twenties? I know that it cures wounds and so illnesses, but...,"
In response, Morgana chuckled before asking, "Ada, how old do you think I am?"
That took her by surprise, freezing the blood in her veins montarily, "I...," she looked Morgana up and down, "I am not sure, but I rember Arabella telling you were older than you seed. No offense to you,"
Another chuckle escaped the witch, "None taken," after a short pause, she added, "But yes, to keep things simple, I will just say; I am much older than I seem. The true question is, how do you think that was made possible? You know as well as everyone else that witches don’t live that much more than humans do, so... What do you think?"
"I believed it was witchcraft," Ada mumbled, looking down at her lap.
"Well, yes, witchcraft, but even that has limits. We are not gods, you know," Morgana blended the ingredients stewing together above the fire with a long spoon, "Take this potion for instance; don’t you think I ca up with the recipe for it a little too quickly?"
"Like I said, I truly have not an inkling as to what it takes to perform witchcraft, nor do I have a clue about what its pillars are," Ada shook her head.
"When encountering a new phenonon or working on a new spell, we tend to take our ti, much like you do when brewing a redy for an illness you were not so familiar with,"
"Are you saying you’ve been using this potion for yourself all along?" Ada’s eyes widened, glued to the cauldron before snapping onto Morgana for answers.
The witch rely nodded with a smile at first, "I was part of the research team put together by Persephone and Lord Eric to study the effects of Silas’ blood. When all was said and done, I was allowed to keep a good quantity of the blood we had drawn from him. Although I did not wish to look twenty-five years old for the rest of my life and so I brought so modification to its constitution,"
"Why... Twenty-five exactly?" she had to push the words out of her mouth for they seed to cling to it.
"Very similarly to humans, our bodies reach their peak of health at the age twenty-five from there they start a slow downfall as we age. His blood cures the illness that is aging just like everything else. Its effect does not transpire on Arabella yet because she is just twenty-seven. The differences two years make are minute when living under cushy conditions, despite the stress she was put through, that is,"
"I see...,"
Ada really saw the truth of it all. There was much to discover about it in due ti. Although right then and there what they had on their hands was urgency.
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