The Crown's Entrapment



The next day, Aurelia and Calypso went on ahead on their journey. Going deeper into the Tornado Pack Territory, all seemed to be well as their carriage went ahead in record time. However, the deeper they went, the more that the mood seemed to grow colder with each passing second. It also didn't help that the weather just constantly seemed to fluctuate between sunshine and rain, changing the temperatures in such a way that it almost made them want to hurry up to their next destination.

"Is it just me, or are the townsfolk here look more… tired than usual?" Calypso couldn't help but notice as he looked out from their carriage window.

"Perhaps it's the weather," Aurelia casually scoffed aloud, refusing to look outside in favor of focusing on the next page of her book. "I wouldn't put it past the these constant weather changes to do something to the common man."

It was something of a hypothesis of hers with how constantly changing temperatures wouldn't be too healthy in the long term. Like how a glass that once held hot water would suddenly shatter if it was exposed to cold water, the body wasn't going to react favorably to drastic weather changes. Thankfully, it would take a lot for werewolves to be affected by the weather, but she held a different idea at times where even their kind would be susceptible to extreme changes.

"I don't know," Calypso worriedly hummed. "They all look like they're dead men walking out there."

Rolling her eyes, Aurelia tore her gaze away from her reading in favor of looking outside. It would seem that they were currently passing through a village, and sure enough, some of the folk outside moved slower than usual.

"Strange…" she hummed to herself. "Perhaps the humidity got to them."

It had just rained after all. Before all of the sun's heat began bearing down on them, a light drizzle made sure to soak the land, and she could only assume that the sudden increase in temperature would make it feel like they were swimming through the air.

"Well, that could be it, but I have a feeling, Lia," Calypso dubiously stated. "It just feels off to me."

Frowning, she turned her gaze back outside once more. With her keen eye, she started looking for signs that she could attribute as the reason for why there was this widespread fatigue outside. 

[Talk me through it,] Aura clinically chimed in.

[Fatigue possibly caused by sudden temperature changes,] Aurelia began, talking to her other self as if she was talking to a colleague. [I can't tell much due to our distance, but their slow movements could also suggest muscle weakness. Perhaps lung disease?]

[Nothing we can't confirm upon a closer inspection,] Aura nodded. [Also, look at that one.]

Taking her wolf's words, Aurelia honed in her attention at what looked to be an old man leaning on the wall. Their carriage was quick to pass the man by, but it was more than enough for her to see something that was certain to be related to whatever this whole situation was. 

[Dark rashes… And the others have them as well,] she mumbled. [Even from afar they look painful. I don't even know what kind of illness could do such a thing.]

[Certain pathogens and injuries could be considered, but for it to be this widespread, it must be the former,] her wolf supplied. [Our mate might be right in that there's something more at play here.]

"Well?"

"You're right," Aurelia replied, losing much of her playful sarcasm in favor of donning her mask of professionalism as a physician. "There's something more here, perhaps a disease of some kind."

"Do you want to help?" he immediately asked. "We can do a stop over and-"

"No," she quickly shook her head. "It's best that we ignore them for now. We're close to our destination, right? It'd be better for us to coordinate with the local authorities."

She ground her teeth as Calypso frowned at her decision. Letting out a sigh, he eventually relented as he ordered for their carriage to move faster. As for her, she simply remained silent, her mind abuzz as to what exactly she was going to fight against.

"You will help them. Right, Lia?" Calypso asked. "Even if we're not their liege, they're still our countrymen."

"I need more information," Aurelia mumbled, her thumb on her lip as she ran through her options. "Before everything else, we must isolate and determine what exactly we're dealing with. And if this is an infection, we have to limit its spread before it escapes and spreads to other parts of the kingdom."

Calypso gravely nodded. "I'll talk to the Alpha in charge once we arrive. We can't have our people dying to this."

Aurelia took a deep breath to center herself. As their carriage sped up, she was hard at work devising potential strategies in case of an outbreak. Of course, they would all be useless until she had more information to work with, but it was a start, especially if they wanted this thing contained as quickly as possible.

"We're here."

She blinked as she heard Calypso announce their arrival. While the Tornado Pack Territory wasn't rich, it was certainly not poor with how big its central mansion was. Still, she didn't have time to appreciate things as she quickly let her mate escort her out of the carriage.

"Lord Calypso. Lady Aurelia," one of the guards greeted them. "We'd like to give you two a proper welcome to the Tornado Pack Territory, but the Alpha is currently busy dealing with an emergency."

"We know," Calypso frowned. "Take me to him. Lord Niro, right?"

"At once," the guard nodded. 

Aurelia watched as Calypso quickly disappeared into the mansion. As for her, she was quick to make her way to the nearest clinic. She could only hope that the personnel here knew what they were doing. 

[Make sure you and the Alpha will be available once I have my information,] she spoke to Calypso through the Bond.

[Of course,] he nodded. [I'll tell him to-]

[Wait!]

Aurelia froze as she walked through the hallways. Through some of the open doors, she could see that some of the people within the rooms were already infected, dark rashes adorning their exposed skin. They seemed to be isolated from the rest, thankfully, but it was still an alarming sign.

[What's wrong?!]

[It's much worse than we thought,] she clicked her tongue. [I'm coming with you, Calypso. We need immediate action.]