Erin
Jasmine Thèvenet
Head Quarters, La Gruador

A soft knock on the door of Jasmine's workroom in La Gruador drew her attention away from the ingredients splayed across her worktable. She glanced outside of the window and saw the sun had begun to rise. Time was of the essence. "Please, come in," She said as she turned around to face the door, standing tall.

A group of six young women came in, wearing the typical white dresses of La Gruador students, with their hair back in braids and questioning looks on their faces. At the moment, these women were the top pupils at Jasmine's academy. She needed the best for the assignment she had laid out for them, and only those who she knew held unwavering loyalty to her, La Gruador, and the people of Araedia.

"Hello my dears," Jasmine said with a gentle smile as she surveyed each woman. They smiled back nervously, and Jasmine suspected it was due to the group of men waiting outside her chamber. Her guards seemed to have tightened their watch on her as of recently. *'I wonder why,'* Jasmine thought dryly with a knowing smile. At least with how thick the doors were, she knew they could not hear what was being said.

Seeing how anxious her students looked, Jasmine felt the need to add: "You are in no way in any trouble. In fact, I called you all here for you to help me with a special project that must be completed as soon as possible."

"Yes, my Lady," The women echoed with a small bow.

Again, in this moment, Jasmine thought of Elroy. His words. *'There is nothing you could do to lose or lessen my love.'* With all her heart, she hoped that that sentiment would stay true. She didn't know if he would agree with what she was doing. She longed to ask last night, but she was too afraid. Afraid that he would disagree, and afraid how he would view her when she still went through with it regardless.

"I have made a list," Jasmine continued lightly, "Of ingredients that we are to use, and the ratio that pertains to each ingredient." She handed the list she had made the night before to the young woman nearest to her. "Today we will be making pills. We must work efficiently and effectively. I want these done as soon as possible."

"My lady..." Elanor, a particularly bright pupil, was staring at the list with wide-eyes. "Forgive me, but with these ratios and the..." Her voice faltered as she continued to read the list, before she licked her lips nervously, her eyes glancing up at her teacher and superior. "But it-"

"Yes, I know," Jasmine interrupted gently. Her voice sounded oddly calm, even to her. Numb. Or perhaps resigned. She waited until the paper was read by all of the students before her, then began speaking.

"I'm sure you're all wondering what is going on, and allow me to explain," She began. "As you all know, the purpose of La Gruador is to heal. To give the wounded a second chance at life. To save others." She started to pace in front of the young women, choosing her words carefully. "And we have always been successful in this. There has been no ailment we could not cure." A pause. "Until now."

The women watched her, waiting for her to continue.

"All who have contracted the plague have died a slow, gruesome, agonizing death. And I know that soon, they will die an even more tortuous one." She exhaled slowly. "And so I thought, 'What can we do? If we have not found a cure yet, then we are powerless.'" She shook her head as she mulled over those words that had indeed played in her mind not long ago. Those foolish, foolish words. "But I was wrong to think that. My logic was flawed, and my mind was not looking at the bigger picture. I was not remembering what La Gruador truly stands for."

She felt that familiar fire grow in her very soul, that crackling of passion and frustration, flames of stubbornness and determination. "La Gruador stands for saving *People.* Not just saving their bodies. No, we believe in the entire person as a whole. It would be selfish if we simply gave up trying to do something because we cannot save their physical form. We can still save *So much more.*" She turned to gaze at each woman. "We can save their dignity, their honor, and we can bestow upon them peace without pain. We can still save them, even if it is not in the traditional sense of the term. We can save their being, their essence. Their dignity.

"And so I ask you," She said, her voice softening as the fire burning inside her subsided, "Will you help me do this? Will you help me be able to give the hopeless a glimmer of hope? It will be hard work, and we will most likely work tirelessly until we are finished both creating and dispersing the pills. There will be little recognition. But then, our hearts may rest knowing we did all we could do. That we were able to save those who others claimed were not worth trying to save."

There was silence in the room, before Elanor stepped forward. "I will help, my lady," She said with a bow. Then two others stepped forward and then the rest. Jasmine saw on each of their faces compassion, understanding, and determination. She knew that they wanted to help not out of obligation or because she was their superior, but because they believed in her words. They agreed with her. 

*How was I so lucky to have students with such beautiful souls?* Jasmine thought as she tried to hold back her emotions. Finally, there were others who understood how she thought and would help her. She felt a burden lift off her chest as she smiled at her students before going over what was to be done, who should pick up what ingredients, how to make production happen as efficiently as possible, and who was going to disperse the pills where. With the ratios memorized, Jasmine tossed the list she had wrote in the fire, letting the flames consume it before it turned into ash.

With a light heart and a feeling of peace, Jasmine and the other young women made a historical first for La Gruador: its first batch of lethal pills.
Carol
Xavier de Delekou
Lords Study, Provincial Delekou

The flicker of candlelight was the only source of brightness in the study at the late hour, but the darkness of the room reflected the mind of the man occupying the desk. A letter bearing the seal of House Thèvenet lay on the desk, resting open. Seemingly innocent in its appearance, its contents were damning. Xavier had hoped the pilgramage would be stopped by someone. Anyone. Yet, no one had and now thousands were condemned to die. Thousands more would be affected by the deaths. 

Xavier hated himself for it. If anyone was in a position to speak against the cruelty of the Circle it was him. Delekou was the crucial agricultural hub of Araedia and they held influence in that regard. Not that it would matter. Xavier sighed in defeat. Anyone who spoke out against the Circle and their orders would be crowned a heretic and die. At the very least be removed from their seat.

He was faced with an impossible decision. Speak out and lose Delekou, its people, their impact, and all that was good in Araedia or follow orders and watch thousands of people die. He chose the latter, the words coward agnonizingly echoing through his mind. 

"Teo!" His steward appeared moments later, an elderly man, though you wouldn't know it given his appearance. 
"My lord?" 
"Tell Lucien I need to see him." His haunted eyes were masked by the flicker of candlelight. "It cannot wait." Teo nodded and bowed before exiting and leaving the lord in private again. Restless, Xavier rose from his seat and moved to the window - staring into the murky night as his soul twisted at the thought of pain he was going to inflict. "This cannot be what is best for our people." He whispered to the dark room.
Erin
Jasmine Thèvenet
The Outskirts of Provincial Delekou

A light drizzle dotted the small window of the carriage, making objects appear more soft than they really were. Jasmine sat in the seat. Two chests lay in front of her, filled with clothes, books, and other things. Those things did not matter. Inside was a previous cargo, hidden beneath the other useless trivialities.

She just prayed that her intuition was correct.

Jasmine thought herself a good reader of people, but Xavier was hard one to decipher. They had met several times at meetings in Erillia, or during the harvest season. He struck her as a soft, kind man. Very intelligent. But that was not what stood out the most to her. There was something else.

Something she could not be sure of, but prayed was true.

She remembered one time during the harvest clearly. Candela, who Jasmine admired for her free-spirit and willingness to outright argue her points, was in conversation about her experience during a religious service of Xolile with Elroy. Jasmine remembered standing at Elroy's side as he glanced at her. The two of them sharing a silent amused looks, as Candela was very animated, before he spoke about his own experiences with Xolile. Jasmine began automatically nodding with a gentle smile, not really listening. Then her eyes strayed to Xavier, who was standing beside his talkative wife with a small smile of his own.

In that moment, she locked eyes with him, and she was surprised by what she saw. 

There was an emptiness, almost a deadness, reflected in his eyes. The same void look that she had to hide whenever Xolile was mentioned, or the Circle. Then he blinked, and the moment was gone. Xavier's eyes turned to his wife, and his eyes were like any other devoted subject of Xolile.

Since then, she had remembered that incident. She had felt something in that moment, a bond almost form that broke before she could piece it together. Perhaps she was wrong. Then, she would have to find a way out of the situation, which would prove most difficult. 

*'I hope that I am not wrong,'* Jasmine thought as she looked over and saw the Delekou estate growing closer into view. *' For if I am, it could very well be the death of me.'*