Two weeks had passed since the day Amethyst started working on the palace, but these two weeks that had passed didn't go well and peacefully.
A sudden surge of deaths has begun in the kingdom, many infants were losing their lives suddenly without a proper explanation, which led the citizens to think that the kingdom is cursed by a divine figure.
At night, the cries of the parents that lost their infants could be heard from afar, and at day, the sun didn't even want to appear in the sky, hiding itself behind the clouds.
***
In the kitchen, the head chef had set a new rule to the workers and chefs:
-Do not eat extravagant food or something similar/considered as one, the consumption of these foods is highly forbidden!!!
The notice that the food was running out too fastly with the arrival of the freshmen was not small. Because of this new rule, the majority of the workers have to buy food with their money salary or even hunt their own food to have a proper meal without being a super small portion of bad quality food they were provided to in the kitchen.
And well, for Amethyst it wasn't different. She had, in some nights, passing all night hunting food for herself, while in the others, she would eat what the kitchen would provide to her willingly. The matter for her is just eating, no matter what it is.
***
One of Amethyst's coworkers and cooking area mates, Penny the rat girl, had noticed the absence of Amethyst's presence, missing her a little. She goes on to ask the other two coworkers that are now acquaintances of her, with a concern and worried face.
"Guys, do you know where Amethyst is right now? It's been a while since yesterday night."
"Last night I saw her going out of the servants room with an empty basket." Responds Opaka, a young eagle woman who was cleaning the dishes. "I guess she went out to hunt for her own food like the majority of the workers that are not 100% human or that are creatures."
"Wait, Amethyst IS NOT a human???" Questions Natsumi with a surprise tone, a hybrid (half shark, half human) young man that was opening a fish.
"Now I'm confused as well, I've never felt any wave of animalistic nature in her, nor even she had shown in or out of the kitchen." Responded Opaka. "But it would be a big surprise to discover that she's not a human. But putting that aside, have you guys seen the new baby porridge that has been sold in the kingdom?"
"Yeah, I heard that it is possible for the nursery to start having these as well." Said Natsumi. "But I'm not sure about it, since the sudden surge of infants deaths in the kingdom."
***
Amethyst appears out of nowhere in the kitchen back doors, her basket now full of what she had hunted down.
She approaches her cooking area, placing the basket.
Before she could even take out her food, the group hushed in front of her with wide eyes and surprised faces, full of questions.
----
"Where were you?! You're late, don't you know you would get punished if the head chef was here?!?"
"You took too much time out of the kitchen, couldn't you just warn us that you would arrive late?!?"
"ARE YOU EVEN A HUMAN, AMETHYST?!?!"
I just let them throw me a lot of questions, I didn't care much about responding. I was hungry, and I really wanted to eat in peace, so I open my basket to take out the delicious things I found in the forest~!
I took out of the basket two full bowls: one with insects like cockroaches crickets; rodents like rats and mice; one amphibian, I could just sadly find one; reptiles; small birds and two fishes. Basically, a plate of food for owls.
While the other haves insects like ants, crickets and grasshoppers; Small invertebrates; seeds, leaves, flowers, fruits and some reptiles. A plate of food for peacocks.
I grab the first bowl first, grabbing a small hand cockroaches and shoving it into my mouth, not caring about etiquette or civics. As I munch, I look to the side, my head doing a 90° degree rotation.
They looked shocked, and a bit terrified, I guess.
"Amethyst, are you sure you're a human?" Asked Opaka cautiously, putting herself in front of Penny to shield her.
"Girl, who said I AM a human?" I responded after swallowing the cockroaches.
"You don't emanate any wave of animalist nature in you! That's why we are surprise!" Natsumi points outs. Yeah, it's true, I don't emanate any wave of animalistic nature in me, because I had trained myself to hide it.
"You are an owl and a peacock mix, right, cooker Amethyst?"
A sudden, deep, feminine voice shimes in, her vibes neutral and enigmatic. I shudder before turning properly to see who it is, my eyebrows furrowing and her face darkening at the sight at the sight of each other. The Red Hair Nurse who I will not give the work of remember her name.
"Oh, Nurse Rose, you must be here for the 4th princess' food, I'm gonna go grab it." With that, Penny leaves my cooking area to go get the princess' food stray.
"It's good to see you again--"
"Oh, don't come with the 'gOoD mIsS' on me." I interject, grabbing one rat and swallowing it. "I know what type of people you are just by your name."
"Just because of my name being Rose?" She tilts her head as she intensifies her stare.
"I hate Roses, along with people who it's name is 'Rose'." I muttered. "But one thing I'm certain: you're not trustable, and I'm feeling that you're not just a simple nurse walking around and making friendships with the other workers. You'll see when I discover and reveal your secrets... You'll see..."
"We'll see, cook Amethyst, We. Will. See." She taunts before turning to Penny who arrived with the tray of food, giving to the Nurse.
The Nurse bows politely, giving me a final stare before leaving the kitchen. That bitch with no future, if she tries something against me even if indirectly, she will turn into my next meal, I swear with all of my heart.
***
"Amethyst, can you stop eating the rats for a moment? It's freaking me out, and the fact that it has more rats than any other animal in your bowl is terrifying." Penny shivers. I looked at her while swallowing one small bird with a rat, and I responded.
"Why should I? It's one of my favorites." I responded. "Besides, you better stay away from me while I'm eating, because what if I get an idea and put you in my bowl of food? You must taste wonderfully and deliciously well." I simply tease, half-joking half-serious, seeing her squirm and hide behind Opaka. Oh well, what a timid little mouse she is.
"Okay, okay, enough of... Whatever you're trying to do. We actually wanted to ask you something, very serious." Opaka approaches me, looking around making sure that the others aren't watching before starting to whisper.
"Me, Natsumi and Penny have little problems that request a doctor check-up. We wanted to know if you were a doctor before starting to work here."
Oooh... I understand.
***
"The country, or Kingdom Janapares is divided by five states, state of South, North, East, West and Center. The palace of the Emperor is located right a middle of the state of Center." Natsumi explains, trying his best to remember this information that is important for every citizen of the Kingdom.
I decided to do the check-up in the 5-minute break, which was the best time to actually do something without having shouting right here and there. We all were still in your work area, but sat on the floor to not bring a suspicious that a check up is happening — disguising that is just a private chat happening.
"You're doing good, Natsumi, please continue." I praise while analysing Opaka's weak wings.
"Each state is divided by city and village, each city's name is given by what it provides or by an event that happened in there."
"You're almost done, Natsumi." I move now to analyze one of Penny's eyes, which haves strabismus and Drooping Eye.
"If the 2 or more villages provide the same thing or happened the same event, then the two will unite together and turn into a city."
"Okay. Check up is done."
The three gasped in surprised, impressed that was very quick than the normal of the nursery.
"Natsumi, you don't have Alzheimer, you just don't memorize what your brain consider as interesting. Try to associate the information that is given to you with something you like, like salmon fish." I give him a paper with a prescription.
"Opaka, you just need to stop starving yourself and enter into the diet of your species. Your body is starting to have a deficiency in protein and calcium, eat more fish, rodents and don't leave their bones behind." I advice, also giving a paper with a prescription.
"And Penny. Your eye blindness is the cause of not consuming blood. You're an albin rat, you know that every albin creature haves blood in it's diet, and it's essencial for you, right?"
She just nods, a bit embarrassed.
"Here, I will give you my blood to drink just today. Next week try to consume pig blood." I gave to her a syringe with my blood in it. I took of the needle so its safe to give. And I also give her a paper with a prescription.
"Now, the question that is not shutting up... Why you guys Didn't go to the nursery???"
Penny responded. "We are not allowed to leave the kitchen to go on such distant place. Just if is an order to deliver food."
Oh... That's actually sad.
I also have a question!!!" Natsumi raises his hand. "How did you get an small notebook and the serynge? With an neddle even. We are not allowed to have a notebook, you know that."
The restrictment towards notebook is to avoid people communicate unnecessarily, and to avoid delays... They say.
"I got it in my friend's Little shop when I finished hunting."
***
The break had ended, and we all got into work. But I couldn't stop having the sudden thought that maybe, Nurse Rose might be involved in these deaths, I don't know why, but it's just my crazy mind having crazy thoughts, am I right?
***
----
With that, Amethyst discovers something about the Red Hair Nurse... Her name, and that's it. But she needed to be cautious and discreet if she wanted to start this investigation over the Nurse, alongside the outbreak of infants deaths in the kingdom. Will Amethyst be able to discover the answers? Will she find who is the culprit?