A hard knock on the apothecary door shook her awake from her quarters in the back. Stumbling out of bed she felt around for the matches and lit a candle by her bedside. Visits like this were not unheard of if there was an emergency, but rarely did they happen in the midst of a storm. She opened the front doorways and was startled to find two of the king’s messengers waiting in the downpour. She beckoned them in but they refused, saying that King Din requested her presence immediately. It was a matter that could not wait.
