Chapter Twenty Eight
"You mean like a coma?" Maggie looked up at Justin with a clear question in her eyes. "Justin could have kicked himself. Of course, she wouldn't know that term. "Sorry. It is when someone is sick and can't wake up; while they are 'asleep', their body has time to heal or, at the very least, stay the same. At least that's what I think of when I think of a coma, but I am not a doctor."
"It is very similar, I think, except in my mother and sister's case, their bodies aren't healing at all. They just aren't getting any worse."
"If you don't mind me asking, how long have they been sick?" Maggie gulped deeply and wrapped her free hand around her waist. Justin could tell this question made her very uncomfortable. Almost five years. It was right after we had nearly driven the unicorns to extinction and realized that our magic came from them."
Justin spoke softly so as not to scare the already fragile princess. "Where are your mother and sister now?" Maggie brightened at his words as though the previous question had never been asked.
"Oh, Father had a beautiful room built for them that faces the garden. There are large windows that get in lots of sun, and the room is light and airy. If it wasn't a sick room, I would love to visit it more often." As she spoke, he saw her arm come back around her waist. "As it stands, I am supposed to go visit my mother and sister twice a day and make sure that when I go, they have been properly given the jackalope milk. My father also goes twice a day. Once to make sure they received their third meal and again before bed to tell them goodnight."
Justin had a new respect for the grieving king. Even though he had been stern with the mages and even with him, he had always shown kindness and restraint. Justin wasn't sure he could have done the same thing in his position. Still, knowing what was on the line made it abundantly clear to Justin what all the king would be willing to do to get the answers he needed. He prayed he never had to test his boundaries with him.
A thought occurred to Justin, and although he was embarrassed to mention it, he was so curious about the answer that he couldn't contain himself. "How do you milk a jackalope?"
Laughter bounded out of Maggie so fast that Justin took a step back. He had not expected her to react so strongly to his question. It took her a full minute to pull herself together before she could speak.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I just didn't think that would be your first question after telling you my mother and sister were stuck in a 'coma' as you call it." Maggie wiped away the tears from her eyes and continued. "I guess I should have expected it, though, given your love for magical creatures." Looking out the window, she suddenly gazed at the sun on the horizon.
"If you'd like, we can make a trip to where we keep the jackalopes, and you can see how they are milked, but we will need to do it once it is night."
Justin was about to ask why it had to be at night when an almost-forgotten fact about jackalopes came to mind. "I remember, their milk is obtained while they sleep? Am I right?"
Maggie smiled broadly at him and started to walk back down the hallway. "Yes, we have people who my father has hired whose job it is to solely collect milk from the jackalopes." Justin thought a moment before he spoke. "But where do you keep the jackalopes? Surely you don't have to send people out into the wilderness to find the jackalopes at night? That doesn't seem feasible."
Maggie chuckled at his words and shook her head to confirm what he thought. "No, the king's guards were able to capture several female jackalopes and contain them in large pens on the royal property. It was a bit of an ordeal when the guards first captured them. They were more than a bit aggressive, and one guard was gored by antlers and nearly died. We had separate pens built for each of them so they wouldn't fight, and we slid their food in a small opening so they couldn't attack anyone."
Justin was still perplexed about one thing. "I understand that it is best to get their milk while they are sleeping, but what keeps them asleep?"
Maggie nodded approvingly at him as though she was glad he asked that. "My father orders a sleeping draft to be added to their food each night. It knocks them out enough that the milk can be collected, and no one gets hurt. They are a bit groggy in the morning, but it makes interacting with them less dangerous, so it really is a win-win.
While Justin hated the idea of any animal being drugged, he understood the necessity for it. It was one thing to read about dealing with mythical creatures, but it was another thing entirely when you had to face them for real. It was something he hadn't had to consider before now, and it was a daunting realization.
***
As Justin and Maggie finished their walk back to his room, he remembered what he had promised himself he would do the next time he saw her. Turning towards her, he rested his arm on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "I meant to do it earlier, and things got hectic, and I forgot, but that is no excuse. I wanted to thank you for helping me at breakfast. I hate to admit that I didn't know what to do when it came to having breakfast with the king, and your help saved me a ton of embarrassment."
He felt his cheeks begin to heat as he spoke, and could have kicked himself for how vulnerable he felt simply for telling her thank you. She must think he was a wimp of the highest order. When she once again leaned in and kissed him on his cheek, he didn't think his face could get any redder. She looked at him with her bottom lip in her teeth, and for a horrible moment, Justin lost the ability to breathe.
She looked so adorable and still somehow even more vulnerable than he felt. All he wanted to do was wrap her in a hug and not let go. But he was definitely not one of those guys who could do that. Just touching her shoulder was drawing dangerously close to being out of his comfort zone.
"Well, I guess I'd better go get ready for dinner. My father will not like it if we are late. I will have an attendant come for you and show you the way. Is there anything you need before I go?"
Justin sighed at the easy change in subject, but he swallowed hard as he realized that he had left the mages without getting any clothes. He looked sheepishly at Maggie and scuffed his food across the floor. "There is one thing you might be able to help me with."