The poison was called Bright Kiss. It was made from a beautiful berry that was perfectly round and resembled a polished gemstone with its bright pink hue. It grew in grape-like clumps under bright green leaves, abundant along any water's edge, and was often picked and preserved for decoration.
It was easy to find because animals stayed away from it. Even starving animals wouldn't touch it.
It was one of the most poisonous plants on the rock.
A single berry carried enough poison to kill an entire family, and if its color could be disguised, it was nearly impossible to detect without alchemical tools.
Finn's ancestor, Isabella, had taken Bright Kiss on the eve of her wedding. Angry that her soon-to-be husband refused to give up the mistress he'd had since he was a teenager. Their marriage had been arranged; Isabella was supposedly the great beauty of her age, and the Vermeers had goals of returning to the throne at that time. Finn wasn't sure if Isabella had loved the prince or if it had been her pride that had driven her to make such a dramatic choice.
Finn couldn't imagine killing himself over something like that. The family's official stance was that she'd loved him; obviously, there wasn't much else that would excuse what had happened after. When the Vermeers had gone to war and wiped an entire bloodline off the map in the name of a young woman's immature passion.
Finn thought the whole thing was stupid, but he'd never been allowed to say that out loud.
Even since her death, the family had dedicated themselves to building an immunity to the poison. They hadn't completely succeeded, but they had gotten to the point that a small sip wouldn't kill them.
If Finn had drunk the entire cup or Henri had gotten a splash of tea on his lips, Li would have been calling guards to carry their bodies out.
Finn had recognized the immediate, almost tickling sensation that came from contact with the poison and the almost invisible sheen. Whoever had done this had picked the wrong vessel. Tea, because of its viscosity, was generally easy to see if something had been added, and Bright Kiss was so powerful it was difficult to completely conceal.
Li had immediately collected the cups and what liquid he could, carefully, through several layers of protection, and set them aside for testing. Henri had hovered over Finn after sending for a healer.
"It was Bright Kiss," Finn explained through numb lips. His tongue felt swollen and strangely alive. "I'll be okay."
"I'd prefer a healer look you over anyway." Henri frowned. "This was a bold attempt."
"It's been a bit since someone tried," Li added. "Several years." Chenzhou had been dying, so the attempts on his life had petered off as his opponents decided to just wait for him to die naturally.
"Who could get their hands on Bright Kiss?"
"The berries themselves, anyone. The treated poison is not many. It's too expensive. It takes a lot of time and expertise to hide the natural color." Li put his fingers to Finn's neck, checking his pulse.
Finn's words were a bit slurred as he spoke around his swollen tongue. "It's not popular because of that. But al-also, because cont-contact is danger-" He tried licking his lips. Strangely frustrated that he couldn't make his tongue do what he wanted it to.
"Contact is extremely dangerous." Li translated. "Treating it to get the color out actually increases the potency. Getting a drop on your skin is fatal. That's why it's not very popular among the noble class as a poison."
Henri nodded, following along. "So it's unlikely it was one of the noble families."
"The Yangs would never use it. They lost a child a few generations back who ate a wild berry and died in terrible pain. They've advocated for wiping the plant out ever since. I don't think the Yins wouldn't use it either, but they don't agree with the Yangs about getting rid of it."
"The Yins are surprisingly gentle in that regard." Henri mused. The family was a passionate advocate for preserving nature. "One of the minor noble families might be willing to use it. Not the Wens, but perhaps the Helians, Valients, or Crusoes? They could probably afford it."
"The Yin's interest in nature might make them the best suspects, actually." Li frowned. He'd considered Lord Yin a personal friend for years, but he took his position as Captain of the Guard seriously, and even that friendship wouldn't stop him from doing his job. "It's possible they'd have the knowledge to treat the berries themselves."
Finn's head went back and forth between them until there was a knock on the door.
Li peaked out and then opened the door just enough for a disgruntled Healer Akari to enter, closing it quickly behind him.
"You called me here," Akari grumbled, not bothering to hide his displeasure.
Henri cut him off. "Finn has been poisoned. Bright Kiss."
"Then he's going to die, and you called me here for no reason." Akari sighed.
"M-my family's i-imune." Finn managed to get out. His tongue was finally starting to tingle, which meant the poison was now fading, and hopefully, his mouth would be back to normal in a few minutes.
Akari scoffed. "No one is immune to Bright Kiss."
"The Vermeers have been working on building it for generations. Finn only had a small sip. You're here to confirm what it was." Henri wasn't pleased with the Healer's attitude.
Finn wondered how much Henri knew about Akari and Yuze's relationship. He was a peer to Chenzhou and Yuze and had been born and raised in the Camelia. He'd probably heard something about it, but Finn didn't know if he was close enough friend-wise to carry a grudge against the healer the way Chenzhou did.
Akari frowned and examined the tea that remained in the pot. "I see the film, but it will be impossible to know what it is for sure without proper testing. I'll have to take this back to the hospital."
"Captain Li will go with you," Henri ordered, ignoring Finn stretching his jaw, mouth, and tongue in increasingly exaggerated movements next to him.
Akari looked Finn over with a critical eye. "He should be admitted to the hospital."
Finn shook his head frantically, turning a wide-eyed, pleading gaze on Henri. He had way too much to do to get stuck in the hospital for days.
Henri looked like he was debating with himself as Li packed up the tea set in a small crate delivered by two of his guards.
~ tbc