Chapter 31: D-4 (II)
I sat in the infirmary crushing the leaves of the red sage plant with a mortar and pestle when a knock came on the door.
"Come in!" I called out. I knew it was probably Mirabel bringing in my lunch. She usually brought it around this time.
The door opened and I saw that it wasn't who I expected.
"Good day Miss Frieda."
"Good day, Gilbert." I replied, a bit of caution laced in my voice. "What brings you here?"
He gave a slight bow and the began to speak. "His Majesty asks that I inquire the state of your toe. Is it getting any better?"
I brought out my leg from under the table and wriggled it so he could see it.
"It still hurts." I said with a slight wince when I wriggled too hard. "But it's not as bad as it used to be before."
Gilbert nodded. "I'm glad that it's healing then. His Majesty sends some flowers to wish you a speedy recovery."
I was stunned. "Flowers?."
Gilbert nodded and snapped his fingers. "Bring them in!"
I watched in utter astonishment as servants came in one after the other, each holding a large bouquet of flowers. Roses, tulips, daffodils, peonies, daisies, orchids, lilies, you name it. A total of ten servants came in holding flowers.
"His Majesty hopes you accept this as a token of his appreciation too." Gilbert added and the servants kept the flowers in different corners of the room so it looked like an indoor garden.
I shared a glance with Avery who seemed to be thinking the same thing I was thinking. Wasn't all this a little excessive? Where did he even get these flowers from? No way it came from the royal garden.
"Thank you, Gilbert." I said and he bowed, leaving the room. It was a good thing that he left too because he had started to make my assistant a little uneasy.
First, the piggyback ride around the castle, then the overly sumptuous breakfast and now all these flowers he must have stripped from someone's garden. I wanted him to be thankful, but not like this. This was just a demonstration of his extravagance and I wasn't going to take it.
Few moments later, Mirabel walked in
"Miss Frieda, I just saw Mr Gilbert and a couple of servants leave here and...woah!" She stopped at the sight of the room.
"Where did these all come from?" She asked pointing to the flowers.
"His highness ordered for them to be brought here. To wish me a speedy recovery. For my toe." I said with an eye roll.
"Well, I didn't know His Majesty had this side to him." Mirabel nodded in awe.
* * *
It was soon dinnertime and the medicine was ready. I had dismissed Avery quite early because she felt quite sick at the sight of the flowers. I reckoned she might be allergic to one of the flowers Gilbert had brought in.
The light of the candle in the room was waning but I wasn't bothered because I was almost done sieving out the particles from the medicine.
There was a brisk knock on the door and I just yelled for the person to come in because I was too busy to get the door anyway. It seemed the person realized he had the wrong door or something, and I didn't hear anything else after telling the person to come in.
Great, now everything was ready. All I had to do was to take the medicine with me up to the fifth floor of the castle. After the episode with Mr Kellan yesterday, I wasn't too excited to see him tonight.
Honestly, my outburst yesterday was due to the fact that I was embarrassed at being caught sleeping on the king's study desk, which was quite comfortable by the way.
I thought he would snap my neck with those slender yet strong fingers of his, but instead he helped me bandage my toe so it could heal.
I turned around with the now filled teapot in my hands and I was greeted with the silhouette of a person at one corner of the room. My heart suddenly began to beat rapidly as I wondered who it could be in the room.
I hadn't opened the door for anyone so how had the person come in then.
"Good evening, Miss Frieda." came a familiar velvety voice that I knew only one person in the whole of Kerva had. The king himself.
He pushed himself off the wall where he was leaning and stepped out of the shadows walking into the dimly lit room.
"Your-Your Majesty? What are you doing here? When did you get here?" I stuttered in surprise and wonder. I had not heard him coming so I had no idea when he did.
I heard the smile in his voice. "I just got in. You were too busy to hear me." Then he stepped closer to where I stood.
"How is your toe?"
"Healing." I said simply.
"I am glad to hear that. I am here to relieve you of the burden of limping all the way to the fifth floor to bring my medicine."
I glared at him because I knew he couldn't see much if my facial expression from the darkness in the room. Whose fault was it that I was hobbling around the castle all day?
He stretched out his palm and I stared at it for a while, wondering what he could possibly want.
"The medicine?" He reminded me.
Oh right. He had come all the way for it to save me the stress of going all the way to his room. I quickly put a cup in his hand and then poured the medicine into the cup, watching him down it up in a few gulp.
He looked around the dim room. "I see you got my present. I hope I have been appreciative enough." His conceited voice resonated softly in the room.
His show of extravagance was far from being a thank you to me. "Actually, this is far from being enough. There Is one more thing I need that I haven't gotten."
His brow lifted in question. "Oh really? What is it?"
"A proper verbal thank you."
He chuckled a little like he had heard a cute little joke before it became a full blown laugh. His laugh sounded like it was meant to tease and intimidate me at the same time.
"No. Ask something else." He said, all traces of laughter had disappeared from his face.
"No. That is what I want." I stood my ground.
"For some reason, something about being in my presence makes you awfully bold, Frieda." He said with an intimidating step forward.
I swallowed as I saw the flicker in his golden irises but continued anyway.
"Well, I can't be anything else but bold at this time, your Majesty. I know it is four days left until you decide whether I live or I die. And as I have said before, I've come to terms with everything. A man with nothing to lose has nothing to fear."
"And why do you want my gratitude so badly you have to risk your life for it?"
"Because, I deserve it. And so did those seventeen other physicians, before you decided to end their lives."
"Well, I regret to inform you that you have risked your life to obtain something that is impossible." He said with one of those pleasant expressions he always wore. Then he walked away and towards the door.
I had lost this battle and I knew how to admit defeat to myself. How could I have expected this egoistic tyrant to thank me anyway?
"And also, refrain from making me want to kill you too, Frieda. It's a little to early to do so, don't you think?" He asked with a lowered voice, cold but measured.
I knew he was capable of it and it was only a matter of time...