Chapter 17
Once Aislynn returned to her room, she told Marja everything. The two of them had been friends for their entire lives, and Aislynn considered Marja her closest friend, after Cheta. Cheta was always great to talk to, but if she wanted an interactive conversation, then Marja was the person to see.
“I don’t know what to do!” Aislynn whined.
“Well,” Marja began, “didn't you come here knowing that this could be a possibility? I know that you’re officially here to be his bodyguard, but still, everyone thinks you’re here as a potential bride.”
“I guess I knew that it was technically a possibility, but I never really expected it to happen. I figured that I’d be in the background enough, and that there would be others for him to choose.”
“And then there’s Byron,” Aislynn continued after a few moments of silence. “He has become a really good friend, and… What is father going to say when he gets here?”
“I suspect that the first thing he'll do is laugh,” Marja said with a smile. She knew how much Aislynn disliked the formality of royalty, and she knew that Jackob knew it too. “You don’t have to accept Eryk’s proposal, you know.”
“Yeah, I know,” Aislynn replied.
“But?” Marja prompted.
“But I don’t want to hurt him. I experience his feelings for me, and they are pretty intense, at least for now. If I say no, I know that he'll be crushed, and I'll not only have to experience that, but I'll have to live with him afterwards.”
“So say yes,” Marja said, the answer seeming obvious to her. Aislynn looked at her like she’d grown another head.
“I can’t!” she gasped, horrified. “The most important duty for a queen is to provide an heir to the throne. I can’t do my job if I’m pregnant and as huge as a house! I can’t be both roles for him.”
Marja just shook her head. “Well, if you can’t say no, and you can’t say yes, what are you going to do?” She thought that Aislynn was just making excuses.
“I'll just have to keep him from asking me,” she said resolutely. “And I need you to go to the viewing for me.”
“Excuse me? I can’t do that; that’s your responsibility.”
“Have you looked at me recently?” Aislynn asked, gesturing to her bruised face. “Don’t you think I’d stand out a little?”
“Fine,” Marja agreed. “I'll go, but you’d better go see the healers about some more of that salve for your face.”
As she left the room, Marja turned back to look at the princess.
“You can’t hide up here forever, regardless of what you’d like to do. Those injuries will be healed soon, and then you’re going to have to face him yourself.” Then Marja left, off do to Aislynn’s duty, shutting the door behind her.
Aislynn knew that Marja was right, and she had no idea how to convince Eryk to find someone else. She was attracted to him, she at least had to admit that to herself, but she knew that her future here did not involve a walk down the aisle – not with either of the men currently in her life. Oh well, she’d come up with something.
Aislynn stood and stretched carefully, testing her cracked ribs. She could only imagine what her body looked like under the bandages, but it was as good a time to find out as any other time. She gathered herself, and set off downstairs to find the healers. She knew that they had a suite of rooms in the castle somewhere, but hadn't been there yet.
It took her awhile a find, but eventually Aislynn knocked on the door that the servants had informed her led to the healers’ rooms. Sure enough, a man wearing healer’s robes answered the door promptly. He looked very surprised to see her standing there, and Aislynn guessed that it was customary for healers to be summoned rather than the patients seeking them out. Besides, one would expect that the visiting princess of a kingdom with such tight bonds to Bacovia would be at the ceremony, not here in the castle.
“Um…Princess Aislynn? What can I do for you?”
He didn't seem surprised by the bruises on her face, so she supposed that the healer who had treated her yesterday must have told his colleagues about her injuries.
“I was hoping for some more salve for these bruises,” she explained with a smile, “and I wanted someone to take a look at my ribs. The bandages are quite uncomfortable, and I’d prefer not to wear them if I don’t have to.”
“Oh,” he said, “come right in.”
He was an unassuming man, the kind that would blend into a crowd. He had brown hair, was average height and had an average build. He hadn't given his name, and Aislynn didn't ask, knowing that he was so plain that she’d forget all about him as soon as she left. She followed the healer into the main reception area of the suite, and then off into a small side room.
“Let’s take a look, shall we?” The healer indicated that she should undress, and he unwrapped the bandages from around her chest with quick, practiced movements. She felt a twinge of pain as the pressure of the bandages eased, and glancing down, she was greeted with the sight of huge bruises covering the entire side of her body, from shoulder to hip. Fortunately, the salve the healer had put on underneath the bandages seemed to be doing a good job, and about half of the bruises were already the yellow color of older, healing injuries.
The healer probed her injured ribs delicately, but thoroughly, saying nothing. Aislynn winced in pain now and again, but was surprised by how little they actually hurt. When he was finally satisfied with his examination, he pronounced his verdict.
“The ribs are healing very well, and you will not have to wear the bandages if you don’t want to. I will give you more salve, which you should apply tonight and again in the morning, to both your ribs and your face. The bruising will likely be gone in a few days, and the ribs should be fine in two or three days. You heal very quickly.”
The relieved look on her face must have given her away, because he wasn’t quite finished with her.
“I know that you are eager to exercise and what not, but you need to be careful for another few days. You may do some stretches tomorrow, but nothing more. Do you understand me young lady?”
Aislynn nodded. When he spoke to her like that, he reminded her of her old Master, and it was taking your life into your own hands to argue with him. He was apparently satisfied with her agreement, and indicated that she could dress.
While she waited for the healer to return with the salve he had promised, she suddenly overheard a couple of gentlemen speaking quietly together in the hall, coming closer to her room. She moved closer to the slightly open door, simply curious about what they could be discussing. To her profound surprise, it turned out to be something she had personal interest in.
“I know that he still suffers from the head pains. For one, that sort of thing doesn't just stop overnight, and for another, he’s been seen by various people rubbing his temples,” said the first voice.
“Well he must be getting medication from somewhere then,” commented the second voice, “or he’d have died by now.”
“It definitely isn't from any of us,” the first voice commented. “Nobody has seen him here in over a week. He should have run out of the previous dose about five days ago.”
“I hope he isn't doing something stupid, like taking an untried medication. Who knows what kind of side effects those things can have, and we need him of sound mind if he’s going to be advising the king.”
Aislynn stepped hastily back from the door. They were talking about Branden! What sort of medication does he need to take, she wondered. And why hasn't he been taking it? She was about to step back to the door, to listen further, when the door swung open.
“Here is your salve,” the healer said. “Make sure you continue to use it twice a day, and please be careful.”
Aislynn thanked the man and left, not wanting to appear interested in the other men in the hall. She wondered briefly if any of them knew who she was, exactly, but decided that it really didn't m
atter. What did matter was that Branden had some form of medical condition, and the healers were worried about him. Could this be the key to his behavior that she was looking for?