Read The Sword and The Seven Stones: Diamond Page 18

  Chapter 16

  William ran down the stairs as fast as he could. He had to find the doctor. The grand hall was filled with people and as he stood on the stairs, he spotted the man he needed. Running through the people on the floor was a little difficult but he finally made it to where the person he needed most at that moment still stood. He waited patiently for the men to stop talking to each other. When he noticed William standing beside him, he knew something was wrong. He excused himself and followed William up to Nicholis’ room. Herbel smelled the foul odor as soon as he opened the door. The room was too warm. He walked across the room and opened the windows. He instructed the two guards that followed them to get some boiling water and some fresh water to drink. He pulled the covers back and the King’s skin was red and filled with blisters. Blood trickled from his nose and his eyes were bloodshot. He turned to William. How long has he been like this? William shrugged his shoulders. “I woke up and found him like this.” William didn’t know what happened to his king. He told the doctor about the blood he had seen yesterday when he had coughed. Herbel walked over to William and grabbed him by his shirt collar. “You are not to say a word of this to anyone. If some of the people here at court were to find out that our King was this ill, there could be unrest. You don’t want to be the cause of that, do you?” William shook his head and the doctor let him go. There was a knock at the door and William ran over to open it. The guards walked into the room with the water. The doctor gave them the same speech that he gave William but at the end of theirs, he added that they would lose their heads.

  William watched as the doctor looked at the blisters that were all over Nicholis’ body. Some were oozing pus and others were oozing blood. He had never seen anything like this and didn’t want to be around this now. William had never liked this man that stood by the king’s bed. He had seen him a number of times coming to the village for this or that. The way the doctor dressed and his black hair and eyes, made him evil looking. William kept a close eye on the doctor as he examined Nicholis. Herbel told the maid that came with the guards to wipe down the king so he could get a better look. He didn’t want to risk his life for a dying king. She did as she was told and after touching the cloth to his head to wipe away the blood, she fell to the floor dead. The doctor jumped back in horror as did the guards. The guards wrapped her in the carpet immediately that had laid in front of the fireplace and brought her out of the room. Herbel wanted nothing to do with this. He knew that Nicholis was dying way before the rains came. It was in his lungs. He wasn’t going to sacrifice his life. He told William that he would need to get a few things out of his room and would be right back. He closed the door behind them and ran to his room. He gathered up everything he could and left the palace.

  William waited for over a half hour and then heard the hoofs from a horse going over the bridge. He looked out the window just in time to see the doctor look back at the palace. William looked over at the king and knew he had to find someone who could take care of him. Isabelle just finished tying the back of her dress when William barged into the room with the guards following him. Madeline turned just in time to see one of the guards grab her brother by the collar and pulled him off his feet. Madeline rushed over to William.” Let my brother go! Now! You dare to touch the king’s page?” The guard’s face went white, knowing that this small act could cost him his life. He put William on the ground and let go of him. He stepped out of the room and stood outside at his station. Madeline slammed the door after him. William stood up and looked at his sister. Coughing a little, he smiled. “I almost made it.” She helped him off the floor and told Isabelle to leave them alone. William took the drink that she mixed for him. “Here, drink this and then tell me why you came running into my room.” William drank the concoction that she put together for him then told her about what had happened to the king. Madeline didn’t waste any time. She grabbed her satchel from under her bed and she followed William to the King’s chambers.

  So many people were at court and she wished she could just pass them all without acknowledging them but she couldn’t. She nodded and waved and finally got past the great hall and then both of them quickened their pace.

  Madeline could smell the odor even before William opened the door. There was no point of keeping her brother out because whatever the king had, her brother had already been exposed to it. “William, I need you to get some new bedding and cloths. Run and get them for me now.” William did as he was told. He had gone with his sister many times to help with people who were sick in the village. She and their grandmother would use herbs to heal them. He hoped she could help the king.

  Madeline rolled up her sleeves and reached out to strip the King of the night shirt that he was wearing. She would apply a paste to his skin to dry up the blisters. Taking the shirt off him, she threw it into the fireplace. He would never wear that again. She was glad to have the fresh water and the boiled also. At least the doctor did something right, even though he ran. She walked over to the table where she placed her bag. She took out the dried Chamomile and added it to the warm water. William came in and shut the door. He put the bedding aside and brought the cloths over to his sister. She smiled down at her brother and then added two cloths to the mixture. She took out another bag and made a poultice out of Mallow. This will soften the lesions and get to whatever infection this man had and draw it out. They moved the table over closer to the bed and Madeline climbed the steps so she could get closer to the king. William had helped her a couple times in the village when she didn’t have anyone else around. “I need to wash it down with this first.” She pointed to the cloths that were soaking in the Chamomile. “Then once we get this washed off, we need to change the bedding. William, make sure to rinse the cloths in the tub I set up here next to the bed before you put it back in the Chamomile.” William nodded. He had just noticed that the king was stripped down. “Madeline, the maid that came in with the guards fell dead as she touched the king’s brow but you stripped him of his clothes, yet here you are.” Madeline shrugged it off. She had been around so many sick over the years that she thought she was probably immune to everything by now. She took the towel from William and started to wash down Nicholis. They exchanged cloths over the next hour. Madeline had never seen anything like this. The blisters started to finally respond to the Chamomile. “Get the bedding for me. We will have to turn him onto his side after I get this poultice cloth on him.” William did as she bid. As she rolled him onto his side, she grabbed the corners of the bed cloth and rolled it right up to his side in front of him. William positioned the clean bed cloth and Madeline pulled it into place. She let him roll onto his stomach and then they took the rest of the soiled bedding off and started to clean the back part of him. Another hour later and Madeline finally got the poultice cloth on him and closed the windows. They would need the heat to help them get through this. It was past mid-day and she was surprised that no one came to see how their King was doing. She washed her hands and wonder what kind of illness this poor man had. He wasn’t lucid but he had moaned once or twice while she cleaned the blisters. William went to get them something to eat while she cleaned everything up. She put another log on the fire and then sat down and looked at the man lying on the bed. William had told her that he had noticed blood after he had been coughing. She had seen that illness before and most people didn’t last too long afterwards. She wiped the sweat from her brow and wished she could just sleep for a couple of hours. She hadn’t slept since John left. She cried for him and the life that they would have had one day. Now she was in the room of the man who took everything she ever wanted away from her. As much as she would love to just leave this man to die, she also remembered that this man was going to be her father-in–law. She smiled as William brought in a huge plate of food for the two of them. He set it on the table between them. Madeline took the glass of wine he had brought for her. She took a sip and enjoyed the robust flavor as it sat upon her tongue. As soon as she got home from help
ing someone, she always sat down after and had a glass of wine. William must have remembered. They ate the bread and meat. She took a small piece of cheese and got up to stretch her legs. Walking over to the window, she looked down at the village that was holding on by a thread. The rain still hadn’t let up and the despair of the people down there was so great. While people in the great hall ate well and drank the best of wines, people were starving in the village. Nicholis moaned but this time he fell into a deep sleep. Madeline smiled and then looked over at William. “He will be fine now. I am going to lay down for a bit. Come get me if he changes at all, okay?” William nodded and watched as his sister left the room. William brought his chair closer and curled up into it. He was asleep in minutes.

  Madeline got back to her room and told Isabell that she needed the bath brought up. She would not be able to sleep until she washed the sickness off her. She thought about what had happened the last three hours. How could a doctor just leave a man in that condition? As they brought in the tub and filled it with hot water, Madeline thought back to her grandmother. She had gone with her when her grandmother would go to the sick and help her as William did for her today. Madeline had learned so much from her and when she died, the villagers knocked on her door when they needed help. Her grandmother was always patient with everyone who needed her help, even the ones that she didn’t like. Madeline heard the door close. Isabelle came up behind her and started to untie her strings. “Shandra saw you go into the king’s room. Is he okay?” Madeline didn’t answer her. She knew that if she did that it would be around the palace within minutes. Madeline waited till she was done and listened as the door closed behind her. She stepped into the tub and submerged herself under the water. She came back up and laid her head against the back of the tub. She thought back to a couple of times when Nicholis had opened his eyes and looked right at her. All she saw was a tired old man within those eyes. That was why she kept going. She wasn’t helping the king but the old man within those eyes. She closed her eyes and went back under.