Doctor Abbott Page 5

  He turned to take an empty seat when the woman he had been introduced to the prior evening approached him. He opted to forgo the seat at the moment and stand out of respect, “Madam,” He greeted her warmly.

  “Abbott, you are our guest this evening. Please, could you join us at our king’s table?”

  He paused briefly, to see if he could recall her name. All he knew was that she was the queen of this tiny kingdom. “You know, I never got your name yesterday. I do hope you’ll forgive my manners in not asking for it.”

  She looped her dainty clawed hand through his elbow and guided him towards the table. “No, it was rude of me not to offer it.”

  “I beg your pardon, Madam, but a lady of your distinction is not capable of ill manners.” She was slightly taller than Ben and he had to look up to address her.

  Her jaw dropped in astonishment as she paused and turned towards him, “My goodness creature, you are quite the charmer are you not? I am Erica and my husband is Freyr. If you have any requests of us, you have our full attention tonight.”

  He thought briefly on her words before responding, “I would like to say that I would know what to ask for but seeing that all my needs are met at the time being; the only request I have is to be allowed to check on my patient at your earliest convenience.” His answer drew a blank stare from her and he reworded it. “I just wish to know how your son looks. I’m afraid the last time I saw him he was a bit of a mess and I wish to see that my workmanship is still holding up.”

  She grinned, flashing all of her teeth and fangs in a bright beaming smile. “Come, I will introduce you to my husband and the guards will show you to his chamber after.” She pulled out a chair across from the king and offered it to Ben. “My love, you remember the human I told you about last night.” Freyr stood with his wife’s introduction, taking Ben’s hand firmly for a shake. The king was plump and quite out of shape in comparison to the guards that served him. Like all the males Ben encountered Freyr was tall. His fur was very dark, yet not quite black and showed signs of aging in the faded grey tips. The fur on his nose and mouth were also starting to bleach from time.

  Ben marveled for a moment over the handshake, as simple as it was, this gesture was not used worldwide. He had been to many a continent where a handshake could be considered an insult or unsanitary, here it was just as traditional as it would be back in his English home. The polite gentility of these people seemed to be at odds with their primitive nature. It was as if an aristocracy had somehow bewitched a clan of bears.

  Freyr replied, “Yes, yes, human. You have captured my attention in more ways than one. I hear after you left us last night you then repaired more of my injured warriors.”

  “Yes sir, I did what I could for the men that I could save. I’m sorry for the ones who were lost.”

  The king sat back down, “Nonsense, you have nothing to be sorry for. I hear you are a servant for Bjorn. Is that true?”

  Ben turned to thank a maid as she placed a mug of ale in front of him. Reaching for it, he toasted the king for a second before taking a swig. “Yes sir, it’s true.”

  The king turned to Bjorn, “You are one of my most loyal guards Bjorn. What say you to relinquishing this servant to the palace and taking a promotion and a healthy new cottage for your family?”

  Bjorn thought on it for a second before eying Benjamin up and down then turning to his brother to whisper. He then replied to the king, “With all due respect, sir, we could make so much more with the use of his services for hire. He is already fetching us a healthy new income.” They both looked to the king patiently waiting for his response, knowing full well they had no title for the slave. Should the king lure Ben away they would be powerless to stop it.

  Freyr then turned to Benjamin and posed the question. “Tell me, human, what do you say of serving these men verses serving my kingdom?”

  Damn it, they were putting him in quite the predicament. To make matters worse they were all looking at him in such a manner that he knew he must choose his words carefully.

  He thought hard on it, taking another draw on the ale in his hand to buy himself some more time before he responded. “Honestly, I think it would be a great honor to serve under you, sir, and wish to do so in due time. However, these men found me struggling for my own life not that long ago and saved me. I am indebted to them and eternally grateful. I find that in serving them I stand to learn a lot about the proper respect due from me and can offer better services with this education. That being said I don’t see why you could not make use of me upon necessity, that is providing that these good men could be compensated as described already.”

  Both of the brothers choked on their drinks with his last words and the king sat there slack jawed in awe. “Where did you come from?” The king rumbled a good laugh and reached across the table to shake Ben’s hand. “It is done Abbott, I will see to it that they are compensated immediately and when you are ready you can join us here at the palace.”

  Ben could not help but dwell on the fact that he just negotiated the sale of his own ass. “Thank you, sir, now if I may be excused I wish to check on your son and see how he has been doing since yesterday. I generally take it upon myself to make sure the folks I tend to are progressing as they should be.”

  “Yes, of course.” He gestured to the end of the table where Mâvis was sitting quietly in the shadows enjoying a drink and some food. “Could you show this man to Olsen’s quarters?”

  He narrowed his eyes on the human and grinned as he stood, “Gladly.”

  Ben was now the one choking on his drink, it took him a few seconds to recover as the entire table looked on. “On second thought maybe it is better we let him get his rest for the night.” He barely finished speaking when he was hauled out of his seat by his arm.

  “I believe the king is expecting you to follow through with your request, human.” Mâvis growled as he shoved him in the direction of the hall door. Bjorn stood to accompany Ben and Mâvis shot him a smile, “I can handle him on my own, Bjorn, stay and enjoy the festivities.”

  They proceeded down a couple of corridors before the guard stopped in front of a large door and opened it ushering Ben in. He paused for a second completely avoiding eye contact as he zoomed past the guard. He found the young warrior propped up in the bed, and this was a good feeling for the moment. His color in his lips looked great but his breathing was shallow.

  The doctor sat on the bed next to him and peeled back the dressing, “This will need to be changed more frequently and your breaths are too short.”

  The creature looked at him inquisitively, “It hurts to breathe hard.”

  Ben took a candle from the nightstand and held it up to get a better look at Olsen, now realizing this was in fact a teenager. “Listen to me carefully, you are merely saved from the arrow. The rest of this is on you. I know it hurts, young man, but you have to take long deep breaths to build your strength back up or you will succumb to your injuries. The lungs like to expand fully no matter how much it hurts. Can you do that for me?”

  The young warrior sat up a bit more in an attempted to exercise his lungs. He flinched in pain with the first long draw of air, but muscled through it.

  “Good, very good. If you keep that up you will be out of bed in a few days’ time. I can see you are a strong warrior and your parents want to see you up and well. Take a conscious effort to work at your breathing and soon it will become easier as your chest remembers what good air feels like.” Ben stood smiling and bid the young man good night before scooting past the guard at the door.

  Mâvis shut it and followed Ben up the hall, his long strides made catching up to the puny human easy. Before they even made it around the next corner, Ben found himself pinned up against the wall with Mâvis’s vice like grip encompassing his entire neck. Mâvis leaned on the wall and watched with pride as the doctor’s face turned purple from the pressure on his throat. “Humans are so slow to learn. You never turn your back on a warrior who wants you dea
d.”

  The room started going dark and sound was starting to become muffled as the life left his body. Just then, Lúta and Genevieve came around the corner, “Mâvis!” His wife’s voice drew the guard’s attention and he instantly released his hold on Ben’s throat sending the man crashing to the floor, gasping for air. Genie continued scolding him, “You are not to do that again, leave the human alone!”

  “I do not take orders, woman!” His growl hung on his words as he stomped off.

  “Are you alright?” Lúta knelt down and helped Ben to his feet, now glad she could not let go of the nagging feeling that Mâvis would do something like this. She addressed her friend, “You need to talk to your husband Genie; this has to stop. Ben has done nothing to deserve this!”

  Genevieve echoed her shock. “I will. I promise this will never happen again.” Seeing Lúta had this handled, Genie stormed off to find her husband.

  Mâvis had already made his way back home and was feeding his daughter when Genevieve burst in yelling at him. “What was that about?” Mâvis sat silently offering a bite off his fork to a sleepy eyed little girl. She looked up at her mother as she chewed it carefully and watched intently as Genie stood arms crossed over her chest. “Fine, if you will not answer me you can sleep outside.” She backed up and opened the door, “Out!” He glared up at her as he slammed his fork on the table and took off out the door.

  Genevieve slammed it shut and sat down at the table in his place, patiently watching her daughter eat. “Were you a good girl tonight, love?” The blond haired, blue-eyed child nodded slowly and rubbed her eyes to stay awake. “Awe, come here lay on mother.” The tiny three year old stood on the chair and opened her arms as Genie scooped her up and brought her into the bed to lay down. “She played a few finger games with the girl until she was giggling, then she ran her claws through the girl’s hair stroking gently until sleep took over.

  Not more than a few minutes later Mâvis was back at the table pawing through a new bowl of food with a spoon. Genevieve got out of bed and crossed the room to put away the dishes and grab a bucket for water. She made it all of a few steps when he stood and spun her around to look at him. He said nothing before kissing her hard. She dropped the bucket and kissed back. When he finally pulled away he grinned, “You cannot deny me, woman.”

  “I can and I will if you continue making a fool of me to the court. What has you so determined to kill that poor creature?”

  He sat back at the table and threw his feet on a chair, “I do not like humans, Genie.”

  She leaned over the table glaring at him, “So? We have been around them before, the other islands have humans. Our daughter is human!” She was now pointing at the bed Jocelyn was laying in.

  He sat up quickly narrowing his eyes at her, “Exactly. She is human. Why expose her to risk of them trying to take her back? I chose this village for the exact reason that there were no humans here. We can live in peace.”

  She leaned on the sink looking at him sly-eyed for a moment before she went back to finishing her chores, “I thought you chose it because of your grievance with Ormr.”

  Her devilish comment got a swift growl from him, “He does not scare me woman. I could kill him on a whim.”

  “But you have not, perhaps you still feel guilty.”

  “What is there to feel guilty of? He is an excellent warrior. If he thought you were worth fighting for he should have challenged me. Instead he ran like a coward, I did nothing wrong. He is weak.” He scoffed and shook his head in disgust as he continued eating.

  “He was your friend, Mâvis.” Her last comment had him scowling into his food as he ate. Recalling how much closer they really were, how Ormr was a brother to him in every way except blood. The betrayals between them had cut so deeply that the bloodshed would never end, of that he was sure. At some point in time it seemed as though the head strung young king betrayed everyone he knew, and those that betrayed him all paid so dearly.

  Frustrated with too much time spent dwelling on the past already, he rounded the table to put his dishes down and took a shot at kissing his wife again. “I have no friends Genie, I have a wife and a daughter and that is all I need. Now how do I get you to shut up and take care of your husband?”

  He closed in for that kiss and she dodged it by turning her head since he had her trapped between himself and the sink basin. “You can start by promising to leave the human alone.” She eyed him from under her lashes for a response.

  He shoved off her frustrated, and crossed the room. He plucked Jocelyn out of his blankets to tuck her into the loft above his head. “Very well, woman, you have my word. The human will not die by my hand. Now come to bed!”

  Chapter 7

  The next morning Genevieve and Erica greeted Lúta at her door. The queen smiled at her, “May we come in?”

  “Of course you may. To what do I owe the pleasure?” She accepted a basket of honey and applesauce jars from the queen.

  Genie was the first to speak, “We came to apologize to your human for what happened at the palace last night.”

  Erica pushed past Lúta and dashed right over to Ben taking both his hands in hers “Truly, I am so sorry. Had I known there was bad blood between you and Mâvis I would have not invited him last night. He is a very well respected warrior and is the reason Olsen made it home for you to save. There is not a single warrior like him any place, and five of the nine men we killed the other day were taken down by Mâvis alone. My son would never have made it back home without him and his skills.”

  Now Genie took his hands from Erica’s, “Listen, I talked to him last night. He is fine, you are now safe around him and with my husband taken care of you are free to roam the village as you please. I honestly hope he is not the reason you turned down the king’s offer last night, because if he is you should reconsider. The king will make you a very wealthy man and find you a good wife.” Her eyes twinkled with encouragement.

  Ben could not hold her eye contact for some reason. Instead his focus was far more concentrated on Lúta. “I would like to say that he was the reason for turning down the position but honestly it is exactly as I said it was. I owe my life to these good people and mean to fulfill my debt to them if it is within my ability.”

  The two women looked at each other blankly for a second and then towards Lúta. She lowered her eyes bashfully in response and both of her guests burst into laughter. Erica turned to Ben as her eyes narrowed on the human. “Are you two in love? Come now, you might be able to fool her oblivious brothers, but you are talking to women now.” She ran her claws through Ben’s black curly hair, “Oh my, you would make the most adorable cubs.” The queen turned to Genie, “Can you imagine the fluffy little cubs?”

  The two women gloated for over half an hour on their happy little discovery and Lúta sat them down for tea and begged their silence. Ben dressed up and headed out to calm his nerves by chopping some wood.

  Later in the evening Genie found herself humming around her own home. She served her daughter and herself dinner then plopped the little girl in the washbasin to wash up for bed. Mâvis dashed in the door quickly, looking for whatever dinner was left over. “Sorry I am so late, love. We had a lot to catch up on and I have to go back to keep watch this evening.” He took quick notice of her jolly spirit. “What has you so happy?” He kissed her on the forehead and looked into her eyes.

  She took on a sly smile before she lowered her eyes and returned back to washing her daughter. “Oh nothing, Mâvis.”

  He sat and plucked a loaf of bread off the table tearing it open and taking a bite off it, “You know I do not take well to your lies, woman. There is nothing you can hide from me.”

  She shot him an angry glare, “Like you have time to waste on idle gossip, Mâvis. Take yourself back to work before you find yourself cold tonight.”

  “Gossip has you this gleeful? You women baffle me, I swear.” He rolled his eyes and stood to reach for a towel, “Come, cub. You can see your father before
I venture off for the evening.” He snatched Jocelyn out of the basin and stood her on the table to dry her off. Genevieve watched them both quietly for a few moments then turned to empty the basin. He could not help but notice how long she watched them, “What is it, love?” He wrapped Jocelyn up and sat her on his seat to corner his wife again. “I swear woman, I will find out this story.”

  She studied his face for a few moments, “You cannot tell anyone, Mâvis.” He responded with a grunt as he closed in for a long kiss. She let go and pressed her lips together, “You must swear, Mâvis.”

  “I will swear that I have yet to earn your trust, wife. If you do not tell me what is on your mind, you will not sleep tonight.” Again, he went in to savor a kiss.

  She knew he would be relentless until she broke her secret and the compulsion to tell him took over, “Lúta and the human are in love.” As soon as she said it, she wished she could take it back. Her husband’s face got very serious for a second, and then he burst out laughing.

  He turned and picked up his armor to get dressed, “Thank you, that made my night. I do not have to worry about killing that filthy creature. Bjorn will do it himself.”

  She dashed to the door blocking it and searching his face for his intentions, “You swore, Mâvis. You cannot tell him.”

  He got real serious and real close as he pulled her chin up until he could look into her eyes, “You can always trust me, wife, but those fools will not be able to hide something like that. Under his roof no less. You are to stay out of it from this point on. If you get hurt I cannot be responsible for my actions no matter what I promised. Do you understand?” He watched carefully for any signs that she might disobey him. She instead nodded obediently and swallowed hard knowing that if anything bad happened it would be the human’s death. He leaned in to kiss her one last time on his way out the door.

  The rest of the evening Genevieve found herself unable to sleep, she feared her husband’s words, but also that Bjorn would soon find out and the results would be the same. She tossed and turned so much that she didn’t even bother letting Jocelyn fall asleep in her bed. When morning came, she made a basket full of tea and honey and headed off to the palace to see Erica.