Born to be Empress

Chapter 7 - Food Poisoning

Phaedra's pov:

Several days passed with me practicing the harp, trying to learn belly dancing and playing chess with a guard. His name was Marcus and we were from the same village. I couldn't remember him as he had left our village when I was very young but he managed to recognize me and we have been good friends ever since. We were careful not to be seen together because death awaited us both.

That's why we always made sure there were three of us in the room. Alina had assigned a slave who was completely loyal to her, to call out if anyone came. We made a very good company, the three of us, and the days passed pleasantly.

The Emperor never invited me again to his chambers, though he occasionally chose a girl to warm his bed at nights. I rarely saw him in the hallway or when we were invited to entertain him and his guests. After much thought, I accepted the fact that this is how my life will be from now on. I had to accept my role. I was an insignificant harem dancer after all, nothing more nothing less. Dreaming of the Emperor was a utopia that would lead me down to unknown paths.

It was Sunday evening and the three of us gathered to play some chess and hang out. Ever since I learned to play chess I started to like it very much and played it fanatically. Our hiding place, was no other than the room where the music lessons were held, as it wasn't visited frequently especially at nights. Marcus always came after his shift was finished and usually told us about the life outside the palace, rumors that prevailed in the country and other gossip news. We usually sneaked at the kitchen earlier in the evening and managed to take some bread, cheese, fruits and apple juice.

We were devouring our food when we heard a woman screaming down the corridor for help. Marcus stood up first and headed towards the source of the voice ordering us to stay behind. We remained at the room for several minutes while quiet prevailed at the palace. As Marcus didn't show up we decided to sneak back to our room. At the corridor we came across a very unpleasant sight. Several people were down on the floor clutching their bellies. Their faces were pale and it was obvious that they were coming down with something. I quickly ran up to them as I recognized a young slave, Malissa who often cleaned our room and we were quiet friends.

-"Malissa, Malissa, can you hear me?" I asked her while rocking her softly back and forth.

Malissa managed to open her eyes and said with trembling voice "Juice....., apple juice"

-"Do you want something to drink?" I wondered.

-"P....poison ......" she said and passed out.

Some guards came and ordered us back to our rooms in a very strict manner. I asked one of the guards to give me permission to attend Malissa and luckily he gave it to me.

With two other slaves we carried her to the room used for all sick slaves according to our Emperor's order. Apparently the Emperor feared that this was some kind of epidemic.

I put my fingers into her mouth provoking Malissa to vomit. Then I told the slaves to do the same to the other sick people. They gave me a disgusted look but followed my advice. After that I quickly run to the kitchen, took the jar with the apple juice and smelled it. The smell of the apple juice confirmed my suspicions. It had the same smell with a herbal poison we used back in the village. I was more than sure that the juice was poisoned. But who put it in there and why? Melissa was right. I started searching for Thymus vulgaris (thyme) tincture as I knew it was used as an antidote. I had seen the older women use it to people who ate those herbs.

I prepared the thyme tea and gave it to Malissa who was already regaining her color. Vomiting helped her get rid a great amount of poison from her system. I told one of the slaves to prepare more and serve it to every sick person. After half an hour we finally saw improvement in people's health. Their color came back and they looked more healthy and strong. I was completely satisfied with my work.

I returned to my room feeling really tired. I was ready to lie down on my bed when Alina approached me looking very anxious.

-"Where were you Phaedra?" she asked in concern.

-"I was helping with the sick people at the slaves' room. Why? What happened?"

-"Marcus is very sick. He is dying!" she said worriedly.

-"Oh, my Gods!" I said desperately. "How did it not cross my mind? Marcus was the only one from us who drank the apple juice yesterday!"

I quickly got up and headed towards the guard room where they kept all the sick guards. Alina tried to stop me to no avail. I got in telling the healers that I had the remedy. They gave me a doubtful look and told me to leave but I refused. I searched the area for Marcus and approached him when I found him. He was very pale and was trembling. The poison was all over him. That wasn't a good sign. I quickly stuck my finger down his throat forcing him to vomit trying to get any amount of poison out of his organism. The vomit was blue a sign that the poison unfortunately for Marcus has gone too far. One healer who was watching me from afar, he approached me and asked me why I did that. I explained my findings to him while he listened to me with great attention. When I finished, he asked one of the slaves to bring him a cup of apple juice from the kitchen. After a few minutes the slave returned, offered the cup to the healer and left. The therapist brought the cup to his mouth while I shouted desperately not to drink it. He took a sniff from the cup, looked at me and gave me a sly smile.

-"How did you know?" he wondered looking me straight in the eyes.

-"One of the slaves told me about poison in the juice. I went to the kitchen and smelled it. It had the same smell with a herbal poison the older women used to my village to kill the mice".

-"And how did you know about the vomit?"

-"I know vomiting gets the poison out of our system" I answered sincerely.

-"Well done!" he exclaimed in enthusiasm and then asked "What did you do next?"

-"I gave them thyme tea"

-"Why?"

-"The oldest women in my village used it in similar situations"

-"I must confess I am very impressed. Are you a healer?" he wondered.

-"No, no, I can't say that, but I always watched the healers of my village when they practiced and learned some things'' I said timidly.

-"Good for you! You have just saved many people's lives. Do you know that?"

-"I....I....did nothing" I said embarrassed. Then I gave a glance to Marcus and asked the healer.

-"What about him? What can we do for him now? I know that the thyme tea can't do much at the moment" I asked frustrated.

-"Do not worry. Your friend will be fine. Now that I know the cause, I will give him the right medicine" he reassured me with a wide smile.

-"Oh my Gods! Thank you so much" I said thankfully.

-"No, I thank you" the healer said excitedly and ordered his help to prepare something and give it to Marcus and the others. I was ready to leave the room when the healer grabbed me by the arm and asked me to stay. At that moment we heard a growl that made us both turn to the door. We saw in surprise a very angry Emperor standing with folded arms, looking at us sternly.