Birthright

Chapter 24 - Healing

Chapter 24

Watching from a distance, Ely bit her thumbnail.  The doctor checked Killian's heart, pulse and respiratories, softly humming as he did his checkup. 

"His Majesty is strong despite having been indeed poisoned only a few days ago," the doctor explained.  "He needs to continue rest.  You have taken good care of him, Princess."

"Thank you, doctor.  Do you have an estimate as to when he will wake?"

With a heavy sigh, the middle-aged man shook his head.  "No, Princess.  What I do know is that if you had not gotten the charcoal into his system as quickly as you did, he would not have survived."

Nodding her understanding, Ely chewed the end of her thumbnail again in silent contemplation.  The doctor packed up his bag, pausing at Ely's side.

"If I may speak freely, my Lady."  Ely nodded.  "I have not been summoned nearly as often since your arrival."

Ely's brows furrowed in confusion.  "Why were you summoned before?  His Majesty is quite healthy."

"Migraines, my Lady.  Severe, sudden migraines." 

Brows raised, Ely gasped. 

"I kept telling him the sword is too heavy hanging on his left side, but His Majesty is quite stubborn.  Good day, Princess."

The sword.

Uncle Aedan wore a sword.  Portraits of her father, sword dangled on his leather belt.  A King had to be ready to defend his people at a moment's notice.  As if the inanimate object had committed a sin, Ely glared at the sharp weapon, leaning against the bureau across the room. Killian's sword was much more adorned than the one her uncle wore.  Thick golden spokes jutted out from the end.  Seven brightly colored jewels sparkled along the hilt.  The ones her father and uncle had were plain.  No added decorations like Killian's.  Perhaps it's weight was indeed a contributor to his migraines.

The more Ely thought about it, Killian's mood was different when he wasn't wearing it.  Yet that didn't completely add up either because he had a migraine in the village during which he pleaded for her to save him.  He wasn't wearing the sword then. Residual effects?

Sitting on the edge of the bed, in her Uncle and Aunt's former bedchamber, Ely dabbed a cloth on Killian's forehead, ridding the area of beads of sweat.  His body must be pushing out the poison.

"What do you need saving from, Killian?" Ely mumbled.

Several knocks at the door urged her up from the bed, dropping the cloth onto a side table near the door.  The heavy, whitewashed wood creaked as she opened it.  Vanessa stood on the other side, fists planted on her hips, brows bent downward into a deep scowl.

"Imagine my surprise," she began in the typical scolding tone she used when they were children.  "When I showed up to your newly formed council meeting only to find out that you were not there!  Instead, I discover you are here tending to him again."

With a quick glance on her shoulder, Ely checked that Killian was still sleeping.   She pivoted back to Vanessa.  "Let us go speak privately, dear."

Vanessa followed but the glare Ely received as she closed Killian's door was a deep warning.  The sisters hastened down the hall, entering the next available door.  When they both came through, they were alone.  They had entered Ely's bedchamber. Dark from the curtains being drawn and no candle lit, the shadows of the furniture seemed to be untouched.

"What have you been doing for nearly a week caring for him!" Vanessa snarled, grabbing Ely's arm and forcing her to turn around.

Yanking her arm away, Ely stepped back.  "What else would you have me do, Vanessa? Allow him to die?"