The Blue Queen

Chapter 10

When I wake up I hear ill sounds from my father's room. I knock and enter his room to see him laying in wet sheets and sweat pouring from his skin. I gasp slightly.

"Father, should I call for a doctor?" I ask.

"No, no doctors." He coughs. "They did nothing for your mother; they'll do nothing for me." He says before turning to the side and vomiting, the stench of alcohol and bile fills the room.

"Okay father, I'll run you a bath." I say. He groans as I leave and I run to Elizabeth's room, shaking her awake.

"What do you want you putrid girl." Elizabeth groans.

"Father is very ill. You have to stay at Aunt Mary's in case you get sick." I tell her. She actually listens to me and lets me leave. I hear a knock at the door and I run downstairs.

"Hello Anna." Harry says with a flirtatious smile, it quickly turns however. "What's wrong?" He asks worriedly.

"My father, he is very ill. I have to get my sister ready to go stay with my aunt so she won't get sick either." I tell him. "I'm sorry you have to go too, you definitely cannot get sick either." I say.

"What about you? I can send a doctor for your father." He says.

"He doesn't want doctors Harry. Its okay I will look after him. Just go and make sure you and your staff are not sick either since he was at Hampton court yesterday." I say.

"Anna no." He says.

"Harry. I will be okay." I say sternly. "Go." I say and close the door. I run my father a bath and lace Elizabeth before giving her some of my earnings for the trip to our Aunts house.

I hold my breath before entering my father's room again. I open the window for fresh air before peeling the sheets off of him. I decide to get a sponge and wash him here slightly before getting him to the bath. Luckily I can carry him to the bath and wash him. As I let his body relax in the warm water I peel off all of his sheets and throw them down into the garden. His mattress has not been affected so I turn it over and put new sheets on the bed. I get my sheets and put them on the comfortable chair in the room in case he wants to sit. When I have finished preparing his room I go get a cloth and a bowl of cold water. As I cool his face he seems to awake slightly.

"How do you feel?" I ask him.

"Sore." He croaks. "And tired." He whispers.

"That is the fever. Do you have any pain?" I ask him. If he has any I can try and figure out his ailment.

"Slight headache, nothing more." He says. I am glad he has no pain, but it means that he has a sickness not an ailment. There is not much I can do.

"That is dehydration father. I will make you some soup. I have prepared your room if you would like to go back there." I say.

"I will regain some energy here before, I'll go back when the food is done but could you bring me some lavender from the garden?" He asks.

"Yes father." I say. I go to the garden and cut some lavender for him. He has never said anything about lavender before, but I will do anything to keep him comfortable. I make vegetable soup for my father; Cara said it could cure anything. I prepare a bowl and get a glass of water. After setting it in my father's room I go back to him and see him smell the lavender. I suppose it is not just I who loves the smell.

"Your soup is waiting Father. Would you like to eat it in bed or on the chair?" I ask.

"The chair; I feel as if I lie in bed I will succumb to the sickness." He says. I nod and help him out of the bath. I help him to the chair before dressing him properly. I sit next to him using his desk chair and with one hand I feed him the soup while with the other I try to keep him cool with a damp cloth. "How much must I eat?" He asks.