By midday, the line outside my apothecary hut had dwindled to a few people, Mrs Dorcas with her aching joints, the Randy's son with a rash from bed bugs . I was grinding more willow bark when the hut's door burst open without so much as a knock.
Two village guards stood in the threshold, their polished breastplates gleaming. Behind them, peering over their shoulders, half the village had gathered, whispering behind their hands.
Sylvia the Apothecary,"the taller guard announced, voice loud as if I weren't right Infront.of him. "By order of his Royal Highness king redworth, you are summoned to the castle at once".
My pestle stilled. The castle? I panicked Did I do something wrong?
The murmurs outside grew louder. She saved that stranger's life" 'They say the wound was poisoned. "Even the Royal physicians couldn't stop the bleeding when that merchant got knifed last winter"
I wiped my hands on my apron, trying to stay calm. "And why would the king need an apothecary?" When he had royally skilled physicians at his disposal
The second guard, younger and less composed, blurted out, "It's the princess. Christie. She's—"
A sharp elbow from his companion silenced him. The taller guard's voice lowered. "She's ill. The royal physicians have tried everything. The king heard of your skill."
I glanced at my shelves,half-empty after treating the stranger. "If the physicians have failed, what makes you think I won't?"
The guards exchanged glances. The younger one swallowed hard. "Because they say you saved a man who should've died. And the princess."His voice dropped to a whisper. "the king is desperate"
I set down the mortar.
"Give me some time to prepare."
---
The guards escorted me through the village, past gawking onlookers and hushed whispers. The stranger's blue eyes flashed in my memory,he had told me he didn't want any healers, Had he known something I didn't?
The castle loomed in the distance , its stone walls coated in old dust . The moment I crossed the threshold, the scent hit me—not the usual castle smells of rich meat, but something subtle Sickbed air.
The Royal escorter, a huge man with a scar across his brow, met me at the stairs. "The king doesn't take disappointment well," he muttered as we ascended. "If you can't help her, say so now."
I didn't answer. I felt almost angry, why did they put me through the trouble if they were going to be this condescending
The princess's chambers were dim, the curtains drawn. Christie, a girl of no more than ten lay still as death, her golden hair matted with sweat. The king stood at her bedside, his face pained and haggard.
"You're the one they speak of?" he asked, voice rough with exhaustion.
I nodded, already moving to examine her. Her skin burned under my touch. What had the physicians given her?
I turned to the king. "What happened"
His eyes darted to me "she was bitten by a snake when she went out to play, no one saw the snake, the physicians are speculating that it was a rare snake and there is no antidote "
A. "I can treat her. But I'll need space. And silence", the king nodded in approval.and the guards filed out .
The king hesitated, then gave a sharp nod.
As the door closed behind him, I exhaled. I reached into my satchel with shaky hands checking for some birch wood elixir , hoping it would do the trick.