Distinctly Different

Chapter 3 ~ King's Announcement

This chapter is dedicated to Sianie1990 because she made me a cover for this story which i will be trying putting on the side soon

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Chapter 3



Arabella glanced at Alexander. He had a worried look on his face similar to the one Arabella had. The both took off, running past the still people; it was as if some conscious decision had been made between both of them without being spoken. Arabella’s hands were clenched tightly around the bag that held the still warm pastries but it was almost forgotten to her. Arabella barely noticed that she was holding anything in her hast to find out what was going on.

The scenery almost blurred as Arabella ran but not because she was running super fast, she just wasn’t paying attention. In what felt like hours but really was minutes Arabella arrived in the courtyard. There were the horses abandoned near some hay; the riders must have just dismounted and went inside to treat the injured guard. Alexander signalled a stable boy and gestured to the horses. The young stable boy nodded with wide eyes and hurried over to the horses.

Arabella checked the throne room but no one was to be found in the empty room. Alexander followed mutely as she made her way to one of the castle’s towers. She headed towards one of the ones near the back of the castle; it was one of the larger ones and perfect for the physician. Arabella heard murmurs of conversation and sped up as she climbed the few stairs that leads to the physician’s room.

Arabella’s entrance caused most of the people in the room to turn and look at her. She looked down self-consciously and bowed since the King was in the room. The King, Eleanor and the guards all stood near the door so they wouldn’t get in the way of the physician as he went about his work. Eleanor’s face was tearstained but she seemed comforted by Arabella’s presence. The King surveyed Alexander and Arabella before nodding allowing them to stay in the room.

The physician’s room was quite a mess, various sheets with medical properties of plants were scattered about. The large table in the middle of the room was cluttered with glass tubes and bottles for distilling and creating medicines for various illnesses and diseases. There were a few cots pushed up against the wall for serious patients that needed frequent attention.

“Arabella, since you’re here you might as well help,” Alistair said. Arabella nodded quickly and went across the room to him so the old, white haired physician could instruct her on what to do. His sombre expression only made Arabella worry more but she tried to get past that so she could try and save the guard’s life.

The injured guard was laying on one of the cots with his armour discarded on the floor. The sleeve of his shirt had been ripped to expose the deep scratch marks on his arm still oozed blood. The rest of his shirt was stained red presumably from other injures he had sustained. Alistair handed her some ointment to put over them to aide in stopping the bleeding and prevent infection. Arabella dipped her fingers in the mint smelling clear ointment and started slathering it on over the red, bloody marks. The unconscious guard groaned but Arabella tried to ignore it, she had to make sure the ointment was applied correctly.

She glanced around and swiftly located the white cloth for bandages, she grabbed it and cut an appropriately sized piece and then started wrapping up his arm tightly in hopes to stop the bleeding. Almost as soon as she had put the white cloth bandage it got spotted with red as the blood soaked through.

With her task done Arabella watched the physician add water to some kind of crushed plant. He swirled it around in the tiny flask and then held it above a candle’s flame. The green tinted tincture darkened with the presence of the warmth and it seemed to condense into a more solid liquid. He poured the sludgy concoction past the guards parted lips. The guard involuntarily swallowed and Alistair set the used flask back on his unorganized table. He picked up a pair of metal scissors and walked back to the patient.