Guard of the Evergreen Princess

CHAPTER SEVEN

I awoke with a cold sweat on my forehead. Shivering, I pulled up the sheet to my chin before letting out a groan of pain. It took a great deal of effort but I managed to look at the throbbing flesh. My lower left arm had a white bandage on it.

I narrowed my eyebrows and tried to sort through my fuzzy mind as I glanced around the room. There was a basket in the corner and in the opposite, a wooden table and chair. Which room in the castle was this? Why was my arm bandaged?  The blanket smelled fresh and was quite crispy, I guessed from being dried in the wind.

Princess Seattel! I sat straight up, ignoring the burning pain flowing through the left side of my body. I stumbled forward and grabbed my sword that was placed neatly on the dresser. The strange room was lightened by a few candles placed strategically around.

I opened the door quickly and stepped into a bigger room with another bed. There were chemicals and plants sitting on tables and a few things brewing in different pots. Honestly, the air smelt so horrific I thought I would hurl. My eyes narrowed in on another door in the corner of the room and without hesitation I charged forward, blade in my right hand and a little shaky, but determined to find the Princess.

Outside was dark with a small breeze. I seemed to be in some sort of village, with houses to the right and left of me. The moon was bright  and once again, I couldn't help but shake from the chill in the air.

"Oh my!" I whirled around and placed my sword blade against the neck of the voice that startled me. An older man raised his hands in innocence and I quickly lowered my weapon.Whether I looked confused or whether the old man was being polite, I do not know. He spoke in a rusty voice. "Hello! I am Belling, son of Ham. I am the physician of this fine village." He did a slight bow and I did one back. "I did not expect you to be awake yet. I had to treat your infection and thought you would have at least sleep a day. Will you please come inside so that I may inspect your wound once again?"

"No!" I pulled myself away from his poking fingers and slightly turned my body so that he could not see my arm. "I need to find the Princess first and ensure her safety."

The physician seemed startled. "The girl?" Then, surprisingly, let out a laugh. "You young folk never can listen. Well, hurry and check on her boy. She is in that house there." He pointed to a slightly bigger house down the pebbled path. The roof looked new and a candle flickered in a window that was open just a tad. "Come back in a little while so that I can check out that wound once again." The man nudged me with his cane before turning, heading into his own home.

I wasted not a moment and jogged to the house, throwing open the door. "Princess!" I frantically glanced around the shadowy room, registering a few faces, including Sir Coulee. And then, I saw her, sitting wrapped in a blanket on a wooden chair. She seemed quite shocked to see me.

"Sir Washeen?" She quickly stood and placed the blue blanket on the chair before heading over to where I stood in the doorway. "What are you doing up already? It has only been half a day! How is your wound?" She lightly touched my bandaged arm and I let out a small hiss.

"You should still be in bed," Sir Coulee frowned. His eyes flickered to us before he looked back toward the other two people in the room. The blond girl's jaw was dropped open and she looked flabbergasted. Eyes wide, she glanced at the man next to her before snapping back toward the Princess.

"Princess?!"

"Yes!" I snapped toward her, frustrated that the farmer girl did not know royalty when she saw it. "Princess Seattel of the -"

"That is enough!" Sir Coulee arose from his chair and glared in my direction. "Close your mouth, Sir Washeen, or have you forgotten what we spoke of in the woods?" His brown eyes seemed frozen as they pierced my own. I glared back, yet, I was confused. Woods? We were in the woods?