The Bed Wife: A Novella (The Bed Wife Chronicles Book 1)

by Suzanna Lynn

  Arrows whistled as they cut through the air, hitting their marks left and right.

  Baylin still fought with the troll who had his arm. He reached for his knife in his belt. Rising in his stirrups for leverage, he slashed down at the beast’s chest. It shrieked out in pain and stumbled backward. Just as Baylin regained his grip on his sword and was about to strike, the troll was ensnared in a heavy fishing net thrown from behind them. A man from the village came up and stabbed the troll straight through the chest with a large spear.

  Baylin turned and saw that the villagers had taken part in the battle. Wielding fishing spears, knives and nets, the villagers were fighting just as bravely as his men.

  The night air resonated with the sounds of screams from both troll and man alike.

  Though the trolls were many in number, they were greatly outmatched in skill and they began to retreat into the black water from where they came.

  A troll had hold of one of his men and was carrying him to the water’s edge. Baylin spurred his horse on, cutting off the troll’s path. The brute dropped the guard and swung an improvised ax at the Prince. Baylin swung his sword high and brought it down, cutting it deep down into the monster’s head.

  With his attention on the troll he was slaying, another slunk from the water and planted his crude ax into Baylin’s left thigh. Baylin cut off the beast’s arm before beheading it and then fell from his horse in excruciating pain.

  Baylin couldn’t remember the journey back to the castle, only the pain. Days upon days of pain.

  Master Keon was administering salves and teas to help bring down the fever, but he felt as though his condition was getting worse by the day.

  The room was dimly lit with beeswax candles that gave the room a dark orange glow. Unlike the other rooms in the castle, this room was entirely round with a high peaked ceiling due to being in a tower.

  Baylin’s eyes fluttered back and forth between various handmaids, Master Keon and the door. I must get to Luana.

  Even in his ill state, Baylin’s regret was Luana. You coward. You’re going to die here and she will never know you loved her. The Kingdom will not have an heir because you were too scared to admit your true feelings. He scolded himself through the waves of pain.

  He cried out, for what seemed like the hundredth time, for her. “Luana! Please I just want to see her.”

  Master Keon’s maid held down Baylin as the physician administered a burning salve to the gash in his thigh. Baylin let out a deep-throated scream of pain as the salve bubbled and drew infection out.

  “Please, I beg you, send for Luana.” Baylin pleaded with a handmaid, sweat running down his face. If I’m going to die I want to see her one last time.

  The maid looked from Baylin to Master Keon. She looked conflicted and confused.

  The girl made for the door but the physician scolded her. “You will do no such thing!”

  Fury bubbled up in the Prince. “Do as I command!”

  “You know that’s forbidden,” the old Master squeaked. “Besides, what could she do to possibly improve your condition?”

  “Luana,” Baylin called out miserably, trying to lift himself from the bed.

  Master Keon commanded the maids. “Hold him down. It’s just the fever; he’s delirious. We must get the fever down.”

  “Do as I command. I am not delirious!” Baylin struggled against the many hands holding him down. In any other case, he would have been no match for them, however in his weakened state, he simply had no strength.

  Baylin heard the door open and the Master’s screeching voice. “About time, I need more hands. Hold him down so I can administer this cooling tonic.”

  Baylin felt cool hands touch his face as another handmaid felt his head for fever.

  “Please,” he said in a whispered tone looking up at the girl. The fever was so bad that his vision was slightly blurred; his eyes were having trouble adjusting.

  “Luana?” Baylin asked, looking up at her as though his eyes were playing a cruel trick on him. She wore a brown dress and creamy cowl, just like all the other housemaids in the castle.

  “I am here,” she whispered with a soft smile. “I am here.”

  The room went utterly still with quiet as realization took all who were within.

  Master Keon yelled. “What are you doing here? You are not allowed in here! You’re not allowed out of your chambers.”

  Luana’s tone cut through the old Master. “And do you think you can stop me?”

  Baylin could hear the anger in Master Keon’s voice. “You dare speak to me in such a manner, bed wife? Your end in this castle is near at hand!”

  “And I will stay at my Lord’s side until that day presents itself.” Luana spoke while looking into Baylin’s eyes. It was then that he realized that she was there because she cared about him. Could she truly love me?

  “Leave us,” Baylin commanded. Even in his weakened state, all were required to obey him.

  “Your Grace,” Master Keon begged, “I must…”

  “I said leave us,” Prince Baylin boomed as a cough set into his lungs. Every cough was like a fire set inside of him; he felt as though he could very well be dying.

  When they were finally alone, Luana kissed Baylin’s forehead gently. “You’re burning.”

  “I am fine.” He grunted as he tried to sit up in the bed.

  “No, don’t!” she exclaimed, putting a gentle hand against his chest. “Please, let me help.”

  He watched as she ran over to the Master’s cabinets and gathered various bottles of herbs, crushed them to powder with a mortar and pestle and mixed them with hot water from the fire.

  She ran to Baylin’s side with the concoction. “This is going to taste horrible, but it will bring down the fever and help to relax you.”

  Even through his pain, he smirked and joked. “You’re not trying to poison me, are you?”

  Luana smiled warmly at him. “If I wanted to kill you, I would have left you in the hands of Master Keon.”

  Baylin gave a painful laugh before drinking the horrible-tasting herbs with a sour face. He lay back on the bed and looked at Luana. She would most certainly tell him that it was the tea, but he felt that her presence made the pain melt away. “How do you know about healing?”

  Luana wiped his neck and chest with a cool, wet cloth. “My mother taught me, and her mother taught her. Some things I have learned on my own. In the village, we haven’t the convenience of refined physicians and royal healers. Those with a gift for it learn to take what the land has to offer and heal as best we can.”

  Luana dipped the cloth in the cool water and continued to run it along Baylin’s bare skin.

  The sensation was pure pleasure to Baylin; he hardly remembered the pain in his leg. He could not help but feel hopeful. “You risked your very life coming here.”

  Luana blushed softly, the way Baylin liked. “It was a risk I was willing to take.”

  Baylin reached up and pulled Luana’s face closer to his. He wanted to declare his love to her. But before Luana had a chance to lean into the kiss, the door of the room burst open.

  Standing in the doorway stood Master Keon along with four very large guards.

  “Take her to the dungeon!” commanded the old man.

  As the guards made their way toward the bed, Baylin mustered enough strength to hold up a hand. “Halt!”

  The guards stopped and stood at attention.

  Master Keon quickly hobbled over to the bed. “My Prince Baylin, you do not know what you say! She has deliberately disobeyed the rules of this Kingdom. She left the confines of the chamber and has defied all within the Kingdom.”

  Baylin was irritated and in too much pain to deal with the stubborn old man. “Master Keon, you are to make arrangements to have me returned to my chambers with all the necessary herbs and remedies Luana needs. As my bed wife, she is in charge of my recovery now. Do you understand?”

  Master Keon seemed flabbergasted. “I have never… Sh
e isn’t even a physician… How can you…”

  Baylin repeated slowly and firmly. “Do you understand?”

  The old man’s jaw dropped in shock, but he quickly recovered his composure and simply exuded pure rage. “As you wish, Your Grace.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  The battle wound Baylin received had been much greater than anyone had let on. The damage to his leg was extreme, and the lack of care had allowed it to fester. The trolls had done a great harm to him, and Master Keon seemed to have helped them finish the job.

  She was no physician, but Luana had spent enough time healing the sick in her village to know how to treat Baylin. Master Keon was practiced in very old ways, masking the pain without treating the wound.

  That first night was the scariest for Luana. She had spent the entire day making her teas and creating salves to fight off the fever and infection. She felt they were working, but in the middle of the night Baylin cried out in pain. She ran to his side and put her hands on his face, he was burning.

  “Baylin!” she cried.

  He moaned, somewhat unresponsive, but in obvious pain.

  Luana took a wet cloth and began wiping his body down with it. My love, if I could only but take your place, I would.

  Luana was scared for Baylin. “Please, you must fight. I love you. You must fight for us.”

  Luana had to admit to herself that it was very true. She had loved him all along but had not wanted to admit it.

  “Baylin?” Luana dipped the rag in a bowl of cool water and ran it over his forehead.

  “Then I shall take my men and disperse the riffraff this very night, Father,” Baylin muttered.

  “What?” Luana asked, continuing to wipe him down.

  “Go back to your homes. Lock your doors, stay inside,” Baylin mumbled. “Stay together, men.”

  Luana began to panic. “Baylin.”

  The fever was so intense that it was making Baylin delirious. He murmured incoherent words as his head tossed back and forth.

  Luana started to shake him to bring him. “Baylin, wake up!”

  Baylin’s eyes flashed open and he responded with a backhand across the face, knocking her to the floor. “You did this to me.”

  “Baylin!” she cried, holding her face. “You do not know what you say. The fever, it confuses you.”

  He stood up from the bed, letting out an angry groan at the pain resonating from his wounded leg. “Cadman, you traitor, you did this!”

  “Please, my love, it’s me,” she pleaded, maneuvering herself so that a table stood between her and the Prince. “You must lie down and rest. Let me get you more tea for the pain.”

  Baylin lunged at Luana, knocking the table aside. She tried to flee, but Baylin grabbed her by the arm and yanked her to him. She tried to fight back, pushing against his chest and face, but he began to shake her furiously. There was only one way to escape his grip; she took her knee and buried it in his wound.

  Baylin released the young woman, hitting the ground as he screamed in pain.

  The door of the chamber burst open with a thud. It was Baylin’s guard and friend, Ferric.

  “Baylin,” he called out, running toward the Prince.

  “Be careful,” Luana warned. “The fever, he doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

  Ferric knelt beside Baylin, attempting to help him up. What he was greeted with was an elbow to the jaw.

  “Hold him down,” Luana said as she ran over to the apothecary supplies she had been given and dug through the bottles. She grabbed the bottle of valerian root and poured most of the contents into her hand. She rubbed her hands together, slightly crushing and mixing the dried herbs.

  Ferric was wrestling to keep Baylin still as Luana ran to Baylin’s side. “I’m sorry, my love.” She held the handful of herbs over his mouth and nose as he fought against Ferric.

  Baylin struggled weakly but was quickly sedated by the strong concentration of herbs and fell into Luana’s lap.

  Ferric stared from Baylin back to Luana, and again, looking confused and unsure of what to do.

  Luana sat back with her unconscious Prince in her arms and wept.

  *****

  The following morning Baylin woke groggily from the sleeping herbs. He had, somehow, been moved to the bed, and his arms and legs were tied to it with rope.

  As his eyes adjusted to the room, he could just barely see Luana sitting on the floor with her head against the bed. She was asleep. She had a red and purple bruise across her left cheek.

  Cadman! he thought, sure that his uncle had abused her again. But as he struggled to sit up, he felt the tight grip of ropes around his arms.

  Baylin looked at the restraints and then back to Luana’s bruised cheek. Realization took hold as flashes of memory from the night before came into his thoughts. “No.”

  Luana woke with a start, moving quickly to Baylin’s side. “My Lord, you are all right.”

  She placed her hand on his face and sighed. “Thank the gods the fever has broken.”

  Baylin stared at her cheek. “I didn’t… I would never… Did I?”

  “You were not yourself,” she comforted. “I do not even think you knew it was me in the room.”

  Baylin’s heart ached; he had hurt her. Will she ever forgive me?

  “I’m so sorry,” he said, trying to reach for her face through the ropes.

  “It was the fever,” Luana said forgivingly, beginning to untie the constraints.

  “How were you able to…” Baylin began.

  Luana smiled gently. “Your friend Ferric can be very helpful.”

  Baylin was even more ashamed knowing Ferric witnessed the occurrence.

  When he was freed from his confines, Baylin pulled Luana to him and kissed her bruised cheek tenderly. “Please know that I would never hurt you.”

  She caressed his face lovingly. “I know, and you should know I never wish to be from your side again.”

  Baylin wrapped his arms around Luana and sighed. The comfort of those words was more powerful a remedy than any herb.

  I love you. The words were on his lips, but he could not gather the nerve to say them.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The weeks that followed were much more pleasant and peaceful. Queen Valasca had pardoned Luana for her defiant behavior toward Master Keon. She stated that it was the young lady’s love for her son that drove her to do it. Luana had a strong feeling that the Queen knew it to be true, as opposed to an excuse.

  Prince Baylin grew stronger each day, and with the treatments Luana was giving him, he was now able to walk with little pain.

  One morning Baylin announced, “I will be gone until after nightfall. I am summoned to the King’s war council. It will be late.”

  “You’re not going to fight again, are you?” Luana asked worried as she made her way across the room to him. She had gotten so used to his constant presence that the idea of spending a day away from him made her feel ill.

  “No, no fighting; just planning,” he reassured her with a kiss on the forehead before heading out the door.

  It bothered Luana that Baylin had not actually kissed her lips since that night he had bathed her. Mind you, there had been several interrupted opportunities. However, he seemed so guarded in his affections as of late, and it concerned Luana deeply. She had grown to truly love Baylin, and she found herself longing for him.

  *****

  That evening, Luana called for her handmaids to draw a milk-and-rose water bath like they had that first night she was presented to Prince Baylin. The maids washed her hair, but instead of braiding it, they let it fall long down her back. Luana’s handmaids dressed her in a sheer indigo night dress that cut deep in the back and tied behind the neck.

  Tonight she would present herself to him again, and this time, she would happily take his seed. She was going to make love to this man and give him a son.

  Luana lay in the bed and waited. She waited for hours and hours, wondering if Baylin would ever retu
rn.

  She made her way out onto the balcony to look over the Kingdom. The evening air was very cold. The winter solstice was just a day away and the night air gave clue to its arrival. Could he be out there fighting again? Had he been called back out to Rivermouth?

  As she gazed out over the Kingdom, she did not hear Baylin enter the bedchamber.

  Luana turned to return to the chamber and saw Baylin standing at the mouth of the balcony. She gasped slightly in surprise.

  “I’m sorry if I scared you,” he apologized. “You look stunning tonight.”

  Even from where he stood, Luana could tell he was admiring her form. The way the nearly translucent fabric hugged her hips and thighs. How her silvery hair flowed down her back, shining in the moonlight. She hoped he was pleased with how she appeared.

  Baylin walked to her, taking Luana’s hand and pulling her in close with his strong arms. The smell of his skin was intoxicating to her. Deep and rich, like the earth mixed with leather and fresh air on a sunny day. She gazed up into his eyes, silver in the moonlight. She wanted to beg him to take her, but she refused to rush the moment. They had both been waiting for far too long. Luana reached up and ran her fingertips down the length of his strong jaw and over to his lips, tracing the outline of them. Rising on her toes, she stretched to reach his lips with her own.

  As their lips came together, Baylin pulled Luana up into his arms and leaned into the kiss, grazing the inside of her upper lip with his tongue. Luana wrapped her arms around his neck, gently twisting her fingers in his jet-black hair. When they finally broke their embrace, Luana felt a degree of embarrassment. She did not know what to do next. That first night was easy. She was expected to bed him, and he was the one to tell her what to do. Now she was trying to bed him and had no clue where to start.

  Thankfully, Baylin needed little more encouragement than he had already received.