Doctor Abbott

by Michelle Laverdure

  “As you wish, sir.” Ben clenched his teeth and exited.

  Chapter 31

  Lúta and Genevieve walked arm and arm to the boats with Jocelyn trying to navigate the rocks on her wobbly feet in front of them. Mâvis passed the two of them with an arm full of animal skins, and plucked the little girl off the rocks. He hoisted her high above his head in one hand. Waiting for her to squeal with delight before snatching her back down and to his lips for a kiss and then a ride on his shoulder.

  Ben trailed behind them with another pile of skins for the women and a basket of food. As they settled into the boat Ben took his seat to row and Mâvis shoved him off. “You will mind my daughter in case she takes ill again.”

  He huddled up between the women and pulled Jocelyn onto his lap. After a couple hours of playing with her she snuggled up and dozed off. Ben covered her and pulled Lúta closer to lie on his shoulder.

  Several hours later he woke to Mâvis slapping his cheek, “Come, it is a long hike to the village. You will go ahead with the women, I have more to do here. King William should be there already.”

  They had arrived on the beach in the morning and it was practically nightfall by the time they made it to the village. There was a feast waiting for them and plenty of ale. Lúta and Genie made right for Olivia as she sat at the table. King William entered the hall a short time later with an adolescent boy in hand. The kid was petrified and Ben’s heart broke for him.

  He had to be about seven or eight years old with dark brown, wavy hair. He had some freckles on his face and for his age he was a bit tall and very skinny. Ben walked over to the Boy and knelt down smiling warmly, “Hello there. I am Doctor Abbott. What’s your name?” Ben’s eyes were bright and encouraging.

  The boy immediately wrapped his arms around him for a hug as he burst into tears and spoke in French, “My parents are both dead and I am stuck with these monsters. Can you take me home?”

  Ben nearly choked on his own breath. The child doesn’t speak English. He must be so scared, not to even know what these beasts are saying. Ben answered in the boy’s language, “Well, these people want to help you too, that's why they brought me here. What happened to your parents?”

  King William interrupted, “I cannot for the life of me figure out what he is saying. ”

  Ben stood after a brief hesitation, “He is speaking French. He doesn’t understand English. I just happen to speak a few languages, as my work has brought me all over the world. I don’t suspect he will have a hard time learning yours but being that he is fresh from an accident and our people look so different from yours, he is petrified.”

  King William grunted, “The cub has spent most of his time with my wife, he is terrified of me. I am surprised I was able to even bring him out here.”

  “Well, I will need a room to examine him in.” Ben turned to the boy and directed him back down the hall King William had brought him from. He muttered a few words in French and the boy immediately perked up and followed.

  The examination was quick and Ben did as much as he could to try and figure out how the boy and his mother ended up on the shore. Then he tried translating for the king and the boy. It lead to instant tears when the child realized there was no way out of this world. He explained that King William and Queen Olivia wish to care for him as their own. The child immediately panicked and Ben found himself having to pry the boy off just to make it out into the hall to continue his discussion with King William.

  “I have done all I can, sir. It is just a matter of him warming up to you and learning your language at this point. He is in good standing health as far as I can tell. What happened to his mother if I may ask?”

  “She was badly injured and starving. I am sure that she gave up her food for the cub. Did he say where he came from?”

  “He says he was on a family yacht and they were hit with a storm. He said they may have been adrift for nearly a month. Absolutely heart breaking.” Ben replied.

  “A yacht, that is boat is it not?”

  “Yes, they are designed for pleasure living. He comes from a wealthy family if they owned one. He may find adjusting to this life a bit hard at first, but he has already survived so much. He may do well here.” Ben turned to stroll back up the hallway towards the great room, “I would say keep him in the company of your wife as much as possible if he is already comfortable with her. He will find her of great resource and have patience with him. Let him adjust to his new surroundings on his own terms and he will warm up soon after I assure you.”

  King William shook Ben’s hand before going to find Olivia, “Listen, you have been of great resource. My wife will be delighted with the information you have given us. Should you need a favor it is yours to ask. Now, before your King makes off with you back to his island I insist on you making use of my springs for your pleasure. If you and your wife wish to indulge a bit tomorrow, I will make available several of my guards for your convenience.”

  Ben beamed a huge smile back, “We most certainly will take you up on that offer. I’ll tell you little adventures like that would go a long way in securing the bond between your family and the boy. Humans are insanely curious creatures and love to explore.”

  William chuckled, “Good to know. I will keep him occupied as much as I can.”

  Ben finally joined the party and found himself whisking Lúta off for hours of dancing. Even making their way outside to enjoy a long slow dance under the stars. Perching on a rock by the end of the evening, they found themselves snuggled up together. They found themselves lost in the moment and in idle conversation with each other. Then Lúta said, “I want a cub, Ben.” She searched his face for his thoughts. “Do you want cubs?”

  She leaned over him with her hair draping down, he reached up to admire what he was looking at with his hand, just to be sure she was even real, “You will be an excellent mother, Lúta. I’m just not sure how much I can provide for them as a slave. I need to earn my freedom first.”

  Her eyes started to water with the pain of his response, “I hate Mâvis. He is responsible for the ruin of my life and I swear everything he does digs the wounds deeper. He is the reason I was even sold from Freyr’s village to begin with. He killed my brother in front of me. I hate him, Ben. Now that he is king he is unstoppable.”

  Ben could feel her frustration building as she spoke and sat up to kiss her, drawing her tongue into his mouth. The sweet taste of tea and honey lingered on her breath, “Shhh, it’s okay. We can figure something out. I’m confident I can work my way up and out of his control, Lúta. The evening before this trip he granted me some authorities with the guards. I was amazed at the level of authority I was given. I truly think if I stay my course he will grant me freedom. But until then we should wait on starting a family. I want to know for sure I can protect and provide for you.”

  “No, Ben. We should leave the first chance we get. There are mercenaries we can hire to grant us passage to the main lands. We can live in the mountains peacefully and do as we wish.”

  Ben dropped his hands and looked away from her trying to hide his pain. The thought of her watching helplessly as Mâvis reaped revenge for a betrayal like that was unbearable. It was useless, as Lúta pulled his face back around with one claw, “How can he have that much control over you, Ben? How? So long as you are his slave I am as well. Do you not see that?”

  He stared helplessly into her rich, brown eyes unable to answer, but he didn’t need to. She saw right through him. The truth was that he was a coward. It didn’t matter that he would take on the king without so much as a flinch, or the one before Mâvis or the one before that. The one thing they all had in common is they knew his weakness and it was her. He would take on anything for her but that meant taking on anything to keep her safe. The only kingdom he could serve under and know for sure that no harm would come to her was Mâvis’s. As much as he loathed Mâvis, Ben could rest assured of one thing. The king would never hurt a woman. Even if he did betray Mâvis she was physically safe
.

  But he didn’t need to. He could do this, he could work his way up through the ranks. Kevin and Mark had done it. If he could just buy time with his wife they could have a safe and successful life here. There will always be need for a doctor, the two of them could open a clinic and live prosperously. Now if he could just convince her of a safe future, “I can provide for us once I have worked my way up. I swear I will, Lúta. Please have some faith in me. You are all that keeps me going, you give me the strength I need to wake up and face this bizarre world every day. I will give you the life you deserve if you can just trust me for a little while longer.”

  Again he reached for her face and she slapped his hand off, “You have no idea who you serve, Ben. Two months ago King William was the most powerful king here. Now his best warriors serve your master. Warriors are flocking to Mâvis’s service by the dozens, disguising themselves as merchants just to get in because they know he is a powerful leader. They know better than to be on the sharp end of his axe should he want war.”

  She pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders as if the chill brought on by her own words had taken her by surprise. “You are a healer, Ben. You represent power and all these kings are power hungry. Do you think for one moment that he would let someone as valuable as you are out of his control? Do you think he would chance letting someone with as much power as you represent free? Because with freedom comes the right to choose who you serve. Meaning you would be free to serve his enemies. No, Ben, you will never be free of him. He will never let you go and if I am your wife then he will never let me go.” She got up to go inside and stopped to toss back over her shoulder, “I would rather die than serve Mâvis.”

  A short while later he joined her in their room. It was a beautiful room that brought to mind a hunting lodge. Fieldstone and log made up most of the space. Along with hand-made, rustic furnishings and a stunning fireplace. There was a warm bath waiting right in front of the fire. The natural wood smell of the room was helped out by the roaring fire and it certainly set the mood for a romantic night.

  Something else was waiting for them on the table. A bottle of wine. Ben marveled at it as he picked it up. “Wine, I’ve been here nearly a year and this is the only bottle of wine I have ever seen.” Lúta lay on the bed ignoring him as she read her book. “King William sure likes spoiling me, he did something similar when I had helped Olivia with her baby.”

  Finally he got her attention, “What is wine?”

  Ben thought to himself he must have got this from Young. King William certainly likes dealing with the spirit trader, “It’s a highly regarded alcohol in my world, usually saved for special occasions. I have to admit, I find his efforts charming. Why don’t we open this and take a bath together?”

  He already had his tunic off and was working on his pants. As soon as he was naked he lopped the top of the wine bottle off with his hunting knife and leapt over the tub railing. Coming down gently so as not to splash too much, he drew a sip off it and offered her some. “This is a great year, he certainly has excellent taste.” He beamed a smile at her knowing full well she wouldn’t have a clue what he meant by that. Nonetheless her curiosity was peaked at the thought of trying something new.

  She peeled down her blouse letting her voluptuous breasts spill out as she waltzed over to the tub. Ben took one more swig of the wine as he took in the beautiful sight before him. She twirled her river of hair into a bun and pinned it on her head. As she put her hands behind her back to release the ties on her skirt the door opened, sending her shrieking back to the bed to cover up.

  Mâvis and Genevieve strolled in with Jocelyn asleep in her mother’s arms. Mâvis grinned, “Looks like we are joining you tonight, Abbott. I brought too many guards, they have taken up all the other rooms.”

  Ben snatched the towel offered to him by the king and lowered his own eyes to hide his frustration as he got out of the tub, “Well, sir, one can never be too cautious I suppose. However, had we known you were coming we could have been a bit more presentable.” He threw his britches back on while the queen was tucking in Jocelyn on the chair by the bed.

  Lúta was getting dressed with the sheet pulled over her chest. Her icy stare burning into Ben as she did so. As soon as she was dressed she stormed towards the door to leave with Mâvis calling after her, “You will stay, Lúta, you need to keep your husband company.”

  She completely ignored him, “You will have to drag me back here. My husband does not deserve my company tonight.” With that the door slammed behind her.

  Mâvis got up to follow her but Genevieve called after him, “Mâvis, let her be. It is not your concern, that is between them.” She then addressed Ben, “Go ahead Ben, tend to your wife.”

  Ben threw on his shirt as he made for the door and Mâvis immediately shoved him back, “You do not need to follow her. She will return so long as you are here.” He held Ben’s stare a moment longer almost daring him to flee, “What is her problem, human?”

  “We were just expecting some time together, sir. I am sure I can make it up to her tomorrow. King William has offered to let us use his springs, she will like that.” He hoped to change the conversation as quickly as possible to avoid the king’s devious questioning tactics. “The child they found is in great health, I expect he will adjust quickly.”

  Genevieve perked up immediately, “Yes, they were very excited for the information you gave them.”

  Ben sat in the chair and took a draw off the wine bottle, “The boy says he is from France and that his parents owned a yacht. They got caught in a storm and from what William told me he and his mother were the only survivors, but that she died right away.”

  “That is so sad, to have made it all this way and die upon rescue.” Genevieve replied as she stroked her daughter’s hair, her voice cracking as she did so from the thought of the woman perishing.

  Ben marveled at the fact that the queen seemed so torn by the thought of the human dying. She has such a soft spot for humans it’s amazing she is even married to Mâvis. They’re polar opposites on nearly every level. He took another drink and brought his attention to the fire fearing his thoughts would show on his face.

  Something Ben said caught Mâvis’s attention however and the king was back in command of the conversation, “You understood the cub? He was fascinated with Jocelyn, but I could not understand him.”

  Ben shot his eyes back to Mâvis, “I am fluent in nine languages, and can decipher a good number of those I’m not fluent in. I have traveled most of the world in my years of service to medical science and the English armed forces.”

  Mâvis tossed some blankets and pillows onto the floor for Ben, “So if you could learn his tongue then the cub should be able to learn ours, should he not?”

  “Of course, I expect with little choice in the matter he will learn it quickly out of necessity alone. I’m glad he’s with King William. Being that he’s well educated and takes such an interest in learning himself, the boy should do well in his care.” Ben took another sip off the wine and offered the bottle to the king.

  Mâvis accepted it, wondering what it was, “You think me to be poorly educated?” Mâvis sniffed the concoction and took a swallow of it. Ben bit back a chuckle at the sight of the king puckering his face over the taste. “What is this swill you are drinking?” Mâvis immediately handed the bottle back.

  “It’s wine, and it’s a bit of an acquired taste. To answer your question, I don’t think you’re poorly educated. Quite the opposite, I find you to be incredibly intelligent. You are also very young, Mâvis, and like most young men you let your warrior instincts lead your decision making.” Ben finished the wine and got up to fix his bedding for the night.

  “What do you mean by that?” Mâvis retorted.

  “Nothing bad I assure you.”

  “Good or bad I expect and answer, human.” This response was followed with a warning rumble.

  Ben thought carefully trying not to step further into the trap being set, “It�
��s just that one day you will run into problems you can’t stomp into resolution. I think until that day comes it will be a little hard to explain what I mean.”

  Genevieve cut in at the sight of her husband tensing up, “He is right, Mâvis. You are a bit heavy handed at times. It would do you good to learn some patience, husband.”

  “I have patience, woman. How many times has he crossed me, he still lives, walks upright.” Mâvis snarled back at her before addressing Ben, “Although you certainly enjoy testing it, human. ” Mâvis stuffed his pillow up into the head of his bed and bellowed to Genevieve, “Come to bed, wife.”

  “Why not let Ben go find his wife first?” She smiled warmly at her husband then bit her lip mischievously to add more meaning to her suggestion.

  “I think not, I do not trust King William. Abbott will stay here and his wife will return when she is tired. If not I will send the guards for her in the morning.” Mâvis laid back picking at his teeth with a claw, “Now come to bed, woman.”

  Ben paused in making his bed, “I’m sorry, sir, but you said a moment ago that you don’t trust William yet my wife is out running the island unprotected.”

  “William has made a few offers to purchase you. He has no interest in Lúta.” Mâvis tossed back. “She has relatives in this village if I remember correctly. When Bjorn fled Freyr’s he came here.”

  “So, you have no interest in selling me and I have no interest in serving him. What is there to be worried about?” He folded and fluffed the blanket until it was as comfortable as he could get it before laying down.

  “King William is incredibly manipulative. Why do you think I came on this trip? Now get some rest. All this talking is keeping my wife from her duty.”

  Genevieve narrowed her eyes at Mâvis, “You will find yourself in the cold.”