Doctor Abbott

by Michelle Laverdure

  The king continued, “Tell me, if I granted you your freedom what would you do?” Mâvis chewed at his inner lip as he waited for a reply.

  “I suppose I would open a clinic and start a family.”

  Mâvis’s brow furrowed, “What is a clinic?”

  “A place to treat people who are ill. It would do well here, this village is so large.”

  The king reached into his tunic and pulled out a white book, “Would that help?”

  Ben perked up and smiled as he took it, “My field journal, I thought I would never see this again. Tell me did the barkeep enjoy it?”

  “You mean your book of riddles? He said he was going to use it as kindling.” The king flashed toothy grin as he chuckled, “What do you get from that thing?”

  “It’s tailored for this region. Helps me to know what is in the area for medical supplies, naturally. Herbs, plants, minerals. Tells me how to use them.” Ben flipped through the book to see if the pages were intact. “Yes, sir, this would be invaluable to anyone who knows how to use it.”

  “Good, then you can use it for that.” Mâvis eyed Ben for his reaction, marveling at the fact that it took him a good few minutes to grasp what he was saying. Ben’s jaw dropped and Mâvis continued, “When you finish your training I will give you a cottage. You will be free to do as you wish, you can meet with my builders to tell them what you will need for this clinic of yours.”

  “Sir, that is so generous, I don’t even know what to say.” He was completely dumbstruck, “Thank you.”

  “You can thank my wife, this was her idea. Or at least it was until today. Go, I have little patience for sentiment.” The king nodded towards the door as he leaned back in his chair and worked on his tea.

  Ben got up to leave and stopped at the door, “Do you think we could keep this a bit of a secret? I think it would be a delightful surprise for my wife.”

  “That is your concern, Abbott. I will tell her nothing, she barely tolerates being in the same room with me.” He didn’t even look back at Ben, just smiled with pride as he heard the door shut from behind him.

  Chapter 35

  It took several weeks for Ben’s shoulder to heal. In the meantime he kept up on his exercise and what drills he could do. In between seeing patients in their homes he had to make time away from Lúta in order to meet with the builders and get the cottage ready.

  As soon as he was better Mâvis resumed Ben’s training, now handling most of it himself. Some days he drew quite the crowd and still a tremendous interest from the other humans on the island. Especially after the display in the village square.

  They sat watching on the railing as the king made quick work of Ben’s attempts to take him off his feet. Amusing himself with each of Ben’s falls, “Come on, human, I expect better. Your arm is working well.”

  Ben steadied the wood axe in his good hand for a few blows and cursed as Mâvis sent him to the ground yet again.

  The king swapped his axe to his other hand, “Perhaps I should fight with my weak arm, then we would be even?” He teased as he paced another circle around Ben.

  “If you want to make it fair, perhaps you could remove a few inches off your height?” Ben answered with a few well-meant blows before he was sent to the ground again.

  The crowd was riled up and laughing at the display between the two of them. Kevin and Rob sat on the fence cheering Ben on in between comments to each other in Russian.

  Ben ignored much of the conversation, instead trying to focus on the king and trying to calculate his next moves. Mâvis noticed his distracted state and plowed into him hard, sending him again to the ground.

  He came up to his knees and just sat for a moment trying to catch his breath. As he heard Rob call him, “the king’s little bitch” in Russian. Ben shook it off and stood to face Mâvis again for another round. He was still too distracted however and Mâvis had him on the ground almost as fast as he made it to his feet.

  “Are you trying to aggravate me, human? It is working, I promise you.” Mâvis circled back around and readied his axe as Ben again made it to his knees.

  He sat still for a moment more, catching his breath and trying to calm his nerves as he could still hear the taunts coming from the two men behind him. Finally he heard Kevin reference him as the ‘king’s whore’ and he lost it. The wood axe he meant to attack Mâvis with a moment ago landed dead set between Kevin’s legs nearly sending the man backwards off the fence. “You will take care in how you speak of the king.”

  Kevin’s face was sheer white, “You speak Russian?”

  Ben was on his feet already yanking the axe from the fence and shoving Kevin off. He turned to see Mâvis beaming at him, “What was that?”

  “It was a warning, sir. Did you not see it?” Ben readied his axe to fight some more.

  “Yes, I saw you miss.” Mâvis slung his axe over his shoulder and planted his other hand on his hip.

  “That was intentional. That is why it is called a warning.”

  Mâvis replied, “I am surprised they are still here. The next axe will be mine and I never miss.” The humans immediately took that hint and disbanded from the courtyard. “Good, now you train till sunrise with Avarr.”

  Ben slumped down to his knees again, “Whatever for?”

  “I told you already, you missed.” Mâvis half growled half laughed as he strolled off. “Do not worry, I will make sure he takes it easy on your arm.”

  “Oh, thank you, sir.” As soon as Mâvis left the courtyard Ben flung his axe into the wood pile, hitting his target dead center. He got off his knees and went into the palace to get some sleep and prepare for a long night of training.

  Lúta woke him up with a bowl of food in her hands, “Why does he have you training all night again?”

  Ben sat up rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he accepted the food, “I’m sorry dear, but I asked for the extra training. I hope you’ll understand.”

  “You expect me to believe that after the last time you trained till sunrise?” Her hair was cascading over her shoulders as she leaned on the bed watching him for an answer.

  He brushed it off her shoulder and pulled her in for a kiss before responding, “I love how you worry for me. But this time I have a bit of a deal with him. My training will not go on indefinitely, I promise.”

  “Well, it certainly feels as though it will, Ben. Honestly, how would you still even need to train after the battle on the beach? You took down two warriors, one twice your size. What more could he want from you? You will never be good enough to take on Mâvis. He is not like the rest of us, I am not even sure he is truly one of our people.”

  “That may very well be true, I have at times thought he is a bit advanced for your species. I can’t help but wonder if he is in fact a close cousin to your people.”

  Lúta laughed, “What?”

  “You know, your people have made it into folklore around the world, in my culture we often tell stories of woodland people who resemble yours. They have names like bigfoot, sasquatch and yeti. I sometimes wonder if Mâvis is from another lineage of these creatures. Possibly different from yours.”

  She giggled and swiped her claw down his nose before returning his kiss, “I have no idea what you just said, Ben. I just hope you know what you are doing with taking on this level of training. Your arm is not fully healed yet.”

  “I have been working it out, dear. Besides, I need to prove to you I’m not fragile as you say.” He took another bite off his spoon and offered her one, which she accepted.

  A few minutes into their playing back and forth a knock came from the door, Avarr pushed it open and stood leaning on the door jam, “You ready, human?”

  “Well since my wife and I were just about to have some fun that would put you right on time to ruin it.” Ben chided sarcastically.

  “Glad to be of service, come.”

  After a long night of sparring and drills Ben was exhausted. Come morning Lúta and Genevieve were waiting for the sun to peak
through the trees so they could snatch up Ben and bring him into the palace.

  But he wasn’t ready to go in just yet. He grabbed a basket he had waiting by the kitchen door and headed off towards the square with his tunic still in his hand, “Come, Lúta, we can eat breakfast together.”

  She looked curiously back at the queen who shrugged her shoulders, “Looks like he is fine, go with him.”

  Ben climbed the staircase to the patio and sat on the railing taking the contents out of the basket, “Do you want some?” He handed her half of his apple tart and they sat eating and watching the sun come up together.

  After an hour with her he finally cooled down enough from his work out to put the tunic on and she wrapped her arm around him to warm him back up. No sooner than they got comfortable Mâvis passed through the square.

  He looked up at the patio to address Ben, “Good morning Abbott, how was your training last night?” Grinning sarcastically as he scratched his face.

  “As well as it could be with my arm.” Ben said as Lúta rolled her eyes and hopped off the railing to avoid having to look at the king.

  “Avarr said you did well considering. Come down I have something to show you.” He strolled off as Ben packed up the basket and took Lúta by the hand.

  A few minutes later the three of them were in front of Avarr’s old cottage. Genevieve was now approaching them with Jocelyn on her hip, “Did I miss it? You did not give it to him yet, did you?”

  Mâvis shot her a scornful look, “I swear, woman, you cannot keep a secret to save your own hide.”

  “Oh, sorry, husband.” She took to her tippy toes to offer him a kiss, then bit her bottom lip as she turned to Lúta.

  Lúta was utterly confused, “Give who, what?”

  Mâvis gestured towards the cottage. It had a beautiful new second story on it and a well-crafted, wood shingle roof where the thatched roof had been before. The room off the back of the building was doubled in size and there was two cords of fresh firewood out back.

  Lúta looked at Ben who was now smiling and shoved him back, “You know what this is and you are not telling me?”

  He addressed the king, “Can we go in?”

  Mâvis sneered, “What do you mean ‘can we go in’? Why are we still standing out here? Open the blasted door, human.”

  Ben wasted no more time opening the door. The place was beautiful. Completely cleaned and remodeled. They were greeted with a rustic, spiral, log stair case that led up to a spacious loft. The upstairs boasted two separate rooms that could both be seen from the first floor.

  The ground level floor that once housed Avarr’s bedroom and the kitchen now had a full parlor with a dining table separating the entry. A large tapestry was put up to offer privacy from the living quarters because the room they were standing in was now a well-stocked exam room complete with a cot for Ben’s patients.

  There were two fireplaces in the building and they were both going full blast with roaring fires. Ben turned to Mâvis, “Sir, it’s beautiful. I honestly don’t know what to say.” He looked at his wife who was in full tears.

  “Is this ours, Ben? Is this ours?” She now turned to Mâvis, “Did you build this for us?” The king stood with his arms crossed over his chest and nodded back to her. She shrieked and jumped as she wrapped her arms around Mâvis giving him a hug.

  The action took him a bit by surprise as she let go and hugged Genie now and then Ben before she took off to look in the washroom and then climbed the staircase.

  Ben now hugged Genie and turned to do the same to Mâvis, who scowled down at him and responded, “If you touch me, I will kill you.”

  Ben immediately backed off putting his hands in his pockets instead, “Yes, sorry.” He then followed Lúta through the rest of the building.

  A few minutes later guards showed up carrying trunks full of stuff from the palace and Mâvis gestured to Ben, “Come, let them unpack for you. You and Lúta can sign your papers at the palace.”

  There was a full breakfast waiting for them in the great hall. Avarr and Beatrice were already there eating and they rose when Mâvis entered the room. Lúta dashed over and hugged her friend as they took their seats squealing over the news of the cottage.

  Ben sat next to the king and was given a small stack of paperwork to sign and he laughed to himself for a moment. Now realizing he had the king’s attention he said, “Sorry, it’s just that when I became your slave all you did was hit me in the head.”

  It drew a smile from the king, “Is that how you wish to undo it?” Ben huffed and shook his head. He quickly signed his way through the house and a document that had Lúta’s name on it. Then Mâvis snatched them up and placed one last one in front of him. “That is your freedom, human.” Ben smiled back at the king and reached to sign it when Mâvis pulled it back for a second. “I will not regret this, will I?”

  Mâvis’s eyes were ice cold and yet still managed to burn into Ben straight to his core. He swallowed hard wondering if he truly was signing for his freedom. “Not in the least, sir. I am grateful for your generosity.”

  “Very well, then. You are your own problem now.” The king shoved the document back at Ben and he signed right below Mâvis’s signature.

  Lúta dropped her fork and rounded the table snatching the document out of Ben’s hands, “Did I hear him right? Are you free?” She read the entire document twice, only struggling with a few words which she showed her husband to decipher.

  She then shoved the document back at the king and snatched Ben from the table, “Bye, Mâvis, thank you!” She shot over her shoulder as she dragged Ben from the great hall.”

  Avarr burst out laughing, “He is not free, you just signed him over to her.”

  Mâvis returned the laugh, “He already said he would serve her willingly.”

  Avarr retorted, “I would serve her willingly. I still do not know how he ended up with her.” No sooner than the last word fell out of his mouth Beatrice slapped the back of his head. Both women at the table were giving him a cold stare.

  Mâvis shook his head, “Better serve your wife if you wish to wake up tomorrow.” He pointed his knife towards her direction and chuckled before slicing into his meat.

  Chapter 36

  The clinic proved to be quite successful from the opening. Humans came by for long overdue checkups for themselves and their kids and warriors came in looking for relief from old wounds. He treated any number of ailments from the common cold to a foot that needed to be rebroken and set again.

  He found people paid well for his services. Everything from deer meat to clothing. He didn’t turn away anyone regardless of what they had to pay with but did find himself turning down certain forms of payment just to keep his house livable.

  At night he would cuddle up with Lúta and they would read a book together before making love.

  One night he was called to the palace late in the evening. He arrived in his night clothes to find Genevieve leaning over the table in the great hall brushing the hair back on a man who was laid across it.

  “What do we have here?” Ben asked as he started checking for vital signs.

  “He is a human. The guards found him on the beach as they were coming back from a trade run. Will he live?” She continued stroking the man’s hair as if to soothe him. But the guy was out cold.

  “You mean he is not from here?” Ben had asked the question but immediately knew the answer based on the man’s clothes and clean cut hair. “Was there a boat or just him?”

  “The guards said there was a vessel stranded on the rocks out in the water. But when they returned to check on it, it was gone already. The sea claimed it.”

  Ben pulled the pillow out from under the man’s head and rolled a rag up to stick under his neck allowing the head to roll back and his mouth to drop open. With his airway cleared he took out his pocket knife and cut open the man’s shirt to see several wounds and his skin was a pale blue, nearly dead-looking despite the fact that he was still alive and b
reathing.

  “I’ll need some blankets, he’s hypothermic. I’ll need to get him warmed up as quickly as possible.” The doctor set about to cutting the rest of the man’s clothing off.

  Genevieve took off to the hallway and ordered the guards to bring her blankets and skins. She returned to the table pulling her shawl around her tighter as she watched Ben work on the wounds sewing up what needed to be closed. The man was so cold that very little blood flowed from the wounds as he worked. He honestly wasn’t even sure the man would survive the night.

  He worked feverishly to get the gashes closed up nonetheless; and the queen covered the man’s legs and torso as Ben finished with each injury. Genevieve nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Mâvis enter the room.

  “What is going on here?” The rumble in his voice got Ben’s attention right away.

  “I’m sorry, sir, I thought it was you who summoned me here.”

  Mâvis locked eyes with his wife, “Why is there a human on the table, woman?”

  She backed up and stood defiantly glaring up at him, “He was found on the beach. I sent for Abbott.”

  “So are we to take in every stray animal the seas toss on our shores?” Mâvis pointed at the creature laying there. “I will not have this island over run with these things. We have more than enough as it is.” He was furious with her but he snapped at Ben next. “I do not care who summons you here human you are to check with me from now on before you do anything. I will see to it that this does not happen again.”

  “As you wish, sir.” Ben cleaned up his tools and gestured to the guard. “Can you bring him to my cottage?”