III. The Impact of Her
~ Nine ~

When I arrived, Lady was on the floor, barely breathing.

“Lady!” I pushed through the servants. I dropped beside Lady and screamed, “Lady?! Lady, what is happening to you?!” I shook her continuously as I didn’t know what to do, “Lady!”

“Robert?! What is the matter?!” Nana rushed in with the other servants. And she gasped immediately at the horrific sight.

“Call the Medicine King! Hurry!” I shouted.

“You heard the young prince! Do it now!” Nana yelled. One of the servants jumped onto the service horse and went on his way.

“Lady, please,” tears fell down my cheeks as I pulled Lady into my chest. I gripped tightly onto her as the fear of losing her was taking over me.

‘I cannot afford to lose Lady. I will not let that happen,’ I thought to myself.

“Robert!” I looked to the entrance and James ran towards us with Gonzalo right behind him. He quickly knelt down and checked Lady’s condition.

“James, you have to help me,” I cried. I continued, “I don’t know what is going on. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to lose her. Please!”

James turned to the people who took care of the horses. “Was she given something to eat or drink before this happened?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” they replied.

“Bring me her food and water, now.”

The servants rushed to her part of the stables.

My sobs were unstoppable at this point. “Lady… please.”

The servants returned and gave James a bucket of water and hay. James smelled each, first the hay and the water, second. “Lady has been poisoned.”

“What?!” I exclaimed. “Who would do this?!”

“Nana,” James turned around to her, “Fetch me some hot water and salt. That can slow down the poison within her system.” As Nana left with her servants, James returned to me, “Robert, I need you to replace some jewelweed in your mother’s herb garden. Bring it here as fast as possible.”

“But, Lady–”

“Son, she will get through this,” James put a hand on my shoulder as he looked directly at me. “But we need the jewelweed now. It can kill some of the poison inside her body. We don’t have much time. You have to go now.”

I nodded. James took my place in holding Lady as I stood. I ran to the herb garden, forcing every inch of strength within me to run faster.

~*~*~*~

Upon my return, the Medicine King was already taking a look at Lady. James, Nana and Gonzalo watched over him but gave him space. I ran over to James and gave him the herb.

“Great work, son.” He handed it over to the Medicine King.

The Medicine Man grabbed his mortar and pestle, and squished the herb quickly. He then added the hot water to it and extracted the juice from it.

“Let us give the Medicine King some time with Lady,” James said. We all headed back to the kitchen. As we left, James’ grip on my shoulder tightened as we went along.

~*~*~*~

After what seemed like forever, the Medicine King invited James and I back to the stables. When we arrived, Lady was already on her knees. She was alive and well; as if nothing happened to her.

“How is she?” I asked. I didn’t want to wait any longer for the answer.

“She will be fine, Your Highness,” the Medicine King smiled. He continued, “The jewelweed, combined with the salted water worked well with my medications. It was smart for you to do that.”

“Do you know what poisoned her?” James asked as he stood behind me.

“I examined the food and water that was given to her. I have concluded that a poisonous herb was extracted onto the hay and water. I’m not sure, however, if it was done on purpose or out of negligence,” the Medicine King explained as he looked at me suspiciously.

My eyes widened, horrified and confused. “Are you implying that I poisoned my own horse? Medicine King, killing Lady never entered my mind. And should that happen, I wouldn’t have called for you,” I protested.

“I did mention that it could be done out of negligence, Your Highness,” the Medicine King repeated.

“How dare you slander me. I wasn’t raised to be that heartless! Should I do any sort of experimenting, I will never use it on animals. That is not how I was raised!” I ranted.

“Calm yourself, Robert,” James gently pulled me back as he stood in front of me. “Forgive my son’s outburst, good sir,” James continued as he faced the Medicine King, “However, your assumptions about my son are absolutely false. Robert has shared so much with Lady. She means the world to him. He will never dare to do anything to endanger her.”

“I didn’t mean to wrongly accuse the prince, Your Majesty. But, because of this incident, someone close to the prince must look after his champion. She mustn’t be left alone,” the Medicine King replied. He then warned us, “I’m afraid it can happen again. And should it indeed happen once more, it will be fatal. I supposed the culprit behind this has something against the prince.”

How could anybody hurt a harmless creature? Lady never offended anybody. And if someone has hatred towards me, I should be the one on the receiving end. My Lady didn’t deserve to go through that pain.

I should get to the bottom of everything as soon as possible.

“Robert, why don’t you rest early?” James asked as he turned to me. “It’s been quite a scene here. I need to speak with the Medicine King as well.”

I nodded. “I shall pay Mother a visit first before I head to my room.”

“If you wish it.”

“Good evening. And thank you, Medicine King,” I bowed to both of them and returned back inside.

~*~*~*~

As I made my way to the master bedroom, Nana stepped out of a corner and blocked my path. “Nana!” my voice rang through the halls. “You gave me a fright.

“I am very sorry, my dear. I didn’t mean to,” she apologised as she walked up to me. “Did I interrupt your thoughts?”

“Not at all, Nana. I was just surprised when you appeared out of nowhere,” I explained. “Is there something wrong?” I asked.

“The servants have told me that Lady is feeling better. I am so relieved after hearing such good news,” she smiled. “However, I heard your thanks didn’t extend to your father.”

The maids should stop their habit of eavesdropping. Our affairs and private conversations weren’t made to be their source of entertainment. To spread such information could lead to our demise in the future.

“Nana, I was going to thank him. However, he told me that I can leave and he needed to talk to the Medicine King in private,” I said.

“Robert, a simple thanks can go a great deal to anyone, especially to your father,” Nana replied. She continued, “He doesn’t tell this to anybody but he feels you loathe him too much.”

“Nana, he was talking to the Medicine King,” I repeated after a sigh. “Interrupting their conversation will be rude of me.”

She stepped closer and held my hands. “There is always room for a son.”

I smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Nana. I will make sure to thank him during dinner. For now, I need to see Mother.”

She cupped my face and kissed my forehead. She then gave me another smile and walked away. I proceeded to where the master bedroom was.

I was thankful for what James did. I owed him Lady’s life. But, with all honesty, thanking James was something that was easier said than done. For years, he never acted as a father. He never did anything that I would be thankful for.

But, Nana was right. James deserved my gratitude for what he has done today.