83 Tepid Bath
“Her Majesty was saying that she was feeling lethargic when I was assisting her in the bath. By the time I helped her to get ready for the day, she was burning with fever.” Martha was so worried that her voice was cracking, and her hands were trembling a little.
“And she was asking for you,” Martha added.
Tilla felt her throat getting dry. She dropped the watering can from her hand. And she hurriedly took the tray from Martha’s hands. “I will take it from here. Thank you for informing me.”
Martha didn’t mind Tilla taking charge even though it wasn’t her shift to look after the Queen yet. Tilla had served the Queen the longest. So, Martha believed that Tilla would be the best person to look after the Queen at the moment.
Tilla didn’t waste any time heading towards the Queen’s chamber.
“I’ll come with you,” Martha shouted from behind.
By the time Martha began following Tilla, in case she needed any assistance, Tilla had already reached quite far away from the garden.
Vincent was watching both of the maids rushing to the Queen’s aid.
“Her Majesty got a fever?” Vincent’s eyes followed Tilla as he mumbled to himself. “Is it that serious that she looked so worried?”
.....
‘Maybe I should also go and check up on her.’ Vincent thought of following the maids to Anastasia’s room and seeing if her illness was serious.
Caspian wasn’t present in the castle, and neither was Zenon. So, Vincent felt like it was his duty to call the doctor to the castle if it was necessary.
He caught up with Tilla and asked while walking side by side with her, “What’s fever? Is it something serious?”
Tilla glared at Vincent, swearing to herself that she would kick him in the gut if he were making fun of her in a situation like this. But Vincent looked genuinely clueless about what fever was. So, she answered in short, “It’s when a human’s body becomes hotter than normal.”
“And I don’t know if it is serious yet. I will have to take a look at Her Majesty before I can answer that,” Tilla replied breathlessly since she was now walking really fast.
Vincent knitted his brows together in worry. He was worried for Anastasia, but more than that, he was worried for himself. ‘What if she is already in a serious condition? And what if something happens to her because I didn’t fetch the doctor in time?’
He couldn’t even imagine the wrath he would face from Caspian if that were to happen.
So he quickly asked Tilla, “This fever looks like a serious illness from the way you are rushing. Shall I go and call a doctor?”
Tilla didn’t really want to ask anything from Vincent. However, it was Anastasia’s health that was on the line. So, she gave a nod to Vincent and accepted his offer, “I will much appreciate it, Milord.”
Before they reached Anastasia’s chamber, Vincent turned on his heels and disappeared, leaving a gust of wind behind.
Tilla kept on running towards Anastasia’s chamber. She pushed those huge doors open with her shoulder and barged inside without announcing herself before entering.
The door to Anastasia’s bedchamber was wide open. Tilla’s heart sank when her eyes fell on Anastasia.
Anastasia was covering herself with a thick blanket to her neck. But still, she was trembling like never before.
Tilla quickly sprinted inside the room and set aside the tray in her hands.
“Your Majesty!” Tilla exclaimed breathlessly and pressed her palm over Anastasia’s forehead.
Anastasia was burning with a high fever.
Anastasia forced her eyes open. Her eyes looked lifeless, her face pale, and her lips chapped and dry. “You came,” she responded Tilla in a feeble whisper.
“Yes, I am here.” Tilla couldn’t bear to see Anastasia’s condition. Her eyes almost instantly teared up.
However, she swallowed her tears. And the first thing she did was take away the thick blanket that Anastasia was covering herself with.
“No... I’m cold. Please give it back,” Anastasia immediately complained as she crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her shoulders.
Tilla shook her head with difficulty. “Your Majesty, you know I can’t do that. You have a really high fever.”
Instead of returning the blanket, Tilla found a thin sheet of cloth in the wardrobe and tucked Anastasia in that instead. Then she made herself comfortable at the edge of Anastasia’s bed.
Anastasia knitted her brows together and whined while looking at that sheet that was covering her, “This is going to do nothing to keep me warm...”
Tilla gave a sorry look to Anastasia and softly whispered to her friend, “Anna, I’m sorry if I make you uncomfortable for a while. You know that you will be drenched in cold sweats if you keep on covering yourself with that blanket. I don’t want your health to worsen.”
Anastasia was well aware of what she would have to go through if she kept on insisting on the blanket. Therefore, she quietly closed her eyes and trusted Tilla with her health.
Tilla soaked the cotton towels in the lukewarm water in the bowl. After she wrung the towels, she placed them on Anastasia’s forehead and her neck.
“Mmmm...” Anastasia winched when the lukewarm towel stung like ice on her skin. Goosebumps ran through her whole body, and the shivering got even worse.
Tilla’s heart clenched when she saw Anastasia trembling and grimacing in pain.
“Does it hurt somewhere?” Tilla asked the Queen.
Anastasia nodded and whispered with her breath, “I feel splitting pain in my head. And all of my joints hurt.” Her teeth wouldn’t stop clattering even after she finished talking.
Tilla held Anastasia’s palm and looked at her with sorrow-filled eyes. And she consoled her friend, “Lord Vincent went to call the doctor. The doctor will arrive here soon and give you some medicines to ease your pain. Can you wait until then?”
Anastasia was used to such pains and high fever. Enduring such pain was nothing new to her. So she slightly nodded and closed her eyes again.
Tilla changed the towel on Anastasia’s forehead, all while thinking to herself, ‘Why is God so unfair with her? Anna is already too fragile. How can she withstand such a high fever and pain? If only I could take away her pain along with her fever...’
However, as that was impossible, all Tilla could do was take care of Anastasia, work to ease her pain, and help her to recover soon.
Tilla turned to look at Martha, who was worriedly standing at the foot of the bed, and then asked her, “Martha, will you ask the chef to prepare a bowl of hot soup or porridge for Her Majesty?”
“Of course,” Martha instantly headed for the door.
Tilla gave her an instruction before Martha reached outside, “Martha, make sure that the food isn’t too salty.”
“Okay, I will be back with the food.” Martha hurriedly sprinted out of the room without caring about her old joints. If there was anything that she could do for the Queen, she didn’t care if she got hurt in the process.
After Martha left the room, Tilla continued changing the cotton towels and giving Anastasia the tepid sponge bath.
She also kept on eyeing the door, hoping that Vincent would come with the doctor soon.
—
Vincent came to a halt when he reached Doctor Carl’s residence, which also served as the clinic for humans. He couldn’t care less about knocking on the door since it was open hours for the clinic.
And he instantly barged inside while shouting out the order, “Doctor Carl, I need you to come with m-”
However, Vincent was stunned by what he saw.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel