Abdon brought the concoction in a wooden bowl.
The air in the royal halls of the queen Uryvette's castle was heavy and cold even with the sun scotching overhead. His green robes swept the dust off the floor as he passed.
He scowled at the thought of having to wash off the dust once the day was over. He rounded a corner and there, stood waiting was Dia, the head guard of the Warrior maidens.
Dia stood a head taller than him. Her presence as imposing as the great spear she held to her side. The spear was far longer than her and the blade carved of bone was far larger than all the other spears he had seen on this island so far. In fact, one would have mistaken the weapon for a halberd instead.
Dia stood with her back straight beside the wooden door, beyond which lay the Queen's chamber.
Abdon was about to pass when he found the shaft of Dia's spear block his way. His forehead wrinkled as he looked up with a frown.
"You dare block me from my duties?" Abdon growled.
Dia's lips curved causing the long scar that ran down her right cheek to stretch. "And what duties are those?"
"I come with the queen's medicinal soup"
"Your soup does nothing fool. The queen's condition only gets worse" Dia narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you sure that what you give her is medicine?"
Abdon felt a drop of sweat fall down his forehead. For a moment his expression froze, then it twisted into that of rage.
"How dare you treat my mastery of this field with such contempt?! You think I don't want the queen to get well? You think seeing her suffering the way she is makes me happy?" Abdon's chest heaved. "She gave me a home to live. And she gave me a purpose"
There was a moment in which they stared into each other's eyes. Abdon's gaze was full of reproach while Dia's was calm as a lake that concealed a rumbling volcano within it.
"The queen will get better...with the ingredients that I ordered" Abdon said.
Dia moved her spear aside and gave him passage. Abdon heaved a breath, pushing the door open to the Royal Chamber. He stepped through and left the door to return. As the door crept shut behind him he heard Dia say:
"For your own safe alchemist she better"
The door shut.
...
Uryvette stood by the window, overlooking the huts and brick houses. Even from this high up the mountain she could hear the chatter of her people going about their day. The sun felt warm against her skin and yet she shivered and coughed.
Her body felt weak in places and cold. As though a shard of ice swam through her veins. A cold that neither her traditional healers could diagnose nor cure. She heard the door open from the edge of the room.
In strode Abdon, wooden bowl in hand. He was still dressed in a green robe. Uryvette smiled. The man always complained about the dust that clung to it and that he had to always wash it at the end of the day but the man never stopped wearing it.
She stepped away from the window and made for the centre of the room. There, wooden chairs waited surrounding a small table.
"Abdon" she greeted. "I had a feeling you would visit soon"
"I always visit at this hour your grace" Abdon placed the bowl on the table and bowed.
"Please seat" she said
Abdon eased himself into the seat on the other side of the table. "Thank you"
"Dia still giving you problems?"
"She's just about ready stick her spear down my ass" Abdon grumbled quietly.
Uryvette's laugh was the only hint that he hadn't been quiet enough. Her laugh was not as energetic as one would expect from one such as her.
She's getting weaker, he realized.
After a short while Uryvette's laughter died down.
"Don't worry about Dia. While she does seem stone faced, she has a good heart. One that wishes the best for her people"
"And her queen" Abdon added.
"And her queen" Uryvette paused then looked at the bowl. From where she sat, she could already smell the minty aroma. "What have you brought this time?"
"This is a potion to help keep your strength up. A brilliant concoction of ginseng, astragalus and licorice root. Ginseng and Astralagus stimulate cellular energy and boister immune defenses while the licorice root acts as a harmonizer that enhances the absorption of the other herbs." Abdon explained.
"Really? And you learned this from the mainland?" the queen asked as she brought the bowl to her lips.
Abdon watched with a glint in his eye before replying. "I picked up the concoction from my travels in East Asia"
Uryvette grimaced as she set the empty bowl down. "Can't you make them taste less foul?"
"Adding any more ingredients would weaken the potion your grace" Abdon smiled bitterly.
"So you say" she sighed. "Dia reports that your shipment is two days away"
Abdon perked up.
"You seem glad" Uryvette noted.
"As I should. With this I can finally do away with the ill that haunts you" Abdon stood with his arms spread just as wide as his smile.
"And you are sure of this?"
"Absolutely your grace" the alchemist affirmed.
Uryvette rose from her seat. "Then I await to see you accomplish what others have failed"
She returned to her window.
"You have my word your grace" Abdon bowed to her back. "Soon all your problems will disappear"
"We shall see"
Abdon heard as he slipped out of the room.