Just like yesterday and the day before that, Lukas wasn’t here to wish me good morning. But that hardly surprised me. Between the constant appointments and meetings, we’d barely found the time to eat meals together. Even when we had, they’d been full of scheming and him checking into my progress with the other royals – most of whom now liked me enough to at least approve of the rebuilding of my kingdom. Most apart from the Hallshires.
As I approached the door, the frantic knocking started up again.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I complained, reaching for the sculpted handle. Today was supposed to be a rest day. A desperately needed day where I could finally explore the palace and perhaps visit the markets with Raena and Ivy.
Although, any thoughts of resting vanished the moment the door swung open to reveal a familiar yet panicked girl in another borrowed gown.
“You need to come downstairs immediately,” Ivy blurted.
My face twisted. “What? Why? What’s going on?”
“No time to explain.” She charged into my room, slamming the door behind her. “Just get dressed and come with me.”
When confusion tugged at my brow she just clapped her hands, hurrying me along. “Quickly!” she hissed.
After throwing on a loose strawberry-coloured gown and raking a comb through my curls, I took Ivy’s hand as she dragged me through the palace. Her long blue skirts fanned out behind her, looking like waves against the sandstone floor.
“Here,” she said as we neared the entrance to the ballroom. “I told the guards to just funnel them all into here. At least that way they won’t be blocking the drawbridge anymore.”
“Will you just tell me what’s going on?” I demanded. But then the doors to the ballroom swung open and my jaw hit the floor.
At least a hundred people were being held in a huge mob near the back wall of the circular ballroom. Guardsformed a line surrounding them, desperately trying to calm the crowd. They were all from the villages beyond the palace, judging by their simple cotton tunics and straw hats. The moment they spotted me, they erupted with grateful cheers.
“It’s her! Our princess saviour is here!” One man waved his fishing pole into the air.
“The Corlixins have come to save us all!” another woman dressed in merchant’s clothes yelped.
Voice shaking, I turned to Ivy. “What is this?”
My friend beamed. “Word spread of our work helping the servants in the palace. Those we healed must’ve returned home and told their families.” Eyes glittering, she turned back to the cheering crowd. “I suppose all these people need our help too.”
I almost needed to grip the doorframe to stay standing. There were so many, I couldn’t begin to count them all. It would take hours to even treat half of the crowd, and that’s not to mention the steady stream of people trickling in behind them.
“Ivy?” I muttered. “Will you fetch Marius and Terr? We’re going to need all the help we can get, and some tables and chairs too.”
She nodded eagerly just as determination sparked flames in my chest. These people needed our help. And helping people was what Corlixir stood for.Thiswas what I was made for.
“Attention, everyone!” I stepped forward, my voice echoing over the grand ballroom. “I’m going to need you all to form an orderly queue. More serious cases at the front, those who can wait at the back.” The crowd buzzed, already startingto shuffle around each other.
“Let’s hope the Ancients are with us today,” I chuckled to myself.
Evening had come and gone, yet crowds still poured in through the ballroom doors. Even as stars began to twinkle through the tall glass windows and with the four of us working solidly, the queue stretched out to the palace grounds.
Guards had helped to set up tables and chairs for us, laying out additional chairs for those suffering with more serious ailments to rest in while they queued. Theo and Raena had arrived around lunchtime to help, too. Theo scouted through the queue, bringing more urgent cases forward, while Raena assisted Ivy with medicine making.
Somehow, in less than a day, we’d started an unofficial palace clinic. And despite having been working for more than ten hours straight, I’d never felt more at peace.
“What brought you in here today?” I asked the young girl seated in a chair across from me. My station consisted of a small desk and two chairs, surrounded by a thin bamboo privacy screen. Guards had fetched the screens after we began seeing far too many patients with more ‘private’ concerns. I’d never have guessed the amount of toenail fungus present within the villages of Ryntook.
“It’s my skin,” the girl explained, lifting her tunic to expose her bare midriff. “It itches in patches and the rasheswon’t go away.”
Narrowing my eyes, I scooted closer in my seat. It didn’t look like any diseases from my books. Red, itchy splotches covered her stomach, surrounded by dry, scaly skin.
“Have you had this your whole life?” I studied the rashes.
“Ever since I was a babe.”
My mouth twitched. This time there would be no need to confer with any others, I knew exactly what this was. Drawing back, I scribbled notes on a small scrap of parchment. “That’s dragon skin,” I told her confidently.
