Chapter 61: Healing

In the corridors of the palace, I passed the prince and he just gave me a quizzical look. I ignored him and I made my way back to my room. I waited to heal myself after I made it to my room because I was not sure that I would survive the aftershock. I carefully removed my clothes and walked into the bath.

"Master, what happened to you?"

"Tara, would you order some bread, cheese, fruit and ale for the two of us. Also, would you see if you can find me something for sunburn?"

"Yes, Master."

The bath water was clean from yesterday, I didn't use it last night and it didn't look like she had either. I settled into the tepid water, the cool iron tub felt good against my skin and the water dissipated some of the heat that my body was radiating. I figured that soaking for a few minutes while she fetched me some food and suntan lotion would help. I would have preferred a vat of Bactine but I didn't think that there was any in easy reach.

The bath did help, some. Tara returned with a brown bottle saying that one of the cooks said that this is what sailors use. I instructed her to put two clean sheets down for me to lie on and exited the tub. I waddled my way over to the sheets on the floor and laid face down.

"Tara, is that sunburn lotion?" I could smell vinegar and some spices. She nodded, "Please pour that vile smelling stuff on my back and shoulders then rub it over my skin. Very lightly! Do this so that all of my exposed skin is covered."

"Master, yes, Master."

"What is it?"

"I have oil, Master."

"Let's use what they recommended and see how that works first."

"Yes, Master." She was gentle. Neither of us liked the odor of vinegar, but I knew that the smell would eventually dissipate. Laying face down with her gentle touch made me uncomfortable, even with the pain from the burn. I wasn't made of stone even though I promised myself that I wouldn't touch her. She was too young.

When she got to the center of my back, the bottle had run out of liquid. She started apologizing and I just hushed her and sent her off for more. Of course dinner arrived when she was gone so I just had them leave it for her to bring in.

While she was gone I rolled over and placed a towel over my midsection. She came back and fed me some melon. Which tasted and smelled like vinegar but I needed the food and moving was not an option. There was not an inch of me that was not burned. From the webbing between my toes to my eyelids. Gratefully I let her rub the oil into every part of me, even the parts that I wish that she hadn't had to do.

I had no idea how nudists did this on a regular basis. The tender spots just were not made for that much sun. I finished eating while she cleaned the excess oil off of her hands. When Tara kept on making faces at the vinegar odor whenever she went to take a bite, I reminded her that the odor would dissipate in a few hours. She didn't recognize the word so I reworded my sentence so that she could understand it. She decided to wait to finish her meal later. I didn't have that choice. I needed food now. I waited flat on my back with a couple of pillows to prop me up for my food to settle. Once it did, I tried a minor healing on my body.

OH SHIT!

Power flowed through my body and flowed strongly. The magic must have thought that the sunburn was a major injury and fought to overcome it. The effect was similar to that of standing in front of an oven for six hours and then suddenly being dropped off a pier into the Lake Michigan. In January! The sudden drop in body temperature sent my body in shock. I was lying on the sheets that were on the floor freezing my ass off a warm fall day.

H-h-help—" I could barely hear myself over the chattering of my teeth, "—m-me to the b-bed..." I was so cold that my teeth wouldn't stop banging together.

She helped me in and climbed in with me. I scared the shit out of her. One minute I was laying down quietly and the next my body curled up in shock. Tara curled against me praying for dear life. I could hear her but I was too cold to convince her that I wasn't dying.

I passed out only to wake up to warm damp towel covering my face. The ache in my teeth sent spikes of pain through my eyes when I tried to open them. "Groan."

"Hush, you'll be ok." This came from a barely audible melodious voice. I went to move the towel to see who was there when her hand slapped mine. I moved the towel anyway to see Yolanda sitting next to me. Concern evident in her beautiful brown eyes.

"I'll live." I croaked. "Water, please." Yolanda fed me from a silver tankard.

"Who poisoned you, Charles?"

"Myself. I went to heal my sunburn and I think I overdid it."

"You think!?"

"More water and fruit please." She fed me pieces of melon and apples while stretching her vast vocabulary of vile names which to refer to me. Some would have been funny if it weren't serious.

After I had enough fruit according to her, she gave me the third degree on what I did to myself.

"Healed self."

"Charles, how did you get a sunburn over all of your body. It was a cloudy day."

I opened my eye and looked at her. At least my skin no longer felt like it was on fire but I still couldn't think straight. "I disappointed Her. She Punished me."

Her expression was intent, not judgmental, just intent. "You spoke to a goddess in her own temple and she replied?"

"Worse."

"Worse, how?"

"Showed up on this world. Killed a unfriendly cat. Dedicated my kill to Her. She gave me Her Symbol to wear." My fever was making me delirious.

"You're beautiful," I said. She was.

"You're a priest?"

"Yeah, but they won't let me be one. Even Mother Browynn hates me. I don't wanna be a wizard. Everyone hates me. Did you give me somethin', I feel funny?"

"Shhh, just sleep, Charles." I did.

I woke hard.

I leapt out of bed almost touching the twenty foot ceiling, ready to attack something. What, I had no clue. Tara was nowhere to be found and Chandra was sitting in the corner with a blanket covering her lap. She looked up and watched me jump around in the middle of the night, nude.

I panted heavily, trying to calm down. "What happened? Why are you here? Where is Tara?"

"You've been sick, My Lord."

"How long?" I didn't feel sick. I felt great.

"Two days, My Lord. You have been sleeping for two days." She sounded tired and worried. Very worried.

"I'm fine now. You go and get some sleep, I'll meet you in the morning for our exercises." She didn't look like she was going anywhere.

"Where is Tara?"

"She is dead, My Lord.

"She was poisoned, you were too."

"Dead." Calm, I was dead calm. Someone was going to pay for that. "Do they know who did it?"

"No, My Lord, the prince says that he doesn't know." She didn't sound like she believed him.

"Do you believe him?" The power built of its own accord. It was there resonating through my blood.

"No, My Lord. I think he knows something." I appeared next to my sword, I don't even remember moving. I ripped off the wardrobe door that housed my pants, ignoring the crash that the door made as it collided with the far wall. Just as I pulled them up, Chandra grabbed me in a hug. She was saying something to me but it was not getting through my anger.

"Let go." I growled.

"No, My Lord. You can't kill him."

"Let go."

"No, My Lord. Please. For me." She was crying. My strong Chandra was crying. That got through to me. That Chandra was crying and holding on to me for dear life got through to my addled brain. "I don't want you to die. I thought that I lost you. Please don't go."