Chapter 15: Her Gaze
"I heard that the lady left the castle grounds with Omar, Aimery told me in detail on how they argued earlier. I understand Omar's reaction to my decision to let the lady work with him. He was my personal physician after his master's death. he is very passionate and an intelligent man. he rarely speaks and follow orders meekly. this is the first time I heard him complaining." As I looked out the window of my workplace, I let out a sigh. " Lady Philippa certainly knows how to get the castle riled up. I hope they can work through their differences."
"She is as feisty as she is mysterious, My King," Roger Chuckles says. as he sat across from the fireplace with a goblet of wine in his hand.
"I agree, old friend... that is why I am concerned about her well-being," I explained.
"And that is why I offer her my friendship, because she desperately needs someone she can rely on," Roger explained.
"You offer her friendship? Did she accept?" I asked, turning around with a frown.
"No, she flatly refused my offer."
"Really? a lady... refuses you? the most eligible knight in Jerusalem?" I exclaimed, stunned.
"Yes, she did reject my offer, but I assure you that I am not giving up," Roger stated.
"I want you to stay away from her," I flatly stated.
"Why?" Roger inquired, a frown on his face.
"Sir William asked me to protect her from any threats in the castle, including you," I explained.
"Threat? w-who me?" he exclaimed. as he rises from his seat.
"Yes, unfortunately, your frivolous nature and you being a skirt-chaser cause Sir William not to trust you with his god daughter," I explained.
"hey... I'm dependable... trustworthy, not to mention one of Jerusalem's finest knights," he boasted.
"Yes, you are one of our talented knights, I have no problem with that... but stay away from her, that's an order," I said.
"Come on.. I won't do anything to hurt her.. I just want to get to know her." Roger explained
"knowing you Roger, and how you behave irresponsibly or have many casual sexual relationships with countless of ladies, my answer remains no..." I looked at him, "Lady Philippa has already been through a lot, and I don't want her to feel uncomfortable in the castle, I hope you understand Roger."
"I understand... but I will prove my worth and I promise you... I will not do anything bad to her, I just wanna be her friend. that is all" Roger said
I sighed heavily, but before I could respond, Aimery entered, saying, "Sire... Omar awaits at your chamber for your treatment."
"Is it already time?" I ask.
"Yes, sire," he says.
"Well, it looks like you need to go or Omar will miss you," Roger joked, "and I need to go now, see you around my king," Roger said as he walked to the door.
"hmm... alright... see you around," I say as he walks away.
I quietly follow Aimery to my bedroom chamber, where I usually get my daily treatment and bandages changed by Omar, but to my surprise, it was Lady Philippa who greeted me with a smile as she approached gracefully greeted with a curtsy.
"M-my lady, good evening, I didn't expect you to come and see me tonight, is there any problem?" I inquired, looking around to see if Omar was also present.
"No...Your Majesty, I am here to treat you," she replied enthusiastically.
"My treatment?" I wondered. "I apologise my lady, but what I know is that Omar is usually the one who cleans my wounds," I explained.
"Yes, your Majesty, I was also aware that he usually does the daily treatment for you, but we talked earlier and decided that I will do it for you because I need to observe or check whether my medicine is actually working," Philippa explained.
"Oh, well, I wasn't expecting any of this," I admitted.
There is a moment of silence. "Your Majesty, umm, let us proceed with the treatment," she says, smiling at me.
"ah.. y-yes," I said, looking around. I had never felt so nervous before. Is it because she is a woman? Other than my family members, I've never had any close interactions with women.
"Y-your grace, your bed is here," Lady Philippa says as I aimlessly walk in the opposite direction.
"y-yes, I'm aware... ahemm," I clear my throat. as I experienced sudden burn flushes in my cheek
"You don't have to be nervous around me," she said as she prepared the medicine bottle.
"nervous? who me?"
"Yes, I understand that you are worried.. and there is no need to be concerned, your highness, I will surely be able to assist on this," she said as she sat beside me, "I actually done this before," she explained with a chuckle.
"Before? " I inquired.
"Do you remember Sara, the little girl I brought to the trial?" she inquired.
"Oh.. absolutely," I said as I looked at her, "and how can I forget, you saved that little girl's life."
"Thank you... I treated her, so I am very confident that I can also help you," she said with a smile. "Would you please show me your hand?" she asked.
I was looking at her while she carefully unwrapped my bandages around my hands, and I could smell her sweet scent " Vanilla?" I said.
"W-what is it, your Majesty?" she softly inquired as our gazes met.
"I mean, you smell like vanilla," I quickly explained.
"Oh yes... It's my perfume, I'm the one who made it," she said as she unwrapped my bandages.
"You made your own perfume? How?" I inquired, intrigued.
"I just mixed my favourite herbs and flowers to make a scent that I like," she explained.
"You are a very talented woman, first with your exceptional archery skills, and now with making perfumes and medicine; where did you learn all of this?" I asked.
When I asked her, she looked surprised and stuttered to respond, "I...I learned it from reading books and... the convent... where I used to study teaches young ladies to make perfumes," she said.
"Really? the nuns taught you?" I uttered. I have a feeling she's not telling the truth, but I didn't press the issue because I don't want her to be uncomfortable around me, and I know she has a reason for lying.
There is a brief silence as she continues to examine my wounds in my right arms. "I see... not only have you lost three fingers, but your wounds are infected as well... there is abscess and tissue damage," she says as she carefully examines my wounds and touches some areas that surprised me. "Do you feel any sensation in this area, your highness?" she asks.
"No... I completely lost sensation in my right arm; I can't even feel your touch; as a result, I-I was forced to use my left hand," I explain.
"Do you also have frequent fevers?" she inquires.
"Yes," I replied.
"I see... we need to disinfect your wound first with clean water and soap that I made myself, and then I'll apply the antibacterial cream that I made," she explained.
I watched as she carefully soaked a clean cloth in a basin of clean water and soap, squeezed the cloth, and applied it to my wounds.
"You must be a very talented person to have learned to use your left hand as your dominant hand in such a short period of time, and judging by the wounds in your right hand, it doesn't appear that you lost your three fingers for long," she said.
I looked at her, perplexed; it was the first time I'd heard such a remark. "I beg your pardon, my lady? you regard me as a talented person for using my left hand?" I inquired.
" yes... it's not every day you meet a left handed person, did you know that it's actually quite rare, and to top it off, you used to be right handed, which is quite common, but you quickly learned to use your left hand as your dominant, so I say your very exceptionally intelligent your grace," she said brightly as she looked at me.
My eyes widened in awe at the lady's innocent reaction to my being left-handed. I never expected it to be regarded as a rare talent but as a curse because left-handed people were always assumed to be descended from the devil, which is why when I began to use my left hand, people regarded me as the devil himself, a curse to Jerusalem that even God had already condemned me.
Unlike others, she sees me as a person, not a monster. I thought as I looked at her.
"Is there something wrong, your highness?" she inquired as she noticed my gaze fixed on her.
"n-nothing," I said. It was strange that I could feel her soft touch as she carefully applied medicine to my wounds.
"I'm done with your hands, your grace... please remove your mask," she said as she prepared the second bottle of medicine.
"W-what?" I was surprised, and I quickly responded.
"Well, I need to clean and treat your facial wounds as well," she explained.
"I- I don't want to," I said as I turned away from her.
"I may be a woman who lacks what other noble women have, but I am very confident that I can heal you," Lady Philippa said. "Will you remove your mask so that I can assist you?" she asked.
"I still can't..." I said.
"Is it because you still don't believe me?" she asked.
"I believe in you," I told her. "It's just... if you see my face, you might... " I stuttered, nervous that if she saw my hideous face, she might run away like everyone else. I looked down, thinking that she might feel pity for me or even be disgusted.
"Your highness, please forgive me," she muttered as she surprised me by placing her both hands to my face mask and looking into my eyes; I was so taken aback by her advances that I couldn't react, and our gazes met.
"Please believe in me! Who am I to judge you your highness just based on your appearance? I know you are afraid that I will treat you differently based on what I see behind that mask, but as a pharmacologist, I can assure you that your secret will be safe with me, and I am here to heal you, not pass judgement on you, so please trust me." Lady Philippa said sweetly
"I understand" For the first time, I felt secure as I looked at how serious she is and also her sincerity. It was warm, just like her hands as I reached out and held her hands. " I truly believe your words, My Lady," I said.
She took a step back, her gaze fixed on me as I gently removed my silver face mask in front of her.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone