"Mistress Mable! Mistress Mable!" Gwen shouted after she rushed Artie back to his room. Mable, who had been snoozing on a chair behind her desk, snapped awake when she heard her. She hit her head on the bottom of a shelf as she stood up but ignored the pain.
The first thing she saw was Gwen running around the lobby, and she was carrying clean towels, blankets, and clothes in her arms. "What's wrong?!" she frightfully asked the girl, "What's happened?! Is it little Artie?"
"Go get Doctor Kato! We need him!"
Since it was a rainy day, Jualaline's staff gave Doctor Kato quarters for the night, so he didn't have to return home in the pouring rain. He also stayed just in case Artie had an attack like this. When he heard the news of his deteriorating condition, he hurried back to the orphanage to examine him again. The school principal, Professor Lajos (Lie-hos), also heard the news, and he joined Mable, Doctor Kato, and Gwen in Artie's room. They stood a fair distance away from the doctor and watched as he tried to come up with another diagnosis for his condition. He thought it was the common cold, but when he saw that Artie had coughed up blood, he knew it was something much more serious.
With tears running down her cheeks, Gwen frightfully asked,
"What's wrong with him?"
Doctor Kato, who wore his beak-nosed-plague mask over his face, answered, "I have never seen a sickness like this one."
"Is it the plague?" Mable, who was also on the brink of tears, asked.
Doctor Kato shook his head, "No. I think he may have a new kind of illness."
"A new kind of illness?! Oh, that's even worse!"
"How is he supposed to fight Percival tomorrow in his condition?" Gwen wanted to know.
"Unless he improves by morning, he's not going to." Doctor Kato explained, "I will come back tomorrow and check on him. If he has another attack like this, then get me immediately. Until I come up with another diagnosis, I don't want him to do anything for the rest of the day."
"Oh, this is all my fault." Gwen slapped her hands over her face and sank to her knees, "I let him pull me into his trap."
"You're not the only one, Gwen," said Mable, "I did too." She kneeled to the girl and pulled her into a tight hug, "Don't worry. Artie's Artie. He'll get through this."
"As head of this school," said Professor Lajos, "I hereby put this room under quarantine, at least until we can figure out what is going on. If it's the plague, then we need to try all we can to prevent an outbreak. Until Doctor Kato comes up with another diagnosis, only he, Miss Guinevere, and Mistress Mable are allowed in here. Miss Gwen, I'm sure Mistress Mable can set up some quarters for you for the night here."
Gwen looked up from Mable and said, "Thank you, Professor." Professor Lajos nodded and turned on his heel. He left the room and shooed students away who were curious about what was going on.
Mable rubbed tears from Gwen's eyes and said,
"Come, dear. While Doctor Kato examines Artie, I will take you to your room for the night. You also need a good bath. I don't want you getting sick too." With that, she tugged on Gwen's arm and pulled her to her feet. They left Doctor Kato, who performed a thorough exam as well as suction cup therapy on the ailing Arthur.
Mable followed through with her promise. She took Gwen to a bathing room, stripped her naked, and tossed her into a bubble bath.
Splash! "Nice and warm, isn't it, dear?" she asked as she poured a bucket of soapy water over her head, "We need to keep a beautiful, young lady like you clean." Gwen gripped the edge of the tub and made a funny face as the caretaker washed her hair. She scrubbed down her head, shoulders, and upper torso, "I always love bathing on rainy days like today. What about you?"
"Divine."
"My favorite part is that I can relax with my hands behind my head and occasionally pop a bubble or two. What about you?"
"Divine." Gwen repeated.
"My dear, don't you know any other words rather than 'divine?'"
"Sure I do, but I don't feel like talking."
"I understand, but let me tell you something." Mable stood on Gwen's right and next scrubbed down her arm, "We had no idea this was going to happen. I've known Artie since he was a babe. He's always been shy. He doesn't like to talk in class, and he disappears every night. If something is going on with him, he's only going to tell those he trusts."
"Only those he trusts? Does that mean he doesn't trust me?"
"Quite possibly."
"What?! But I saved him from a crisis for Hungarian's Sake!"
"Perhaps, but you see..." Mable moved over to Gwen's other arm, "He does not have a lot of friends. The poor kid; no matter how hard he tries, someone always finds a way to pick on him. It's been like this since he could walk. Artie is not like any other student in Jualaline. He's different, and that's why people like to pick on him. Whenever he's had a bad day, we have a cup of tea, and he tells me what happened. He says that I am his only friend."
"But I'm his sister." Gwen clenched her fists and punched the edge of the tub, "How does he not trust me?"
"Keep in mind that you are a stranger to him, just as he is a stranger to you. Did you guys grow up together?"
"Well, no."
"Then there you have it. If you're going to get through to Arthur, my dear, then you need to teach him that being different is not something to be ashamed of."
After Gwen's bath, Mable dressed her in a white, comfortable nightgown and showed her to her room for the night. It was only a few door down from Arthur's and was actually not a dump. Then again, when you have guests in Hungary, you always treat them with hospitality.
After showing Gwen her room, Mable whipped up a bowl of soup for Artie and delivered it to his room for lunch. Gwen stood in front of the closed door and thought about what she told her during her bath while he gently slurped on it. Her long, blonde hair dangled over her shoulder, and she held her hands behind her back.
Artie, who sat propped up against a few pillows, lowered his spoon and glanced at her,
"What are you doing over there, Gwen? Come join the party." Mable chuckled as she sat at the end of his bed. Gwen gulped, but she went ahead and came within reach of Artie. "Gwen?" he asked.
"Yes, Artie?"
"I've thought about what you said earlier, and I think I found a memory."
"Really?" Artie nodded. He glanced at Mable, asking in a gentle voice, "Do you mind, Mistress Mable?"
"Not at all." Mable hopped off his bed and passed Gwen. She patted her shoulder and stepped into the hallway.
Once she closed the door, Gwen took her place at the end of Artie's bed.
She peered into his face and asked, "What did you think of?"
"Yesterday, when I was in my studio and smelled the dining hall, I dug a hole under one of the walls. Turns out it was a shortcut to it. If I took the long way there, then I may have missed you. Also, when I met you in the forest the other day as a wolf, I had a different kind of feeling." Artie coughed a bit here, but he continued his story, "I felt a connection, and all of a sudden I wanted to see you again. That's why I took your mirror in the village. When you and I first met, I saw a shimmering light. Never in my life has a light shone on a goddess." A goddess. Artie just called Gwen a "goddess." She hid a nervous smile behind her palm but dropped it.
Letting out a low sigh, she said, "Artie, I have to ask you something, and I want an honest answer. Do-Do you trust me?"
Artie didn't answer at first. He sipped on his soup some more as he tried to think.
Eventually, something came to mind. "Gwen," he explained, "There are two kinds of people in this world. The ones who are kind and the ones who are selfish. Since I've met you, you've shone me things I cannot explain, but not all of them are good."
"I understand." Gwen said with a nod, "I'm selfish. I'm just so in-tuned with my musketeer training that I don't pay attention to what others want. Only me."
"And that's just it. The war is over. An army is not going to appear at your front step anymore. You need to take this time of peace to explore what else is going on. You're acting like we are still at war, Gwen, and that's what's got to change. Until then, I will not trust you as much as you want me to." Gwen lowered her head and tried to dissect Artie's words. He was right. She was acting like they were still at war. She had to move on. What she told Elisabeth back home, Artie just spat it right back in her face. The things she's learned from war, the lessons that arose, Gwen had yet to apply them to her daily life.
Artie set his soup bowl down on the table next to his bed.
He coughed into his arm and pulled his blankets up to his shoulders. "Rest now, Artie." Gwen said in a gentle voice, "And well done. You've passed the first lesson with flying colors."
"Thank you, Gwen." Artie set his pillows down and plopped down on his back. He rested his left arm on top of his blanket and hid his right one. Gwen gently slid off his bed and stood next to his face. She took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. When she let go, she backed up to a wall and pressed her back up against it.
Gwen spent the remainder of the afternoon keeping Artie company. He slept most of the time, but this allowed her to explore his room and learn a little more about him. She settled down on the floor next to his bookshelf and flipped through a majority of his books. Like the paintings in his art studio, most of them were about heroes embarking on great adventures, but there were also some poetry books and books that had to do with art. Gwen even found a sketchbook that had drafts of paintings in it. If only she could draw this well. How did Artie do it? The young woman sat with her legs crossed, and she thoroughly examined each drawing.
However, she dropped the book when Artie let out another round of harsh coughing from his bed. Gwen set the book down on his reading chair and stood up.
She approached him and asked, "You okay, Artie?"
"Yeah. It's just a tickle in my throat."
"Do you want me to get Mistress Mable?"
"No thank you. I'm okay."
"Are you in pain?"
"A little bit, but it's not like the pain I felt earlier."
Before Gwen could ask him another question, a knock came from the door, and in came Mable carrying a tray of food,
"Room service. I've brought you two lovebirds some dinner."
"Ha, ha, very funny," chuckled Gwen, but then she gasped, "Wait! Dinner?! What time is it?!"
"It's 5:30. Sundown's coming soon. I thought you two would be hungry." Gwen broke down in sweat. In thirty more minutes, Artie would turn back into a wolf!
Mable noticed Gwen's uneasiness and asked,
"Are you okay, Miss Gwen? You know, you've been watching Artie all afternoon. How about I take the night shift?"
"No!" Gwen immediately shouted, "I mean, I'm fine, Mistress Mable. I can take care of him."
"I don't want you to overwork yourself, though."
"I won't. I promise. I'll call you if I need you. Thank you for dinner." Gwen took the tray out of Mable's hands and set it down on Artie's school desk. Pushing her towards the door, she asked her, "Why don't you take a nice, hot bath?"
"Okay." Mable spoke in a bewildered voice. The second she was back in the hallway, Gwen shut the door.
She and Artie ate their dinner across from each other. They ate their bread at the same time and lowered their silverware at the same time. They were in perfect sync with each other.
Artie smiled at Gwen and asked, "Do you think I'll get to fight Percival tomorrow?"
"Do you feel better?"
"A little bit."
"Well, that's a start. If you do fight Percival tomorrow, kid, remember what I told you in the studio. I know you know how to sword fight. You just need to have confidence."
"I'm building my city, Gwen. Tomorrow's going to be the best day of my life."
"Let's not overdo it now. As soon as the Knight Strike is over, we need to start our journey."
"We're still going to Arabia?"
"We have to. The kingdom is counting on us to find Illusion."
"The kingdom? Or is Illusion just for you?"
"Oh, Artie. I thought we talked about this."
"Did we? I don't remember agreeing to go to Arabia with you."
"I'm not arguing with you today. We'll settle this tomorrow."
"But I like to argue."
"I know you do, but you're bed-ridden right now."
"Oh please, Gwen. I feel much better." Artie rolled his eyes, leaving Gwen to repeat,
"I'm not arguing. I'm not arguing." She held up her hands and slid off the bed.
Maybe it had to do with the fact that he was cursed, but everything seemed to happen to Artie. As Gwen made her way to his desk and set the empty dinner dishes down, he froze from where he sat. He looked like a statue.
The voice he's been hearing all day entrapped his mind, "Arthur. Follow my voice," and Artie did. He pulled his sheets off him and got out of bed.
Gwen noticed him making his way to the door and asked, "What are you doing? You can't go out there! You're about to turn into a wolf!"
He did not listen to her. Artie pushed open his door and stepped into the hallway, with Gwen on his heels. Mable was not in the lobby. Instead, she took Gwen's advice and was taking a bath in the bathing room. This allowed the two teens to escape unnoticed.
Under the setting Sun, Artie led the way. By this time, the rain stopped, and the dark clouds were floating away from Jualaline. The mysterious voice Arthur heard took them to the reproduction of Bernini's David, but why him? What was so important about David that the voice had to interrupt dinner? With so much happening right now, would the Emberblight siblings ever find the shimmering light of their past? Or will they fail?
ns216.73.216.131da2
and then Add to home screen.