The wrong deed

The poison.

After the marriage, things went as planned. Nobody dared talk too much since it was the king's decision. Although some people thought that the king was easily over Kayla. Some even thought that he never loved her in the first place. But no one really cared about the drama going on in the palace, as long as they lived peaceful lives on their own. Nothing much changed. Arthur still ruled the nation with honor and getting remarried never made him hated. Though people loved their king, most of them hated princess Katerina. Some let it slide, others rumored poor and untrue gossip and others decided to take matters into their own hands.

The palace too wasn't much of a change. Natalia never took her status for granted, she always helped out where she could and easily gained the trust of the palace. She slept in different rooms with Arthur, and she slept with Katerina. Some months passed and Katerina started crawling and talking the children's language. Natalia felt peace, and she treated Katerina as if she were her own. Only Suzan was allowed to stay with Katerina alone when Natalia was away or busy. And it was only Suzan that knew the truth behind the marriage of Arthur and Natalia. But in raising Katerina there were a lot of difficulties. Some people targeted her and put her life at stake.

A few days after Katerina had learned to walk, Natalia took her for a quick garden stroll. She thought that Katerina would love the flowers outside. Natalia carried Katerina and went outside. She was escorted by two guards. Once in the outside environment, she placed Katerina on the ground. Katerina had some struggles. Just to stand upright, she clung on to Natalia's dress. Once she finally stood, Natalia held her hand and slowly started to move around.

Indeed, there were different flowers of all types of colors. Katerina looked at them in awe and felt really surprised. Natalia just stood there and giggled. Then butterflies came out of a nearby bush. Katerina started to run after them but in the end she just fell, looked at her mother and laughed. Once they had enough fun for about an hour, Natalia thought that Katerina must be tired. So she carried her inside into her chamber.

Natalia wanted to give Katerina a bath. She then put Katerina on her bed knowing that she couldn't get down without support and went into the bathroom, which had a big pool in the middle. Natalia looked around and saw a small wooden basin that she usually gave baths to Katerina. She took some warm water from the pool and put it in the basin and then added some soap that created foam.

Natalia then went back into the room and took Katerina. She went with her into the bathroom, removed Katerina's clothes and placed her inside the shallow basin. She then took a piece of cloth to scrub Katerina. After about two minutes or so, Katerina started crying. At first, Natalia thought maybe some foam had entered her eyes, but Katarina wasn't scrubbing them. Katerina was always playful with water and loved her baths. She would usually splash water here and there when taking a shower, but now it is different.

Soon Natalia started feeling a strong itchy feeling in her hands, as if she were being pierced with something sharp over and over. She quickly realized that that was the reason Katerina was crying. Without wasting another second, Natalia took Katerina and went to place her in the pool. The pool was deep, so Natalia just held Katerina and replaced her without letting her go. She wanted the foam to wash out and, as expected, it did.

But as the foam washed out, Natalia saw small rashes all over Katerina's body and her hands that had foam before. The itchy feeling continued and Katerina stopped crying. After all the foam was clear, Natalia took Katerina into her arms and went back into her room. She tried to remain calm. She took a shawl and wrapped it around Katerina while she called out for a guard.

Natalia: Guard!!

A guard that had a post outside of Natalia's room rushed inside and bowed.

Guard: Call Suzan and tell her to come here with a doctor now!

Natalia's tone was a bit scary. The guard did not ask any questions. He ran out the door immediately to look for Suzan. He went straight for the servant's room and even though he could not spot Suzan with his eyes, he yelled out her name.

Guard: Suzan! Suzan!

Suzan: What?!

Suzan was coming out of a place where the laundry was done. She was supervising the servants who were washing clothes for the king and queen. The guard first tried to catch his breath.

Suzan: Speak up.

Guard: The.... - tried to catch his breath.- She needed a doctor, the queen.

Suzan didn't speak. She just left while saying,"Call the doctor, now!" and ran until she was out of sight. She headed straight to Natalia's room. The door was opened, Katerina was now red and still crying. Natalia paced around the room with Katerina in her arms. When she turnred back she saw suzan.

Natalia: Suzan, I need a doctor now.

Natalia looked like she was about to burst into tears. Now she spoke in a calm but weak voice. She blamed herself for not being careful and thought that she had failed her main duty that brought her there in the first place. Suzan was about 40 years old. She could read the room easily and see what people might be feeling. She knew Natalia well and eventually knew what she was thinking. She entered the room and took Katerina from Natalia's arms.

Suzan: The doctor is on his way.

A few minutes later, the doctor arrived. Now Katerina was not crying, but she also was not laughing. Her eyes were shut, and she was red all over. The rashes had just gotten bigger, but she did not swell. The doctor lay Katerina on the bed, and started examining her. On the other hand, rumors spread fast and Arthur eventually heard of what happened. He rushed to Natalia's room and saw her pacing to and fro.

Arthur walked straight to Natalia and asked what had happened. Natalia told him everything and blamed herself and apologized for not being careful.

Arthur: It is not your fault, don't worry. Katerina will be fine.

Natalia was still stressed and couldn't calm down. Arthur soon realized that Natalia's hands were swollen. Arthur grabbed one of Natalia's hands and pulled it forward. He got slightly angry and said.

Arthur: What is this? You didn't tell me you were also affected.

Natalia: It is nothing,- withdrawing her hand from Arthur - Let us just wait for Katerina to wake up.

Arthur: Stop hiding....

Before he could finish the sentence, Natalia interrupted in an angry voice.

Natalia: I am not your concern, OK?

Doctor: This is poison.

Arthur & Nat: poison!!

Doctor: Yes, Katerina will survive. I applied an antidote that would make the rashes go away. Whoever did this wanted her to die a slow and painful death.

Arthur: Thank you doctor.

Doctor: It was nothing big. Thanks to the one who noticed it and rushed her before the rashes swelled, that would have been another problem.

Arthur was a bit puzzled.

Arthur: What do you mean?

Doctor: Well, this is a rare poison; though its antidote is easy to make, it rarely works. Swelling means the poison is now spreading easily.

Arthur looked at Natalia, who was now very shy to face Arthur. Natalia started getting an uneasy feeling while the doctor and Arthur still discussed the poison and the antidote. She tried being strong, but it was too much for her. Finally, she called out in a very faint and weak sound.

Ntalia: Arthur?

Then she fell unconscious on the ground. Arthur ran to her while calling her name and trying to wake her. Suzan, on seeing the situation, took Katerina from the bed and put her in her crib. Arthur then carried Natalia and placed her on the bed. The doctor started examining her.

Doctor: This is not good, she could have said it sooner.

Arthur: She had no idea it was poison.

Doctor: I can give her the same medicine, but she will have to take it more frequently. But I won't guarantee the outcome.