Fire and Ice

CHAPTER 6

Joselyn’s arm was still throbbing in pain as she entered the man’s room. She tried to hold back her pained expressions as she walked to his bedside. His eyes blurred open a little, and she asked him, “What is your name?” He was barely able to get the word out, but he managed to say Marcus. “I want you to rest now Marcus. I will keep watch over you until you are better.” Joselyn then began redoing his bandages. She knew he was too weak to eat or drink anything, so she would wait until tomorrow. Marcus lay there and through blurred eyes saw the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes upon. She was kind and he could hear her telling him she was going to watch over him and take care of him. He could feel her light touch on his side as she redressed his wounds. He was so tired, the last thing he remembered was an angelic voice telling him to rest. He fell back into a deep sleep with that voice in his head.

The next morning Joselynn went to check on Marcus. He was sleeping heavily and didn’t stir as she redressed his wounds. She was determined to make sure he was given the best care possible, even if it came from her instead of a royal physician. As Joselyn dressed the wounds on Marcus’s side she realized today was court. She didn’t want to preside over it; she wanted to be there in the event Marcus woke up. She was mulling this thought over in her head when she had a brilliant idea. She sent for Rowan. She knew it was unorthodox and had never been done before. It also may not be favored by her people, let alone other Kingdoms. They may see her as weak. However, she had other pressing matters. Rowan entered the guest chambers and Joselynn spoke, “You will be presiding over court today.” Rowan’s eyes immediately widened as he said, “Joselyn, I am not royalty nor capable of presiding over court proceedings.” Joselyn looked at Rowan and said, “I will explain that you will be hearing the cases and passing judgement. I will also stay with you for the first case. This discussion is over Rowan, you will do this job today.” Nervously, Rowan said yes My Queen.”

As they walked toward the court hall, Joselynn began explaining to Rowan how he needed to act in court. “Rowan, you will sit on my throne. Do not second guess yourself. You command an entire army and know how to exude authority. I will explain to everyone in the court hall that you will be presiding and hear the first case with you. I will stand beside you, but don’t look at me for advice….don’t look at me at all. The people need to know you have the ability to do this today.” Rowan listened to her and tried to make a mental note of everything Queen Joselynn was saying. To say he was nervous was an understatement. As they entered the court hall Rowan remembered Queen Joselyn’s words and he immediately sat on the throne as she took her place standing next to him. Everyone in the court hall noticed the Queen standing and her Commander of the Guards sitting on the throne. Immediately whispers began to fill the room. Joselynn quickly put an end to them when she stepped forward and began to speak, “My people, Rowan is Commander of the entire army that protects you. He knows the way I rule, and his judgement is the same as my own, maybe more lenient. I have other matters that need my attention so he will be presiding over court today. The names, complaints, and rulings will be written down. If anyone is unhappy with their ruling, I will look over the documents and decide whether the ruling needs to be changed. I will stay for the first case, and then take my leave.” Joselyn took a step back and Rowan knew it was time for him to begin court. “The first case.” Rowan yelled out. A woman entered with two small children who looked like they had been starved. Rowan tried to build his courage and asked the woman, “What is the problem?” “I have lost a day’s wages aside from this one due to these two children. Not only did they steal food, but they also knocked my entire food stand over. The order in town was to bring these children to the castle, and I have.” Rowan sat for a moment then ordered a woman to take the children from the court hall and to the kitchen to be fed. They were also to be bathed and clothed and given a bed to sleep in. Rowan then turned his attention to the upset woman in the hall, “I apologize you lost wages, but am happy you obeyed the order given by the Queen.” Rowan reached into a bag next to the throne and pulled out several coins. He gave it to a guard to give to her. “This money should cover both days wages you lost as well as an additional day for upholding the law.” Rowan said as he handed down his first judgement. “Thank you so much Commander.” The woman said as she looked over at the man writing down the rulings and said, “I am happy with the ruling.” As the woman left, Joselynn placed her hand on Rowan’s shoulder and in a whispered voice said, “Good Job Rowan. I am taking my leave now.” With that she turned to walk back to Marcus’s room and heard Rowan behind her “Second Case.”

Once inside Marcus’s room Joselynn felt a burden lift from her shoulders. She did not have to sit in court all day while her mind was on Marcus. She could now focus her attention on him, the man who saved her life. As she walked toward the bed, she could hear him stirring. She sat down beside him as he barely opened his eyes. When Marcus opened his eyes, he saw the beautiful face who helped him and heard her soothing voice, “Marcus, I changed your bandages this morning and so far you don’t have any signs of a fever. But I need you to drink some broth for me to keep your strength up.” Marcus was severely wounded and in and out of consciousness, but he knew he would do whatever this woman wanted. The moment he laid his eyes on her, he was under her spell. Marcus nodded his head in agreement. Joselynn stood up and went to the fireplace and placed a few herbs in a pot. The broth wouldn’t take long to make…it was just boiled herbs. Their medicinal purposes however would help combat infections. Joselynn didn’t realize that Marcus had his head turned to the side and had been watching her work the entire time. He watched her as she knew which herbs to use and how she quickly placed them in a pot to boil for him. She had the most beautiful pale skin, a thin waist, and wide hips. She must be a mistress to a king, he thought. She was dressed too well to be a maid. As Marcus began to fantasize about Joselynn, he was brought back to reality with Joselynn saying, “Ok, now I just need you to drink all of this for me. I will help you raise up so you can get it all down.” Joselynn helped Marcus into a sitting position and then held the broth to his lips. He drank it slowly and was finally able to get it all down him. He felt like collapsing and didn’t want to drink it, but the beautiful woman demanded he drink it all. Marcus found it amusing that she was so stubborn and authoritative. He had never met a woman who gave orders to a man. For some reason he found it intriguing and he didn’t know why. After Marcus sipped the last drop of broth Joselynn laid the bowl to the side. “There, that wasn’t so bad, was it.” She said to Marcus. He gave her a small smile. Joselynn noticed when he smiled one side of his mouth went up further to one side. It gave him a dashing but boyish look. Joselynn helped Marcus get on his back after putting down the broth. “Get some more rest, I will check on you in the morning.” She said. Marcus nodded and didn’t have any trouble falling back asleep. Even though he was wounded, he felt happy and content with Joselynn taking care of him.

The next morning Joselynn immediately found Rowan and asked for the court papers. She looked them over and found not one complaint about the rulings Rowan had given out. She smiled at him and said, “You did a wonderful job Rowan, I couldn’t have done it better myself.” Rowan replied, “I really hope you don’t need me to do that again. I was more exhausted from sitting on my butt than when I train the men all day.” Joselynn laughed. “You see now why I hate court.” Rowan nodded his head. “I don’t see how you do it, you truly are a great Queen.” Joselynn smiled at the compliment. “Thank you Rowan, and you are truly a great Commander.” Rowan blushed a little at her compliment. “I am going to Marcus’s chamber to check on him. Let me know if you need anything.” Joselyn said. “Yes, my Queen.” Rowan stated.

Joselynn entered Marcus’s chambers and found him awake and sitting up in his bed. The herbs she gave him the night before did wonders for him. “Good morning, I see you are feeling better.” Joselyn said. “I am feeling better this morning. I am still weak but at least I can put myself in a seated position.” Marcus said. He also added, “It must be your ability to work with herbs so well. You have made me feel like a new man.” And then gave Joselynn a wink. She was unsure about his flirtatiousness. Many men flirted with her, but they were Kings who wanted her Kingdom. She didn’t know this man and he wasn’t a King, so she just smiled at him. “Do you have an appetite this morning?” Joselynn asked. Marcus looked at her and replied, “No, I still don’t feel like eating anything.” Joselyn assumed as much. It would take at least a week for him to get his appetite back. “Well, you are going to be subjected to the broth again this morning. However, you will have it at lunch and supper. It is important for you to build your strength.” She said. Marcus smiled at her with his crooked grin and said, “Are you going to feed it to me?” Joselynn wasn’t taken back by his forwardness, she had seen and heard it all. However, the way he was being so cheeky made her respond in a way that she didn’t expect, “Only if you want me to.” She said. Marcus had a huge grin on his face. He knew she was flirting back with him. Joselynn realized she was flirting and turned her back to him to hide the blushing on her face. She couldn’t believe she said that. Joselynn continued to make the broth. She placed it in a bowl and walked over to Marcus. Of course he kept his hands down. As Joselynn put the broth to his lips, she decided it was time to figure out who this man really was and why he was in her Kingdom. “So, what is your name?” she asked. “I told you, Marcus.” She looked at him and said, “What is your last name?” He looked at her for a moment and said, “Let’s just leave it at Marcus for right now.” Joselynn immediately felt the sense of self preservation, but this man did save her. She replied, “Okay, if that is what you prefer.” Marcus was almost finished with his broth when he asked, “So where exactly am I?” Joselynn didn’t realize he had no idea where he was. She just assumed because he was in her Kingdom, he was aware. “You are in the Kingdom of Leonise.” Marcus’s facial expression slowly changed into one of disbelief and hostility. “Are you telling me I am in the Kingdom of the Ice Queen?” he asked. Joselynn looked at him and realized he had no idea who she was. This entire time he didn’t know where he was or who she was. He was however familiar with her reputation as the Ice Queen. “That’s correct.” She said. “I can’t believe it. Of all the places to end up. I am surprised she even let you care for me. From her reputation she would have left me in the road to rot.” He spewed. Joselynn was surprised by Marcus’s words. The people of her Kingdom knew her as a kind yet hard ruling Queen. However, Marcus wasn’t from her Kingdom and all he knew of her were stories of bitterness. “I apologize,” Marcus said. “I know she is your Queen. I really do appreciate you taking care of me like this. What is your name?” Joselynn looked at him and said, “Queen Joselyn of the Kingdom of Leonise.” She watched Marcus closely. He did not have any fear in him, only anger. “Are you telling me you are the Ice Queen?” Marcus asked. “People have referred to me as the Ice Queen, but I am Queen Joselynn.” Marcus became angry. “What are you doing? Trying to heal me so you can t*****e me later? Is that how s******c you are?” Joselynn didn’t lose her temper but instead asked him, “What do you remember about the day you were wounded?” Marcus was shocked to see Joselyn didn’t react in anger. He thought about it for a moment then decided to answer her. “I was riding along on my horse when I came upon around 10 men. A couple of them tried to rob me, and when I defended myself, I ended up fighting all of them.” “Do you remember anything else?” Joselynn continued with her questioning. “What do you mean do I remember anything else.” Marcus huffed. “I mean do you remember if anyone helped you, how you got here, anything at all.” Marcus thought for a moment, “I remember there was another rider, he started throwing daggers of some sort. They looked more like icicles. He began taking each man down with them. Then there was a woman….the rider was a woman!” She saved my life.” Marcus almost yelled. “Calm down Marcus, if you can’t remember everything, I will tell you what happened.” Joselynn said. “How would you know what happened, you weren’t there. And why are you bothering to tend to my wounds. Shouldn’t you just have one of your maids or physicians do it.” Marcus said sarcastically. Joselyn took a deep breath so she wouldn’t scream at his selfishness, then stated. “I will tell you what happened because I was the other rider.” Marcus made a disgusted face before replying, “Oh please, you have probably never been outside these castle walls.” At this point Joselyn was finished being proper, she ripped her sleeve down to expose her cauterized wound. Marcus’s eyes grew wide, and then he asked, “What happened?” Joselynn finally felt like she could talk to this man without him interrupting every few seconds. She began explaining to him what happened. “The King of Doran along with my head advisor tried to have me killed. They know I ride outside of the castle alone every day to the same spot you were attacked. Those men were waiting there to kill me when you happened upon them. When I saw it was ten against one, I pulled my daggers. The majority went down, however there were two or three left. One man almost killed me, but you yelled out and I moved. You cut his leg and then I knocked him unconscious. I tied him to a tree and brought you here on my horse and have been tending to you ever since.” Marcus looked at Josselyn then said, “You expect me to believe it was you throwing those daggers?” With that Joselyn lifted one side of her gown to reveal the daggers around her thigh. Marcus just sat in his own thoughts for a moment. “What happened to your head advisor?” he asked. “He’s dead.” Joselynn replied blatantly. “Why does the King of Doran want you dead?” Joselynn replied, “He wants me dead because I would not marry him, and I disrespected him after overhearing his remarks about taking my kingdom and silencing me as a woman should be.” Marcus almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He then asked again, “So why have you tended to my wounds yourself? Royalty doesn’t do such things. Why did you not have a maid do it?” Joselynn looked at him and said, “You saved my life, not one of my maids.” “But you saved my life as well Queen Joselyn.” Marcus said with tenderness in his voice. “I don’t see it that way. Had you not been there I would have died.” Joselyn said. She then looked at Marcus and said, “I will be back at noon to make you more broth. Until then you need to get some more rest.” Marcus nodded as Joselynn walked out of the door.