Till Death Do Us Part

8. The Forest Encounter

Skylar was walking towards the back door in the morning when she spotted Zachariah leaving the kitchen with a tray laden with breakfast. She cocked her head, suddenly intrigued. Gawyn was usually leaving the mansion even before she woke up, long before dawn, and it was far too early for her breakfast.

"Zachariah?" Sky said, catching up to him. "Who is it for?"

"It's for Lord General," the man said without missing a beat.

"Has he not left yet?" Skylar asked with a raised brow.

"No. Lord General is feeling under the weather today, so he'll probably stay at home."

"Oh, he's still not feeling well?" She recalled his pained expression from yesterday. "Is he sick?"

"No, it's nothing serious. You don't have to worry, my lady," Zachariah said dismissively.

"Nothing serious?" Annoyed, Skylar stepped in front of the Head Servant to force him to stop and look at her. "The man works every day from dawn till dusk, and he suddenly decides to stay at home because of some mild sickness? I think not." 

Zachariah sighed heavily. "You are very persistent, my lady."

"I'm his wife. I have a right to know whatever it is he's suffering from."

"Lord General instructed me precisely not to tell you."

"And he instructed me to wear only dresses, yet here we are, eh?" Skylar said, crossing her arms.

"Lord General is suffering from major migraines," Zachariah said with resignation. "It's not happening very often, just once or twice a month. But when he has an... episode, the pain is so blinding he can't function properly."

"Is there no cure for it? Or to at least treat the symptoms? My sister suffers from migraines too. But I would have thought that the healers are better in the capital."

"I'm afraid there is not much they could do about it. They advised rest. It usually does the trick. Lord General will stay in bed until the pain passes."

"Has he tried herbs?"

"Herbs?" Zachariah cocked his brow.

"There is a plant called feverfew. It always helped my sister with reducing the headaches."

"Lord General is not the biggest supporter of this kind of treatment,"  the man said cautiously.

"Oh, for god's sake! It's a herb, not a magic potion! Send someone to buy a good supply of feverfew. Any herbalist here should have it. I'll prepare a brew for him later."

"You're welcome to try, my lady, but I seriously doubt he will drink it."

"Oh, worry not. I'll convince him," Skylar said with a grin and finally let the servant be on his way.

***

Skylar knocked at the door and entered without waiting for an answer. The room was dark as the heavy red curtains were drawn, blocking all the sunlight. Gawyn lay in his bed, an arm covering his eyes.

"What is it?" He groaned. "I told you I'm not fit to deal with anything important today."

"So, I've heard. And that's why I'm here," Sky said, walking towards his bed with a steaming mug.

Gawyn flinched and propped himself on his elbows. His face was pale, with huge dark circles under his grey eyes. A wrinkle appeared between his brows when he looked at her. "What are you doing here?"

"You're sick, and I'm your wife. Is it so weird that I wanted to check up on you?" Sky sat on his bed, forcing him to move a bit to make space.

The General narrowed his eyes. "There was nothing about it included in the contract."