The dragon and the rose

Chapter IX

After Claudia applied the mixture to the infected wound and bandaged the men's upper body, gave him some other concoction to bring down his fever and to calm him down, there was nothing else she could do. And Constanza eventually accepted that she could only wait and see if this beautiful man would actually survive. Claudia left them after she tended to him and instructed Constanza what to do if certain things happen.

Princess Constanza was alone with the man, holding a small wooden cup in her hand filled with some weird smelling mixture and from time to time looked from his now calm face to his bare chest that only rose a little and then fell very quickly. But her own breathing started to quicken as she did this for even if his skin was scarred and bruised, some muscles were showing through it and the girl had never seen a man with a bare upper body before and certainly not a man who was as attractive as this one. But she was also very frightened for after stirring in bed, the man suddenly became very calm and even paler, it seemed as if he was taking his last breaths and slowly fading away from life. And Constanza had never seen someone die just before her even though she had quite a few siblings and relatives who perished. However she did not – not even for a moment- think about leaving him; she had sworn to herself and to him that she would stay whatever may happen.

And thus the princess spent three days nursing and watching the dying man in secret while she prayed for him and hoped with all her heart that he would stay alive. She also made another promise; if the man survived, she would tell Leonora about everything that she thought of as true because her sister could not marry the man she believed to be the English king when the English king lay dying before Constanza. For that is what she had thought all along, right after she saw the letter with the Tudor seal and right after she ran out of her father's chambers and bumped into the presumed impostor. So there was another reason why she needed the Englishman to stay alive; she had to save her sister from such a treacherous marriage and her country from such a false alliance.

And then, when Constanza was most desperate and on the verge of giving up her every hope to ever see his honey-coloured eyes open again, her prayers were finally answered and the man, whom she believed to be the real Henry IX of England, woke up. He was not as puzzled and bewildered as the first time he saw her, he seemed to already feel some affection towards her but his gaze was still questioning. But this time the princess was eager to answer his every question, given that he actually had some.

„My name is Constanza. You needn't be afraid of me, I want to help you. You can trust in me." She told him in English in a gentle tone and with affectionate eyes.

And it seemed as if the man smiled a bit too, looking at the girl tiredly but quite contentedly. He then still did not remember that he did not remember at all.

Then she remembered the other thing she had promised God and herself and that she urgently needed to do that thing for in two days' time, her sister would marry the impostor if she did not prevent her from doing so. Before going, she spoke a bit more with the man, trying to comfort him with her words and sweet voice and trying to save him from the confused state he had previously been in.

Eric, upon having another quaint dream, succeeded to unriddle the previous one. Now he was sure that someone was in real danger and he pondered no more on whether he could help it or not for that person was the one he loved the most: his best friend, Constanza.

He woke up in a pool of sweat but with the sun reflecting its rays on his face and that was weird already for he always woke up from his nightmares in the middle of the night. And then he suddenly remembered and then thought about the princess and jumped out of his bed for he was frightened. He splashed some water on his face, took off his night shirt and very hurriedly put on some proper clothes before rushing out of his rooms. He needed to find her and warn her to always stay protected and very safe for he still did not know where the danger came from, only that her life was at risk.