Twelfth Knight

Chapter 7

Verlent, Etrusca was not terribly far from Central. It was about half a day’s ride west from the castle itself. It was also the second largest city in all of Etrusca. And this was where the most famous physician in the whole kingdom resided.

His name was Gaius. He was an elderly fellow who, though working with the sick all his life, was nearing a healthy sixty years of age. His hair was grey and beginning to fall away from his head. He needed to help with determining far away objects, and, unlike in his youth, he needed a cane to help him walk.

Gaius had always wanted to be a physician. His father had been a servant in the house of Verlin for his whole life, like his father had before him. It was Gaius’s destiny to follow in those footsteps. But it was never an occupation that Gaius desired.

When he was eight years old, he was walking with his mother around the village. This was during the time when the plague circulated among the peasants. He remembered watching people die in the streets, leaving few others to burn the disease ridden bodies.

At the time, Gaius remembered wondering why no one was there to help the sick, lower-class people. Sure, there were physicians, but they cured the ailments of the nobles, not those who truly needed help. It was despicable to Gaius. It tore him to his core. So, at the age of sixteen, he rebelled against his “destiny” and became the greatest physician in the land. He had an open policy. He would help anyone who truly needed it, not just the rich nobles.

His kindness and generosity were well-known throughout the land, as well as his skills as a physician. Last year, he had been personally invited to the castle in Central, Leighton Castle, to treat the dying prince. While the prince’s sickness was kept quiet, the king and queen personally honored Gaius when their son recovered.

The following summer proved that it was time for his to find an apprentice.

He honestly hadn’t realized how much he needed a successor until one rainy day. Gaius had always adored the rain. Everything around him seemed to take on a magical feel and the world brightened with gently fall of water.

Unfortunately, rainy days were also the days that his patients all seemed to suddenly fall ill. Rainy days were the best days, but they were also the hardest days.

While he was working with one particularly petulant patient, his mind drifted to the rainy world beyond his door. He forgot what he was doing for a brief second. When he came back to reality a few seconds later, reminding himself he needed to grab the belladonna for his patient, he quickly went to retrieve it. He was half-way back to his patient when he realized he had grabbed the aconite and the belladonna, a deadly mistake.

It was following this that he began to search for a proper apprentice. He refused to be a the cause of any patient’s death.

He spent months writing to and fro with the many applicants. But he couldn’t find anyone that he truly believed cared so much for others that they would sacrifice everything to help even the lowest of peasants. That was until he encountered Kyler Dern.

At first, upon receiving the letter from Northem, he had expected that the Earl needed him to attend to someone. He certainly did not expect that the letter would contain words of admiration for Gaius and inquires about a physician’s work.

The two began to correspond. Kyler, it seemed, wanted to know absolutely everything about being a physician. He had the heart, the caring heart, that Gaius had wanted in an apprentice.

So, Gaius offered the position to Kyler.

Had Gaius known the lengths Kyler would go to in order to apprentice under the physician, Gaius would have immediately retracted his offer. He had believed that Kyler had a brother who was a knight, leaving Kyler free to apprentice as a physician. Gaius certainly did not know Kyler’s sister had taken his place at knight training.

Kyler loved Verlent. The woods of Northem paled in comparison to the city. He had always loved his home, but only now did he truly see how small and secluded his life in Northem had been. He adored the city and the people around him. It was his genuine goal to help as many people as he could.

One day a letter arrived from the castle for Kyler. Gaius like a good citizen, did not open the letter before he handed it to Kyler, even though he was mightily interested in what could be written in the letter.

Kyler cautiously broke the seal, opening to reveal the gentle penmanship of his sister. A fond smile broke out on his face. The letter truly exhibited Emberly’s personality. He was eternally grateful she had taken his place at training. He would never have survived.

The letter was short and to the point. At one point, she inquired about his work and how well his apprenticeship was going. Then, she inquired about a topic Kyler had been reluctant to explain.

Truth be told, he had assumed James Heczah would remain with his parents for the duration of his education. James had an older brother, who was a knight, the law was fulfilled in the first son. James himself did not need to become a knight. But now, it seemed, Emberly was paying for Kyler’s mistake.

Memories danced behind Kyler’s eyelids. He had done a great injustice to the boy who had once called him “friend.” And now the reaper of that injustice was calling for a p*****t. And Emberly had been asked to repay Kyler’s debt.

At once, Kyler drew a piece of parchment from Gaius’s desk. He wrote a letter in reply to Emberly, detailing his joy at becoming a physician and all that he had already begun to learn. He asked about knight training, inquiring over every detail. He spoke about his love for his sister, giving a lengthy “thank you” for her taking his place.

The one thing he did not mention was his relationship with James Heczah.