The Pharmacist and The Prince

Hand Sanitizer and Hand Sanitizer Industry Acquired

Ferdinand brought the cup to his lips, took a swallow and frowned. “The vodka…has been watered down.”

“Watered down? You’re sure?”

“Yes, it tastes like someone dumped water in it.” Which seemed very funny to him because he had been watching the woman carefully but had not seen her do anything of the sort.

He brought the second cup to his lips, took a sip and was astonished.

“This is…the strongest alcohol I’ve ever had.” And he was not exaggerating. He was certain if he took more than three full swallows of the drink, he would be completely drunk. And wasn’t that just exciting.

Ferdinand glanced at the woman on his left and smiled at her apparent relief. He knew he was the reason for it. If there was anything wrong with the drinks, if she had tried to poison his subjects, then it would have taken only a direct order from his brother not to slit her pretty dark throat.

But the drinks were fine, so he gave her the go-ahead.

“What is the next step?”

Ebony retrieved the two cups from the Prince’s grasp and with Ulrich’s help, she rinsed them in the sink. “Next, I’m going to try to mix the ingredients in the correct proportions.”

She gestured to two of the small cups. “Two parts alcohol and,” she pointed to the other cup, “one part aloe vera gel.”

She poured the ethanol into the two cups, barely managing to fill them both and them measured on full cup of the aloe vera gel. She emptied all the cups in the bowl and added a few drops of eucalyptus oil.

“Normally, I would use a measuring cylinder to accurately measure the volume of the ethanol and the aloe but I could not access anything of the sort in your world.”

Using a spoon, she mixed the ingredients vigorously, paying little mind as they sloshed about in the bowl. After five minutes of mixing, she dropped the spoon, panting a bit.

Ferdinand watched as she scooped the suspicious liquid, rubbed it all over her two hands and smiled a satisfied smile. “Is there something funny, Ebony?”

In lieu of answering, she put the spoon in the mixture and turned to him. “Prince, hold out your hand.”

Ferdinand obliged, sticking out the hand closest to her.

“Same with you, Aische, Ulrich. Hold out a hand,” Ebony said.

They also obliged. Ebony placed a spoonful of the hand sanitizer in each of their hands. Scooping one last spoonful unto her palm, she said, “Watch me and do as I do.”

Her audience watched mesmerized as she rubbed the hand sanitizer all over her hands, smoothing it all over the surface and between her fingers. Tentatively, they did the same, their expressions contorting as the alcohol began to evaporate, leaving no trace that it was ever there.

“Milady, what is this substance you have created?” Aische asked, her voice trembling.

“It is called a hand sanitizer. It is very efficient for sanitizing the hands when there is no water and soap nearby. And we are going to make it in large quantities.”

 Turning to Ferdinand, she said, “Prince Ferdinand, I understand that the King Regent has placed a strict lockdown on the entire kingdom.”

The Second Prince folded his arms and regarded the woman. “Yes, he has. Do you have a problem with it?”

“Of course not. I feel it is a very wise decision. It has definitely helped to curb the spread of the coron…I mean, curb the spread of the plague.” Ebony’s face quickly became flushed a violent red at the end of her statement.

Ferdinand replayed her last statement in his mind. He did not see any reason for her embarrassment and asked once again, “Do you have a problem with it?”

Ebony shook her head. “Not at all. But I think I will be right to assume that the lockdown has adversely effected all the sectors of the economy.”

She was very correct but he felt wary. Why was she asking about the effect of the plague? Did she want to know the weaknesses of the kingdom? In the time he had spent with her, he could see her reasonableness and determination. The way she spoke, the way she carried herself, Ferdinand could see why his brother was getting attached to the beautiful black woman.

But still, once bitten, twice shy.

“Why are you asking about the state of my kingdom, Ebony?” Ferdinand asked, his voice cold.

Ebony gulped. “I don’t mean…I don’t mean anything bad by it. I am just thinking that with the hand sanitizers now, things can change.”

“Oh?” Curiosity sparked, he said, “Please continue.”

Ebony gave a little shrug. “It’s nothing so special. I’m just thinking that we can revive the kingdom soon. Not totally but some essential services like the agricultural sector can resume work to at least alleviate some of the food scarcity the plague has caused.”

Ebony turned to look down at the bowl of hand sanitizer. It was obvious she was preparing a string of words in her mind.

After a few seconds, she continued speaking. “I have good reason to believe that the plague is mainly spread by the entrance of infected droplets into the body and hence, the bloodstream.”

The statement was a little confusing to Ferdinand but he did not interrupt the woman. She seemed to understand that her words were poorly understood, however.

“What I mean is that people catch the disease, basically, by coming in contact or in close proximity with infected people or surfaces. Our hands are the parts of the body we use to do most of our daily activities. Opening the door, shaking hands, carrying objects, hugging our loved ones. If ours hands are contaminated with the plague, then…”

“Then, the plague spreads quicker and among more people,” Ferdinand said, completing her sentence. He looked down at the almost-empty bowl of hand sanitizer. The pieces were falling in place. “That is where the hand sanitizer comes in, right?”

She nodded. “Yes, if we make the hand sanitizer in mass and distribute it around the kingdom, with instructions on how to use it, then we can stop the spread. But it is not just the hand sanitizers that we need. Earlier today, I visited the Guild of Textile Magickers to give them information into the making of a face mask. It is a sort of face covering that prevents infected people from spreading the plague through coughing or sneezing and protects the healthy from getting infected. Combining face masks and hand sanitizer will drastically reduce the infection spread and allow the kingdom to gradually begin functioning. What do you think, Prince Ferdinand?”

He thought that if this woman could pull this off, she would be the saviour of the kingdom. The kingdom begin functioning again? At any capacity? It would truly be a miracle. Nothing short of a miracle.

And it was a little painful to admit. When Ferdinand and Reuentahl had heard about a beautiful, intelligent and small woman who would be the one to save the kingdom, they had both been understandably doubtful.

Reuentahl had spent time with the would-be saviour and had told him, quite uncharacteristically, that he trusted and admired the woman. A chorus of alarm bells had rung in his head at that moment and he could not help but remember the last time that Reuentahl had gotten involved with a similarly described woman.

And that was a disaster.

That’s why he remained in the Ruling Chambers and insisted on escorting her here. He wanted to observe, threaten and if needed, kill the woman.

But if by any chance this woman could carry out this plan, then he, Reuentahl and the rest of the kingdom would owe her their life.

“How can I assist you, Ebony?”

Ebony looked around the room, as if trying to figure out what needed to be done. In no time, however, she had a list for him.

“One, we need to increase the scale of production. We need more ingredients, larger utensils and bottles to store the final products. We need manpower urgently. I will not only be producing the hand sanitizer but I will also make other drugs and so, I’m thinking that whatever group of people you have to lend us in the work will be a dedicated force to work here at the apothecary.

Two, I would also need a group of distributors to carry whatever we are making here to the other apothecaries in the kingdom. They would also work to transport items from the Guild of Textile Magickers throughout the kingdom.

Three, I will also need all the surviving health worker, the healers, to be put on notice. I plan on congregating them here on Sonntag or, if possible, before that. I will train them and put them in charge of the various apothecaries in the kingdom.

That is all I can think of now. I have informed the King Regent on some of these plans, so they will not come as a shock to him. For now, Prince Ferdinand that is what you can help me with.”

Ferdinand put his hand to his chin and began to think. There was little among the things she specified that he could do here except…

“Ebony, are these tools suitable for your distillation?” He asked, gesturing to the setup she had used to produce the hand sanitizer.

“Yes, but they are too small. It would be impossible to make the amount we required with this setup.”

“I understand. I was thinking you could find a suitable space for the equipment and I will help you Magnify them.”

Pause.

“Well, Prince, if you do that then I will be very grateful,” Ebony said, after stuttering for a while.

***

As the isolation centre was right in front of the apothecary, the group decided to use the left side of the building as the Hand Sanitizer Lab.

Ebony watched in awe as Ferdinand drew a rune, the first one he ever drew, and Magnified the makeshift distillation equipment, the beakers, the bowls, the cups, everything was as tall as the apothecary.

“Is this fine by you?” She heard him ask.

Ebony could not breathe. This was the most flagrant display of power she had seen ever since she’d arrived here. Ridiculous. It was simply ridiculous.

“Yes, Prince, it is fine. But can we get a cover for the space?”

“That will be possible,” Ferdinand said, after thinking for a while. He disappeared around the corner and came back with bits and pieces of wood and, she was guessing, steel levitating beside him.

The first thing that came to her mind was that he had chopped up the isolation centre. He assured her, however, that he simply Duplicated some of the material used in the centre. And that made so much sense to her.

A wave of the hands, some runes and five minutes later, the Hand Sanitizer Industry was ready.