The Pharmacist and The Prince

The Need for Vodka

vodka /ˈvɒdkə/ : an alcoholic spirit of Russian origin made by distillation of rye, wheat, or potatoes.

“Vodka? You want vodka?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Is there a problem?”

“Not at all. May I ask what you need the vodka for?”

“I need it to make a d**g of some sorts.”

“A d**g? You need vodka to make a d**g?”

“Of some sorts. A product, if you will.”

When Reuentahl had received an announcement from one of his attendants that a dark-skinned woman sought his attention, he immediately told the attendants to direct her to where he currently was. The Ruling Chamber.

The room where most of the important decisions about ruling the kingdom where made. The room where the ruling council held meetings. In fact, they were holding one this instant.

He thought nothing of it at that time. But as he took in the way her hands twisted the folds of her gown and the faint blush on her high cheeks, Reuentahl began to rethink his decision. It may be too much for her to be confronted by the people who essentially ruled the kingdom.

He did not need to look over his shoulder to know that they were staring at her.

Without turning, Reuentahl raised a hand and waved it. “You’re dismissed. We will convene tomorrow.”

Swishes of gowns and cloaks and clicks of heeled leather boots hitting the marble floor resonated in the room as the council filed out, whispering amongst themselves.

Reuentahl sighed internally. He knew he would face some criticism. He should have introduced Ebony to the council and some other important figures in the kingdom long ago.

But he decided to delay such introductions for a while so as not to overwhelm her and to allow her to focus on the mission at hand.

And not because he felt the urge to keep her to himself. Definitely not.

Therefore, he hadn’t spoken to anyone who had not seen her about her. Except for one person. The person that remained in the room even after he had dismissed everyone. The person he saw Ebony’s eyes follow over his shoulder.

The person came to stand beside Reuentahl and placed his hand on his chest, as if taking a pledge. “Good day, milady. I am Ferdinand von Seelsorger. Second Prince of the Kingdom of Seelsorger and brother to the King Regent.”

Ebony eyes widened and flashed to Reuentahl, back to Ferdinand, to Reuentahl and back to Ferdinand.

He understood her confusion. They were brothers but they looked nothing alike. Reuentahl resembled his mother in appearance and his father in behaviour and Ferdinand was the exact opposite.

No one would ever guess that they were siblings or in any way related.

Ferdinand extended a hand toward her, his gaze playful. “May I make your acquaintance, milady?”

Ebony blushed and placed her hand in his. “Ebony Johnseinne. It is nice to meet you.”

Ferdinand raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. Still holding on to her, he said, “The honor is all mine, Ebony. You are undoubtedly the loveliest person I have ever set my eyes on.”

Ebony’s blush deepened as she lowered her eyes to the floor. “Thank you.”

Normally, whenever Reuentahl saw Ebony blush, it usually amused him, making him smile or laugh.

Now, however, he was unexpectedly irritated. His hand twitched, as if to snatch hers away from Ferdinand’s grasp but he stilled it.

“Ferdinand, you can leave. I will attend to her.”

Finally, Ferdinand released her and turned an amused gaze to his brother. “We can attend to her, brother mine,” and turning back to Ebony, he added, “or will you rather I left, milady?”

“No, it is completely fine and please, Prince, I would prefer it if you called me Ebony.”

Ferdinand arched a brow. “Is that so? Then, please call me Ferdinand. It will give me great pleasure to hear my name from your beautiful mouth.”

Reuentahl couldn’t take it anymore. “Ebony, let us return to the matter at hand. You said you needed vodka. While I do not begrudge your visit to the castle, I do not understand it as well.”

Ebony tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Well, the quantity of vodka I require, Your Majesty, is quite large. I was informed that I could only obtain such a quantity here, at the castle.”

Reuentahl squinted in confusion. “How much vodka do you need?”

***

Ebony stared at the backs of the two brothers as they led her through a winding hallway and deeper into the castle.

The floor became less and less refined, turning from marble to smooth stone. They were probably entering the service areas of the palace.

As she walked, she compared the two brothers. At least, what she knew about them and what she could see.

Reuentahl was the taller sibling but not by much. At most, four inches separated the two.

They were both very handsome blonde men, with Ferdinand’s hair being the darker shade.

Reuentahl dressed practically. His shirt and trousers were obviously of very high quality but they were smart and simple. He dressed in simple colours with no accessories.

Ferdinand, on the other hand, dressed quite…dazzlingly. His clothes were not of a better quality than Reuentahl but they were more on the flashy side. He also wore two rings on his right hand, one silver and one gold, and a torc on his upper left arm.

That was for their appearance.

Reuentahl was older and was more reserved and it was an assumption that Reuentahl was older.

After all, Ferdinand introduced himself as the Second Prince. And normally, wouldn’t the First Prince be the first choice to take the throne in the case of an illness, like what happened with their father?

Ferdinand seemed more playful and flirty. His gaze made her feel like she was the only woman in the room. Which she was then but…it was a special type of gaze. She had met some guys like him back in uni. The charismatic, charming, always-knowing-what-to-say-and-how-to-say-it kind of guys.

If they were in a group, Reuentahl was the one you would pick as the group leader while you’d pick Ferdinand to present the group project.

Her categorizing was interrupted when the two brothers halted in front on an unassuming brown door.

Ebony heard the clink of a door unlocking but had not seen either Reuentahl and Ferdinand draw a rune. She didn’t have the time to think about it as the door swung open and revealed a large assortment of massive barrels, glass bottles and several goblets all arranged neatly on wooden shelves.

Light flooded the room as a large candelabrum hanging from the ceiling lit itself.

Ferdinand whistled as he took in the room. “It’s been a while since I’ve been down here.” He picked up one of the silver goblets and walked to a barrel. He twisted the tap and red wine poured into the goblet.

He brought the goblet to his lips and drained it. Smacking his lips, he said, “Good stuff. Really good stuff.”

Reuentahl shook his head. “And you’re wondering why I changed the locks on the door.”

“You’re the one who changed it? I thought Dad was the one who did it.”

“Ignore the drunkard, Ebony. This is the vodka.” Reuentahl led her to the back of the room. He knocked on one of the large barrels that took up the space. “This is the largest amount of vodka you can get without visiting the Guild of Brewers.”

Ebony nodded. “This is good. It should be enough. Is this the strongest vodka you have?”

“Yes, it is.” Reuentahl removed his hand from the barrel and turned to face the woman. “Ebony, I would like to understand what you will use the vodka for.”

“I want to extract or distill the alcohol out of it.”

Silence.

Ferdinand’s voice came from the front of the room. “Dist…distill?”

Reuentahl raised his hand. “Do not interrupt.” He gestured for her to continue.

“I want to make a product called a hand sanitizer. You spread it across your hands and rub your hands like so,” she demonstrated by rubbing her hands vigorously, spreading the imaginary hand sanitizer all over them, “and it kills the germs on your hands and prevents the spreading from person to person. It is a very effective way of curbing the spread of diseases.”

Reuentahl arched his brow. “Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. I’ll…”

Ferdinand took a step towards them at the back of the room. “Allow me to ask. Is this hand sanitizer safe to use?”

“Yes, very safe.”

Ferdinand leaned on one of the shelves labelled Wein. “Really. You said it will kill the…germs. So how will the users remain unaffected?”

Ebony didn’t think Ferdinand could handle the entire scientific explanation. Selective toxicity and all. Better to go a simpler explanation.

“Well, the hand sanitizer selects the particular organism to attack and to kill. But that is not to say the hand sanitizer, or the alcohol, has no effect on the hands. It actually dries out the skin but I’m hoping to reduce that effect by including some aloe vera gel in the preparation. The aloe vera replenishes lost moisture and dilutes the alcohol.”

Ferdinand still looked skeptical but he nodded. “You’ll need those barrels transported, right?”

Ebony looked at the large barrels and scratched the back of her head. They were really massive. “If it’s too difficult then…maybe I’ll…”

Reuentahl cut her off. “It’s fine. Don’t inconvenience yourself. Tell me anything you need and I’ll get it to you.”

Ferdinand smirked, seemingly taunting his brother.

Reuentahl frowned. “Ferdinand, make yourself useful and prepare a carriage to carry these things to the apothecary.”

Ferdinand mock saluted, then waved at Ebony. “See you later, Ebony.” He turned and left the room, a smile still on his face.

“And you, Prince.”

Reuentahl waited until Ferdinand was out of earshot. “Do not call him by his first name. The proper address for a prince is “Your Highness.”

Ebony bristled at the admonition. “I was not going to use his first name, Your Majesty. I may not know much about your culture but at least I know that.”

Reuentahl averted his eyes, looking sheepish. “I did not mean to scold. I just do not want you getting too close to him. He is a flirt. Accept my apologies.”

Ebony looked at Reuentahl and fought the urge to smile. The way he avoided her eyes, the guilty look on his face, the light tinge of red on his cheeks. All of it screamed toddler-caught-nicking-a-cookie.

Her time to tease him had arrived.

“Accept your apologies? I don’t think so,” she said in her most diva voice.

The way his eyes snapped around to hers. She couldn’t hold character anymore and burst out laughing. “You look so scared.”

Reuentahl smiled a little. “I was. You sounded scary.”

“Good to hear. I know how to get you now.”

“So you’ve been thinking about how to get me.”

Ebony pursued her lips. “Of course. Your Majesty, you don’t think I’ve forgotten all those times you taunted me, do you?”

Reuentahl’s smile widened. “Of course not. Are we even now?”

“Not even close.” Ebony looked at the massive barrels and an idea appeared to her. She leaned forward to slap the surface of one. “Maybe if you moved these barrels, all of them, by yourself to the carriage. Maybe then, we’ll be even.”

Reuentahl threw his head back and laughed.

Ebony immediately knew she had miscalculated. She wanted to make him work, sweat and repent but it seemed like he was still enjoying himself.

She waited for his laughter to die down before she spoke. “Permit me to ask what you are finding so funny, Your Majesty.”

Reuentahl shook his head, as if trying to shake the laughter away. Evidently in lieu of answering, he grabbed one of the heavy-looking barrels with one hand, lifted it like it weighed nothing and placed it on the floor between them.

Ebony stared at the barrel like she had never seen one before. “How…how did you do that?”

Without waiting for a response, she grasped the rim of the barrel with both hands and pulled. Maybe they were lighter than they looked. The barrel did not move an inch.

She pulled again with all her strength. The barrel remained unmoving.

She raised her head and gaped at Reuentahl. “How?”

Reuentahl, still smiling, lifted his heavy shoulders and dropped them in a shrug. “Levitation Magic.”

Ebony’s face contorted in confusion. “Levitation Magic? But you didn’t draw any runes.”

She cast her mind back to the lecture on magic he had given her during their journey back to the central region. “Spells are the intention to do magic. Runes are the manifestation of the intention. They cannot exist without each other. If you cast the spell without drawing the rune, then the magic won’t manifest. If you draw the rune without the intending to do magic, then the magic won’t be casted. That’s what you said.”

Reuentahl nodded. “I also said that there were exceptions.”

“Okay?”

“That’s it. I’m an exception.”