Ch.9 Infection (Anjanique)

What did I just do? I walked to my wardrobe and as I did I touched my lips. I really had just done what I thought I did. I smacked myself in the face. What had I been thinking? He was a prince and I well I'm just a falconer's daughter. A peasant. I wasn't cut out for court life. Why did I even try? Was I completely insane?

As I pulled out a dress for supper I decided that, no, I was not completely insane. And my reasoning? Well, there wasn't much. It had happened before. A prince falling in love with a girl that was below him. I had read it in a history book only a few days ago. The girl's name was Ella and the Prince was Charles. It had happened before. I was not going crazy. I wasn't saying that I was going to marry Gregory or anything just that I wasn't going crazy.

Just as I was brushing out my braids and pulling my bangs back with a ribbon, there was a knock on my door. "Anjanique? Are you nearly ready?" I smiled and quickly finished tying the ribbon and stepped back into my shoes. I opened the door and walked out of my room to see Gregory waiting there. I smiled as he twisted his fingers through mine again. I almost couldn't believe that he was making such a bold move twice in one day. Maybe I was going crazy, but maybe so was he.

As we walked into the Great Hall the king stood saying "Ah Gregory, Anjanique. I wondered when you would get here." Gregory quickly dropped my hand and for a second I wonder why, and then I saw her. There was a very finely dressed girl about our age sitting at the table, where I would have normally been sitting.

"Gregory," Alexandra started saying as Gregory pulled a chair out from me. One seat away from the new girl, and then sitting in the seat in between the two of us. "This is Princess Nariel, of Silesia. She'll be staying with us."

My eyes darted around the room, and eventually landed on Greg. He looked just ask confused as I knew I was. Another girl in the palace? This was going to put him into over drive; I was sure of it. Not that I could do anything about it, and no, I was not jealous of the over dressed fool sitting a seat away from me. Why would I be? I bet she can't cook, or weed a garden or anything like that. Sure she could probably sing, and make tapestries, but what good was that going to do her? Honestly.

All through supper I stayed quiet. I didn't talk unless spoken to, and tonight, that wasn't much. Everyone was much more concern with Nariel. I guess there wasn't much to ask me anyway. Everyone in the room had known me for almost five years and I had been here for nearly a week. I suppose I was just uninteresting now, but I'm okay with that.

Gregory tried a couple of times to try and get me involved in the conversation, but every time he tried one of his parents would butt in or something like that. He would look at me with a look in his eyes that I knew he was trying so hard not to scream and a look that said, "I'm sorry," in it. I would inconspicuously shrug and roll my eyes. I knew it wasn't his fault or anything.

We were well into dinner when the Queen started talking to me. "Anjanique, Simeon says you are extremely smart for never going to school. So I was wondering if you would like to skip your lessons tomorrow, and show Nariel around the palace."

My heart speed up when she said that. No I didn't really want to, but what was I suppose to say? I watched as Greg's eyes flipped over to me for just a second and I knew he didn't want me to either, but really I had no choice. "Of course, you're maje…Alexandra." I caught myself before she gave me the look she had been giving me when I didn't call her by her first name.

"Wonderful! You can show her the gardens and the library. Oh and if she wanted you could show her the birds." I smiled and nodded as the Queen talked about all the places I could show Nariel. Did I really want to? No. But would I? Yes.

After dinner was finally over, Gregory walked me back to my room in silence. When we got to my room I turned to Gregory; he was looking down at the ground. "Did you know she was coming?"

He looked up at me. "Um… My parents hinted at it. I didn't think they would actually do it. Anne, I'm sorry. If I…"

I covered his mouth with my hand. "Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal."

He pulled my hand away from his face. "Anne, are you sure? I mean I can talk to my mother and then…." I cut him off again.

"Gregory, it's fine. I'll deal with it. I mean how bad can it be?"


I got up the next morning and ate breakfast in my room. Today I dressed in one of the shorter skirts and leggings and brushed my hair into two braids. I looked at myself in the mirror and even after almost a week I still couldn't believe that I was looking at myself. I shrugged slipping my shoes on and then leaving my room.

The princess's room was actually just down the hall from mine so it didn't take me long to find it. I knocked softly on the door, and one of her ladies maids that had come with her answered it. "Yes?" She asked me. I guess to her I probably looked like any other palace servant.

"I'm Anjanique. I'm supposed to show the Princess around the palace today."

"Oh." She looked like she was surprised. "She should be ready in just a minute. When her Highness said one of the other guests was going to be showing her around I was, well expecting more of another guest."

Wow. The people from Silesia were rude. I had never heard anything like that from any of the court people here. Maybe that was because I had grown up with it and didn't notice it or maybe people here just didn't say things like that. I didn't say anything to the ladies maid because I figured it wouldn't honestly do any good.

I waited for almost ten minutes while the princess finished getting ready. What could honestly take that long? When she did finally come out her ladies maid said something to her that I couldn't hear from across the corridor where I had gone to sit. All I did hear was "Yes, Millie, I'm sure."

I stood up as she approached me. "Shall we be going then, you're Highness?"

"Oh yes." We started walking towards the stairs that lead to the main entry of the palace. I could find anything from the entry, but not necessarily from my room, so that's why I was taking her there first. Half way down the stairs she started babbling. "So Anjanique, we didn't really get introduced properly last night. Who exactly are you?"

"Oh!" I was surprised. "I'm the falconer's daughter."

"And how do you know Prince Gregory so well?"

"Well, um…" I was being articulate. "My father has taught all three of the princes the art of falconry from the time they turn twelve. Gregory is only a few weeks younger than me, and when he turned twelve, my father had recently fired his apprentice. He needed someone to help him carry his things to a falconry lesson one day and I went with him. My father hasn't taken another apprentice on since then. He's just had me." By now we had left the main entry and walked out into the inner gardens. Many of the gardeners were still out pruning and grooming the plants.

"Oh. I see. So you know Prince Gregory well?"

"Well, yeah. He's sort of my best friend." I can't believe I just said that. How stupid could I be?

The princess turned to me while we were standing under this tree. "Well, you want to know something? Stay away from him." I was a little confused, and I guess she could see it in my face.
"I've come to marry him. That's why I am here. He can't take the thrown unless he marries. And he's going to marry me. Got that?"

She was a princess, and I was just a falconer's apprentice. What was I suppose to say? Not a chance? No. I just nodded and let her keep telling me to stay away from my best friend in the whole world who I thought maybe was beginning to become more than that. "Yes, you're Highness," was all I could manage to get out when she was done telling me off.

"See? Was that so bad? I knew we could be friends. Right Anjanique?"

"Yes Ma'am." I said this with a small curtsy and the slightest sound of fear in my voice. How else was I suppose to react?

"Now why don't you show me the library now that we have all of that settled?" I simply nodded and showed her to the library.


When it was time for lunch I took her back down to the Great Hall. During lunch I didn't talk to Gregory, I barely even looked at him. I also told my etiquette teacher that I wasn't feeling well and she told me to go back to my room and rest.

I got up from the table and started walking out. Nariel shot me an evil look, and Gregory quickly jumped up to follow me back to my room. When Greg caught up with me he wrapped his arm around my waist, but I shrugged away from it. "Are you just trying to get out of class?" He whispered as we started up the stairs.

"No. I really don't feel so great." Truth of it was that I had been feeling kind of sick ever since Nariel had told me off.

"You looked kind of upset when you and Nariel came into the library. Were you feeling sick then?" My head was pounding, and I didn't really want to talk for fear of repeating any part of what Nariel had said to me. I just nodded my answer.

Gregory sighed as we reached the doors to my room. "Anne, why didn't you tell anybody?"

"I figured it would just go away."

He sighed again and held me by my shoulders. "Anne, I want you to go into that room and lie down. I'm going to send for the physician." Just about as I was going to tell him not to get the physician he said, "And you are not going to fight me on this. I bet that bite and that cut on your leg that you go on the hunt the other day are infected."

"But Gregory!" I wined and I never wine.

"No buts about it." He was holding my face in his hands now making me look at him. He kissed my forehead lightly and then placed his forehead against mine. "I don't want to see you any sicker than this. Alright?"

I gave up on arguing with him and just nodded. "Now go in and rest."


Gregory was right. Both the cut on my leg, from when I had tripped and the bite on my wrist were infected. The physician came and practically scrubbed my skin off around the cuts, trying to get the infection out. After he was done with that he covered them with clean bandages and then told me to stay in my bed, because I had a fever too.

A few minutes after he left Gregory walked into my room. He pulled the chair from the writing desk over by my bed. He sat down by my head board and carefully touched my hand. "I could hear you screaming out in the hall." He then pushed some of the hair that had fallen in front of my face away from my face. "Is there anything I can do?"

I shook my head, and in a very quiet voice whispered, "It hurt."

He traced his fingers down my face again before saying, "I'm sorry, but now you should get better." When I didn't say anything, he started talking again. "I should go. Let you sleep. You need the rest." He started standing up and my eyes shot open.

"No, Gregory. Don't go. Stay. Please?" My voice was so strained I wondered if he had even heard me. When he sat back down I knew he had.

"I really should let you sleep. I could get in trouble for this, you know." I knew he was joking to a point. He wouldn't get in trouble from the people he thought he would. It was Nariel he should be afraid of, not his parents.

"I know. But please just stay." He touched my hand again, and sighed.

"Alright, you win. But only until you fall asleep."