Interlude - Ed

Ed looked around in wonder at the splendorous decor. He had been here for two days, summoned to the Duke’s villa, though he knew not what for. Each healer or doctor had been given generous accommodations. He himself was only a doctor’s apprentice, given the official position when his master had died. She was brilliant, favored amongst the small-follk, and had saved Ed’s own life when he was a child. He was still saddened by her sudden passing, and the realization that he now occupied her position still seemed surreal. 

He was skilled, though not so much as his master. In truth, he doubted his abilities, especially so when he opened his door to a guard - his escort to his current situation. He was excited at the opportunity to treat someone of such high standing. Even a commoner could ascend to fame and fortune were they to save a royal’s life. His hopes were dashed when he arrived at the villa with every other healer in the city. 

The brief hope he had of escaping poverty turned to confusion. Having been apprenticed for so long, he naturally recognized the majority of those there - his master’s verbal sparring partners. They had very different ideas on the approaches of medicine, most notably the presence of a woman in the field. She was twice as skilled at the craft of doctoring, but thrice as skilled in verbal jousting, by necessity. Ed smiled at the memory of a particular red-faced pudgy old codger whose hands were outworked as much as his tongue. 

A knock rang at his door. Ed cautiously opened it, peaking his head out of the crack. A serious looking guardsman pushed the door the rest of the way open, sending Ed stumbling two steps back. He stepped to the side, and in the doorway a man appeared. At a glance, his demeanor caused Ed to reflexively bow.

“Your Lord Duke.”

“Stand. I have little taste for formalities today.”

He lifted his head. Arthur Leyland looked at him with a calculating stare. “I had hoped for your master’s attendance.”

Ed withheld a grimace. “I can only hope to honor her memory.”

“Come.”

Ed followed the man without hesitation. His master told him, ‘Never keep a noble waiting.’ It was a wise adage, though often accompanied by a litany of curses. He’d heard many stories of different nobles, though never a Leyland. Ed hoped he held a kinder disposition than the others. From his eyes, he doubted it. Ed swallowed.

He was led to a room on the third floor of the villa. The floor he had been staying on would have been the most luxurious conditions he’d ever seen, had he not stepped foot here. He suddenly felt very foolish at his wondrous gaze. Arthur stopped in front of a set of doors. He turned towards Ed. “You will diagnose, and nothing else. Should you ask unnecessary questions, I will see your head left to whatever family you may have.”

“Yes, sir.”

Arthur opened the door. The air wafted out, bringing with it the smell of sick. Ed suppressed the urge to cover his nose, and walked in. The bedroom, wondrously decorated, was empty, save for the woman laying on the center bed.  Ed walked towards her, under careful watch of the nearby guard. 

She was beautiful, ethereal even. The most gorgeous he had ever seen, yet his blood curdled. On her head was a pair of horns, and what little skin showed from her clothing appeared to have a pattern not unlike the stories he’d heard as a child. A demon! 

Ed hissed under his breath, his mind whirring in panic, but suppressed all hints of his desire to flee. He slowly approached, and performed his usual checks. When he used his tool to check her heartbeat, he reflexively looked towards Arthur for permission. A short, stern nod granted it, though begrudgingly. 

Though he hadn’t noticed at first glance from her beauty, she was frail. Decrepit, even. Her skin was pale, gaunt, clinging to her bones like a film. Her hair, surely once luscious, was now brittle and dry. She occasionally gave racking coughs, the spittle Arthur wiped gently with a handkerchief. 

Ed heard with his tool a high-pitched whining in her lungs, a sign of some blockage. That, combined with other various symptoms led him to a grim conclusion. He looked towards Arthur carefully. He was hesitant to give his diagnosis.

Arthur frowned. “Do not dawdle.”

“I’m afraid,” Ed said, “It’s a disease I’ve seen before. I do not know of a cure, nor did my master.”

Arthur said nothing. Ed watched as he gently traced the contour of her jaw, fingers faltering at the chin. He took a deep breath. He waved Ed away, and the guard escorted him out. Ed looked behind as he left, and saw Arthur gently kiss the woman’s forehead.