When Ziggy had finally recovered from whatever fleshly desire that had previously engulfed him, he decided to undress Sam carefully to get rid of her wet gown. Seeing how sick her bodyguard was, Ziggy dismissed his plans on letting her have a hot bath and just helped her get to bed comfortably.The youngest Montreal struggled big time on pulling off Sam"s gown as it was quiet a struggle not to look at the woman"s naked flesh before him. It made him uncomfortable even though he was used to seeing those as he was a doctor. It was just that Sam"s nakedness—her curves, her softness and the way her skin glistened with a sensual sweat made Ziggy"s stomach back flipped.
He wondered why on earth was a beautiful woman hiding under a man"s dress? If Aphrodite was real, he told himself, then she could have cursed Sam for being a great contender.
Sam on the other hand was lost, drowned into her dreams as her body flushed red. Her fever had brought her into her deep consciousness that sent her murmuring words she doesn"t usually say.
"Grandpa please, grandpa I"m hurt" Sam voiced dreamily as she curved her body in her sheets unaware of how her boss was having hard time controlling himself "Please come home,"
"Sam" Ziggy called trying to wake her up as she was crying in her sleep but the girl continued to murmur words she never once said in front of him, as if those words were meant to be buried deep within her.
"I"m sorry…please let me… I"m sorry" She continued her words as Ziggy cautiously slipped a pair of dry pajamas on her that he found on her closet. When had finished dressing her up, he pulled her blankets up and covered her body before he placed his hands on her head, trying to estimate how high her fever was.
"Please grandpa, come home. I"m soo sad" Sam uttered once more and the words made Ziggy froze beside her. For once, he felt something inside his heart that made him so drawn into her. Despite her fierce roguish eyes and strong aura, there was a lonely girl within, someone who starved for some longing she craved somewhere inside her.
Ziggy could see the hurt she was hiding, just like the hurt he was carrying within him.
"You"re not the only one whose lonely Sam," He told her as if she was listening, although he knew her consciousness was somewhere else. He caressed her face for the first time and smiled bitterly "Me too. Probably the reason why we stick up as a good match. Were both.... sad"
***
"Aki? How was she?" Handmaid Lin asked the old professor impatiently. Since he came, the Aki had tended into the little princess and hadn"t said a single word.
The old professor looked at the handmaid devoid of any expression that handmaid Lin didn"t know what to think. She didn"t agree with Xhemin"s decision to had the princess be checked by another person that was not sanctioned by the chieftain"s family as it was a traditional rule that any member of the royal family should only be checked by the royal physician. However, she didn"t have a choice by then as Aki Owens was the only one they got at the moment.
Professor Owens thought for a long time before he uttered something in a form of a question "Since you are her personal maid, then it must be you who feed her all the time, am I right?"
She nodded right away "Yes. I had been her personal maid since she was born and I know all her favorite foods"
"Was it safe to a.s.sume that the food she ate were from the royal household kitchen?" The Aki asked again.
"Yes," Curious about the Aki"s question, the handmaid added "Is there something wrong Aki? Was her sickness caused by the food she ate?"
Xhemin who was also in the same room got curious about the way the Professor was acting "What is it Professor?"
Professor Owens heaved a deep sighed before he let loose of the words "I think the princess is not sick. I had checked her pulses and her symptoms. I think she had no sickness at all,"
Handmaid Lin who couldn"t believe the Aki"s words reb.u.t.ted right away "But professor if she is not sick then why was she—"
"She"s been poisoned," Xhemin blurted as she thought of the words that the professor just said "She"s been poisoned wasn"t she?"
"Yes," Professor Owens said.
"But that is not possible Professor!" Handmaid Lin exclaimed "Aside from being her personal maid I am also her poison taster. I eat first everything that had been served to her," Handmaid Lin a.s.serted trying to push off the Aki"s p.r.o.nouncement.
"Then if she had been poisoned, you should have been poisoned first," Xhemin said.
"That"s right" handmaid Lin agreed "But I had never showed any signs of sickness the way she had"
"Was there anything else that she takes that you don"t taste first?" Aki Owen"s asked the handmaid.
"Nothing, aside from her medicines, I eat everything she eats" Handmaid Lin answered as her expression become worse. If what the Professor said were true, then it only meant she had failed on her job as her handmaid. How could she be that careless upon the little princess safety?
"Medicines?" It was Xhemin who asked her this time.
"Since she had been sick, she was given medicine for her illness that had been prescribed by the royal physician," Handmaid Lin explained.
Turning her head to the professor"s side, Xhemin called for his attention "Professor, it could be her medicines right?"
"Possibly," The professor agreed "She could have been poisoned by the medicines she was taking"
"But those medicine were prescribed after she had been sick, it was supposed to cure her sickness," Almost crying, handmaid Lin blurted out.
"Professor what are you thinking?" Xhemin asked again the professor when she found her contemplating about the words the handmaid revealed.
"My suspicion was that—the princess had really been sick before the medicines were given to her. But it must be some minor sickness like flu or something that can easily be cured" Professor Owens thought "Somebody must have taken advantage of that and prescribed the medicines you are referring to handmaid Lin. That probably was the reason why she had never recovered"
"O Highest G.o.d! Who was vile enough to do that to such a sweet child!" Handmaid Lin bellowed as he tears started to flow from her eyes "She"s just a harmless child,"
"Please don"t cry Handmaid Lin, the princess needed you more than ever and this is not the time to lose heart," Xhemin comforted her and then went to ask the professor again "Professor is this something you can cure?"
Xhemin knew the professor can cure some poison as he was able to successfully cure her from the poisons the dangerous arrows had when she crossed the par line. The professor could have developed that skills in his stay in the island as she doesn"t remember him teaching her anything about poisons.
"I don"t know, "He admitted "She had been poisoned from a long time and so the poison could have scattered to her every organ"
"But there"s no harm in trying right?" Xhemin insisted. Princess Song must be cured no matter what.
"Of course," Professor Owens agreed. "I"ll do the best that I can"