The Lady and the Doctor

"My lady, may I ask you a question?" Aimery asked as we walked down the hall to His Majesty's Royal Physician Chamber.

"Yes.. shoot," I say.

"Shoot?" What should I shoot? , my lady? he asked

"No, it means go ahead and ask," I said.

"Oh... my lady, I've been meaning to ask you why you joined the king's court," he asked.

"Well, I'd like to gain my independence."

"Independence? That is very unusual for a noble lady to ask, because a lady like yourself cannot live alone, and noble ladies must rely on their husband for everything," he explained.

"Really... is that so... well, too bad I'm not that usual noble lady... I can live without a single man in my life," I said coldly.

"then... do you intend to become a nun?" he inquired.

"No...," I said firmly as I came to a halt and turned to face him, "why is it that if a woman refuses to marry, people assume she wants to spend her entire life in a nunnery?"

"I'm not sure myself, my lady... but that's always been the circumstance... women who don't marry are destined to live in solitude in an abbey," he explained.

"Well, that is not the case for me... because I am not going to any abbey... and no one is going to tell me how to live my life," I sarcastically suggest. As we continue on our walk

"Here we are," Aimery said as he opened the door as we arrived at our destination.

A strong smell of peppermint, ginger oil, and antiseptic filled the room, medical books were scattered around, a heavy velvet curtain covered the window, turning the room into pitch black, only lit by a lamp light candle, and a tall, well-built muscular man with a brood shoulder stood at dusty bookshelves wearing a white turban and white robe.

Aimery called out, "Omar," as the man turned around. I was surprised to see that the King's physician was young and attractive; I expected him to be an elderly gentleman. He has dark bronze skin, thick eyebrows, and amber wolf eyes.

"My lady, I want you to meet Omar Bakr Al-Razi, his majesty's current royal physician," Aimery said.

"It's a pleasure meeting you," I say as I extend my hand for a handshake. He looks down at me and at my hand before turning his gaze away and turning around.

"What the eff did he just snub at me?" I thought to myself as I tried to fake a smile and lower my hand.

"What can I do for you?" he asks coldly and gruffly.

I can feel my nerves bursting with rage. "Yeah.. I actually came here to meet you personally, since we will work together, my good sir," I said with a fake smile.

"I see... is that all?" he says coldly.

"hehe.. I am really curious about how such a good physician you are," I sarcastically said. I am already at my wits end and this guy needs to go down.

With a cold glare, he turned around, and I returned his with my own. We are both refusing to back down, and the room is filled with a hostile aura as we stare at each other.

" umm.. I - I should be on my way now.. " Aimery said nervously, sensing our hostility.

"Stay," I demanded, as we both turned to look at him.

"Yes, ma'am," he says quickly.

"Aimery... please tell her that I don't understand why a lady who dismissed my abilities wants to work with me," he sarcastically said.

Aimery says nervously, "m-my lady...", attempting to rely on the message. But I was quick to respond, "Aimery, tell him the nerve of him... I never looked down on him... and I never said that," I stated firmly.

Aimery is caught in the crossfire of our heated argument.

"Really... then the rumours from the royal courts stating that I don't have a skill as a good physician and that I don't approach certain things from another perspective are not true at all?" he said sternly. "I refuse to work with someone who thinks highly of themselves," he added.

"I never belittled your ability as a physician, it's clearly a misunderstanding! I only said that you should look at things from a different perspective. As a physician, you should not always rely on things that medical books have, you should be a critical thinker and think about how you can help your patient in other ways," I explained. "If you don't want to work with me, that's fine! However, I believe the king would be upset if he found out about this," I added.

"Ha! hiding behind the king's cape," he says.

"I wasn't using his highness's name; I was simply stating the fact," I argued.

"Do whatever you want," he said coldly as he placed down the book he was holding.

"C-can I go now?" Amiery asked, his voice stuttering.

"You may leave now," I said.

" I'll be back later, I need to see His Majesty," he said as he rushed outside.

" I understand you don't like working with me, but we have to work together for his majesty's sake," I urged. "I am not a physician like you, and I can only create medication for his majesty, but with your help, we can help him.... that is why I need you," I said.

"Very well... I will try to cooperate because this is for his majesty, but that doesn't mean I have already accepted you," Omar sighed.

"Thank you," I say.

"So, Lady Philippa, tell me what you want with me," Omar inquires.

"I'd like to ask you some questions about his highness' illness, since you're the one treating him," I said.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Can you tell me how bad his wounds are?"

"His wounds are worsening by the day, it is painless and progressive, the damage has already reached the point where he has lost three fingers on his right hand, rendering him incompetent to use it during battles," he explains.

"I see, are the wounds always wet and moist?" I inquired.

"Yes, it wouldn't dry up, even though we tried everything we knew to close his wounds, but nothing worked."

"How many times did his Majesty wash up to clean his wound?" I inquired.

"Every morning when I change his bandages, but sometimes during his war campaigns he cannot wash up due to a lack of water supply and a sanitary place to stay; he is the King, and even though he knew it would worsen his condition, he just can't leave his men out there"

"I see.. that is the main reason why his majesty's condition is deteriorating, lack of hygiene; he has open wounds that are susceptible to infection; the more his wounds open, the worse his leprosy progresses," I explained.

"I already knew that, and I've been trying to heal that wound, but nothing changes, his majesty just returned from war not long ago, defeating Saladin, but in exchange his health is deteriorating, and now his majesty will soon be joining another war, and I don't know if his body can take it much longer."

I turned around and asked, "Wait, how long has his Majesty been back from the previous war?"

"three months," he said.

"During those months, his condition deteriorated despite the fact that he washed and changed bandages on a regular basis?" I confirm.

"Yes," he replied.

"that's it... it's not about how he disinfects his wounds, he's been staying in this castle for months, but his wounds are the same when he goes to war, they're not completely healing... " I said, "tell me where the water supply is?"

We went to Jerusalem's main water supply, which is located just outside the castle gate, the same afternoon. The well from which the water for the king's castle is drawn is located in the town centre. When we get out of the carriage. The stench was unbearable, the area was completely covered in mud and animal faeces, and it was clear that the people of the town lacked proper hygiene.

As soon as we arrived, I checked the well's condition because I suspected the main issue was contaminated water.

"My suspicion is correct, it's the water... his highness used this water on a daily basis to clean his wound, but because the water is contaminated, his wound is not healing," I explained.

"This is our only water supply; if his highness does not clean his wound, it may worsen, and Jerusalem has limited water due to the weather conditions that we have here," Omar explained.

"Who said we needed another water supply... we only needed to cure and filter it," I countered.

"How is it possible to cure the water?" he wondered.

"Chlorine," I said as I walked away, "let's go, we need to look for things we can use to filter the water."

We stopped in a merchant town on our way back to the castle to buy supplies for a DIY water filter; I can't believe I was able to use the camping hacks that were taught to me in high school. A water jar container, clean cheese cloth, charcoal, sand (fine and coarse), and gravel or pebbles are among the items I was able to purchase. Because no plastic container had been invented during this time period, I ordered a special glass container for my DIY filter, which will be delivered to the castle first thing in the morning.

"Why do you feel such a strong need to help His Majesty?" Omar inquired.

"I wanted independence, and I really wanted the king to live for the sake of his people; how about you? why do you want to help his majesty? for money, power?" I enquired.

"That's rude... I am grateful to His Majesty, he saved my life and my master's life," he replied plainly as he gazed out the carriage window at the horizon.

"His Majesty is a kind king; he not only saved us from death, but he also gave us a purpose in life. My teacher was a doctor from the empire of Persia; during the Crusade, he was one of the physicians assigned to the battle field; he was an excellent horse master and sword fighter. " Omar said

I was only a child when I accompanied him in battle to assist those who had fallen, we physicians tend to both enemies and allies alike, my teacher also taught me that there is no foe or allies in the eyes of a healer, but the Persian king taught the opposite. He ordered the exile of my teacher and the rest of those who joined him in treating crusader knights. We were abandoned in a scorching desert, and most of our people died from dehydration, with only a few of us surviving when we thought it was the end. "

"Then King Baldwin appears and saves us. As a result, we remained steadfastly loyal to him. He saw us as equal human beings, not enemies or slaves. That is why, when my master died, I took an oath to do whatever I could to aid his majesty. "

"That is a lovely story... now I understand why you react to what I said in court; I am deeply sorry if you feel I belittled your ability, and I just wanted you to know I respect you and your teacher; it was not my intention." I explained.

"Don't worry...my master used to tell me that forgiveness will bring you peace, and I can see that you are serious about helping his majesty, so I am willing to work with you," he said with a small smile that made me wonder how attractive he could be.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, his face expressionless.

"n-nothing... well, let us work together for his majesty," I say as I extend my right hand, and he hesitantly reaches for mine, which I grab and shake. "For the time being, I will be under your care," I say, smiling.

That night, after arriving at the castle, I went straight to my bedroom to prepare to see his highness for his treatment. Omar and I agreed that I should personally attend to his Majesty's wounds in order to assess the efficacy of the antiseptic and antibacterial cream that I invented.

Omar and I waited inside the King's bedroom chamber. Aimery informed us that the king's meeting with his vassal was still ongoing.

Omar requested that aimery notify the King that it was time for his treatment as it was getting late. When Aimery went in search of the king. Omar said he had to leave because he needed to see another patient that night.

He must see at least 30 severely injured knights from the previous battle. He even assured me that I would be fine because the King trusted me.

As soon as Omar left, King Baldwin arrived. I give him a friendly smile.