X - The Two Apprentices

  “You needn’t cover your face, you know.” Felice looked at Sybil and smiled as they walked through the caravan. “Mrs. Guthrie is no longer contagious, and even if she was, all you would need to do is drink a dose or two of Blight Bane and you would be right as rain.” She hefted the crimson-filled phial in her hand.

  Sybil heard somebody groaning in a carriage nearby; she briefly glanced in the direction of the sound before returning her attention to her companion. “I would rather not take the risk,” she said. “And besides, Mr. Albescu would be quite cross with me if I needlessly exposed myself to infection.”

  Felice shrugged. “Suit yourself, then. But it’s a terrible shame to keep such a pretty face hidden behind a mask.”

  Sybil felt herself flush, and she was secretly thankful for the face covering. “Is that elixir of yours truly potent enough to kill the Plague?”

  The doctor’s apprentice nodded. “Not in all cases, but yes, it can and often does effectively defeat the contagion, especially if you have not yet been infected. I take it regularly, and I have never once gotten ill.”

  “What is in it?”

  “I do not know,” Felice said. “Dr. Frost has not taught me how to concoct it yet. But I am certain it is a very complex and sophisticated formula. Dr. Frost is as gifted an apothecary as she is a physician. I am blessed to be studying under her.”

  “So you are training to be a physician?”

  “An apothecary. I have far more interest in concocting remedies than actually being the one to treat patients, but Dr. Frost insists that I still act as a physician’s assistant while under her tutelage.”

  “How long have you been studying under her?”

  “About three years under Dr. Frost,” Felice explained. “Another year or so before her. It has been quite the long time already, but Dr. Frost insists that as long as I follow her lead and obey her every command, she will make me like her. All I have to do is follow her teachings, and soon her gifts will be my own.” She allowed a brief pause, during which Sybil heard another sick caravanner groaning out of their carriage’s window. “And what of you? I cannot say I know any doctors, of the Plague variety or otherwise, who travel as well-armed as you and Mr. Albescu do.”

  “Mr. Albescu insists that we are well-prepared when travelling on the road, seeing as there are only two of us.”

  “I know I would think twice about bothering you if I ran into you out there—what with that crossbow of yours.”

  Sybil suddenly felt the weight of the weapon holstered to her back. “Do not be fooled by my appearance,” she said. “I may have grown up learning how to hunt, but I cannot shoot a living target to save my life. I suppose I just don’t have that killer instinct in me.”

  “That’s just as well, I suppose. Doctors are supposed to save lives, not take them, are they not?”

  “I suppose you’re right, although I, like you, am only a student. I’ve still much to learn about being a Plague doctor.”

  “Then we are alike in that,” Felice said. “How, then, did you come under Mr. Albescu’s tutelage? From huntress to Plague doctor is quite the strange path.”

  Sybil resisted the urge to frown, despite the cloth that hid her mouth. “My parents died of Plague not too long ago. Seeing that I had nowhere else to go, Mr. Albescu took me under his wing. I have been a Plague doctor’s apprentice ever since.”

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  Felice wore the frown that Sybil had managed to hide. “I’m so sorry to hear that, Sybil. I too have lost many loved ones to the Plague, but nobody as close as my parents.”

  “I suppose most folk have lost somebody to that wretched disease,” Sybil said, “but this is my first experience with the blight. It had not yet reached my village until my parents grew sick.”

  “How horrible that they were the first to contract it, then,” Felice said. “But at least it is most fortunate that the Plague did not take you as well.”

  “Absolutely,” Sybil said. “I remind myself every day of how fortunate I am.” She heard the anguished cry of another poor soul, and she felt her blood run cold. “Most fortunate, indeed.”

  ___

  Felice stopped them in front of a waiting wagon, and Sybil knew right away that they had arrived at their destination. She looked at her companion, her face completely exposed, and frowned. “You truly have no intention of covering up to protect yourself from the Plague?”

  “I already told you that Mrs. Guthrie is no longer contagious,” Felice said. “Blight Bane has seen to that. You needn’t worry.”

  As if on queue, a grey, aged woman climbed out of the wagon and approached the two girls. She saw Felice and smiled. “Ah, Felice. I thought I heard your voice out here.”

  “Hello, Mrs. Guthrie,” Felice said. “I’ve brought you your final dose of the Bane!”

  Mrs. Guthrie looked excellent for her age—in all ways, she appeared to possess a glowing bill of health. It was hard for Sybil to imagine that the woman had so recently been sick with the Plague. “I was wondering when you were coming to bring me that remedy. I can already feel a tickle in the back of my poor, old throat.”

  “Nonsense,” Felice said. “You are already in perfect health. This final dose is only precautionary, in order to ensure that the Plague has no chance of returning.”

  “I jest, my dear. I know your supply of this remedy is limited, and it means the world to me that you would give me this final dose.”

  “Better to ensure your continued health now than to risk our efforts being for naught.”

  “I suppose that is true.” The older woman looked at Sybil. “And who is this lovely young woman that you’ve brought along with you?”

  “I am Sybil Fletcher,” the huntress said. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Guthrie.”

  “And you as well, young lady.”

  “Forgive me,” Sybil said, “but did you truly suffer from the Plague recently? My eyes can hardly believe what my ears have heard, seeing as you currently serve as the epitome of health!”

  “I have Dr. Frost and darling Felice here to thank for that,” Mrs. Guthrie said. “When I first started treatment, I was certain that I was mere hours from following my dear husband to the Mother’s side. Now, thanks to these wonderful women, I have never felt better! They’ve given me new life when there was none left in me, and at no cost! Truly, Dr. Frost is a treasure.”

  “No cost?” This came as a surprise to Sybil. “You’re saying that Dr. Frost gives the Bane away for free?”

  Felice nodded. “She does. Dr. Frost does not believe in being compensated for her work. She does what she does for the betterment of all.”

  “And may the Mother bless her for it,” Mrs. Guthrie said, “ for I am far from a woman of wealth. Were it not for Dr. Frost’s generosity, I—along with countless others—would surely have perished with the blight.”

  “Truly a warrior of the Goddess.” They all turned at the sudden voice, and watched as Mr. Osmond approached. “That woman works tirelessly to save our caravan, all out of the kindness of her heart.”

  “Mr. Osmond,” Felice said. “What a pleasant surprise.”

  “I am just making my rounds to let everybody know that we will soon be departing,” Osmond said. He turned his attention to the older woman. “It is a pleasure to see you in such pristine health, Mrs. Guthrie.”

  The old woman smiled. “It is a pleasure to be in such pristine health, Mr. Osmond. There was a time when I thought that I would never feel so alive again.”

  Felice turned her attention to her companion. “We should be getting back to Dr. Frost and Mr. Albescu, then, Sybil.”

  Sybil agreed with a nod. “Of course.”

  The four of them said their goodbyes, and Sybil and Felice began their walk back to Dr. Frost’s wagon. After a short while, Sybil glanced at her companion and spoke. “I still find it difficult to believe that Mrs. Guthrie was so recently resting upon death’s precipice. You would never be able to tell from looking at her. And to think that Dr. Frost works free of charge! Is such a thing truly possible?”

  “Of course,” Felice said. “She has for as long as I have known her, at the very least.”

  “How does she afford to do that?”

  “In truth, I do not know,” Felice admitted, “but she makes it work for the betterment of her patients. Is she not the most wonderful, selfless woman that you have ever met?”

  “Yes indeed,” Sybil said. “Quite selfless.”

  She smiled, hoping it would disguise the unease that she suddenly felt in her heart.