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It was actually a really lovely day, despite the fact we were currently trekking through marshland deep in the woods. The castle grounds and the city were a mere thought this far out. I’ll admit that when Barbatos asked if I’d accompany him on an errand I hadn’t exactly pictured getting up at the crack of dawn and driving out to the woods and then proceeding to hike for another two hours, but now that we were settled in, I was actually enjoying it. It was nice to get away from the city, especially to spend some time with Barbatos where his attentions weren’t first and foremost devoted to his young master.
“What exactly are we looking for again?” I asked as my boots squelched in the moist ground.
“Marsh hell lilies,” Barbatos replied over his shoulder. “They only bloom this time of year and they can be used for various recipes when dried. Prince Diavolo particularly enjoys them steeped in tea so I always like to collect a large quantity of them when I can.”
I nodded as I followed him. “They sound interesting.”
“I’ll make you a cup sometime.” He smiled at me. “They also make a fantastic addition to tea cakes.”
“I’d love to try some.”
He turned around with a pleased sound, pointing ahead. “Looks like we’ve arrived.”
We stepped into a clearing that held a large swamp in the center of it. The croak of frogs and the buzz of insects could be heard flitting among the lily pads. Flowers that bloomed a deep fiery red covered the area and I stood in awe.
“It’s beautiful!”
“They make quite a sight, don’t they?” Barbatos replied as he slid the backpack he was carrying off his shoulder, opening it to retrieve two pairs of clippers. “Let’s get to work then. Cut as many as you can and tie them in bundles—it will make them easier to carry and allow us to hang them to dry as soon as we get back.”
I nodded and took one of the pairs of clippers as I stepped toward the edge of the pond.
“And be careful, Helena, there’s some less than savory creatures in these parts. Watch where you step.”
“Right,” I replied, gingerly making my way through the weeds as I approached the first patch of the lilies. They really were beautiful; deep red and orange in color and the smell was sweet and spicy at the same time. I could see why they would make good tea if they tasted half as good as they smelled.
I cut the bunch and tied them together before moving on to the next one, piling the bundles into the basket I had brought.
“How are you doing?” Barbatos asked a little further down the way, cutting several of the flowers.
“Good,” I replied.
He smiled. “When we get tired, we can break for lunch, I packed a little picnic—ah!”
He pulled his hands back from the bunch of flowers he had been cutting, looking into the weeds around it.
“Barbatos?” I asked, straightening up. “Is something wrong?”
He rubbed at the back of his wrist briefly and shook his head. “Just a bug bite, I believe. There’s quite a few of them flying around.”
“Maybe you should take your own advice and be careful?” I teased.
He gave me a longsuffering, yet fond look. “Perhaps you’re right.”
We went back to cutting, building up a sizable pile of the flowers.
I finally sat back on my heels, rubbing my forehead with the back of my hand, peeling my silver curls away from my sweaty forehead. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to carry any more than this back,” I called to Barbatos.
He had moved around the pond toward me as he worked and finally glanced over at the pile we’d cut, kneeling as he tied up the last of the flowers.
“I think you’re right,” he said and made to stand.
I was surprised to see him stagger slightly, teetering so much he had to steady himself on the trunk of a tree. I reached out instinctively to grab his arm.
“Are you okay?” I couldn’t help but ask. It was rare to see him do so much as misstep. He was always so put together.
Barbatos gave a light laugh. “Quite fine, thank you. The ground is rather soft here.”
I nodded but could have sworn his unsteadiness continued as he made his way back up to where we had left our stuff. We bundled the flowers into the bags to carry them back.
“Ready for a little lunch?” the butler asked.
“Please! That was a lot of work,” I admitted.
“Hopefully rewarding work, though.” He chuckled and knelt to pull a blanket out of his bag.
I helped him spread it on the ground and we sat down as he pulled out sandwiches and thermoses of iced tea and cordial.
“This looks delicious, thank you so much for bringing lunch,” I said sincerely as I selected one of the perfectly made sandwiches.
“My pleasure,” Barbatos replied fondly and started to remove the gloves he had been wearing to collect the flowers.
As he set them aside and reached for one of the thermoses, I caught sight of a dark spot on the back of his wrist and couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped me.
“Barbatos, what is that?”
He stopped and glanced down at his arm, his own face confused. “I believe that’s where I got the bug bite.”
“Let me see,” I insisted and took his hand before I realized what I was doing. I started to flush before my worry overcame my embarrassment. There was a swollen spot on his wrist nearly the same color as his nail polish, dark veins stretching outward from it.
“This looks bad,” I said. “Are you sure it was just a bug bite?”
He studied it with a frown before pulling his sleeve down and gently slipping his hand from mine. “I’ll treat it once we get home.”
I pressed my lips together, more worried than I probably should be. It did look bad, but maybe it wasn’t actually as bad as it appeared to be.
“Please don’t worry over me,” Barbatos said. “It’s just a little inconvenience. Let’s enjoy our lunch.”
I nodded and let him pour me a cup of cold cordial. I didn’t mention the slight tremor in his hand. It might have just been my imagination.
The hike and the work had made me hungry and I ate several of the sandwiches before I noticed that Barbatos had barely finished one, mostly focusing on drinking tea. There was a sheen of sweat on his brow that was persistent despite our immobility and the pleasant breeze.
“Are you not hungry?” I asked.
“I had a large breakfast,” Barbatos replied dismissively.
My worry growing, I set my empty cup aside. “We should probably start to head back, don’t you think? Then we can get your bite tended to.”
Barbatos gave me a tired smile. “I told you I was fine, Helena…”
I ignored him and started packing everything up. He reached for the thermoses to help but knocked one over, cherry red cordial spreading over the cloth.
“Oh my, that was unforgivably clumsy of me,” he muttered, clicking his tongue.
“It’s all right, we’re just on a picnic,” I assured him. “I won’t tell anyone.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
His hands were definitely shaking as he attempted to pick up the thermos again and I reached out to grab his hand, stopping him.
“Barbatos, you…”
He gave my hand a brief squeeze. “I’ll be all right,” he said softly, reaching up with his other hand to wipe a drop of sweat from his brow. “But you’re right, let’s get back before those flowers wilt. It’s rather warm out here today.”
I frowned. It really wasn’t that warm, and I was only growing more worried about Barbatos as we picked everything up and started back on the long hike to the car.
It didn’t take long for me to notice Barbatos lagging behind me slightly, his breathing sounding labored.
I stopped and turned to him. “Do you need to take a break?”
He frowned, slightly indignant. “No. I’m fine.”
Even as he said it, he swayed slightly, and his free hand came up to rest against his stomach, face paling.
“Barbatos, don’t lie to me,” I snapped suddenly, fist clenching around the handle of the basket I carried. “I think that bite was worse than you’re letting on.”
He looked like he was about to protest, but his shoulders slumped slightly, the hand against his stomach curling into his shirt. “Perhaps you’re right. I seem to be…experiencing several undesirable symptoms.”
“Like that?” I demanded.
He cocked his head to one side. “Fatigue, nausea, sweating.”
“Does it hurt?”
“A bit around the bite, yet.”
I nodded firmly. “Okay, thank you for being honest with me. Do you think you can make it back to the car?”
“There’s not really another option,” he admitted and I knew that was unfortunately true. He smiled though. “Unless, of course, you plan to carry me and all of these flowers.”
“I will if I have to,” I snapped, then stepped up beside him, grabbing hold of the basket handle with him. “At least let me help you.”
He sighed, but didn’t protest. “I’ll accept that.”
We continued, but I noticed with increasing worry that Barbatos’ steps grew more and more clumsy as we went along until he was nearly tripping over his feet.
“Here, lean on me,” I coaxed, ducking in.
He shook his head. “We’ll have to lose one of the baskets if we do that. I can manage…”
But even as he spoke, he let out a soft sound of pain and doubled over slightly, clutching his stomach.
“Barbatos!” I cried, instantly dropping my basket and grabbing his arms to steady him.
He gasped at my touch and flinched away. He staggered back against a tree, eyes squeezed in pain as he breathed heavily.
“What’s wrong?!” I demanded.
He gave a soft groan, forcing himself to straighten up. “It’s…I’m experiencing some muscle spasms and cramping.”
“Barbatos that’s not good!” I snapped and practically yanked the basket from him. “We need to get back to the car. We can come back for these later.”
“They’ll be past saving by then.”
“Better them than you!” I snapped.
Barbatos stared at me in surprise for a long second before he slumped in acquiescence. “Very well. I apologize for my foolishness.”
I pulled his arm around my shoulders and wrapped my other arm around his waist. He rested a lot of his weight on me, telling me just how much he was struggling.
We made it a few feet before Barbatos’ feet got tangled together and he stumbled, taking me down with him.
He caught himself with a gasp of pain and I looked down to see the hand he had steadied himself with.
Dark lines covered it, stretching from under his sleeve.
“Let me look at that,” I coaxed.
He sat back against a large stone, catching his breath as I grabbed his hand and pushed up his sleeve.
I gasped, genuinely shocked at how much worse the bite looked.
It had turned purple with a ring of red around it, the flesh slightly sunken and sickeningly discolored around it. The dark veins of poison continued up Barbatos’ arm as well, disappearing under his sleeve.
I swallowed hard. “Barbatos, I think something is very wrong with this.”
He blinked and glanced down, his own eyes widening. “Yes…I…I believe you’re right.”
“What could do this?”
He leaned further back against the rock, sweat practically pouring from his face now. “It…might be a swamp spider bite. Their bites are known to have severe symptoms and the venom can sometimes cause necrosis.”
My eyes widened in horror. “The venom is spreading! How do we stop it?”
He lolled his head, looking around. “We may be able to…draw it out. If you can find some skunk weed and…moss…”
I got up immediately, and began searching the area. Thankfully I was able to find what I needed and ran back.
Barbatos was clumsily trying to loosen his collar and I swiftly knelt beside him and reached out to help.
“Here, I’ll get you some more to drink in a minute…” I trailed off as I noticed a few faint black tendrils creeping up his neck. I peeled the collar of his shirt aside and saw that they extended from his shoulder.
“Barbatos…” I hesitated. “I need you to take your shirt off.”
He blinked at me, slightly shocked. “I’m sorry?”
I flushed, but continued. “I need to see how far this had gone.”
He complied and I helped him with the buttons, my cheeks flushing hotter as I pulled one side of his shirt open and eased his arm out of the sleeve. I would have been extremely flustered to be this close to him in his half-undressed state if I wasn’t so worried by what I had uncovered.
The black veins had traveled all the way from the suppurating wound on his wrist up to his shoulder where they were starting to spread over his neck and right pectoral.
“Barbatos,” I whispered, terror washing over me.
He tilted his head to see the extent of the damage and shut his eyes briefly. “We’ll try to draw it out with the poultice,” he said quietly.
I nodded, snapping myself into gear and crushed the plants up in my hands, pressing them against the bite and tying a kerchief around his arm to hold it there. He winced, the flesh obviously tender to the touch.
“Thank you,” he murmured, briefly pressing his hand over mine. His touch was so weak, it made me even more frantic to get him home.
“Hopefully that slows it down a little,” I said. “But we…we need to get back to the car, Barbatos. Can you make it?”
He nodded tiredly.
“Okay, I’ll help you up. On three—one, two…”
He staggered and I barely kept us both from falling. Despite his slim frame, Barbatos was solid, all lithe muscles that were currently trembling from the effects of the poison tearing its way through his veins.
My fear lent me strength, somehow keeping Barbatos upright and heading forward as we went as quickly as possible down the path.
I almost sobbed when we got to the edge of the forest and I saw the car. I got Barbatos into the passenger seat, situating him as carefully as possible before I grabbed the keys from his bag.
I drove as fast as I could while still obeying the laws of the road to get back to the palace. Barbatos was slumped in the seat, unresponsive by then and I wasn’t sure I had ever felt so much terror for anyone in my life. To think that a day that had started out so pleasant could have changed so drastically in a matter of hours. All because of a spider bite.
I skidded the car to a stop in front of the palace and hurried inside to call for help.
Amidst the hubbub Diavolo showed up.
“What’s going on?”
I swallowed hard. “Barbatos was bitten by a swamp spider…he’s…he’s really sick.” I bit the inside of my cheek but I couldn’t keep my voice from wavering.
Diavolo’s eyes widened and he hurried out to the car. “Barbatos?”
The butler didn’t respond and Diavolo waved the milling guards aside. “I’ll take him.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
He smiled at me as he reached into the car. “I’m sure. Just promise me you won’t tell him? He’d never forgive himself.”
I gave the prince a wavering smile and hurried after him as he brought Barbatos to the butler’s room, laying him on the bed.
“I called the physician, my lord,” one of the guards said.
“Thank you,” Diavolo said.
I hurried to the bathroom to grab a wet cloth. I returned to Barbatos’ bedside, and started to wipe the sweat from his face and neck, worried about the fact that the veins still seemed to be spreading, if not quite as rapidly as before.
The doctor came quickly and inspected the wound, peeling back the poultice I had put on it earlier.
“You did good putting this on,” he told me. “It kept it from getting much worse. Unfortunately, the only way to stop the spread of the venom is to cut out the infected flesh around the wound. Once we do that, we can draw the rest of the poison from his system.”
I swallowed, pale and horrified at the notion, but if that was the only way there was nothing else for it.
“I’ll get my supplies and be back shortly.” The doctor left, leaving me alone in the room with Diavolo and the unconscious Barbatos. I tried to distract myself by continuing to dab his forehead.
“I’m sure Barbatos would apologize to you for not bringing back the marsh lilies,” I said quietly.
Diavolo snorted. “Of course he would. But it’s all right. He’s a lot more invaluable to me than some specialty tea.” He gave me a soft look. “To you too, I’m sure.”
I blushed, brushing Barbatos’ bangs back from his clammy forehead. “I hate seeing him like this,” I admitted. “It’s just…wrong.”
Diavolo nodded solemnly. “I feel the same. But I genuinely appreciate how you helped him, Helena. I’m not sure Barbatos would have been so willing to be open around anyone else.”
The doctor returned, setting a tray of sterile instruments onto the bedside table.
“This should be simple enough,” he commented, taking a folded towel and placing Barbatos’ injured arm on top of it. “If you could perhaps hold him still, though? This will not be a pleasant procedure and I don’t want him moving around.”
I swallowed hard but nodded. Diavolo cleared his throat and stepped over to the bed, positioning himself to hold down Barbatos’ legs.
I took I took Barbatos’ free hand, holding it tightly in some attempt at comfort as I pressed my other hand against his shoulder.
“Alright, I’ll do this as quickly as possible,” the doctor said and took up a scalpel.
Diavolo turned aside sickly and I glanced down at Barbatos’ hand clutched in mine, holding onto him tightly.
As soon as the doctor started, Barbatos let out a soft sound of pain, tossing his head weakly. Diavolo and I leaned our weight against him, making sure he didn’t move. He tried to kick once, letting out a strangled cry, but I soothed him softly, rubbing his knuckles.
The doctor finished quickly as promised and flushed the wound over a bowl before bandaging a fresh poultice over the wound. Barbatos lay limp on the bed, sweat glistening against his brow and chest.
“There. This should start the healing process. We’ll change the poultice out a few more times until we can’t see the veins anymore.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Diavolo said.
The doctor bowed. “I’ll be back to check on him later.”
I went back to washing the sweat from Barbatos before he started to shiver and I paused to reach down and pull the blanket over him.
“I have duties that I need to see to,” Diavolo said reluctantly. “Would you watch over him for me?”
“Of course,” I said instantly.
Diavolo smiled. “Thank you. Please let me know if you need anything.”
I nodded and he left the room.
I pulled a chair over to the side of the bed and took up my vigil. I reached under the blankets and took Barbatos’ hand again, squeezing gently.
“I know you’ll get better but you scared the hell out of me,” I whispered. “Please don’t do that again.”
He didn’t reply, deeply asleep. I laid my head down on the bed at his shoulder and finally allowed my eyes to fall shut, my constant worry over the last couple hours finally dragging me into exhaustion.
I woke later to a shifting beside me and a soft moan. I started awake, my hand clenching around something as I pushed myself up, realizing where I was and whose hand I was holding.
Barbatos shifted on the bed, eyes squeezed briefly before they fluttered open, his green eyes staring out blearily before they landed on mine.
“Hey,” I said softly, offering a smile. “How are you feeling?”
He cringed, starting to pick his injured arm up before he seemed to regret the movement, letting it fall back to his side. “Not at my best, regrettably.”
I squeezed his hand and he stared up at me again, a soft expression on his face. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember much after getting back to the car, but I assume I have you to thank for getting us home.”
I shrugged a bit self-conscious. “You were sick, I had to get you help.”
I finally released his hand and reached out to adjust his blankets, checking to see how the venom was progressing. I was relieved to see that the dark veins had faded to almost nothing, only visible right around the area of the wound itself.
“Helena…” Barbatos called softly, reaching up to brush his fingers over my cheek. I reached up and pressed my hand over his, leaning into his touch with a shuddering breath.
“Please don’t scare me like that again,” I blurted.
He looked slightly surprised, but also chastened. “I deeply apologize for worrying you. I shouldn’t have ignored the bite for as long as I did. It was careless.”
I nodded silently. “Yes, it was. But I’m glad you’re okay now. And you had better stay in bed until you feel well because if you even think of getting up before you’re completely recovered…”
“Hmm, but who will see to duties while I’m convalescing?” he asked.
“I’m sure Diavolo has already lined something up. He would agree with me about your recovery.”
“And what about you?” he asked, raising his eyebrow.
I gave him a firm look. “I will be here looking after you to make sure you stay in bed and recover swiftly.”
“Is that so?” he asked with a slightly teasing look, pulling my hand to his lips and kissing my knuckles, making me blush. “I suppose I can endure that.”
I smiled back. “How about some tea to start?”
He leaned back against his pillows with a sigh. “That sounds perfect.”