Temptations of Pleasure Island (5 page)

“I am yours to command, my lord.”

“Then listen. I would have you leave at once …”

The cheers of thousands filled the arena. Reb Jackson leaned forward and urged on the mighty white horse to even greater speed. Then he drove Lightning across the finish line, yanked the white Stetson off his head, and let out a wild cry of victory.

Reb had become a favorite with those who came to the horse races. Aside from the prince himself, he seemed to be the most popular horseman in the kingdom.

Now he pulled up the white steed, slipped off his back, and handed over the reins to one of the horse handlers. He petted the horse’s steaming side, and
Lightning tried to nip him. Reb laughed. “That’s all right. You can bite if you want to. You ran a good race.”

Then Reb advanced to where a small platform had been built. This was where the awards and trophies were given each day.

Princess Cosima herself stepped toward him and extended her hand.

Reb had been coached by one of the palace advisers that, when either the queen or the princess presented the award, he was to kiss her hand. He felt rather foolish doing this, but, bending forward, he performed his duty.

And then Princess Cosima reached for the small box that an attendant handed her. “And this is for you, my Reb.”

Reb took the box from her hand and opened it. His eyes widened, and he gasped, “That’s the prettiest ring I’ve ever seen!” After that, he could only stare at the gold ring with its large green stone and wag his head back and forth. “I never even had a ring before.”

“Put it on. See if it fits.”

Reb took the heavy ring from the box and slipped it on the ring finger of his right hand. “Fits like a glove,” he said cheerfully.

“I’m glad. It will remind both of us, every time we see it, of your great victory on Lightning. Now, remember, there is a banquet this evening to celebrate all the winners.”

The princess began walking from the arena, and Reb walked beside her. He looked up at the stands, which were packed with people still screaming his name, and he grinned. “Seems like a big to-do over a horse race.”

“You’ve become very popular, Reb. Everyone in
the country knows who you are. How does it feel to be famous?”

“Doesn’t feel like much of anything except that my ears get tired when everybody yells like that.”

Cosima took his arm. “You are a strange young man! Most boys would love to be famous.”

“It’s all right, I guess. And I got me a green ring out of it.” He held up his hand and admired the ring again. Then he looked down at the princess. She was especially beautiful today, he thought. She was dressed in a sparkling blue-sequined dress, and her hair was done in a braid that formed a wreath around her head. Her eyes were bright and blue.

Cosima said, “Do you want to know a secret?”

“Sure.”

“As you know, the crown always provides the awards. But that valuable ring won’t cost my father anything.”

Reb looked again at the stone. “It looks expensive.”

“It
is
expensive. But I bet that you would win, and you did. I had to give odds at three to one, but I won.”

“Three to one! What if you had lost?”

“But I didn’t lose,” the princess said. “Come on, Reb. Let’s get ready for the banquet. I can hardly wait to show you off. After all, you are my champion.”

That night’s banquet was held in one of the several banquet rooms. But this time the banquet was rather small, as such things went. No more than thirty people were present, all close friends of the king.

The king himself sat beside Lord Denning, who was Master of the Council. Denning was an older man with silvery hair and penetrating gray eyes. It had not
taken the Sleepers long to discover that Lord Denning did most of the actual work of running the kingdom. The king himself was too busy with balls and races and contests.

The food was excellent, as always, but Sarah found herself looking at the king. “He looks tired, Josh,” she whispered. “And really not very happy.”

“He sure does. He looks downright depressed to me.”

“The others in the royal family say he didn’t used to be like this when he was a younger man. That just in the last year or so he’s been falling into these discouraged periods.”

The food began to be passed around again. There were exotic dishes such as grilled hummingbird. Each one of the tiny creatures would make a single bite. Sarah noticed that none of the Sleepers tried eating hummingbird.

“I always liked hummingbirds,” Jake said. “I wouldn’t feel right eating one.”

“Of course, I like cows too,” Reb said, “but you don’t see me turning down a steak.”

“That’s not quite the same thing!” Jake protested.

“Why isn’t it the same thing?”

“Because hummingbirds are beautiful, and cows aren’t.”

Reb put his fork down. “Who says cows aren’t beautiful?
I
think cows are beautiful.”

Laughter went around the table, and Princess Cosima said, “But you wouldn’t want to eat a horse, would you, Reb?”

More laughter circled the table, and this time Reb grinned sheepishly. “You got me that time, princess. No, I sure wouldn’t.”

When the dinner had been going on for some time, an attendant dressed in purple came in and whispered in the ear of Lord Denning. As soon as he left, Lord Denning said loudly enough so that Sarah could easily hear him, “Your Majesty, the physician from the mainland is here.”

The king drew a hand across his face. His eyes still had a troubled light, and he sighed. “Well, he will do little good, but admit him.”

Queen Tamsin leaned over and put her hand on her husband’s arm. “You must be hopeful, dear,” she said. “This doctor comes very well recommended.”

All eyes turned to the door, and there was a surprised murmur as the doctor entered.

Sarah—and probably everyone else—had been expecting a doctor with white hair and spectacles. Instead, a beautiful young woman entered. She was dressed all in black and had black hair and black eyes. There was a confident air about her as she marched into the banquet hall. She went directly to stand before the royal couple and bowed deeply, rather than curtseying as a woman usually would.

“Your Majesty, I am Lady Maeve. You sent for me.”

The king appeared confused. He ran a hand over his hair doubtfully and said, “I was not aware—” He could not finish and seemed embarrassed.

“You were expecting a man.” Lady Maeve smiled. “I am accustomed to that, Your Majesty. I learned my skills from my physician father. He is too old to make this sort of journey anymore, so he sent me in his place. I hope you are not displeased.”

The king shook his head. “I really have little hope of help from any physicians.”

“That is a condition that I hope to change, Your Majesty,” Lady Maeve said.

“I suppose you will want to examine me.”

“I would like to have a conference with you at your convenience, sire. I would like to know more about your problems.”

“Very well. I suppose now will do as well as any. Excuse me, my friends.”

The king rose, and, of course, everyone rose with him. He and the new doctor left the room, and conversation buzzed around the table as people reseated themselves.

“Wow, I think I’m getting sick,” Dave said. “Never saw a doctor who looked that good.”

“Me too. I don’t feel well at all,” Jake moaned. He held a hand to his forehead. “I think I’m getting a temperature.”

Abbey glared at them. “That’s no way to carry on! This is serious!”

Prince Derek turned to his mother. “I was surprised that the doctor proved to be female. But perhaps, if she knows her business, she will be a help.”

“We’ll hope so, my son.”

The king proceeded down the hallway toward his study, followed by Lady Maeve and a servant. The servant opened the door, they went inside, and he turned to face the new doctor.

“What will you require?”

“Just a little privacy while we discuss your problems, Your Majesty.”

“You may go.” The king dismissed the servant and sat down.

Lady Maeve sat opposite the king. “Your Majesty,
it is very important that a patient have confidence in his physician. You do not know me, so I cannot ask for that yet. But I will ask that you keep an open mind.”

The king looked into the clear eyes of the young doctor. They were so black that they seemed to have no pupil. A strange fragrance drifted from her—not perfume exactly but something much like it. He shrugged his shoulders and said bitterly, “It would be better, Lady Maeve, if I had an ailment of the flesh. We have excellent physicians here, but who can minister to a diseased mind?”

“I hope to do exactly that, Your Majesty. Now, this may seem rather foolish to you, but would you mind if I burn a little incense while we talk?”

“Incense!” The king looked at her strangely. “Is that part of your treatment?”

“Partly,” Lady Maeve said with a smile. “In my research, I have come upon a secret ingredient that seems to have a soothing effect. I often use it myself when I’m troubled.”

Immediately the king’s interest was aroused. “Well, indeed, I would be most gratified if it would succeed.”

Lady Maeve reached into the bag that she carried and quickly set up a small incense burner. It was no bigger than a large cup, but when she lit the flame underneath it, the room was soon filled with a strong but not unpleasant odor.

“Pay no attention to the incense, Your Majesty,” Lady Maeve said lightly. “Soon it may relax you a little, and that is all I am interested in at the moment. Now tell me your symptoms.”

The king sat back and began to speak. “I’ve always been healthy in body,” he said, “but of late I have become depressed.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“A year or two. Maybe three. It came on very gradually.”

“And you have no physical ailments?”

The king laughed. “No. I’m very strong for my age. Very healthy indeed.”

As the conversation went on, the king found himself indeed relaxing. The doctor had a smooth, gentle voice, and the smell of the incense did have a soothing effect. In fact, he talked longer than he normally would. Finally he said, “I find that you are easy to talk to, Lady Maeve.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I hope so. And now I think I may have very good news for you.”

“You mean you can help me?”

“I believe it is possible.” Lady Maeve reached into her bag again and drew forth a crystal vial filled with a ruby-colored liquid. “This has been successful with some of my patients who have had your very symptoms.”

“What is it?” King Leo asked. He felt growing excitement.

“It is the juice of a very rare plant that grows only in one area of Nuworld. So far as I know, it has never been cultivated successfully away from that one place. I call it Soma.”

“It looks harmless enough. What does it do?”

“It has a soothing effect for most people. But those who are depressed find that it works just the opposite for them. It seems to cheer them up, strange as that may seem.”

“Ah, that would be wonderful.” The king sighed.

“Shall we try it, then?” Lady Maeve smiled winningly.

“Yes, indeed.”

“Then we will have a glass of wine.” She arose and took a container from a table. She filled a small goblet and carefully added a single drop of the ruby-colored liquid. She swirled its contents, and said, “Drink this, sire. And I think you will find yourself feeling much better very soon.”

King Leo took the goblet. He held it for a moment and looked into its crimson depths, then lifted it to his lips. He drank it all, wiped his lips with his handkerchief, and nodded. “We will see, Lady Maeve, whether you are a physician or not.”

Lady Maeve took the cup from the king’s hand. A satisfied look flashed for a moment in her eyes. She smiled and said quietly, “Yes, sire, we shall see. And very soon.”

J
osh leaned against the wall of Jake Garfield’s room, watching him work on a new type of sword harness. Jake was always trying to improve things. “I haven’t heard much out of you lately, Jake,” Josh said idly. “What have you been up to?”

Looking up from his work, the redhead grinned. “I’ve been trying to convince Prince Derek to let me become chief inventor for Pleasure Island. I think I—” Jake never finished his sentence.

Abruptly the door opened, and, to Josh’s astonishment, King Leo himself walked in.

“Your Majesty!” Josh exclaimed. He came off the wall and straightened up at once.

Jake scrambled to his feet, and both boys bowed.

“Well, well, what is this? Two young men just standing around doing nothing? I came to call you. We’ve got to be on our way!”

Josh blinked, bewildered. “On our way to where, Your Majesty?”

“Why, to the arena, of course. I told you about it at breakfast. Or did I?”

The king’s eyes were bright, and the pupils looked enlarged. His hair was ruffled where he had apparently run his hands through it. Then he asked impatiently, “Where are the rest of your friends? I can’t find them. We’re going to be late!”

Josh had truly forgotten that the king had said something about attending the afternoon games. He
had no intention of saying so, however. Instead he said, “Sure. Come on, Jake. His Majesty’s waiting.”

“I’ll get the other guys,” Jake offered. “What about the girls?”

“They’re already on the way with the princess. Now, hurry along.”

Jake quickly rounded up Wash and Dave and reported that Reb had already gone to the games with the princess. Then the four boys hurried along toward the arena, well behind the king and his attendants.

On the way, Prince Derek joined them. He was shrugging himself into a jacket.

“What’s your father in such a rush about today, Derek?” Josh asked in a low voice.

Giving Josh a harried look, Derek shook his head. “He’s been like this for days now. Ever since that doctor came here. Whatever she’s doing has sure changed my father.”

“I’ve noticed he’s awfully busy acting,” Jake said. He was puffing to keep up. “But that’s good news, isn’t it?”

Derek did not answer for a moment. “I suppose so,” he said dubiously. “But it’s such a turnaround.”