The Physician stepped through the door from the medical facility and was immediately swarmed over by what seemed to be every person from the village.
While he warmed up, the others had prepared the Great Hall for the feast. The destruction of the windmill had cast an ominous pall over the villagers; but the anticipation of the next day’s joys and the start of the celebratory feast had quickly returned the celebratory atmosphere. Gusts of wind outside the building crept through the crevasses in the wall and teased the candles, causing shadows to dance up and down the walls. The flames from the fireplace drove back the cool dampness of the storm. The tantalizing smells of the feast beckoned invitingly to everyone in the room to partake of the banquet table.
Karl emerged from the crowd and forced his way forward.
The Physician leaned close and whispered. “I am fine, but somewhat overwhelmed. It is as if everyone wants to greet me in person.”
Karl nodded as he led the Physician through the villagers. “If we don’t get you to some food soon our hospitality will cause you to starve.”
“If the food tastes half as good as it smells I will have to walk back to Philadelphia because I will have eaten too much to get back on that horse.”
Karl gestured toward the table. “There are worse fates. I hope that you will enjoy your stay. You have only to ask and we will do everything in our power to accommodate you.”
The Physician smiled. The rustic room was very different from the modern cafeteria at the residence back in Philadelphia. His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply. If he was not mistaken the feast prepared for his arrival was real food, not the processed nuggets high in nutrients but agonizingly poor in taste that he was used to. “I thank you for your generosity.”
Before he could take a step toward the food, two of the young maidens from the village came up from behind and gently entwined their arms with his. One offered him a goblet of wine while the other whispered softly in his ear. “We took the liberty of preparing a plate for you at the head table.”
The Physician looked deep into their wide eyes and smiled even more as he felt them gently caress his arms. All of the villagers were going out of their way to make sure that he was welcomed completely, and some more than others. “I am sure I will enjoy all that you have to offer.”
“Tell us about the city,” one of the maidens asked as she cut a slice of meat for him from the slab on his plate while the other one fed him a fresh juicy strawberry.
“What would you like to know?”
“Oh, absolutely everything. You can’t believe how insanely boring it is around here,” said the second woman as she fed him a juicy strawberry.
“You can only talk about the weather and plantings and harvesting for so long before you begin to lose your mind. It’s been almost forever since we had a visitor,” added the first as she offered more food.
The Physician chewed the succulent venison. “Well, if I had to guess I would think that you had some visitors here nine months ago.
The women laughed. “Those monks were even more boring than everyone else in the village combined. They wouldn’t even accept a feast or anything that we tried to offer, but at least they caused you to come here. You are definitely exciting and we want to know everything about you.”
“and we mean absolutely everything…”
The Physician’s face turned a deep red. His close encounter with the lighting and the total destruction of the windmill had given him a new appreciation on life and death. He intended to learn from his experience and fully embrace all that life had to offer.
“Pardon the interruption, may we join you?” Karl sat down across from the doctor and filled two cups from the tap of the small oak barrel that he brought to the table.
The doctor smiled back through clenched teeth. Under ideal circumstances he would have greatly preferred to be left alone with his two lovely hostesses, but common courtesy required that he accept the offered cup.. At least the interruption came along with some of the fine warm apple wine that had helped steady his nerves earlier.
“I wanted to introduce you to my life mate, Anne.” A young woman approached carrying a heaping plate of food. Her enlarged abdomen proclaimed the late stages of pregnancy. She placed the meal in front of Karl and then wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
“It doesn’t take a doctor to see that you are the one I am here to assist.”
The smile on her face faded away. She burst into tears and buried her face against Karl’s chest.
Previous: Chapter 04
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