It's been 5 days since she went to the castle to apply for the position of the person physician of the king fiancee's , at this point Anne had lost all hope of getting the job. She was sure that grumpy blonde devil would make sure she doesn't end up with the position.
She let out a sigh of defeat, she knew there was absolutely no way she would end up with the job, she removed her hands from the thick green mixture of herbs she was currently mixing in a wooden bowl, a local woman had demanded a bottle of herbal remedies for diarrhea for her 2 year old child.
Children having diarrhea in the human realm was very common as they had a weaker immune system compared to children in the fae realm.
She went to the sink at the edge of the wall and washed her hands with clean water and a scentless soap. Today was quite gloomy and she didn't have any patients today apart from the person who demanded the herbal remedy.
Roland who was her apprentice and assistant had taken two days off to visit his mother.
She sieved the mixture of herbs and poured it in an air tight container before giving it to the woman who had ordered it.
" Oh no don't worry you don't have to pay for it, use that money to get some candy for Audrey instead, the mixture is quite bitter and she would need something sweet afterwards to quell the bitterness" Anne said while waving her hands frantically.
Audrey was the two year old daughter of Mrs Brenda who had lost her husband 2 months ago, the poor woman was left to fend for her 2 year old and 5 year old daughters alone after her husband's passing. Anne felt pity for the woman as her husband had been torn apart by bear in the forest when he went to hunt one morning, he managed to put up a fight and wounded the bear but the damage had already been done and it was already too late to save him when a fellow hunter found him and rushed him to her hospital.
Not that there was anything she could do to save him as the bear had torn one of his legs and left a deep gash on his stomach damaging his internal organs. The council had to step in to find and kill the wonded bear before it did more harm to the villagers.
" Thank you very much lady Anne" Mrs Brenda smiled
" You're welcome, give her a tablespoon before every meal till the symptoms subsides"
Mrs Brenda nodded and left.
Anne sat alone in silent for a few minutes before deciding to close up and head inside as it was already becoming late and she had nothing more to do, besides if there was an emergency the person could come directly to her mansion to find her.
She locked the gate of her small hospital which couldn't really be called a hospital as it was more of an health center. The walk from the hospital to her house was just a 2 minutes walk as the hospital was at her property just outside the side of her mansion's gate.
The gate of her house creaked open as she pushed passed it, she quickly made her way to her mansion, she stepped inside and saw the 2 female servants she hired already setting the table, she usually had her dinner before 7 in the evening as she liked going to bed on time. She ate quickly and retired to her room, she removed her hair from a pony tail letting long shiny red curls fall against her back in waves, she let out a tired sigh while running her fingers through her hair, keeping her hair up in a pony tail all day was painful but it was compulsory as she would want her hair disrupting her work plus it made her look more mature.
She took of her clothes and stared at herself in the dressing mirror, her red hair spilling over her shoulders and back, large grey eyes, a small straight nose and pink pouty lips, her breast were firm and round with rosy pink nipples the same colour as her lips, her waist slim and the triangle between her long legs and round hips was hairless she was beautiful and she knew it some male villagers, always had one excuse or the other to come to her hospital to see her. She wasn't ready for a relationship not with what happened in her last one. .
She stepped into the bathroom and took a quick cold bath, she always preferred cold water, she toweled herself dry and used wind magic to dry her hair, most faes were gifted with 2 or more elements and she was no different infact she had the ,4 element water, air, fire and earth which her parents were ignorant of she knew if her parents knew she possessed the 4 elements they would start ranting about the golden fae nonsense and would double her security hindering her escape plan so she only let them know she possessed just 2 elements.
When she was done the time was already 8:10pm, she laid on her bed fully naked as she always slept without clothes on, she didn't understand why people slept with clothes on, it was so suffocating. She was already dosing off when she heard a quiet knock on the door
" Milady are you still awake? There's a letter for you" She heard Lydia's voice behind the door
" Yeah just give me a minute" she grabbed a robe from the closet and put it on
" A letter by this time of the night? How weird! I hope it isn't from one of those secret admirers again" she murmured
She opened the door and took the letter from Lydia " Do you know who delivered it?"
" No my lady but the young man said it was a letter from the castle"
Anne's eyes widened in disbelief "from the castle?" Does that mean she got the job or was it something else? She took the letter and closed the door after muttering a ' thank you' to Lydia.
She quickly opened the letter and read out loud:
Dear Dr Anne
This letter is to inform you that you have been selected as one of the physician who would be working for the duchy and the future queen of Amagonia.
You are to move into the duke's estate by sunrise tomorrow.
His Majesty
The king
Anne's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, she squealed while holding the letter to her chest, she couldn't believe she got the job this was a life time opportunity as it could open a way to gain more noble patients if things went as planned. She was still smiling until she remembered the green eyed devil, her smile dampened at once, he was certainly going to make life difficult for her, she let out a defeated sigh " At least the money and connections would be worth the stress" she tried to cheer herself up but only ended up scowling at the thought of the duke
"I better start packing " she grumbled
Meanwhile at the castle...
" What is the meaning of this caron? Are you trying to piss me off because you are doing a great job at it" Dexter barged into the king's study with a scowl on his face.
" Now.. now Dexter what got you so hot and bothered something red and fiery? Hmm?" Caron said with an amused chuckle
" Why did you send her an acceptance letter did you do it to piss me off?"
" You know that's not the reason I hired her Dexter, she is a skilled physician and we need the most skilled physician for daisy's aliment, we still don't know the cause of her illness. Don't let your dislike for her cloud your judgement we both know she is quite a skilled physician" the king reasoned.
He didn't know why Dexter was against the red haired maiden.
" She isn't fit for the job, I don't think she can handle it"
" And how do you know that? Her achievements on her file was pretty impressive don't be salty Dexter, well You're always salty but be less salty today. She is going to work at your estate and there is nothing you can do about it, I am king and my words are absolute, I am not in the mood for petty arguments" the king massaged his forehead like he suddenly development an headache, he didn't understand why Dexter was against the red haired.
Dexter gritted his teeth and stormed out of the king's study, he knew the red head why skilled but he still didn't believe she could handle the job she was too young,and rebellious. He let out a sigh he didn't know what was wrong with him the red head had been annoyingly stuck in his head since he saw her, was it her defiance? Or was it her red hair? Red hair was rare in this kingdom. Was it the glare in those grey wide eyes or was it that sharp sexy full lips of hers? He let out a groan of frustration, he didn't want her anywhere around him she was too annoying and incredibly sexy, he didn't want his men getting distracted by that walking temptation.
" Take me back to the estate" he ordered the coachman immediately he entered the carriage, the coachmen bowed, closed the carriage door and started the carriage driving towards the palace gates. Tomorrow was going to be a long day...
Anne woke up as early as possible, she had packed everything she needed yesterday in her wooden trunk, she also wrote a letter to Roland Incase he got back from his mother's place, she left the hospital to him as he was already familiar with herbs and simple treatment but if there was an emergency he could just send a letter to inform her beside she'd be coming on Weekends to check on the hospital.
She wore baggy black pants and a white shirt Which she tucked inside her pants, women wearing trousers in the human realm wasn't rare but most women preferred those gowns with a lot of layers because it made look more feminine. Anne decided to let her hair down today, she added some sweet smelly oil and brushed it till it shone, she put some lip oil on her lips and looked at the mirror satisfied with her appearance.
She slipped on her black boots and carried her coat, she decided to skip breakfast as she didn't want to wake the maids, she had already shared the news with them last night and had given them instructions on what to do in her absence.....
The ride to the duchy was just a 30 mins ride, it wasn't too far from where she lived. Edward, her coachmen helped her carry her trunks down from the carriage when they got to the duke's estate, the security at the gate didn't question them much and she was sure the duke already told them he was expecting a visitor.
" Thank you Edward" she accepted his hand as he helped her down the carriage
" You can come and pick me up during the weekend" she said with a smile, Edward bowed and rode the carriage away.
Anne observed the the duke's estate, it was larger than she thought and had enough space for horse riding and other activities. It was always quite beautiful but not as beautiful as the castle she grew up in.
She let out a sigh it seems she was the only physician present or was she??
" Milady do you need help with carrying your trunk?" A young knight rushed to her side immediately he saw her.
" Ohh I do thank you very much " she thanked him with a smile making his ears turn red when he saw her smile. She could carry such a heavy trunk by herself but she didn't want anyone becoming suspecious of her strength so she had to act like a lady in distress.
" I'm Kingsley by the way" the young knight introduced himself while picking her trunk from the ground. " You must be one of the physicians the duke hired, the rest of them are already here.
Of course she was late again and the duke must think she was an unserious person.
Just then the butler a middle aged man with brown hair appeared at the entrance
" You must be miss Anne, the rest are waiting for you in the room, follow me" he took her trunk from Kingsley and gave it to a male servant he bowed and took it to where she assumed would be the room she would be staying in.
She followed the butler while admiring the mansion, the duke really had good taste, the dark red marble floor added more charm and beauty to intricate designs and paintings on the wall. They finally got to a large double door, which the butler pushed with ease.
Immediately they walked in 5 pair of eyes turned to look at them, her especially, she felt the burning glare of the duke on her and swallowed.
Oh boy....