Medicine is in the Blood

“Let me finish that, your Highness,” Gabriel puts the horseback outfit on a table and wipes the prince. “It looks like your lower undergarments are also wet, we should replace them, Your Highness.”

“Yes, you should,” the prince concurs. “Gianni got them wet.”

“What,” Gabriel turns to Gianni, “what were you doing while I was gone?”

“Nothing,” the prince laughs.

Gabriel gets a lower garment from the closet, where he took the fencing suit. The prince bids both butlers to leave the room. And they obey.

“What were you doing while I was gone?” Gabriel asks bluntly. “And why were you stumbling on your back the moment I came back?”

“I was just wiping his Highness,” Gianni whitely lies. “Nothing happened, honestly.”

A knock from the partition then breaks the two’s conversation. The prince finishes wearing equestrian clothing. A navy-blue jodhpur, with tight-fitting trousers reaching down to the ankle, where they end in a snug cuff. A white shirt that outlines his muscular torso. White gloves, and a helmet. Only the boots are left.

Gabriel bids Gianni help his Highness with his shoes, as he fetches the prince’s horse. Gianni follows Gabriel’s instruction, donning the boots on the prince.

They both leave the room thereafter. They proceed to the track beside the barracks. Gabriel waits for them under a shed. He is holding the rein of the prince’s pure white horse with a golden mane.

“Is he thoroughbred?” Gianni asks Gabriel.

“Of course,” Gabriel replies with proudness. “Only the finest horses in the kingdom are worthy to be ridden by the crown prince.”

Before leaving the track, Gabriel feeds the horse some carrots and sugar cubes. Prince Julien then rides the horse.

“Easy, boy,” he caresses the horse’s neck and leaves for the starting line.

Gianni watches in awe as he sees the horses run past each other. Three knights are also there to compete against the princes. The race starts with a knight holding a red flag and waving it down, a sound of a sharp cymbal accompanies it.

Prince Julien is in front, but a knight overtakes him taking the lead. He does not let up though, whipping the reins imploring the horse to go faster. He claims the lead again. Prince Louis, who falls last, suddenly gets into trouble. His horse suddenly stops, and he whips the reins over and over, but it does not obey him. Suddenly, the horse goes berserk and throws him across the track.

Without hesitation, Gianni runs toward the fallen prince. “Gabriel gets some medical supplies, and call for help,” he shouts dashing to the prince’s rescue. Gianni makes the prince lie supine tilting his head upward. The prince is unconscious. His forehead and right arm are bleeding.

“Your Highness,” he tries to wake him up.

“What happened?” the prince hyperventilates.

“Please remain calm, your Highness,” Gianni replies as tactfully as he can. “Where do you feel pain?”

“My right shoulder hurts,” the prince wails.

“It might be dislocated,” Gianni inspects the shoulder, which confirms his diagnosis. “It is dislocated. This will hurt a lot, your Highness,” he holds the prince’s right arm and pushes it up towards the shoulder. The moment he pushes it, a cracking sound originates from his shoulder blade. Prince Louis screams and shrieks loudly that his horse runs away out of fright. But his shoulder is no longer in pain after that.

“Thank you, I…” he passes out.

Gabriel returns with bandages and antibiotics. Medics of the knight brigade also follow him. Gabriel hands Gianni the medical kit. Momentarily, the latter swiftly treat each wound.

“I need an antiseptic,” he shouts. “Do you have liquor or alcohol?”

“We use this to kill the infection,” a medic hands him a bottle of dark orange liquid. He opens the lid and smells the liquid.

“Iodine, this will do.”

Gianni cleans the areas around the wound. He circles a piece of sterile cloth and soaks it with the iodine. Gently, he begins from the edge of the wound, making his way in a circular motion outward. He prepares the bandages and affixes them to the wounds.

The race ends at that moment. Prince Julien notices the commotion on the far end of the horse track and gallops to the location. Like the invisible wind blowing through the subtle savannah, he rides as swiftly as he can.

When he gets there, Gianni is treating the prince’s right arm and shoulder. He marvels at his speed at treating the wounds and bruises. He worries greatly for his brother, dismounting and running to his side. He feels glad he took Gianni in as his butler. Although, he feels a tad bit of jealousy for the treatment that his brother is receiving. A spice of jealousy.

After treating the prince, the medic knights carry him to the infirmary. Gianni gives specific instructions to them before they leave.

Gianni’s suit now has bloodstains on it. His hands and arms also have Louis’ blood on them. Gianni looks across the barren track, feeling the coolness and freshness of the blowing breeze. Suddenly, Prince Julien approaches him, throwing his handkerchief to his shoulder.

“Wipe the bloodstains with that,” the prince says sternly before storming off. Gianni’s mind fills with puzzles, but he is glad about the prince’s gesture. His heart finds comfort in the thought of helping a member of the royal family on this athletic afternoon.

Days after the second prince’s incident, the people in the palace including the royals talk about Gianni’s heroism and medical skill. They all praise him for his deeds and quick action to rescue the prince and resolve the emergency.

The sun rises and the morning breeze blows through the open tower window of Gianni and Gabriel’s room. As there is only a single bed, the two share it. Gianni sleeps at the side nearer to the closet and the window, while Gabriel is closer to the table and the door.

The wind is chilly in the morning, and the two have a habit of sleeping with only their underwear. Gianni is bare as he kicks his blanket out of his bed. With the cold air, he feels cold and hugs warmly curled Gabriel who faces him this time.

Gianni still feels cold even though he feels Gabriel’s warmth. He tries to get his blanket. He fails to do so and ends up sharing the same blanket with Gabriel. Gianni is so sleepy that he does not feel any bit of embarrassment early this morning.

Gabriel, meanwhile, loves the warmth Gianni provides. His warmth is so comfortable that Gabriel returns the embrace Gianni gives him. Gianni’s consciousness finally reaches the surface. He feels something coiled around his hips and something like a hand touching his lower back.

He opens his eyes and sees Gabriel hugging him. He feels warm with his embrace, and because of the cold, he returns it gladly. Both keep warm while resisting the cold morning air.

It is now time for Gabriel to wake up. The first thing he feels is a warm moist breath blowing near his mouth, a warm embrace, a hand touching his upper back, and a hot and hard rod brushing against his own. Like two flames passionately burning and blazing beside each other, the two warm each other up. When he comes to his senses, he realizes what he and Gianni are doing.

NOOOO, he freaks out. Did anything happen, nothing happened right? Nothing happened between us.

He tries his best to remain calm to not wake Gianni up. He gets out of bed as quickly as he could. He can smell Gianni’s breath and feel every inch of his body as it sticks to his. He especially feels his hard and hot rod under his underwear rubbing against his own, feeling embarrassment and pleasure.

He slowly removes Gianni’s embrace, while distancing slowly. He moves too far back, dropping from the bed. A loud thud follows, which wakes Gianni up.

“Gabriel?” he looks for him. “Where?”

“I’m fine,” Gabriel stands up and replies. “I have to prepare for the day.”

Gianni blushes as he sees Gabriel’s thing hard and bulging. “What were you doing on the floor?” Gianni asks with a reddened face.

“What are you assuming?” Gabriel replies, his face also blushing. As soon as he realizes what Gianni meant, he covers it with his hands. “I fell from the bed. I didn’t do anything suspicious this morning. I swear to God, I didn’t.”

The awkward conversation ends with the two preparing for their jobs. Gabriel checks on the prince, while Gianni writes in his diary. As he is writing, he hears a knock at his door. He is unsure as to who it is. When he opens it, he sees the second prince.

“Your Highness,” Gianni greets him with a bow. “How may I be of service?”

“Gianni,” Prince Louis holds his right arm, “thank you for what you did the other day for me. I cannot thank you enough.”

“I was just doing my job, Your Highness,” he smiles.

“Are you still busy?” the prince looks around his room. “I want to talk to you as we head to the dining hall.”

“I will accompany you, Your Highness.”

So, the two go on their way to the dining hall. They converse about numerous things, from Gianni’s life as a physician to his relationship with Prince Julien. Prince Louis pities him, vowing to help him in his current job.

When they arrive at the door to the dining hall, the prince takes off his ring and gives it to Gianni.

“Wear this,” the second prince hands it to him. It is a golden ring, with a rose diamond embellishment. Inside the stone is a small carnation petal, with the insignia of the royal family written on its surface. “From now on, the ring is yours. Wear it proudly.”

“Your Highness,” Gianni tries to refuse the gift. “I cannot accept such a priceless gift. All I did was treat your wounds.” “It is yours now, whether you accept it or not,” Louis enters the dining hall. “Thank you, Gianni. I look forward to the future with your services.”