Chapter 2.

The visit of the alchemist Will.

A couple of weeks later, King Cyprian was summoned by the court of government, where he was told that an alchemist from very far away lands would be passing through the Kingdom, although he was relatively a young man, he was very wise in mind and considered himself a young master, who could predict the future and speak with those who were no longer on this earthly plane; the King spent the whole day thinking about those words, ¿could a young master predict the future and speak with the dead?, That only seemed to be true for the fantasies of some child who is raised by his grandparents in the countryside, however, he was curious about what that young master could tell him, until now he only knew that he was young and wise, he did not know what his appearance was, therefore, he had deduced that due to his wisdom he would be old in appearance and due to his youth he could be a peasant. So, during lunch with the queen, Cyprian told her: in two days an alchemist will be passing through the Kingdom, so I have sent some subordinates to inform him that I have invited him to go hunting, I hope you can accompany us along with the boy during the hunt, in this way, the alchemist will also be able to tell us about his future; Eva didn't say anything, she only silently accepted what her husband told her and so the two days passed as if nothing had happened.

When the time came, a tall man, of medium build and dark skin, entered with the King's subordinates, his green eyes looked like those of a feline, his long hair and growing beard made his masculinity hide his youth, the King seeing that man asked him: ¿are you the one who can speak to the heavens and hear the whisper of the future? The alchemist smiled and told him: my name is Will, it is an honor that the King has heard of me, then Cyprian continued saying, this at my side is my beautiful queen Eva... and the child in her arms is my heir, they are going to accompany us hunting today, I hope you can also join us; Will looked to his sides, saw the subordinates standing behind him, then looked ahead and said: Your Majesty, I don't think I have any other alternative but to join you in hunting, since I have been brought directly to the King's anteroom, then a laugh escaped from both sides.

Will stared at the queen and said: It seems like yesterday when I was on the coast with my master and I met a girl named Eva, who subdued the pirates and made fun of the bandits of the place, who would say that we would see each other again today, the girl already being a queen and carrying the King's heir...

Cipriano didn't say anything, Eva was totally silent, she knew she had met him, but she didn't remember well where, perhaps the visit of the alchemist would only bring fights between the King and the queen, that's what she thought as she headed to the carriage.

The King took her by the hand and began to squeeze it while whispering as he walked: I did not know that your former lover was an alchemist, surely you have sent someone to tell him that you are here, she in a low voice almost inaudible answered him: my King, I was completely unaware of the whereabouts of the alchemist and I have never had another lover other than you, without wanting to listen to her the King left her in the carriage and got on a separate horse, in this way, both the King and the alchemist galloped straight to the forest where once they arrived and settled in they began to hunt, the King looked at the alchemist and said, master Will, ¿which do you think will win?, ¿Brute force or wisdom? Then Will answered him: of course a being without studies is an incomplete being, therefore, whoever wins today will only demonstrate his greatness to those who praise him, but the one who loses is the true winner in silence ... Cyprian said to him: ¿don't you think it is very Arrogant of you to boast of your wisdom and claim that if you lose you are a winner?, But Will told him: I am not boasting of anything, these are your words against mine your majesty, whenever you want we can start, then the King told him, very well, the one who brings more large animals before nightfall wins and the one who hunts simple rabbits loses and will have to fulfill the wish of his opposite… Will told him: as you order your majesty, until then, see you at nightfall, in this way the alchemist disappeared between the trees and the King too, each one taking different directions while the queen stayed with some subordinates and some maids who had come, never in her life had she felt so much pressure as she was feeling at this moment, she did not know what her husband's reaction would be if he were to lose and what the alchemist's wish would be if he were to win, that did not let her think calmly, while the child in her chest simply smiled and took his mother's fingers as a small act of playfulness.

The child's vision was beginning to clear up;

hair almost the same shade as her mother, a pale white that highlighted her tenderness and innocence, with those eyes that looked at her mother as the most precious being that had ever existed before, perhaps for the child his mother was a kind of goddess, because the love with which he looked at her, reflected the emotions that were forming in the heart of that creature…

Some maids brought fruits and drinks to the queen so that she could eat and time would pass much faster, but in her mind there was a nest of words, the guards were a little removed, the maids were talking to each other, while preparing some snacks, Eva had the path clear, this was the perfect time to escape, was what she thought, ¿how much time has passed?, 3 years in this fateful marriage, if I escape now my husband will not find out until the night when he returns, I must hurry now that there is no one around, then maybe if I get on a horse, I will reach the nearest town before dawn and if I am lucky and the sky is clear my part will rain before night, the rain will erase the traces of my escape, so I will not have to live under the rules of others and I will be able to raise my son in perfect tranquility, then he will not know what it is to suffer, I can do it, I must do it, like this, Eva realized that near where she was there was a small licorice spring, of which she knew that its root is one of the medicinal plants that has antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties, but above all, it is a powerful natural sedative, which will allow complete relaxation of the body and mind; In this way Eva got up and tore off a handful of licorice, put it inside the sleeve of her dress and walked slowly with the child in her arms to where the maids were cooking, once there she could notice that it was a rabbit stew with mushrooms and potatoes that they had found and seasoning herbs such as garlic, parsley and even chives, were in branches, so when one of the maids noticed she said to her: Your Majesty, you have scared me, the glare of the fire can be harmful to you and the young master, ¿isn't it better to stay there? Then Eva said to her: It's cold there, besides I want to try the stew, quickly one of the maids took the child in her arms while the other went for the cutlery and as both were a little withdrawn, carefree and absent-minded, Eva took advantage, took the licorice from the sleeve of her dress and threw it into the pot where it was cooking, when the maid approached with a basin, she bent down, took a little of the broth and handed it to the queen saying: Your Majesty, the bowl is hot, therefore, it will be better for me to give it to him to drink, Eva smiled and the servant brought the bowl to her lips, she pretended that she was drinking and only wet the edge of her lips, then she made a sign to the servant to remove the bowl from her face and said: Let it boil for about 15 minutes, in the meantime stir so that the flavors even out and then serve food to the guards and to you two, so that they can hold out until nightfall when the King arrives, the servant asked her: Your Majesty,¿how will I know when 15 minutes have passed?, Then Eva answer, ¿Do you know how to count?, The servant only told her: I have not learned to read and write, I only know how to count the numbers from 1 to 10, which are the two hands that I have, five and five, then Eva told her: Count slowly and with breaths slowly, a series of five times 10, that is, you count little by little, when you finish you serve everyone, with enough broth to counteract the cold that is beginning to make, the maid understood and began to count while she stirred the food, Eva took the child in her arms again and wiped her lips, so she could stay awake when everyone was asleep, the 15 minutes passed and the maid began to serve the guards and they sat down to eat, when they offered them to the queen she simply said that she felt full because she had managed to eat some apples from that tree that was 20 steps from her;  without reproaching, the maid retired to eat with her companion and after half an hour when everyone finished eating, they began to feel sleepy, their eyes felt heavy and they sat down among the undergrowth of the forest, only 10 minutes later, everyone was asleep so taking the Best horse,  she took it out of the carriage, grabbed enough apples and placed them on the sides of the horse's saddle, and in a cloth bag she put her son, who had already fallen asleep…she mounted the horse and immediately began to gallop strongly, as fast as the animal could go towards the nearest town and without realizing it, after 5 hours she had already reached the town, but even she felt that she was very close and that Cipriano would find her in a jiffy, so she continued riding until dawn, and even the rain did not stop her in the early morning, two days later and with a few stops to feed the horse and her son.

 They arrived safely at the duchy, a place full of hope. It was a rather sophisticated place and above all very clean, it seemed like the ideal place for a refugee, and as soon as she arrived, her clothes and her coat caught their attention. The guards began to ask her who she was and where she had come from, who was the person who would receive her and how long she would stay.

The guard asked with an intriguing sarcasm and a look that froze the blood of even the strongest of men, but Eva was lucky that a woman who was dedicated to prostitution could notice that her eyes screamed help from all sides, something that perhaps the guard had not noticed and approaching said: hey, you've finally arrived, I thought you would get lost along the way and Eva said I'm a little lost and exhausted, I've ridden through the cold night, until I got here, it's good to see you again, the guard noticing that the women were talking so closely said: come in, I suppose you are some relative of Ana, to which the latter said, of course she's my half-sister and I've been waiting for her for a long time...