For Mike the only thing that mattered was that he would get the medicine home. Ellis, his two year old, had been fighting a nasty cough for weeks now. Yetserday he took a downturn and had been asleep every since. His wife Allana had brewed every home remedy she could think of but nothing was working. So Mike set out right away, kissing Allana on the forehead, whispering “Don’t Worry” and he headed out into the worst blizzard he could remember. Usually he wouldn’t dare go out into the elements like this and never to the destination he was headed to. You did not do business with The Earls unless you had to. So after three long hours of walking, when he reached the iron gates and the spotlights fell upon him in the glistening snow, he raised both arms, shivering from the cold and fright of what came next. Mike closed his eyes briefly, thought of Ellis, took a deep breath and shouted above the winter,
“I need medicine for my son. I seek an audience with the Earls.”
Time passed very slowly. No response came immediately but the bright lights trained on him. He was about to ask again when he heard the latches of the gates open. A small part of him wished they hadn’t.