Upon hearing the child's question, the man in the white coat offered a reply:
"Very well. The kind Miss tending to your needs is Sister Kathleen, one of the many women employed by our compassionate church which enjoys royal patronage. My young friend here is Brother Edward, a devout Christian and quite the student. He has finished his studies in theology and is now deciding between philosophy and medicine, yes?"
The monk nods in accordance to the words of the doctor. His eyes however never leave the boys. The devout believer seeks to take in as much information about the young child as possible… His eyes shine with intellectual sharpness but contain a certain edge.
"And finally myself, Prof. Dr. Ridgeworth. I may usually spend my time researching and teaching at Oxford University, yet I found your case to be quite exiting. Hence the trip to Christs Hospital in the Heart of England, the beautiful city known as London. That is the very Hospital you are currently residing in."
'London, huh. Could it be?'
"Well then, what is your name child?" asked the Prof. Dr. Ridgeworth.
"Me? I haven't a clue" he said with a smirk.
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After making his introductions the Doctor proceeded to ask Leonhard about his most recent memories. Repeatedly.
With a scrunched up nose he asked Leonhard: "so you are certain that you don't remember how you got to England?"
"ugh, still not sir." He replied with a sigh.
"Nothing about a boat" – "no"
"Did you hit your head?" – "Don't think so."
"What did you recently eat?" – "I said I can't remember."
"Not even your name?" – "I really want to help you but I cannot."
Taking a step back and collecting his thoughts Prof. Dr. Ridgeworth reconsidered his approach.
"Well, this case of memory loss usually appears in people with considerable age, head injure or serious shock. Excluding the former, and noting a distinct lack of head injury I conclude that the most likely scenario is that your faulty memory originates from the trauma you surely must have experienced during your sea voyage."
After hearing repeatedly about an incident and a boat he finally had enough. Sitting upright and looking into the Doctors eyes he asked calmly: "Excuse me Sir, but what do you mean exactly with this sea voyage? You mentioned it quite a few times"
Leonhard had a hard time staying polite, as being treated as a child (which he clearly was to any bystander) was slowly but surely grinding his gears.
'Judging by the way these people are dressed I would be on the safe side to behave as politely as possible and ask as many questions as I can get away with.'
It was at this point that the monk could not take it anymore. Throughout what felt like the Spanish inquisition to the boy, Brother Edward remained calm and patient. But now he was eager to get a word in. Almost bouncing in his seat due to excitement.
'What a weird guy,' Leonhard thought 'but knowing the power of religion in the past I should tread carefully around him.'
"Yes! *cough* I mean yes. I believe I can help you there blessed boy! The story is as follows…
>>> FLASHBACK <<<
In the early morning the harbor was the busiest part of the city. People bustling about, moving hence and forth. Sailors carrying cargo, stalls opening, quartermasters calculating provisions, and ships with entire crews are preparing for their trips. Be they short or long.
In the distance, through the fog. Barely visible with the first rays of light a ship was nearing the harbor. It was approaching at an odd und unusual angle. Not moving towards the center where most ships go, for that is the quickest way in and out. Not the trade area to swiftly replace cargo. But instead the outer rim, the very edge where barely some smalltime fishermen set up their small sailing vessels to catch some fish for the local market.
Most people did not care. It was not really their business. But a select few who are responsible for collecting docking fees and coordination all the vessels entering the harbor paid special attention. One of these fee collectors used a far eye (telescope) to view the situation. This far eye was the only one his department was in possession of and this very day it was his turn to use it. And what he saw caused his face to turn pale and white as a ghost. For he had seen death.
He immediately shouted: "YELLOW JACK! THAT SHIP IS FLYING A YELLOW FLAG!"
This caused a chain reaction of nigh mass panic at the harbor. People packed up their belongings and ran home with haste. Flying a yellow flag is always a terrible thing. But with the latest news from Italy... So much worse.
After all, the last thing the island of England needed was the plague.
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Intermission:
"Yellow Jack"
Maritime flag communicating presence or absence of disease on-board
The Yellow Jack signal flag, is a plain yellow banner that was historically used to signify a vessel was, or might be, harboring a dangerous disease and needed to be quarantined.
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It was too late to sink the boat from a distance. All that now could be done was clear the area, call the policing force and the plague doctors to handle the situation.
The executive branch of government send all bystanders away. Blocked roads. Send messengers to all families in the area to notify them to remain calm and vacate the premise.
The Plague Doctors put on their pitch-black all-encompassing cloth, wrapped forcefully around their limbs. Tight leather gloves and boots. They even wore a mask with a birds beak, in which they stored freshly ground herbs in order to inhale scented air, which they believed would protect them from plagues and diseases alike. Not a single speck of their skin was visible to the outside world. These men were professionals. They do not take chances. They are veterans in a profession where men die young.
In the meantime the ship had stranded itself on the riverbed of the Thames.
These brave men boarded the ship. And were immediately horrified by what they saw. Ghost ships were supposed to be something from fairy tales, right? Wrong.
Corpses. Tens of Corpses. Everywhere. On Deck. In the captain's cabin. On the crows nest. Adults. Children. Pets. All dead.
Suppressing unnecessary thoughts, the plague doctors kept moving through the ship. In silence. Floor by floor. Room by room. Door by door. Nobody spoke for there was nothing to talk about.
One of the doctors with keen hearing heard something from the freshwater storage compartment. Unsure if it was a figment of his imagination he slowly but surely made his way ahead. He passed what looked like couple holding hands in their last moments, sitting on the floor with their backs leaning against the blocked door to the storage room. Despite being the oldest of the plague doctors, he found enough strength within himself to move away both discolored bodies and even the furniture blocking the door handle.
Finally, he was able to access the freshwater storage hold. What he saw made him doubt his mental state and judgement.
After seeing piles of corpses, all in various states of decomposing he witnessed the impossible, nay now merely the improbable. In front of him, on the floor lay a child. Snoring away. Asleep. Alone. Alive.
'God be with us' he thought. 'For God must have been with this child.'
Next to the only survivor of this ship was a little book in leather binding, "Bibel" was written on the cover.
Unseen to the rest of the world, but under his mask the old man had a light smile on his lips. He had already made his decision.
Knowing that the rest of the ship is deeply contaminated he did the only thing he could think of to protect the child. The one that had survived the impossible. To protect this act of god, he must do everything within his power to insure the child's health.
'Amen.' he thought and started his plan.
He took off his mask.
>>> FLASHBACK END <<<
"And that is how we found you! Wrapped in black, with a birds beak covering your face and having been declared a blessing of god. A blessing to the people! For you are the blessed boy!"
'Alright, quite a lot to unpack there. Safe to say they let me live because I don't have the black death. Or maybe this body did die and I switched into it? Something to think about another day.' Leonhard thought.
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Thanks for reading! I'll take all the advice that I can get! I own all my Characters and all that stuff, but not the Universe and bla bla bla.
Be honest and just chill aight?
Cya
Danfictions over & out