Read with BonusRead with Bonus

CHAPTER TWO

The queen sat in her bed, sobbing softly as she held the limp form to her breast. "My little girl."

"Darling," the king whispered into her auburn hair. "You have to let her go."

"She's my baby, Hal," Queen Violet whispered as she looked into the pale face of their stillborn child.

"I know, love, but she's gone."

"She never got to see me. See us."

Hal said nothing. He knew there was nothing he could do to comfort his wife. He hated seeing her despair. He was the king; there had to be something that he could do. He had ushered the maidservants from his wife's bedside to allow her to grieve, but there was very little else he was able to do for her. This was the third baby they had lost; it wasn't looking as though his wife would ever bear a living child.

"How are we going to tell the kingdom?" Leave it to Violet, his thoughtful, loving wife to worry about the feelings of the people at a time like this. She knew how excited everyone was to greet the new prince or princess, and she had been even more excited and proud to be able to present the child to them. And now that child was gone, and Violet's arms were empty. What should have been the happiest day of their lives was now filled with mourning for their little daughter.

The kingdom had been waiting for this day since it had been announced that the queen was with her child. He and his wife needed an heir for their kingdom of Israel, male or female, but once again, fate was playing against them.

"Don't you worry about that, love? Right now you need to rest."

"I'm not ready to give her up yet," Violet said, clutching their daughter tighter to her chest. Her tears dripped down her cheeks, dropping off to make tiny spots on the blanket that their baby was swaddled in.

"I know, I know. You hold on to her as long as you'd like," Hal smoothed Violet's hair back and kissed her forehead, swallowing the lump in his throat as quietly as he could. He glanced down at the pale face of the baby and nearly lost it. That was a face that was supposed to be pink and scrunched up, wailing at the unfairness of life. Instead, his wife was clutching the pale, lifeless shell of what could have been. Hal couldn't take it anymore. "I'll be back soon, darling, but I need some air."

"Hal, don't be gone too long. I need you," Violet whimpered. He filled his gaze with as much affection as he could muster. Their marriage was unlike most arranged ones, as it was filled with love. Violet was his better half and he would do anything for her. Just as he was about to.

"I won't be gone long at all, Vi. I'll be back before you know it." He pecked her lips and swept out of the room. "You rest, okay? I love you."

He was gone for two weeks.

But, in those two weeks, he accomplished quite a bit. It started with his visit to a neighboring kingdom. His relations with King Draco were tense, but Draco owed him. Hal had gone on that journey with only a handful of his most trusted knights. They needed to move quickly and efficiently to be back before anything drastic was done in the wake of his daughter's death.

Hal and his men were ushered into the large, dreary throne room in Draco's castle. The throne room was nothing like his own, which was full of light and windows with a welcoming atmosphere. No, Draco gave the impression that he wanted his guests out of there as quickly as humanly possible. Dark drapes closed partway over the windows, allowing only minimal light in, and the dark stone made everyone in the room feel as though they were trapped there. Naturally, that made people anxious to leave and therefore out of Draco's hair.

"Draco, old friend," Hal greeted him politely, quite aware of the fact that his fellow king held all the power in their situation.

"I'd hardly call you that, Harold. It isn't like you to visit without notice. What have you come for?"

"DaddyDaddyDaddy!" Skylar screeched as she ran down the hallway toward Hal. He turned around just in time to catch her in his arms.

"What's the matter, sweetie?" he asked as he grasped his six-year-old in his arms. Her emerald dress wrapped around her awkwardly, but she didn't seem to mind. Hal reached up to push the flyaway strands of her fiery red hair away from her face. No matter how tightly Greta braided her hair, there were always wisps that escaped.

"My back hurts again," she said, tucking her face into his shoulder. This worried Hal. She'd been getting back pains, right along her spine, for the past few months and the countless doctors they'd called couldn't figure out what was wrong. Everything else about her was perfect; she was completely healthy. And she could run quite quickly and play enthusiastically despite the pain, so the doctors were even more perplexed by this.

"I'm sorry, Sky," he kissed her head. "Have you been taking your medicine from Greta?" Greta was once a healer back in her village before she was hired to take care of the baby princess. She used herbal remedies on the princess, which had always worked.

Sky nodded her head but cuddled closer to Hal. She radiated heat, as she always had, but she felt warmer somehow. "Honey, do you feel hot?" he inquired.

"A little," she admitted, pressing the back of her hand against her forehead as she had seen Violet and Greta do when she was sick.

This worried Hal. She had never felt sick before when her back was hurting. He would have to get Greta to up the dosage of her medicines. "Come with me; I'm already running late ." He continued to carry her as he headed toward the throne room. It was time for the monthly open house where his subjects could come to the castle and voice their complaints, suggestions, ask questions, or ask him to settle disputes. It was tiring and not often helpful, but it kept his relationship with his people a sound one.

He should be taking his time figuring out what was wrong with his daughter. She'd been perfectly fine until she turned six years old. That was when she began getting the pains and growing warmer each day.

The guards bowed their heads to Hal when he approached the throne room doors. Hal set Sky back on her feet and smoothed her dress as she rubbed her eyes. "Remember that you're the princess, darling, you have to walk yourself into the throne room."

"Yes, Daddy," she nodded but grabbed his hand. Her grip was shocking, and he squeezed her hand right back. Violet would already be on her throne, awaiting his arrival. Hopefully, Greta would be there as well. It wasn't often that she let Skylar out of her sight, which caused Hal to believe that Sky had escaped her caretaker's attention.

The guards pushed open the mighty doors to the throne room and everyone turned toward them expectantly. It was a full house, as usual, this time of the month, and Hal nodded his head to his people, who had risen in respect when he entered. Violet narrowed her eyes at him for being late but smiled at Sky. "Hello, darling," she whispered to Sky as their daughter walked by her to stand between them. Greta stood to Violet's right, glaring at Skylar. Hal's suspicion that Sky had slipped away was confirmed by that one look. He smiled at his subjects as he sat, which caused them to sit as well. And then hell began.

Skylar had a difficult time standing still, so it only took about fifteen minutes before Greta escorted her quietly out of the room. Hal sighed in longing. He was bored out of his mind. He had always thought of his subjects as intelligent, rational beings. At least before he started these monthly meetings. It was then that he realized there was no limit to the idiocy of people. He had far more important things to be worrying about, but here he was deciding whether or not a sheep that wandered into another farmer's field automatically became the property of the second farmer. It was tedious and unrewarding. He loved his subjects and his kingdom, but they were a piece of work.

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter