It was chaotic.

The Medicine King and his physicians were immediately summoned to the castle. The servants scrambled in bringing everything that was needed to in order to save the young prince.

Meanwhile, his family was told to wait by the door. The lords and ladies of the court rushed to the monarchs’ home as soon as the devastating news was spread across the kingdom.

The prince was badly wounded and was losing a huge amount of blood.

Queen Amelia and Princess Elizabeth held hands as they stood near the door. Queen Amelia was on the verge of completely falling apart. The only thing that kept her standing was her daughter’s firm grip on her hands. The princess also didn’t fall short on comfort.

“Robert will get through this, Mother,” Elizabeth whispered as she rubbed her mother’s arms.

All everyone could think about was the unconscious prince behind the enormous doors. Nobody paid attention to the silent king who stared into nothingness by the third window.

He was petrified.

His silence could easily be mistaken for being calm or not caring for the severity of the situation. His stillness could be seen as the foundation for a structure that was about to crumble. But those assumptions couldn’t be more wrong. Because whilst the nobles anticipated the news, the queen panicking, the king was sent back to limbo.

It was an all-too-familiar scene. One that brought back painful memories.

With his arms crossed, he rested his mouth on his fist. He watched as everything around him seemed to move slower as time progressed. The sobs of his beloved wife, the scattered servants, and murmurings of the nobles gradually muffled.

He was in shock.

For the longest time, he didn’t want this to happen again. But, alas, faith has its way of bringing you back down from your high horse.

~*~*~*~

After what seemed like an eternity, the chaos slowly died down. Some of the nobles returned to their homes. They trusted that those who remained would tell them the news.

Queen Amelia was brought a chair. But, she refused it until she knew what was happening to her son. Elizabeth left for a bit and fetched her mother a cup of tea. That, however, was rejected, too.

James stood right where he was the very moment they arrived. He didn’t move a muscle. He wanted to be near his wife, console her and be her rock. But to be a dutiful husband, that he couldn’t even do. He knew he wasn’t stable enough to be a source of moral support. He didn’t have enough strength in him to be her pillar. He was pained by this and he didn’t want to add more to her misery.

Finally, the door opened and Queen Amelia rushed over to the Medicine King. James remained where he was, already fearing for the worst.

“Medicine King, what has happened?” the queen asked right away. “Please tell me you were able to save my son.”

Wiping his blood-drenched hands clean, the Medicine King replied, “Let us thank the gods that he is spared.”

Queen Amelia and Elizabeth sighed out of relief, extremely grateful.

“With the amount of blood that he lost, I’m surprised that his heart didn’t stop beating,” the Medicine King continued. “I was able to close his wound and transfer some of my blood into his system. But, he would still need more, and that must come from a family member. My blood won’t be of any use to his recuperation.”

Queen Amelia reached out to the Medicine King, her hands shook as she did. “Thank you,” was all she could say as her tears fell. “Thank you very much.”

The Medicine King smiled and kissed her hands respectfully. “Be comforted, Your Majesty. The worst is over. He must take his time to rest and regain his strength,” he advised.

“Yes, Medicine King,” the queen nodded.

The Medicine King then went on his way. But when he caught sight of James, he came into a halt. They shared glances before the Medicine King nodded him in assurance.

James closed his eyes after a breath of relief before he allowed the Medicine King to leave.

The queen saw the entire exchange and walked over to her husband, whom she had forgotten during the entire fiasco. Gently, she held his arms and asked, “Darling? How are you feeling?”

As James saw her soft eyes, he grabbed onto her hands and wept silently.

Queen Amelia stepped closer to him. She freed one hand and caressed his cheek.

“I was horrified, my dear. Horrified,” James admitted as he looked back at her. “I thought, for the second time, I’m going to lose him.”

His words broke the queen’s heart. She pulled him into her arms and caught him as he completely broke down.

For the second time, a king was broken down to his very weakness.