The Queen was sipping her tea alongside the Dowager Queen, as they heard the news that the King has used up the last bit of his medicine. Any day now, would be his last. The mood in the room was very somber as a tear fell down the two regal ladies' faces.
At the moment that the Queen had decided to stand and be with her husband for the last moments of his life, a loud voice proclaimed the arrival of someone unexpected.
"Sir Walliams, the Shadow Guard of the Crown Princess, wishes to ask a favor in Her Royal Highness' stead," said the greeter as the Head Steward came in and bowed in front of the two regal ladies, making the Queen and Dowager Queen quickly compose themselves.
"What is that the new Crown Princess wishes?" asked the Queen as she stood in her regal pose while the Head Steward continued to bow to her.
"Yes, Your Majesty. The Crown Princess wishes to know if she could take a look at His Majesty's medicine. She claims that she has knowledge in healing as it is an inherited trait from her grandfather," said the Head Steward with a visible tremor in his voice, losing his composure over the fact that there was a chance to prolong the King's lifespan.
"What?" asked the Queen in an audible gasp as she quickly turned to look at the Dowager Queen who mirrored her expression on her face. "Is this true? Does the new Crown Princess really have this sort of knowledge?"
"Sir Walliams assured me that this news was true. She does have knowledge of healing and has volunteered her services, if she can help at all," said the Head Steward as the dead room seemed to turn lively with the newfound hope, before the two ladies remembered that the medicine was finished today and there was no more for the Crown Princess to study.
"We would love for her to look... just that His Majesty has taken the last bit of the medicine and we have no way of knowing what the ingredients were as the Royal Physicians have studied it for years on end with no results. We fear that it is too late," said the Queen in a dejected manner while she continued to stand in her regal pose while the Dowager Queen remained sitting with visible tears in her eyes.
"That cannot be..." said the Head Steward as he felt his blood drain from his face. "Are these the final days of His Majesty?"
The room once again became gloomy as the news of the King's final days was upon them. Suddenly, a young voice broke their silence, under the Head Steward.
"If you would pardon me for speaking out of turn, but would it be alright if my Lady saw the King? She may be able to still help him, even without the medicine," said Walliams as he made his appearance underneath the Head Steward, making him startled that Walliams had decided to follow him inside while being in his shadow.
He made his full figure appear in front of the group and bowed politely to them. The Queen and the Dowager Queen were quick to react to his words and dared not to hold too much hope this time.
"You say that the Crown Princess may be able to help the King even without the medicine?" asked the Queen as she held her hand in front of her that slowly turned to a fist under the pressure of the news, making Walliams show an innocent smile on his face as he looked up at the two regal ladies.
"My Lady has healing hands. Recently, they seemed to have evolved and she can now perform more complex healing. I am not sure what the King suffers from, but I am sure that she will be able to at least help him," said Walliams in all the confidence that he had on Elizabella, making him proud that he had the privilege to be able to serve someone like his Lady.
His words seemed to ease the room's nerves as they listened to the youth's words and his confidence in his master. Finally, the Queen decided that it would not hurt to at the very least let her look and see if she can help at all.
"Fine. We grant permission for the Crown Princess to have a look at the King. If she can help, anything at all, she will be greatly honored in this Palace. Moreover, this will help her for any pardon she may later wish for herself or for anyone of her choosing. This is the Queen's decree," stated the Queen, making both Walliams and the Head Steward bow lower.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will quickly tell her the news," said Walliams as he smoothly fell into his shadow and quickly disappeared back outside the room, leaving the others looking at his fleeting shadow in wonder.
"Could this be true? Will the King have a second wind in life?" asked the Dowager Queen as she appeared excited over the matter and could not wait until the King was better.
"Let us not get our hopes up. Although it is true that she and the late Baron are related, it may be too early to celebrate. Let us go to the King and wait for the Crown Princess there," said the Queen as a fire seemed to burn in her eyes as the Dowager Queen also stood up gracefully and had the same fire in her eyes.
"Yes, let us wait there," the two ladies left the room and headed to where the King was.
**********
Elizabella got the news and quickly made haste to go to the King's room as she was being led by a servant. Once she got there, she was greeted by the two regal ladies, the Royal Physicians and the Head Steward as they surrounded the King on his bed, sleeping.
"I am here, to your call, Your Majesty. May I come closer?" asked Elizabella as she curtsied before the two regal ladies, making them both turn to look at her and gave a polite smile.
"Princess Aphra, please come in," said the Queen as she motioned for the young girl to come closer towards her.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty," said Elizabella before coming closer and seeing the King on the bed while the physicians and Head Steward stepped back to give them space.
"Could you see if there is anything that you can do for His Majesty?" said the Queen as she held Elizabella's hands in hers, making the young girl look at her with a serious look.
"I shall do my very best," said Elizabella as she turned to look at the sleeping King, making her realize that on her wedding day, he must have been wearing a lot of makeup since his face was devoid of any color.
He looked as if he was already dead. If it were not for the fact that the heart monitor was still beeping and his chest rose up and down slowly, then she would have thought she was looking at a corpse. She frowned as she seemed to remember seeing someone with these symptoms in the past; however, that person died a while back. She began to remember the words of the Crown Prince and how he had stated that he has been ill since before he became King.
"That should roughly put it around the same time that that person died... is this a coincidence?" thought Elizabella to herself as she grabbed his wrist and began to pour her energy inside him, trying to feel what it was that was wrong.
The more energy she gave him, the more she frown. The last man she saw with these symptoms had died of radiation poisoning, which was strange as their bodies had evolved to the point that radiation barely does anything to their bodies.
However, it has been stated that radiation at this point was like a person swimming in a calm lake versus swimming in a raging storm. Anyone can get doused with radiation, even for their rest of their life with little to no complications. It becomes a danger when too much at once gets into their bodies.
Relatively speaking, it would need to be a nuclear plant explosion to truly effect their evolved bodies. Even then it would only effect their bodies like a strong flu-like symptom that could potentially kill them, but not necessarily in all cases.
The last case that Elizabella had seen, a group of people had happened upon an ancient structure that they were curious to explore. No one knew that the levels of radiation were lethal and the majority of the explorers did not survive.
She frowned some more as she realized that this indeed was exactly like that case back then. At that time, she could not help as she was just a child and all she could do was say goodbye to him, as he was very much like a favorite uncle, who passed away soon after.
She let go of his hand and sighed, making the people that were holding their breaths have their heart race. Elizabella turned to look at the crowd and said while massaging her temples, "This may take a lot of work, but I am positive that I am able to grant him at the very least ten more years of his life.
"His body has taken a toll over the years of suffering and I am not sure that I would be able to cure him completely. The only thing that will be a problem is that I wonder if I will have sufficient energy to help him. After my treatment, I may be extra hungry and extra sleepy. I hope that I will be pardoned for any future meetings or parties that I may miss because of this."
"But, His Majesty, will be better?" asked the Queen as no one dared to hope for a full cure as they had long been ready for his eternal departure.
"Yes. He will be better afterwards. He may need some time to get back to his full health, but overall, he will get better," said Elizabella as she turned to look at the King again and stretched her arms over him while they seemed to glow a golden color. "I would like to start now, if you do not mind. I hope to finish by dinnertime."