Maria's POV:
I didn't sleep much that night, knowing that I had kissed my advisor. It didn't change much, and it really just meant I could finally express my feelings to him. I was surprised he shared my feelings. It was a new feeling in my stomach, like something trying to make it fly. I tried everything to go to sleep, knowing I had a hospital to visit tomorrow, but it didn't work. In the end, I sat staring at my clock, hoping I wouldn't see the sun rise, so I wouldn't have to get up. But of course, it didn't work like that, and I was stuck getting ready. I put on a purple iridescent dress and put my hair in a simple bun. I didn't want to look elegant, I wanted to go see the children of my kingdom. I was greeted at my door by Zeno, Ray following behind him quietly. Ray didn't meet my gaze as I greeted Zeno, and we headed outside to the car. Zeno left, in a car ahead of us, leaving Ray to drive me to the hospital. He started driving, before removing a hand from the steering wheel and putting it on my arm. I was shaking, and he was trying to comfort me. I don't quite know why I was shaking, I just was. I moved my arm and intertwined our hands. "Thank you." I said quietly. He nodded, not saying anything, but he didn't take his hand back either.
I pulled my hand back as we neared the hospital and he silently put his hand back on the steering wheel, his small smile disappearing and being replaced by a thin line. Zeno opened my door as the car stopped and he offered his hand to help me out of the car. I gave him a warm smile as he let go of my hand, and he waited outside as Ray and I walked into the small hospital. I nodded to the hospital staff as a nurse led us to the children's ward. I was made to wear a mask, as the disease they had was extremely contagious, and could cause many different problems later in life. I grimaced as I was led past crying parents and siblings, wishing to take their pain away. Ray noticed my change in demeanor and grabbed my hand, something he probably shouldn't have done with press all around us, but I didn't care in that moment. The slightest amount of comfort was helpful and I was glad to have it. We were led to a group of small children, all sitting in a small library, some of them talking, others playing with stuffed toys. I let go of Raymond's hand and walked forward, some of the girls talking about how pretty I was as I walked to a small shelf.
The hospital staff smiled as I read the children a story. I wished I could read to all of these children, but the doctors told me that it wasn't possible to get some of these kids up and to the library, and I wasn't allowed in the rooms. When I left, Raymond and I were led to a small decontamination area, where we were sprayed down with some form of disinfectant. We walked out of the hospital and back into the car, and after we were about halfway back to the palace, I asked Ray to pull over in an old parking lot that used to belong to some old restaurant. I got out of the car and walked towards the old abandoned building. I started crying and couldn't stop. I didn't notice Ray was behind me until he cleared his throat. I turned to him and he had his arms out, offering me and embrace to turn into. I stepped closer to him and he wrapped his arms around me. "It's okay Ria." I shook my head. "I want to help them. But all I can do is read to them. Do you understand how pathetic it is that all I can do for them as queen is read to them and make sure the doctors keep them comfortable as they wither away in front of their families? And if they don't they could be left with lasting problems that take them later on..." I suddenly had a realization and pulled away from him. He dropped his arms, watching me with curiosity. I looked up at him. "We need to get to my office. Now."
We made it to the palace in 5 minutes, Zeno chastising us for not being right behind him as we walked in the door. I put my hand up, apologizing and he nodded before backing away. Even the servants said nothing as they saw me walking through the palace, clearly having a mission. Ray must have looked like a lost puppy as he followed me, not knowing the reason for my outburst earlier. I reached my office, where I immediately sat at my computer, Ray pulling a chair up next to me. I started searching for any sign of the illness in the news. Nothing. I searched for the name of a hospital. Nothing. I then searched for news of my mother. I found a lot, but as I searched through the many articles about Amelie Pembleton, I found none about Amelie Portsmouth. I sighed and searched for my father, finally finding what I was looking for. I read the article out loud for Ray to hear. "Prince Rupert Pembleton the second has announced his engagement to a peasant girl by the name of Amelie Portsmouth. Though we couldn't find much information on the girl since press had not been interested in her before her engagement, we were made aware of one fact. She had known the prince in school, and had infected him with a new illness the royal staff had not witnessed before. When the prince had gotten sick as a boy, and we all thought he would die, it was due to this girl being near him. She had the illness without knowing it. This situation outlines not only why the royals should stay away from peasants, but the illness running rampant in the slums of our great country."
I looked up at him, tearing up at the last part. "They had it. It's why she died when Edward was born. How did she survive me?" I hadn't thought about Rupert himself getting it, but I had realized if mom had it, it would explain many things. Why had she been able to have me but not Edward though? I sighed and wiped my face, once again turning to my computer. If the press had been so sure that they would follow the royal family no matter what, how had my father kept me a secret for 25 years? I typed in a new name, sure that I had to have a record somewhere. I searched Maria Pembleton and found nothing over two moths old. Maria Celeste Pembleton, same results. Celeste Pembleton. Nothing. So I sighed and stood up. "I'll do more research in the morning. I'm exhausted." Ray stood with me, grabbing my arm as I tried to walk off. "No. You need to eat and it's only 3 in the afternoon." I looked at him deadpan. "You want me to eat after going to a hospital and seeing children dying?" "What can you do for them if you die yourself?"
I pulled my arm away, looking at him incredulously. "What do you want me to do?! Not be affected by what I just saw? The fact that it isn't being reported in the news doesn't make you sick to your stomach?! The last time it was reported they blamed my people for spreading it! Rupert did a lot of cruel things, and this isn't the worst but it's definitely up there." I yelled at him, not wanting to yell at him, but more at the situation. He was just there. He looked down at me, his eyes searching mine. I hoped that he could see that my words were insincere. I reached out to grab his hand. "Ray I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm sorry." He nodded. "I know my queen." and yet he walked away from me. What had I expected? He came back to the office a few minutes later, holding two plates, a bagel and cream cheese on each. "You have to eat." He said simply as he sat in his seat, placing a plate in front of my chair. I sat down and picked at the bagel, taking small pieces off and playing with them. He didn't say any more, but he didn't let me leave the office until I had eaten half of the bagel.