Silence. Silence. Silence. Scream. The piercing cries of Lady Matilda echoed throughout the quiet castle.
'Lady Matilda, I need you to breathe in and out, do not stop' a young lady said. She was wearing the servant uniform for female staff, a simple white dress and a white headscarf (optional). She has an additional nurse cap on top of her scarf. They were in the castle's medical chamber. Matilda was lying on the patient's bed gripping the lady's hand tightly. Matilda screamed again. Both hands gripping anything she can hold on to. Her legs are opened and bent.
'Push, milady' Annie said, standing on the other side of the bed. Matilda tried as best as she could. The pain was unimaginable. She was about to give birth.
The door to the medical chamber burst open and in came Lord Adam. Annie shifted her position so that the lord is standing by his wife's side. There were two other nurses. One was standing in front of Matilda's legs and the other was preparing towels, water and others.
'I am here, I am here' Lord Adam spoke, intending to motivate his wife. He held her hand and she felt more confident. Seconds went by and the voice of a crying baby filled the room. Adam was so excited. He went to his baby, looked at it with joy as the nurses took care of the blood. A baby girl.
'Milady?' Annie suddenly spoke. Adam turned in the direction. Matilda was lying peacefully, with her eyes closed. He felt a sense of fear as he guessed what had happened. The young nurse quickly checked her pulse on her neck. She then moved her hand away very slowly, refusing to believe what she had just found out. Adam instantly went to his wife's side, understanding why.
'Matilda!' Adam shouted, hugging his wife who complied very easily to every movement he caused on her because she was no longer conscious. She died shortly after giving birth.
Another farewell, the third well known person in just a year. It's been five months since Queen Dorothy's farewell. The season has changed from summer to autumn, and winter. Lord Adam was gifted with a beautiful baby the same day he lost the love of his life. Sadly, Adam was so devastated that he died that very night in his bed, just after Matilda's farewell. A fourth farewell was conducted in his honour. And the baby was left with her uncle, King Henry, as her guardian. She hasn't even gotten a name and she has become an orphan. King Henry adopted her, calling her as his own. She was given the name Flyra. Princess Flyra of Combination. Henry also has two other sons, Prince Jake and Prince Nathan, both are orphans as well. He found them in an alley during the battle in White Shore five months ago. White Shore is now an abandoned town, filled with rubble and ruined buildings. Lord Adam and Lady Matilda of White Shore had lived in Combination Castle for the past five months, helping Henry with his duties as much as they could.
Henry started cleaning up the two royals' chamber. A few servants helped him pack the items into separate boxes labelled, Valuables, Unwanted, and Sentimental. In one of the drawers at the bedside table, he found a small golden case with a note underneath it. It was Matilda's handwriting.
'To be given to my little angel' the note stated.
'Stop' Henry said immediately. The servants stopped packing immediately and stood straight.
'We'll leave this room as it is for now' Henry said again. The servants bowed their heads and left. Henry sat on the bed and opened the case. Inside was a single white substance surrounded by soft cotton. It's probably a nut, it's not purely white as it has a bit of brown. It has the shape of a water droplet. But Henry knew what it is the moment he touched it. It's very soft and fragile. If he applied more force, the nut would break into millions of pieces like how sugar cubes dissolve in water. Henry was shocked actually. He has the expression that what he just saw was impossible. The seed of Gratultyn is right in front of his eyes. How did Matilda come to find it? The seed of Gratultyn holds mysterious powers. A very rare seed that can be found only in Gratultyn. It came from a snow white flower in The Isle of Nature. Matilda must have had connections with the sages there. Henry knows a lot about this from the books he read in the castle library. Being a bookworm when he was young, Henry learnt a lot from spending most of his time in the library. The sages or high masters of Gratultyn have powers that even the most powerful masters in Southernere cannot match with, that's what Henry came about with. No one knows for sure if all the information in the books are true. But regarding the seed, Henry believes them now. Another thought disturbed him. Matilda wrote this note like she knew she was about to die. And if she did, she didn't even say goodbye or touching last words before she left. But Henry pushed the thought aside, getting emotional is not going to move himself or Combination forward. He learnt that five months ago. For a few weeks after the incident, he was too occupied with finding his children that he neglected his duty as a king. But he has changed and now he's better than ever. Every morning when he wakes up and sees the left side of the bed empty, he spends time reflecting on what happened the previous day and thinks positive thoughts for the day ahead. He will always try to see the bright side of things. Now he focused more on his duties. He still sends search groups out even though they explored a huge radius of land around Combination already. The north all the way to Cappidop Bay was fully explored. The south all the way to Marina Straits. And the east all the way to East Shore Bay. All that's left is the west. They had only reached The Waterfront lake. But had not gone any further. The search groups he sends now are one group per time. Reason is to save men for the duties needed in the city.
Princess Flyra was lying soundlessly in her crib. Her chamber was just beside Princess Erieka's. Since his children were kidnapped, Henry had left both chambers untouched. He rarely enters because everytime he does, it saddens him.
A young lady about twenty years old named Laura was given the task of being Flyra's personal handmaiden. She was sitting by her crib, accompanying her. Since the incident, no one is to leave the children in the castle at any point of time even if the king summons them, unless someone else can take over their places.
'Your majesty! An honour' Laura curtsied.
'You don't have to curtsey if you do not wish to seek anything from a royal' Henry said, partly mentoring her. The handmaiden smiled in embarrassment.
'Don't worry, I'm not mad. Annie hasn't taught you that I presume?'
'No your majesty'
Henry smiled in reply. He revealed the golden case he had brought from Matilda's chamber. Laura observed in curiosity. She dared not to ask anything, even though the questions in her mind were pestering her to ask. Henry took the seed out and held it very gently.
'Flyra?' Henry called looking down at her. Their eyes connected. Flyra was being a very good baby. Lying in her crib with her angelic blue eyes and very short brown hair. She was only a few days old but she already looks like she's going to be someone very bright in the future. Henry carefully helped the seed into Flyra's mouth. Knowing no harm will come to her even though she still has no teeth to bite. Because the seed will break apart and dissolve upon contact with her saliva. By the time she swallows it, the solution will be in her and there are expected to be changes, spiritually and physically. Henry and Laura stared at the princess who was still staring up at the ceiling soundlessly, her throat moving as she swallowed saliva. Nothing happened at first. Seconds later, Flyra's whole body glowed. For a moment a blinding white light shone the entire room. Henry and Laura had turned just in time before their eyes would be blinded for who knows how long. The light dimmed down. And Flyra was different. Her face which is her number one identity of her appearance was still the same. But her skin colour and hair colour was different. Her skin had turned from pinkish white to pale white. Her brown hair was now as white as snow. Only her eyes are still in the same colour. But above all that, she was still very pretty. A bright and beautiful princess she will be.