The Light in the Darkness | Sirius Black Tangled AU

two | in need of a miracle

       The palace was quiet. For days now, it had been quieter than usual, but this mid-morning, you could hear a pin drop from the other side of the large castle. The king, the benevolent and beloved ruler of one of the last and largest magical kingdoms in the world, sat like a shadow against the wall, holding his breath.

       The queen was alive, the princess alive within her, yet the entire kingdom of Corona was in mourning. If what all the other healers had said was true, the last great monarchy was about to die out, right before their eyes.

       But for once, King Frederic was not thinking of his kingdom. The large, bearded man took a deep breath in an attempt to stop the tears he knew were coming. Everyone was worried about the future of Corona, but Frederic was just worried about his beloved Arianna and his little Rapunzel, yet to be born. If they were to be taken from him, the loss would be greater than if he were to lose his entire kingdom.

       Down the hall, a pair of maids wearing black paused as they looked down and saw their King. They spoke in the quietest whispers of their pity for him so as not to disturb him, but he heard them all the same. He closed his eyes slowly, fighting the urge to order them away, but was saved from the task as the door in front of him swung open. The maids scattered as the king jumped to his feet, all thoughts of them out of his mind.

       "How is she?" he demanded, though his voice was frail.

       Though much smaller than him, the elderly healer took his King by the shoulders and forced him to sit back down, sitting with him as the doors to the queen's room closed and they were immersed in darkness once again. Though retired, Conrad Engel was the most reputable healer known to the German Wizarding Monarchy. Most of the wizard's career had been spent with the royal family - he had cured Frederic's mother of Dragon Pox in no more than a day, given Frederic's father a peaceful and painless passing after he had suffered from a very poisonous and deadly bite, he had even saved Frederic's life when he was just a boy, curing him of a Blood Curse placed on him by one of his father's enemies. There was no one in the world King Frederic trusted more.

       "The other healers," Frederic continued, suddenly feeling as if he were a small boy again, "they couldn't tell what it was, but they all told me she wouldn't survive - that neither of them would survive. Conrad, is this true?"

       Conrad did not speak immediately, and as he gave the king a solemn look, the king slumped against the wall, paling. "My King," Conrad said quickly, pulling him back up. "My King, I know what it is that ails her - that ails them."

       The healer's emphasis on 'them' caused the king's brows to furrow. None of the other healers had phrased it like that - they had all assured him that it was something the matter with the queen, and that the princess was simply along for the ride, but that did not seem to be what Conrad was insinuating. With only a moment's hesitation, it clicked. "The Blood Curse."

       "Yes," said the healer softly. "Your wife has fallen ill not of her own accord, but from the babe developing within her. Your daughter, it seems, has inherited the curse I thought I had cured you of when you were a boy."

       "Well this is good then!" the king said suddenly, his voice louder but shaky all the same. "You cured me of it, surely you can cure them just the same!"

       "My King, I'm afraid it will not be that simple." Had it been anyone else, the king would have argued, would have fought, would have demanded that they find a way, but as it was Conrad, he sat back, and listened. "Your father knew the moment the curse was put on you and got me to start healing you immediately. With your daughter, the curse has been developing with her. It has only just gotten bad enough to affect her mother, which means that it has already passed the point of traditional healing. King Frederic, as of now there is very little I can do other than try to keep her stable, but the curse will progress as the child does."