II. The Impact of Her

~ One ~

'A beautiful ceiling, painted in red, greeted me as I opened my eyes.

'Looking around, no one was in the room but me on a soft carpet in the middle of the room. I slowly stood up, groaning as I put my head in my hands.

'I tried to think as to where I was. But even though I looked around the room, nothing could give me the slightest clue. No matter how hard I tried, I just didn't know where I was. Then, a bit of shuffling came from outside the door.

'I wonder what that could be?

'Cautiously, I stood up as I didn't want to garner any attention. I could be trespassing, for all I know.

'I approached the door, turning the knob as quietly as possible. As I peeked my head out of the door frame, maids ran around in a panic. They paced back and forth, coming from a room that was at the very end of the corridor.

'Stepping out of the room, I closed the door behind me. It was easy to see that something serious was happening.

'"Excuse me?" I called for a maid but was ignored. I tried to ask another but I got the same treatment. Was I invisible? Or was everyone simply busy?

'"AAHH!" an agonized scream came from the room I saw. Right after that scream, everyone rushed to the room's direction.

'I followed the maids in order to understand what was going on. I was absolutely confused right now. I didn't know what to make out of everything.

'I stopped walking when I overheard a few healers huddled outside of the room.

'"Will she be able to survive this?" one of them asked a fellow healer who wore a blue cloth around his back.

'"We cannot know for certain," he shook his head. "We can only hope that her will to live is stronger than what she's currently facing.

'"Lia!" a voice called from behind me. I turned around quickly and a young man ran towards us, followed by a group of guards.

'"Lia," he called out a name again as he bolted straight for the door. However, he was blocked by the healers.

'"Young prince, men are not allowed to enter the room. It's the rules," one of them told him calmly. That healer's eyes expressed his horror greatly. But perhaps he had to keep his calm exterior to avoid further panic.

'"Lia!" the young monarch persisted, trying to get through the barricade of healers but to no avail. Even his own guards held him back.

'Grunts, groans and screams never ended on the other side of the room. Numerous maids came and went. Those who entered carried a basin of fresh, clear water. The ones who left brought blood-red water in theirs.

'My eyes widened, horrified at the sight of the basins.

'What could possibly cause such a terrifying scene.

'Could it be that the woman was in actual danger? If that was the case, shouldn't the healers be inside the room and make sure that she would be okay?

'"What's happening to my wife?!" the young man asked the healers with frantic eyes. "Can somebody explain to me why my wife sounds as if she's on the brink of death?!"

'"Young prince, please calm yourself," another healer replied in an attempt to soothe the hysterics of a panicked monarch.

'"Calm down?! How can you all expect for me to calm down when the screams of my wife can be heard from the very doorstep of this castle?!" the man ranted.

'"Young prince, even if you act this way, it won't solve anything. The Medicine King is inside, along with the princess' maids. We have to have faith with them and with your wife as well," the healer who seemed to be the leader of the group said.

'"Faith in my wife? Why should we expect anything from her? She's the one who is under so much pain," the prince asked, baffled and scared.

'The leader of healers explained, "She has been in labour for hours. And according to the Medicine King, she has shown no progress since it started. She has lost so much blood and still is, most probably because of internal bleeding. If she doesn't have the will to live, I'm afraid she may not survive this."

Shock came upon my mind and heart. I didn't have any relations with this woman and yet, I was very affected by her current situation. Her screams were enough to explain the torment she was going through.

'"Why isn't the Medicine King doing anything about it?! Why won't he heal her right away?!" the prince shouted, unable to control his frustration anymore. And rightfully so.

'If his wife was in such a dire state - a matter of life and death - to heal her would be what he expected most from the Medicine King.

'"Your child is still in her womb. Our healing magic can have dangerous effects on the infant," the healer replied.

'All the young prince could do was to freeze, in disbelief and absolute fear. Horrified, he took a few steps back. It was as if he lost all hope for his wife's safety.

'A few more screams and grunts... and silence came upon the hallway. Everyone's eyes, including mine, were wide open in anticipation of what happened. The silence was torture for all of us. If we couldn't bear to hear the woman's shouts of pain, we'd prefer that over this deafening - almost paralysing - stillness. And even though I wasn't involved in this matter. Even if I wasn't sure whether I was seen or ignored, an abnormal sense of panic arose within me.

'Minutes felt like hours. And the silence was broken by a loud cry of a baby.

'The birth was successful! The baby was born!

'But, was the mother safe?

'The young prince walked directly in front of the door, waiting for it to open. He eagerly anticipated news, not only about his child but his wife.

'The doorknob wiggled. Within a second, the doctor walked out of the room, wiping his hands clean with a cloth.

'"Doctor, how is she?" the young prince asked. I walked a few more steps closer to them, trying to hear the news. "How is my wife?"

'"I've done everything I can to stop the internal bleeding," the Medicine King said. "The rest will be up to her. She has to have her own strength to recover entirely."

'The young prince, still in shock and worry, nodded. He couldn't form any word as a response. It was easy to tell that questions raced inside his mind. "And our child?" he asked as he slowly looked back to the Medicine King.

'The Medicine King smiled as he put a hand on his shoulder. "Allow me to be the first one to congratulate you on having a son."

'The young monarch's eyes widened even more.

'The doctor proclaimed that he just had a son. An heir.

'Everyone around us quickly bowed to the young prince. "All hail, the righteous prince and princess of the realm for blessing us with an heir to the throne."

'And for a moment, time stood still. The young monarch was torn from being excited about the birth of his child to fearing for the very life of his wife.'

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

I groaned as I struggled to open my eyes. The rays of the sun strained my eyes a bit as it pierced through the windows. My eyes were in a bit of pain as I tried to get a better view of everything.

My surroundings were an absolute blur to me. My eyes pushed itself to its limits in order to achieve a clearer perception of things.

As my eyesight became clearer, a faint silhouette of a lady, sitting beside me. I blinked a few times before I finally saw Elizabeth clearly.

"Hello, dear brother."