Unchosen Crown

WAR OUTSIDE OUR WINDOWS

The King Edward VII Hospital was an imposing monolith of red bricks and stained glass windows, a relic of a bygone era that refused to yield to progress. It was a place where life and death waged a silent battle in the cold corridors, where miracles and tragedies intertwined.

That day, Alice and Oliver were just two ordinary people waiting for news in a corner of the lobby. Nothing in their worried expressions, intertwined fingers, and disheveled clothes resembled royalty, and no title had the power to make them any less fragile.

Colin was there, so still he could be mistaken for one of the garden statues, if not for the subtle movement of his chest as he breathed. And Sofia, beside him, had her heavy eyes fixed on Oliver the entire time.

"Where exactly were you?" Alice whispered to Oliver — a reproach that barely sounded like one.

"In Spain," he replied simply, though somewhat evasively.

Alice's perceptive look showed her understanding. "With Ian," she completed for Oliver, and her expression changed to something half sorrowful, half indulgent. "She would kill you if she knew."

A muffled laugh escaped his lips, quickly stifled by the crushing reality that pulled him back. The notion of guilt hit him like a blow, and Oliver looked at Alice with seriousness.

"What happened while I was away?"

Alice's expression contorted into a mask of sadness as she revealed:

"She fainted during a meeting. We brought her here," her voice trembled slightly. "The doctors ran a battery of tests and found terminal cancer."

"My God!" Oliver's exclamation escaped involuntarily, the words ricocheting off the hospital's pristine walls as if seeking an explanation that would never come.

The news hit him like a train, triggering a wave of shock that mingled disbelief and profound compassion.

"He said she doesn't have much time, Oliver." Alice's voice was choked, her blue eyes welling up with tears.

He enveloped her in a tight embrace, trying to offer some comfort.

Despite the tumultuous relationship they both had with Queen Charlotte, this revelation was a devastating blow. The magnitude of those words shook the emotional foundations that sustained them, forcing them to confront the fragility of human existence.

"Does Sofia know about this?"

He inhaled deeply before admitting in a murmur: "Yes, she knows." Allowing the truth to emerge raw, without disguises.

A shadow of doubt crossed Alice's face but quickly softened with her comforting touch.

"You exposed yourself to enormous risk, are you aware of that? We can't be sure of her reliability." Alice's words echoed Ian's warning in Oliver's mind, an untimely reminder of how things could get complicated.

Before they could delve deeper into their concerns, a nurse interrupted them:

"Her Majesty can receive visitors now," she announced with professional seriousness.

With those words, they were gently pulled from their cocoon of anxiety, transported back to reality where time and hope danced in a delicate balance. Every step they took down the brightly lit corridors felt like a scene from a suspense movie, their synchronized steps echoing softly against the impeccably clean walls. Each overhead light cast a reassuring glow, illuminating their path as they prepared to face what awaited them around the corner.

"I think..." Colin began hesitantly, his voice low, heavy with shame and displacement. It was profoundly challenging to be close to the family again after so long apart. "I'll wait out here."