Moonshine Royale // Bethyl

I

Chapter One

Beth

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid his tumor is inoperable," Dr. Edwards informed Beth.

"Are you sure? How do you know?" Beth questioned, silently picking at her fingernails—a nervous habit she had picked up over the years of hospital visits and bodiless funerals.

"Let's look at his scans," he replied, sticking Hershel's scans up on the light. "Do you see the dark spot right there? That's the tumor. I've never seen a tumor this aggressive before. It's right on the spinal cord, and it's a miracle that he's still walking. If Dr. Zedler tried to operate on it, it's likely that she would clip the spinal cord, and anything could happen from there. He could become brain dead, the most likely case scenario, he could become paralyzed, or he could die."

"So how long does he have?" Beth solemnly asked. After her mother died, Beth made Dr. Edwards promise to tell it to her straight, and sometimes she wondered if she really wanted to hear it without a thin layer of sugar on top.

"Maybe a year," Dr. Edwards sighed. "I can't guarantee that though.  He might lose function of his legs before then, and he might even lose function of everything below the neck. It's hard to tell with tumors like this."

"Well, he's been fighting this thing for thirteen years, and thanks to you, he's made it this far," Beth softly smiled, letting quiet tears roll down her cheeks. "We need to go tell him."

"All right," Dr. Edwards nodded and led the way to Hershel's room.

Beth knew the way around Grady Memorial Hospital better than the back of her hand; she had made countless trips there since she was eleven. They had the best oncology center in her region, probably the best in all of the regions, and Dr. Edwards specialized in Hershel's type of melanoma specifically so that he could help him. After all, Hershel was the king of the Southeast, and everyone wanted on his good side, even though they already were. Hershel loved his people, and they loved him too. The Greene family had ruled the Southeast for a hundred years, and while all of the Greene family did well by their people, Hershel had done the best.

When they broke the news to Hershel, he didn't cry. He knew that he had a good life and that his time was about up. Beth, however, bawled. She didn't understand how her father could be so calm about all of this, especially when they were told that he was about to die. Her dad was the best man she'd even known or ever would know, and she didn't understand why God was so cruel as to take him from her.

"Edwards, if you don't mind, let's keep this between ourselves. I don't want the region to worry about me," Hershel smiled at the doctor.

"I wouldn't tell a soul," Dr. Edwards replied before shaking Hershel's hand. "I'll deal with your discharge papers. You can go ahead and leave."

"Thank you," Beth ignored his attempt for a handshake with her and went for a hug instead. "Thank you for everything that you've done for my daddy."

"You're welcome," he patted her back. "I'll need to see him back if he experiences any numbness or tingling in any of his extremities."

"Trust me, I'll have him back as soon as he does," she smiled and pulled away, going to help Hershel out of the bed to head back to the castle. "And Daddy, you need to call Maggie."

"I will on the ride home," he promises.

///

"Daddy, you need to rest," Beth tried to reason with her father, but it wasn't working very well. "Dr. Edwards said to stay off of your feet as much as possible."

"Bethy, our people need me. I have to address our conflicts with the Central region," Hershel replied, finally making it to the media room. "I'll give a short speech, and then I'll go sit down. I promise."