Bloom

Chapter 2

"ALEX NO!!!" screamed Lila as she ran to her brother's body. He was curled up into the fetal position, and a green stripe of hair grew from his head amongst the mass of black hair.
Lila cradled him in her arms as she shouted, "Mama, Papa, help!!!" She kept shouting, afraid they would never hear, and Alex would never wake up. The king and queen awoke and rushed to the sound of their daughter's scream and shouts, and were greeted with the sight of their unconscious son, held by his sister. The greenery was becoming more and more withered by the moment, and the tree that had grown in the center of the throne room looked like it was dying and beginning to fall. They rushed to their children and carried them both out to safety, and not a moment to soon. The tree fell and all the plants collapsed onto the vacant spot that was once occupied by the prince and princess. "Lila, what have you done???" asked the worried king. He turned Lila's face away from the sight of debris to look him in the eye. She had never seen her father look more worried in her life. He saw his daughter break down crying, and he held her close. "I-it-it w-was an accident," she wailed into her father's arms, "W-we were playing, a-an-and he w-wanted to swing, so I m-made him one, b-but he swung too fast!... He-he swung too fast and I-I couldn't make another one in time! Oh, papa I'm so sorry!" He hugged his daughter, and was going to say something to comfort her, but the queen suddenly cried out, "Deidrick, he is burning up!" Her hand was on the young prince's forehead, and everyone held their breath as a yellow stripe made its way down from his scalp to rest beside the green one. His round face was red, and beads of perspiration were forming on his face. "Genevieve!! Bartholomew!!! In here now please this is an emergency!!!" the king was calling for their most trusted staff, whose room were conveniently near the throne room in case of needed service. They rushed to the hall. "Yes, your majesty??" "Get Dr. Nathaniel!! And hurry!!" They caught sight of the unconscious prince, and immediately went into action. Bartholomew rushed off to get the kingdom's finest doctor, and Genevieve assisted the queen in taking Alex to his room. Other staff had woken up in all the commotion, and had gathered around the king as they muttered to themselves, "What's going on?... Little Alex is sick!... But how?... Princess has something to do with it..." "Everyone, everyone!!!" the king proclaimed over everyone's muttering, "The prince is simply going through an illness. The princess was lucky enough to be there and help him when he fell unconscious. Nothing to cause rumors or anything of the sort. Now I would like a few servants to stay with us, while the rest of you go back to bed. Mary, Simon, George, and Arnold! If you would be so kind as to wait with me for the doctor, I would be grateful." The servants he called then stepped forward and said, "Yes, your highness." and the others went back to their accommodations. They all then went to Alex's room, where the queen and Genevieve were tending to the little boy. Lila was sitting at the foot of his bed, her eyes red and puffy from crying. The king went to his wife and asked, "How is he?"
The queen sat down beside Lila and put her arm around her. "His fever has gotten worse. And his face now has a green tint along with the fever's redness," she said quietly, trying not to let her daughter hear. But Lila did hear. "It's all my fault," she said, staring at the wall. The flowers that were in a vase on the dresser began to wither quickly. "It's all my fault." She then buried her face in her hands and sobbed. The queen held her daughter, but looked at her husband. They exchanged glances that read What should we say? What can we do?