Memorybound

Chapter 18

Hailey sat at the king's bedside. The closed curtains left the room feeling gloomy, but maybe it made the king more comfortable. He lay in the largest, most elaborate bed that Hailey had ever seen. It was carved to look like the throne, the same dark wood, the same elaborate shapes carved in the wood. Even the blankets were the royal blue of Taivalon. She wondered if he even liked the color. Maybe having to wear it all the time and having everything around you the color of your country would make you tire of it.

The king looked even thinner than he had the last time she had seen him. He leaned back into his pillows. It looked like they might swallow him whole. His doctors were not currently hovering over him, the way they had been recently. "Do me a favor and open those curtains," he pointed with a crooked finger at the window."

Hailey rose and opened the velvet blue curtains, letting in the morning light. Taivalon was beautiful, even with bare branches poking through the spruce and firs. She loved this view and she had snuck up here on more than one occasion when she was the only person who could roam these halls, just to see the view from the king's window.

"The fool doctors think that the light might make my condition worse." He coughed, a wet, choking thing.

She hurried to his side. "I'm sorry I can't do anything to make you feel better."

"I am sure there is only one thing that will make me feel better and I am not yet ready to take that cold embrace."

Her heart ached at the thought of losing this man. He was a good king and for the most part, his people loved and trusted him. Even if the princess were awake, she doubted that the kingdom would not suffer when he died. The queen was capable, but running an entire country would be taxing on a widow. And she would be angry at Hailey if the king died and her daughter was not awake. As much as possible, Hailey avoided the woman.

"How is my daughter?"

Hailey sat back down in the chair next to the king's bed. "Every time I think I have something figured out, a way to undo the spell, nothing happens or I realize I'm not looking at it correctly. There has to be a way. It drives me crazy that Barinon knew what it was, knew how to free the princess, but he didn't say anything, nothing to give me a clue on how to do this. It seems like I spend all my time running around and healing people, tending to the wounded, talking with the soldiers and putting spells along the shimmer. I worry that I won't be enough for any of it, that I'm starting to..." Suddenly she remembered who she was talking to. He may be a kind old man, but he was still the king and he didn't need her worried on top of her own. He had just been talking about facing death. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to add to your concerns. I am just a little tired. Everything is fine."

He gave her a knowing smile and took her hand. "I know that your lying," he said. "Take it from an old man who spent much of his days worried about things he was not able to take care of. You must take care of yourself. I can see the redness in your eyes. You're getting frazzled and I worry that you will go over the edge. People cannot live without sleep. Eventually, it will make you crazy."

He coughed again and she waited until he was finished before she spoke. "I'm fine. I know what I'm doing. Don't worry about me, your majesty. I'm sure I will figure it out soon."

He squeezed her hand again. "You're still not listening. Do I need to command..." he cut off.

There was the sound of lots of people in the hallway. They were making a ruckus and the king needed his rest. "Excuse me, your majesty. I'm going to go see what all that is about."

Hailey hurried to the princess's room. A crowd of people stood outside the doorway, waiting as others made their way inside. She clenched her hands into fists and then made her hands relax. What were they up to? It was mostly women, which led Hailey to believe that Prince Frederick was inside. Maybe he's trying juggling this time, she thought ruefully. She wouldn't be surprised if that's what he was doing but he seemed to have drawn a bigger crowd. Maybe it was just that he had been here longer and that word had reached the edges of the kingdom or maybe he was up to something else.