Dorian The unknown war is about to begin

7

Magnus flung his father's large bedroom door open, revealing his dad lying on the bed. The smell of antiseptic filled his nostrils, clouding his jumbled mind. He saw soldiers scattered everywhere in the huge room, wizards were holding potions, analysing them, and healers were sitting next to king 'Xander. Nothing looked as immaculate as it used to be whenever Magnus had entered his dad's room. Magnus' eyes widened as it landed on his dad's body lying on the king-sized bed.

When Magnus was running to the castle, the prince couldn't fathom the possibility that his father has been poisoned. He kept wishing it would be some sick trick or a prank, however, any doubt he had vanished when he saw everyone's expression.

The prince stood there, petrified, as everyone looked at him. After his senses hit him, Magnus rushed in and landed on his knees sitting beside 'Xander.

'He is alive, although deeply in pain,' someone said behind him.

Magnus was too stunned to look back. He sat staring at his dad, taking in the information all around him even though the more he looked, the more he thought it must have been some sort of an insane nightmare. His head felt like it was about to explode. 

'Xander's eyes were swollen red and bleary, his fingertips were bluish purple. He took short breaths like he was having difficulty breathing. Bruises were appearing on his body out of nowhere. The king's skin was pallid as if someone sucked his blood dry. He gave a wry smile but it was cut short by a deep yell followed by more clipped breaths like he ran a marathon. His face was ashen and his lips were already peeling. 'Xander rubbed his ankle as he tried to sit up. His back was lifted whereas his head looked way too heavy for him to carry. It looked as if 'Xander was trying to get out of his own body. He groaned with pain. Tears spilled out of his eyes. The king squeezed his eyes shut to try to lessen the pain.

Magnus closed his eyes, memories resurfaced of how his dad used to ramble at the park laughing with him. How 'Xander sat near the fire eating and talking to Magnus. The prince could even remember the times when he got really mad at his dad because 'Xander was to busy talking to someone else when he wanted to talk to the king. Magnus himself knew he would do anything just to see his father like that again. Magnus opened his eyes and all he could see was his dad lying in pain due to someone poisoning him.

'Who would do this?' his voice wasn't loud but it was deep. No one replied, too scared to face his wrath. The room was so silent that Magnus could hear his own heartbeat. He crunched his hand into a fist. 'WHO DID THIS?' he yelled getting up and looking in the nearest soldier's eyes.

The soldiers, wizards, servants and other onlookers were shocked. Surely this wasn't a tone he would ever use in his entire life. The prince himself hadn't heard him yell that loudly before when he was angry at someone.

'We...we don't know your majesty...' a soldier trailed off, scared.

'What do you mean you don't know? My father will recover soon and he will banish you all and, if he doesn't, then I will. You are here for his safety and... And you don't know?' Magnus felt pressure on his fingers. He would have shaken it off if he didn't look behind. It was his dad, gripping his fingers lightly but it looked like he had to use a lot of energy to do that. Magnus sat down on his knees again, waiting for his dad to say something. He places his warm hand on his dad's cold hand to give him support so that he didn't fall.

'M-Magnus,' he said having a hard time pronouncing each letter. More tears were gushing out of his eyes as he squinted due to his weakness and the effort he was using. 'Y-You will be a... wise king Magnus. You will be a wise king. A sagacious king.' 'Xander's voice sounded croaky, breathy and wheezy at the same time.

Tears boiled in Magnus's eyes as he looked at his dad's tanned hands that matched his own but were slowly getting paler. 'N-No, dad. You are a much better king than me. You will be better soon. I promise.' He sniffed. His voice was throaty and felt like it had a huge apple stuck in it.