CHAPTER 64: BROKEN HEARTS

The King quickly entered the royal infirmary. The sight before him froze his heart. The Queen lay pale and still on the bed. The royal physician bent over her, murmuring instructions to two other physicians at his side. Nurses hurried here and there, carrying bowls of water, cloths, and strange powders.

Near the bed stood Princess Nyella with tears running down her cheeks. Beside her stood Aeron, who was quiet, but the King barely looked at him. His heart and mind were fixed only on his beloved wife.

"What has happened to the Queen? How did she come to be like this? Who did this to her?" the King demanded, his voice breaking with anger and fear.

The chief physician stood slowly, wiping his hands. His face looked worried. "Your Majesty, I have treated many sicknesses and many poisons in my years of service. But this..." He hesitated. "This is unlike anything I have ever seen. Yet we are doing all that can be done to save her. Rest assured, she is in our care."

The King’s brows drew together. "Poison? You speak of poison?" His voice was very loud. "Who could dare poison the Queen of the realm?"

The physician bowed his head. "That, I cannot say. But it was this young man who brought her here." He gestured toward Aeron.

The King then looked at Aeron. "What happened?" he demanded. "Tell me at once. What happened to the Queen?"

Aeron stepped forward. "I do not know, Your Majesty. We were in the prison when the guards brought food. The Queen ate from it, but not long after, she began to choke and collapse. That is all I know."

"She began choking..." the King repeated slowly, with his expression darkening. He turned back to the physician. "So it is true? The choking came from poison?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," the physician confirmed, his tone grim. "It is no common poison. It is rare... and cruel. Whoever gave it wished for the Queen not only to fall, but never to rise again."

The King’s eyes returned to Aeron. "If the food was poisoned, then why are you unharmed? Why do you stand here without pain, while my Queen suffers?"

Aeron lowered his gaze. "Because I did not eat, my lord. The Queen forbade them from giving me food. She took her meal alone."

The King’s jaw tightened. He stared at Aeron for a long moment, then turned away with a harsh breath. "How is that...? No matter." He stepped closer to Aeron and dropped his voice in a low, commanding tone. "You must never speak of this to anyone. No one must hear that the Queen refused your food, and ate hers instead. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Aeron answered quickly and, bowed his head.

"Good," the King said and turned back to the royal physician. "You must do all you can to save the Queen. At all costs. I do not care what it takes, nor where you must go. Find the cure. Find the answer. But you must save her."

The physician bowed low. "We are trying all we can, Your Majesty," he said. "We will not rest until the Queen is delivered from this evil."

The King gave him a final stern look before turning to his daughter. Nyella stood near the bed and her eyes were red from weeping. She had not moved since his arrival.

"Come, Nyella," the King said more softly. "Come with me. I would speak with you outside."

But the Princess did not even look at him. Her gaze remained fixed on her mother. The King waited a moment, but saw clearly that his daughter blamed him, for it was he who had ordered the Queen into prison. And now, with her life at risk, the wound of that choice cut deep between father and daughter.

After a moment, the King turned away with a heavy heart and left the chamber.

At the doors of the infirmary, another figure waited for him. It was King Rollo, who had come with him earlier and remained outside while the healers worked.

Rollo stepped forward at once. "How is Her Majesty the Queen?" he asked.

King Tharyn’s face was lined with grief, but he forced his voice to be steady. "She is in no good state," he admitted, "but she will survive. I know she will."

Rollo studied him a moment, then spoke again. "I heard it’s poison. Is it true?"

Tharyn gave a short nod.

Rollo’s face looked worried. "Who could dare poison the Queen? Is the strife within your kingdom so deep? Has the internal conflict become so bad that it strikes even at your own household?"

Tharyn let out a long breath. "You have seen it with your own eyes, Rollo. It is worse than expected. The factions grow bold. Even the throne itself is not safe."

Rollo frowned, stroking his beard. "And here I came, seeking strength, asking for your armies and your resources, to aid me in my own troubles. Yet it seems you may be in a worse condition than I." He paused, then added, "But I have with me my own physician, a man skilled in rare and deadly draughts. My kingdom has long contended with poisons, and our healers know much of their nature. Perhaps he may be of aid."

King Tharyn turned to him, a spark of hope in his eyes. "You have brought such a man?"

"I have," Rollo answered with a nod. "He waits upon my word."

Tharyn stepped closer, lowered his voice and said. "Then I would be in your debt, Rollo. I would welcome his aid with all my heart. Bring him. If he succeeds... if he saves the Queen, then know this: whatever you ask of me, military strength, resources, whatever aid your kingdom requires, you shall have it."

Rollo placed a hand upon his shoulder. "Then let us waste no time."

"..."

Meanwhile, inside the royal infirmary, Aeron turned his eyes toward Nyella. She sat close to her mother’s bedside with her shoulders shaking as she sobbed quietly.

He had always seen her as strong, and unbending, a princess who carried herself like steel. But now, in this painful moment, he saw her differently. Her strength seemed broken, and all that was left was her raw, unguarded heart.

Slowly, carefully, Aeron reached out and touched her hand in a gentle, comforting way. She did not pull away.

Nyella spoke as she was sobbing, with her voice breaking. "All my life... I have felt safe, always, with my parents. As long as they were here, I found comfort. The palace was my shield, my home my refuge. But now... now I no longer feel safe. Not even here. It is as if the true danger has always been within these walls."

Aeron’s voice was low, steady, trying to ease her pain. "Do not cry. Do not let fear consume you. I am here with you, Nyella. Always. No matter what happens, I will not leave you, not now, not ever. And your mother is strong. You know it. She will endure. She will survive this."

Nyella turned her tearful face toward him. "I never believed something like this could happen. Who could have done such a thing? Who would want the Queen dead?"

Aeron had no answer, so he only squeezed her hand gently and allowed the silence to speak for him.

After a moment, Nyella spoke again and her voice trembling with shame. "I am sorry... sorry that you must see me like this. Sorry that you must witness my family, my palace, in such a broken state. This is not the life I wanted you to step into. I wanted to keep you safe, to give you shelter. Instead, I took you from one danger only to deliver you into another. Forgive me, Aeron. I never wished for you to see this side of me, or of my home."

Aeron shook his head at once. "Do not blame yourself. You have only ever wanted what is best for me. I know your heart, Nyella. You mean no harm. And we will endure this. Together. Whatever storms come, we will weather them side by side. I promise you."

He paused. "All I must do is discover why they accuse me. Find the truth behind these charges. Once I uncover it, I will be free. I believe it with all my heart."

Nyella looked him in the eye. "But... what if you were not accused wrongly?" she whispered. "What if what they say is true? What if the things they call you are real?"

Her words were deep, and Aeron’s breath caught in his chest. He drew back slightly and stared at her in shock. "No..." he said firmly at first. "No, that cannot be. I know nothing of their lies. I am guilty of nothing. The names they call me, the crimes they make mention of..."

Then he stopped suddenly. His voice faltered. The words dried up in his throat. He looked lost, and dumbfounded.