Prince Harold stood with a heavy heart outside Alicia's chamber as the physician attended to Alicia, whose frail figure lay upon the bed. The air outside was heavy with tension, and the prince could feel the weight of his worries pressing down upon him. Alvin, as usual, was beside him. But it wasn't only them outside. Paulina was out there and so was Lance, who had wanted to check up on the situation but found this tense atmosphere and waited with them.
Paulina was in tears, her trembling hands clasped in a fervent prayer for her mistress's recovery. Lance, stood by their side, his face etched with concern for Alicia and also Harold.
All he had experienced in this short time had taken a toll on him.
He wished it was all a bad dream and hoped he would wake up and find himself back in that disgusting inn with disgusting foods thrown at him.
He would pick that over anything else.
Earlier, the others had all been inside the chamber but had been kicked out. Not exactly 'kicked out', but the physician had asked them all, especially Harold to leave the room.
The physician, with furrowed brows and a sombre countenance, tried his best to alleviate Alicia's suffering, but the cause of her pain remained a mystifying enigma. Her heartache seemed to defy explanation, and her fevered body emitted an intense heat that engulfed the room like an inferno. The man well-versed in the medical arts, could only shake his head in frustration at his inability to pinpoint the source of her agony.
Harold's heart ached in tandem with his beloved's torment, and the sight of her suffering tore at his soul. Alvin, despite the deep and empty hole in his heart, stood by his side, trying to console him, yet unable to fathom the depths of Harold's despair. They both knew they couldn't ease her pain, and it was a helpless feeling that engulfed them.
In the midst of their distress, the physician had implored Harold to remain outside the chamber. It was an agonizing decision, for every fibre of the prince's being yearned to be at her side, yet the physician had noticed something peculiar. Alicia's health showed a slight improvement when Harold was even a little bit further away from her. And her relief was quite apparent when he exited the room at the physician's suggestion. It was an inexplicable phenomenon, but one they couldn't afford to ignore. Maybe it had to do with his mark which she bore on her neck?
Harold had reluctantly agreed to wait, his heart heavy with the knowledge that he might be causing her more suffering merely by being near. Alas, love had turned into a torment for him, as he felt torn between his yearning to be with her and the possibility of easing her pain by staying away.
Minutes dragged on like an eternity, the atmosphere was fraught with grief and worry, and finally, the physician emerged from the chamber with a heavy sigh. His expression was grim as he approached the anguished prince with all the worried eyes on him.
"She is resting now, my Prince," he spoke softly, trying to convey compassion amid the despair. "But I would still advise waiting a while longer before entering. There is something peculiar about her condition that I cannot fully comprehend."
Harold's heart sank further, but he understood the physician's rationale. He nodded reluctantly, fighting back the burst of frustration and sorrow he felt. "Do what you can, and I shall wait," he murmured, trying to hold onto a glimmer of hope amidst the darkness that surrounded him.
But the look in the man's eyes told him there was only a limit to what he could do. The conversation they had had earlier still stood but Harold ignored the look in the man's eyes. As far as he was concerned, something would be done.
Paulina, however, did not wait. She opened the door and rushed into the chamber, crying in relief when she saw Alicia.
Alicia looked very pale, weak and sickly. But she still managed a smile at her and then her eyes looked outside and spoke faintly, her voice trembling with emotion, "It's tonight. The... blood moon will soon be out."
Paulina did not know what that meant. Neither did she care about that.
She went closer and sat on the stool beside her bed, trying to wipe off her unending stream of tears.
"Thank you... for being alive." Paulina said tearfully and Alicia turned to look at her with a sad smile.
"How... is Prince Harold?" Alicia asked quietly.
"He is fine. He will be here soon." Paulina said, refusing to divulge details. She also knew Alicia would start asking questions so she decided to distract her by handing her a note Luciana had left for her.
Alicia looked at it with faint eyes before her hands weakly received it and she opened the note. It was a poem.
It read:
----
In the realm of shadows, there stood a radiant light. You, whose glow pierced the darkest night.
Unaware of how far your brilliance had stretched.
You guided lost souls with love, cherished and unmatched.
In this world, our paths crossed, destinies intertwined,
Since then, dear Amber, you've been engraved in my mind.
No regrets for our meeting, nor for all that ensued,
For the moments we shared, my heart deeply imbued.
But now, a cruel chasm divides us, tearing me in two,
My only regret, dear Amber, is our agonizing goodbyes.
I dream of a day, beyond this sombre gloom,
Where we shall reunite, far beyond the Moon.
By the lake's serene shore, we'll frolic like before,
With Paulina and Susan, laughter, joy, and more.
Until that moment, dear Amber, keep my memory near.
And at the bottom of the note were the words:
Light is just light to itself. But light is light to darkness.
To darkness, it brings more than words can describe.
It brings hope.
You, Amber, were the light to all our darkness.
Goodbye.
Luciana.
----
Alicia read the note with teary eyes, her heart breaking further with each word she absorbed, her fingers trailing the marks left by dried tears on the note. This, unfortunately added another layer of sorrow to her already troubled soul. In that moment, the weight of her pain and the uncertainty of her condition became almost unbearable.
Paulina panicked. This was not what she had hoped for.
"Bring him... Prince Harold..."
Alicia cried to Paulina, who hesitated but then she cried loudly, making Paulina flinch and with fear and panic, she went to fetch him.
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