Lord Theodore's Favorite Ritual
Chapter 241: First Life, Alice. (8)

Chapter 241: First Life, Alice. (8)

After a long walk through different wings and chambers and a plentiful flight of stairs, they arrived at the queen’s resting chambers. A room set apart from the Castle and equipped with everything a sick person could need, treatments were what the queen relied on.

"You may leave" the king spoke but Alice could not tell who he was talking to. The room was so dark, it cast shadows everywhere.

"Yes my Lord" said a middle aged man who stepped into the light long enough for Alice to recognize him as the head of physicians in the Castle. It felt good to know that her mother had the best hands looking after her for whatever good it would do the dying queen.

As soon as the door to the room was shut behind King Albert, Alice and the Queen, both of them advanced towards her with her, with the king taking the lead.

"Albert?" between coughs, the frail queen noted the presence of her husband by his own name, something no one would dare do in his presence but she was his wife, "Where is... Where is my-" The coughs only seemed to get fiercer interrupting her intended question, it forced Alice to double back from the sheer fright of seeing her mother in such a state. The heart of the young princess shivered but her father was there to be her strength, placing one arm on her shoulder.

"Save your strength Esther" Albert spoke with a tone that he has become most accustomed to, though this was gentler than what he used in court, it still carried that regal authority.

He has begun to firm his heart to the possibility of losing his wife, he didn’t want to act weak in front of his daughter for it’ll only alarm her.

"I do not care much for my strength" a soft anger replaced Esther’s coughs as she glared at the ceiling, "Where is my daughter?"

"Here mother! I am here, mother" her voice was calmer than she thought it would be as Alice stepped closer to her mother’s bedside, not daring to look into the queen’s eyes for fear that she would break down.

"My child" Esther’s voice was low as she stared at the face of her daughter, contemplating her beauty which mirrored hers in the days of her youth, she missed the days she could scold and watch Alice runaway, now she was only bedridden and can only wait for when Albert lets Alice come see her, "Embrace me" she whispered.

Alice grabbed her mother’s palm, she was a little hesitant, her heart pounding in her chest. She wanted to embrace her mother and whispered all her pent up hopes to her mother but she was scared of what it could do to her emotionally. Her father had schooled her that to be a princess, one was to be tough, to be strong. But Alice was not sure she could be strong now.

"Alice!" Esther called, disappointment and anger replacing her longing for warmth and now the feeling was also going to be replaced by sadness, "Did I ask something wrong of you?"

"Caution your speech Esther," the king father replied "You are still the Queen of Springton," he said, staring his wife squarely, "Refrain from such tricks as the commoners do," irritation starting to be evident in his voice, "I would not stand here and listen to it,"

"No" she said almost immediately, her regal tone fluttering forward, "You would not listen at all" maintaining her royal aura, it was evident she was fighting back a cough but Esther no longer cared, "Leave us Albert" she said through clenched teeth.

"I chaperoned Alice here" Albert calmly shrugged his wife’s order off, "if anyone has the right to tell me to leave, it is her" he claimed.

"Alice my dear" Esther began, staring lovingly into her daughter’s eyes "Would you kindly tell your father to leave?"

Alice’s eyes widened. "I..." this was not a position that Alice had prepared to be in and least of all tonight when her mind had been occupied by a boy. The princess looked between one parent to another, not knowing which to favour at the expense of the other.

But she missed her mother.

The silence stretched as she thought deeply about her next move. Her father already had a crooked smile, putting much faith in the lessons that he himself instilled in the princess of Springton. He taught her about confidence and royalty, about the power they were born into and how to exploit.

But that was not all. He taught Alice never to be weak, illustrating that her mother was too weak for the throne and that was why she had gotten down with a disease and failed her husband, her people. Alice was taught never to fail.

His teachings were sound and that was why Alice’s next words came as a shock to him as well as her ailing mother.

"Thank you your highness for aiding me to see the queen" she spoke like a princess of Springton and not like a daughter to anyone, "I can manage on from here on"

"Ha!" Esther dared to jest in spite of her predicament, "You heard your highness" she mused, looking at the defeated face of her husband, "You may leave"

"I will be just outside the room in case you need me" Albert said, his expression still neutral as he turned to leave. Both women waited till he was out the door and it was shut again before they could breathe.

"Now," the queen wasted no time in trying to get up again, the strain of the very activity appearing on her face but she soldiered on, "Alice, my princess, embrace me,"

Alice collapsed into her mother’s arms, gently enough to not crush the frail woman with her weight. In seconds, the little princess was in tears. Gone was the princess that king Albert groomed.

Alice wept for what was coming, she needed not to be told that her mother could pass on at any moment. They had even been whispers of what would become of the kingdom once the queen died in the middle of war.

She also cried for what had passed, for all the times that she should have been by her mother’s side since her illness began. She wept for being the one who was too weak to look at her mother, the one who listened to her father’s lessons instead of her own heart.

"Hush now my darling," Esther released her momentarily as her tears had already begun to soak both their faces "Don’t feel sorry for anything," she said like she could read minds "It’s not your fault."

Alice tried her best to contain her tears as her mother wiped the ones that were already on her cheeks. The older woman was looking at her daughter with so much love and even with the wrinkles and frailty, a queen had never looked so regal.

"I hear your sessions in court have been going well" Esther started, "Little birds sing of how beautiful you look with a queen’s crown up your head" she felt it had been awhile since they’d met and she needed to talk about every topic she stored.

With the seat of Queen vacant for months, her father had initiated the idea of having Alice represent her mother instead of some random courtier. The ornaments were his idea and so was the queen’s crown.

"I also heard you managed to leave the palace for a legit reason today." The queen was updated.

In spite of her, Alice blushed.

She wished she could tell her mother about the whole happening of her day but then that’d be her admitting she met the warrior prince and she doesn’t hate him as expected.

"Is the room too hot? The temperature has to be this hot for me to breath better"

"No mother that is not why, I am ok" she answered quickly.

"Enjoy your days and everything, Alice do not let your father take away any little joy you can have" she whispered and watched as Alice nodded in agreement.

Esther smiled as she engaged her daughter in petty gossip, unheard of for queens and princesses

"You would make a great queen" Esther said suddenly, savouring the smile that was on her daughter’s face. Her happiness flinched away again as she spoke the next words "I only wished I could be there to see it"

And what followed after were a series of coughs that left Alice panicking. Her first notion was to fetch a cup of water and since she couldn’t do that in time, she thought of rushing out to get help from her father or the physician.

"No Alice" her mother cried out, "I am alright" the cough that followed that was not as violent as the others had been, "Please, do not call anyone in here. I only wish to see you, I can bare this fit"

Alice stared at the queen, skeptical on what to make of the situation. ’but I cannot bear it’ she wanted to mumble but instead hesitantly, she walked over to her mother’s bed and sat there. Just staring at the woman whom an unknown sickness was stealing away from her.

The queen seemed to contemplate her daughter too as both women shared this moment of silence. Neither mother nor daughter dared to ruin the peace that had settled.

Slowly time passed with both of them still not saying anything to each other. The night wore on and they both knew that the king would soon return to take Alice back to her room. The queen dreaded that more than the sickness that was slowly eating away at her life.

"Do not change for anyone, Alice" her mother suddenly spoke, almost startling Alice to her feet "No matter what they say or do, ever" she was staring intently at Alice now in what could be their final moments together, "Promise me you will always follow your heart" she begged.

"It is getting late" the king’s voice sounded from outside the room, both ladies were expecting and hence weren’t so surprised, "Alice, it’s time for you to return to your room"

"Promise me" the queen continued to cough, her body shaking with the pressure just as the door opened to reveal an eager king who had come for his prize.

The king was inching closer and Alice knew her time with her mother was up. She dared to look in her mother’s eyes one last time before whispering the words, "I promise, mother" she dropped a kiss on her mothers cheek.

"I love you," Esther whispered.

"I love you too, Mama" Alice replied as she wiped an errant tear before rushing out of the room.

Albert gulped his choking emotion before leaving the room next.

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