She looked at me, surprised and baffled. She asked, “Were you eavesdropping again?” “I was about to knock on your door when I heard your conversation. And allow me to say this, Mother: you are acting like a child. You’re not accepting our help and you’re being stubborn,” I replied. Mother giggled gently, careful not to hurt herself. “Robert, I’m only being realistic. And now that you know what we talked about, I have my reasons as to why I’m rejecting any sort of treatment.” “The Medicine King said you believe that your time to die has come,” I raised a brow. “I don’t understand who you can think of that. Aren’t you worried about leaving Elizabeth and me?” “Robert, we all must accept the arrival of our demise,” she said as she reached out a hand to mine. “The Medicine King has treated me like a child when I only reasoned with him. Acceptance is key to everything, including death.” “Mother, please. Stop saying that you’re going to die,” I begged. “You’re going to recover. And you w
As I waited for Nana Olsa, I indulged myself with a giant cake. It sat in the middle of a table near Nana Olsa’s station. It was too delicious to share, so I preferred to eat it on my own. I was too occupied with the cake when someone suddenly asked me from behind, “Robert, what are you doing?” I turned to see Nana, shocked. “Oh, hello, Nana,” I greeted as I moved back an inch. She moved closer to me. A horrified expression rose on her face. Her eyes widened as she asked, “Robert, what have you done to the cake?” “It was on the table and nobody was paying attention to it. So, I thought I could have a few bites,” I replied. “Would you like to have some?” I offered. “Nobody is supposed to touch that because it wasn’t supposed to be touched!” Nana answered as she looked at the entire cake. “What do you mean? Isn’t this supposed to be for dinner?” I asked, baffled. “This was for dinner but this was for the lords! Your father invited them over to celebrate their success in their tra
After she entered the room, I cleared my throat and continued reading. “Robert!” she called out to me, almost screaming. Her voice echoed throughout the room. “Robert, dear!” she continued, her shoes patted loudly onto the floor as she quickly approached me. I sighed as I put the book down. With hesitation, I turned in her direction. “Oh, jolly! I never thought I’d find you here. I haven’t seen you anywhere in the castle, either,” she remarked as she stood in front of me. “I didn’t know you loved to read. James mentioned that you never liked the library.” “As a fellow monarch, I don’t doubt that you know the most common room in a library. And that silence must be observed inside. Even an uneducated person knows that through common sense. You, of all people, should know better,” I said, crossing my arms. I added, “I should be the one asking why are you here? Elizabeth said you were taking care of Mother.” “Oh, forgive me for disturbing the peaceful atmosphere,” she replied as she
Back in my quarters, I made myself comfortable as I read once more. My back rested upon the headboard, with a few pillows behind my back to keep myself supported. Elizabeth was no longer in my room when I returned. Perhaps, she joined James for dinner. So, I was more than ecstatic to have some peace. However, my door opened and upon looking, Elizabeth was here again. “Hello, dear sister.” “Oh, hello, little brother,” she smiled as she closed the door, “I didn’t know you were already back.” She was about to walk towards me when she froze. Her eyes landed on my hands. “Am I seeing this clearly? Is that a book in your hands?” she asked, amazed and in disbelief. “Unfortunately, yes,” I smiled proudly. “This book has proven me wrong. Everything I perceive about reading is completely removed by this,” I explained as she approached me. “Well then, I couldn’t be more proud of you, dear one,” Elizabeth smiled as she sat beside me. “You finally have something better to do, other than being
“Hello, my dear boy,” she smiled as we met halfway. On her left hand, she carried a black, metal lantern whilst her right hand clutched onto her cloak. “Nana, what are you doing here at this time of the night? You can get lost,” I said, worried. She chuckled. “Robert, you must have forgotten that I know this maze like I know the back of my hand. I’m one of the people who planned this maze. Therefore, the chances of me getting lost is none,” Nana explained. “Nana, even if you know it from the inside out, it’s still dangerous. Especially, for someone your age,” I protested. I continued, “You are inside the maze, all alone. Someone can easily sneak from behind you and do something horrible.” “Son, I am more than capable of taking care of myself. You underestimate me too much,” she answered as she held onto my arm. “What brings you here?” she then asked as we walked away from the arc. “I saw your lantern from my balcony. I didn’t know it was you. But I just had to make sure who is ta
“How are you feeling, Mother?” I asked as I helped her sit up. I gently laid Mother’s back against that headboard of her bed. I then put a few pillows to support her back. “I feel weaker as more days pass by,” Mother sighed, her eyes closed as she winced. “Mother,” I sat beside her, holding her hand, “I implore you to give me permission to find the cure,” I begged as I looked straight into her eyes. “Robert, your Aunt Bethilda is already giving me her herbal treatments. She puts it in her tea so I won’t have to taste the bitterness of it,” she replied, taking a pause every now and then to catch her breath. She was so weak, she couldn’t say a single sentence without panting right after. “Mother, I don’t care if she has her own methods to get rid of your illness. It is clear that it’s not of any help with your case,” I hissed. “Please, place your trust in me. Allow me to find the cure that the Medicine King prescribed. I’ll start looking for it today.” “Bethilda said that her herba
I stood at the entrance of the forest, arriving at the foot of the mountain. My mind still wondered as to where Laura was. When I went to the hills, the entrance to it was barricaded. The people who guarded the blockade said that bandits entered the city and they were preventing a swift escape for them. For certain, Laura couldn’t be there. I could only wonder if she was safe. I shook my head as I tried to remove those thoughts from my mind. Now wasn’t the time to think about her. I had to focus on my mission and that was to get the ledoras herb. I took a deep breath and slowly trotted into the forest. ~*~*~*~ Bird chirped from afar. The sun rays enlightened the faint path as it pierced through the leaves of the tall trees. Rustling from the ground was evident. And squirrels scurried from tree to tree. I hopped off of Lady and walked slowly as I examined all the plants on the ground. The Medicine King provided a brief description of the plant. It was a good thing that I visited
We had walked for quite some time now. All I saw were endless miles of trees and everything that was green. But, suddenly, we arrived at a place that I thought only existed in myths. Those tales that were told to us to make us sleep. “And we have arrived,” the woman said as she struck her staff onto the grass-covered ground. “The heart of the forest.” I slowly stepped forward. My mouth hung open in disbelief from what I was seeing. Faint sunlight shone through the leaves from the towering trees. Different flowers surrounded us. To our right was a small waterfall with a narrow river that cascaded past us. Even more birds sang in the air. I was about to walk further when the woman stopped me, grabbing me by my shoulder. “What’s the matter?” I asked as I was brought back from my sense of wonder. “Have you ever been in this kind of environment? The kind of surrounding where everything is too beautiful, it is beyond belief?” she asked. As a matter of fact, no. Why?” I replied. She s