The magic horses rushed to the royal castle from the port in the blink of an eye. They left chaos in their wake, scattering everything that was in their path. As soon as they arrived inside the royal castle, the gates were sealed shut to keep people out.
The Lord mage was picked up from his house by red knights. The way he was grabbed, it was akin to kidnapping as they rushed him to the royal castle, straight to the royal hospital.
It had been emptied out and red knights were guarding it as though it was a barracks. Even before entering the hospital, the Lord mage had a dreadful feeling that something had gone terribly wrong with the king. Aside from the queen and crown prince, such a fuss would not be made for anyone else.
He found the king on a bed in a room that already smelled of herbs and blood. Six royal doctors and three nurses were running around like headless chicken to find a solution to treat him.
They were nervous and they could not be blamed for it. Treating the king was a major thing, one wrong move and you could lose your head. It did not help that the red knights were staring at the doctors wit menacing and threatening eyes.
"What happened?" the Lord mage asked as he pushed his way through the doctors at the king’s bedside.
He took a closer look at the king who was shirtless. There was a huge slash across his chest. The Lord mage had seen enough sword injuries to know that a sword had done this. It had cut deeply, damaging some veins and causing massive bleeding.
There had been an attempt to treat the wound but it had not been sufficient.
"My goodness!!" he exclaimed. "Who did this?"
"Them." A red knight night pointed to Emmah and Benjamin.
The two had been handcuffed like criminals.
"On our way back after acquiring the last shard, we were attacked by unknown assailants. One of them almost killed her." The red knight snarled as he looked Emmah’s way. "At the same same time, a mage knight tried to kill the king. We could not get to him in time, the prince was the closest. Rather than save the king, the prince run in the opposite direction and saved her."
The Lord mage looked shot Benjamin a look of disappointment. Not only was he a disappointment as a son but he was also a disappointment as a knight.
Adrine one of the king’s personal guards said in a trembling angry voice, "I told the king that it was a bad idea to go searching for the last shard in person, especially at such a time when the crown prince was away. Prince Benjamin and that woman...." He almost spat in Emmah’s face as he glared at her. "She convinced the king to go with reporters for an excavation, saying something about ratings and fame. I can see why the crown princess is always warning the crown prince, prince Galen and others to stay away from her. She is evil reincarnation, bad luck."
Emmah’s sick face turned even more grey. So, the crown princess has been my enemy all along, she thought.
The Lord mage examined the king’s wounds with magic and he discovered a problem. The sword that had been used to slice into the kings flesh had crimson poison that had seeped into his bones and seared some of his flesh.
No wonder the king was struggling to breathe, her was bound to be in incredible pain.
"Save the king." Adrine urged the Lord mage.
The Lord mage looked at Emmah and he said, "You are a mage, you healed the crown prince on the battlefield. Why didn’t you heal the king immediately?"
Emmah shook her head, "I tried...I..I..." She stammered.
She had tried and failed. The knights had all witnessed it. Initially, they had been filled with hope but the more she failed, the angrier they became. They blamed her for the king’s condition. If it was not for her suggestion and convincing, the king would not have gone to Sunset peaks. If it was not for her, Benjamin would have saved the king.
She was safe and sound while the king appeared to be on his deathbed.
"Throw her out of the castle." Adrine barked.
As two knights dragged Emmah away, he added a warning, "And if one word of the king’s illness comes from your mouth little girl I will personally remove your head and make a lamp out of your skull."
"What are you doing?" Benjamin growled out.
"Gag his mouth." Adrine ordered.
A young knight looked at the outraged Benjamin and said, "I am sorry your highness." He forced a cloth into Benjamin’s mouth.
No matter how much he struggled and resisted, they paid no mind to him. If or when the king opened his eyes, he would have to face the consequences of his actions. As for Emmah, Adrine had thrown her out in case the king did not survive the knight or hold on until the crown prince returned.
If she was in the castle, she could leak information and that would be dangerous. They all knew that a gap like this could result in insurrection.
The Lord mage started working alongside the doctors to treat the king. Using magic, he purified what was left of the poison, albeit, it was already too late. It had made its way to the king’s heart, lungs and liver. There was no antidote for crimson poison currently, they did not even know all the contents of the poison itself. What he knew was that the poison was used by Medorian mage knights.
The only person that could help was the crown princess was she was not around.
"This day is not as victorious as we thought." The Lord mage mumbled.
He applied medicine to wounds and the doctors stitched the wounds. Princess Elarin showed up at that moment and she sat in a chair beside the bed. She asked no questions, did not eat or drink. She just kept a quiet vigil that lasted all night.
The Lord mage and doctors worked tirelessly all night, taking turns to watch over the king, attentive when he broke out into a fever and coughed blood. When morning came, he looked better and his breathing had improved however, he was still unconscious and mostly pale.
The Lord mage looked up at the sky as shadows of flying ships covered the sky. One ship stopped directly over the hospital and white knights climbed out on ropes. Sigrid’s griffin flew out as well, on its back, it was carrying two people.
"They have returned sooner than I anticipated." The Lord mage said.
Sir Adrine shook his head and clenched his hands. He was nervous but he was relieved that the crown prince had returned. Even if the king passed on now, the new empire would be held intact.
"Do you think that he will kill his brother or wait for the king to do it himself?" The Lord mage asked.
Sir Adrine expelled a quick breath. "The king will live?" he asked.
The Lord mage sighed and shook his head. "He will never be the same again I am afraid."