Page 58 of Once Upon a Crown
I found Eloisa’s nurse, Agatha, heading away from her rooms, most likely heading to the servants’ quarters.
“Your Highness.” The gentle old lady gave a curtsy.
“Is everything all right?”
“Of course, Your Highness. She is merely sleeping.”
“Thank you, Agatha. Have a good evening.” I dismissed her.
“You as well, Your Highness.” She gave another curtsy and hurried off. I could imagine she was eager to have some time to herself.
I took the last few steps to Eloisa’s bedroom and pried the door open as quietly as possible.
The room itself was dark apart from the moonlight shining in through the windows.
I closed the door behind me, spotting Eloisa’s sleeping silhouette in her bed.
She seemed so at peace. These days, she spent more time sleeping than awake. The physician said her illness was slowly progressing and sadly there was nothing to be done.
I trod softly over the floor towards the chair next to her bed. The seat was still warm from where Agatha had likely been sitting only a few minutes before.
Eloisa’s chest rose and fell, and had I not known better, I would have thought her perfectly healthy.
We were never particularly close as siblings, with Father sending her to live in the country for most of her life. Maybe henever forgave her for being the cause of Mother’s death. But she always looked happy to see me when she was at court.
“It’s strange to have you and Elara in this place together,” I said, careful not to speak too loudly.
“She looks like you, and you kind of sound the same, but you’re two completely different people.”
Elara didn’t often talk of Eloisa or come to see her. Discovering she had a long-lost sister was one thing, but to discover she had an identical twin was another. And Eloisa wasn’t exactly communicative anymore. They couldn’t talk or bond with each other. There was no hope for any kind of relationship, really. We all knew that Eloisa’s health was slowly failing her and that eventually it would come down to a matter of days.
Elara may not have known our parents, but if she were in any way to become attached to Eloisa, it would only hurt so much more when the inevitable happened.
“Everyone’s gone off to Norrandale now. They’re going to try and get back Mistwood Palace.”
The journey would be long and cold, and there was no guarantee that they would have any success.
“It was probably dangerous for Elara to go but it’s not like she’s going to leave Cai’s side now.” Whatever Elara might have said or done, Cai had gone from a grieving man, hiding in his room all day, to a king willing to fight for his right to the throne. I hoped they all made it out alive. Though I would never admit it. I worried about Aries and the power of his army. What he was capable of, especially when it came to the Myrgonite objects. Aries was not going to stop looking for them unless he was dead.
Cai and Elara knew more about the objects than they were willing to let on. But my sister had made a promise. I found myself wondering if she would keep it.
“Gwen is still here, though,” I continued. “Her ankle hasn’t healed enough to travel so far yet. She needs to stay off horses for a little while longer.”
We didn’t see too much of each other. Sometimes I would find her reading in the library or in the dining room. Gwen was a little less hostile than before. I think she missed the others and realised I was now the only company she had left.
The other day, as I was making my way to the stables, I found her walking in the garden with her stick. Light snow had fallen during the night, making the ground somewhat slippery. She nearly fell but did not want to accept my help to get her inside. She was more stubborn than the worst of the horses I’d ridden as a child.
She promised me that she would be off the walking stick soon anyway. I respectfully let her go but watched through the window as she slowly hobbled back inside the palace.
Once she was fully healed, she might want to go back to Norrandale. Or she might not be ready to face the brother who had betrayed her family. I wanted to sympathise with her situation, but I would be the first to admit that I could not call myself the best of brothers. Not that I carried regrets with me. I had my reasons, and Elara wasn’t the sort who needed an older brother figure. She had spent her whole life taking care of herself. And now she had Cai to take care of her.
“Could you imagine the three of us growing up together?” I couldn’t help but wonder. If Mother had not died and Elara had been raised in a palace. Everything would be different. Somehow, I still saw Elara ending up with Cai.
“Maybe I would not have been the black sheep of the family.” With one sister on the throne and the other practically on her deathbed, it was difficult to know my place sometimes. I did not want to be king. Did not want the responsibility of the life thatcame with the title. I’d ruled as regent in my father’s place for years and hated every second of it.
“Or maybe I would.” It didn’t really matter now. All I could hope was that Rhen found the answers somewhere in that old diary and that we wouldn’t be damned to the mercy of Aries. I cared for our family name and the kingdom, but I would not be the one to save it.
Chapter 24
