In and Out of Time

the end is near

Madonna and I sit on the couch, in front of the fire, like so many days before. I learned the fire isn't because she's cold, she just likes the sound and smell—yet another thing we have in common. As we're laughing about a story she told, there's a knock on the door and I tilt my head at her. "Are you expecting anyone?" I ask softly, "are you?" she replies funnily and I roll my eyes playfully.

She tells me to stay put while she sees who it is. As she opens the door, I hear a familiar voice but can't place it. So I quickly get up and move closer, concealing myself with the wall. "Have you seen princess Marion?" Ah it's a guard, that's why I recognized his voice. Wait... how did they know to look here? "Why do you ask?" Madonna inquires calmly and I hear the man sigh in frustration, poor guy he's probably been looking for me all day.

"She's needed at the palace; I'm not obligated to disclose anything more. Now do you know where she is or not?" he asks in a far less formal and quite frankly grumpy tone. I make sure to stand up straighter, revealing myself and standing tall—or as tall as I can be next to her. "You will not speak to her that way. Apologize" I demand and his eyes widen a bit, I suppose being a princess does have some perks.

"I'm sorry" he replies, bowing his head a little in our direction. "Now what is this about?" I ask tiredly, "if I may, your highness, it is a private matter" he responds as he glances at the redhead. "Anything you can say to me, you can say in front of her as well" I look to her and smile, to which she blushes a little and looks down.

"Umm... it's the king... he's ill" the guard mumbles and my eyes quickly shift to him as my smile falls. "W-what? Since when?" I stutter out, as much as I dislike the man—I'm still concerned. "Well we've looked all over the kingdom for you, it took a few days, he's been... not well for a week now and it's only getting worse. Which is why you need to come to the palace, now" he summarizes.

I look at the redhead who looks just as shocked as me at the revelation. "Ok, give me a minute" I say and take a step back, he just stands there and I sigh as I pinch the bridge of my nose. "That means go to carriage, please" I state firmly and he turns around, the backup guard following him. Madonna shuts the door and I sigh deeply as my shoulders drop their tension.

"Fuck my life" I mutter to myself, "of course he had to get sick, fucking prick" I grumble. "It'll be fine" the redhead tells me as she puts her hand on my shoulder and I raise my head to look up at her. "I know... it's just one thing after another" I breathe out, "well you know you're always welcome here to talk about anything—or not talk if you don't want to" she assures me and I nod gratefully.

"I guess I'll be going now" I whisper, "don't worry, ok? I'm not going anywhere, I'll be here when you get back" she promises. I wrap my arms around her waist and she automatically moves to wrap hers around my shoulders. "Don't worry about a thing, sweet girl. We'll figure this out" she whispers and I feel much better now that I don't feel so alone in this.

She's with me. I say my goodbye to the girls and then to Madonna, waving as the carriage pulls off. One bright side is that I get the feeling of being actual royalty for a while. It's been so long since I've sat in one of these. It bounces with the bumps in the road and my fingers run delicately over the velvet seats, reveling in the feeling of it against my skin.

I'm not sure how sick Ferdinand really is, I mean... the guards will say whatever he want them to. It's possible that he's not even sick but just wanted me summoned. However, he wouldn't easily admit to such 'weakness' even if it was a plot and he surely doesn't want me in his presence that bad.

Which leads me to believe that David is actually the one that ordered the search for me. Despite us not being very close, we have a certain respect for each other. No matter how spoiled I may think he is, to an extent, we always have each other's backs. Ferdinand showing favoritism to him annoys me of course but that's not David's fault; he was simply—well partially, created by a bigot.

We arrive to the front of the palace and I freeze in my spot, not wanting to get out. The door is opened and a hand outstretched for me to take so I don't trip. As much as I don't want to, I take it because I need the extra stability right now. I brush my hands on my pants and wait for the other guard so I can follow them. I could walk in by myself but I'm trying to prolong this as much as I possibly can.

We finally get in and I'm standing outside his room door. The guards have left me alone for the time being, so I just aimlessly stare at the door. I begin to hear coughing coming from the other side and it goes on for a while, getting progressively more violent, until it eventually ceases. I take a deep breath and put my trembling hand on the door knob.

I have no idea what to expect on the other side of this door but I'm sure it won't be good in any way. He probably doesn't want me here and I suppose I'm fine with that. I just want to do my part and check on him, not that he deserves it after basically disowning me but still. My mother once loved him and so I'll do this for her. I turn the knob and sigh as I step in the room, mentally preparing myself for whatever's to come...