Chapter 22 - Embedded Enchantment

"Come in" James moaned. He stopped Julia from rushing to the door.

Someone had just knocked the door. It was a very methodical and polite form of knocking. It seemed the person at the door was a stranger and didn't just want to barge in.

The door opened slowly. Michael dashed in. Julia's heart was almost out of her mouth. She was not expecting to see him. He had never come in here since they became more intimate.

Michael looked very sad. His heart was obviously crying but he had tried to be a man and kept tears off his face.

"There is no problem, right?" James seemed startled. He must have known already there was much problem.

"Father. Father is sick in some kind of ways that I can not explain" Michael voice shook as he talked.

"In some ways you can not explain" James retraced his words. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"I am now believing what I was told. Everything is happening as you said it" Michael closed his eyes.

James couldn't understand what he was saying. He leaned towards him to look at him while his eyes was still closed.

Julia pondered on his words. He was definitely talking to her and pretended he was communicating with James.

"Can you explain better little brother?" James placed his hand on Michael's shoulder and caressed him.

"Will father die? No. He must not. The cure must be found and it should be already known. Father cannot die now. He must not die now" he shook his head as he continued sadly without opening his eyes.

Julia thought about the cure. She got nothing about a cure from her mouse. All she heard was the King would be made to sleep on something and would become sick.

"Michael, open your eyes!" James yelled at him. "You are a man. What happened?" he urged him


"I told you I can not explain. Father is dying" he moaned as he opened his eyes. "You need to see him. I have never seen anything like that ever" he gasped.

"Get the physician on him" James walked away from him like he was preparing to go to the King.

"Already there. He was more clueless than me" Michael grumbled.

James went into his inner chambers and came back out. He walked outwards.

"Let's go, brother" he said without looking at him.

"I have to be in my chambers, first" Michael requested as he followed him.

Julia knew what he meant by that. He would be waiting for her in there. She had to tell her all the details she knew right away.

She waited as they both walked out. He wanted James to be far away enough before she would venture to follow Michael.

"I will not be long,I promise" Michael said with a shattered voice outside the chamber.

The cure should be to remove whatever James had kept in the Alpha King's bed. She just wished Michael would agree to embark on such lead that was not straightforward.

He should, at least, now that she believed her unreasonable story. She dashed out of the chambers and headed to Michael's chamber.

She slowly crept in and found Michael already lying in wait.

"What is the solution to this, Julia?" he asked straightaway. He had no time to waste. He looked damn serious.

"There is something underneath the King's bed. He will remain sick as long as he sleeps on the bed. That is from my source" she added to tease him.

"The cure to a poison is to remove it?" it seemed Michael didn't find that logical enough.

"This is sorcery. It works against common sense" she defended.

"If we find this sorcerer's poison and discard it, then it will be gone. What about the damage it had already caused in his body?" Michael related why he thought it wasn't reasonable.

"Just let get this off before we talk about that. If the affliction persists" Julia conveyed a mid point view.

"I think you should consult this your source once again. We need more than just all this strands we are getting" he whined in dissatisfaction.

Julia knew he wanted to know more about how she was getting this information but now was not the time for him to know if he was ever going to know.

"I will" she agreed to avoid further argument.

"James will still be there. I must get there right away" he left for the king's chambers.

They must find a way to cure the King before James would proceed to the next stage of his plan.

****************

"When Michael said this wasn't like anything he had ever seen. I thought he was scared and exaggerating. Honestly, I haven't seen this kind of illness before" James was talking to Queen Teresa.

None of them knew Michael was already at the door. They were carried away by the Alpha King. They were busy looking at him.

Michael raged. He felt like killing James right now.

He deserved a slow painful death. He could still sit with the king without showing remorse. No one would suspect he knew anything about it.

"This is not just a sickness. It is sorcery" Queen Teresa moaned sadly.

"Sorcery?" James seemed surprised. He was obviously pretending. "I thought the last of the sorcerers left our kingdom owing to the fact that he was not getting enough patronage" he revealed.

"But this is obviously sorcery and I will make sure whoever have anything to do with this live to regret ever doing it" Michael fumed as he approached them.

"Of course, he must realized he has overstepped his bounds by inflicting a king" James supported him.

"He? Do you know him?" Michael turned to him.

"Of course not. I'm just assuming he is a man" he quickly replied.

"Father, you are not going to die. You will live more in health to witness more better days" Michael took his hand and held it within his two palms.

"We have to do something to cure him. Like people say. Only sorcery cure sorcery. I think we need to find a sorcerer to heal him before enemies will be laying siege on our kingdom" James explained. He wouldn't have said that if he knew how much that would expose his plans.

"Lay siege? Like wage war on us?" Michael asked.

"Yes. Once this news of the King's sickness got beyond these walls which I am sure it has. We should be ready for a war" James asserted again.

Michael remembered what Julia said. James was preparing a war that would be ended by him. That seemed to be making sense right now.

"Then we should work faster to bring back the King's health. I have always heard wars are better when it is prevented than when it is fought. With the king hale and hearty. We will have no reason to prepare for a war" Michael countered him.

"Yes, brother. But the king and the enemies need to know one thing. With or without father we are strong. I'm sure father will be very proud of that" James smiled and got up.

He must have believed his plans was progressing. Michael wished what Julia had said to work or else. James plans would be really progressing.

"Your brother is right, Michael. Enemies love attacking vulnerable kingdom. And one with a sick king is sick and vulnerable. I will take care of the king while you protect our Kingdom" Queen Teresa said with a sad face and voice.

"Mother. I will see to that. Do not nurse any worry" James proclaimed.

"And I will see to the king's health. Do not nurse any worry" Michael also promised.

He would leave James to go about whatever he had planned. All the eyes he would need to put on him would be Julia. She seemed to be effective and meticulous.

"My Lady" James bowed to Queen Teresa and walked out.

Michael watched him as he was going. His eyes were threatening.

"Michael" Queen Teresa called him softly. She obviously wanted him to call off his glance on him. She wouldn't want James to catch Michael staring at him like that.

"Mother. He had put something in his bed. We must get it out for him to be well" Michael broke out quickly immediately James was out of sight.

"No. I was here with him the whole time" Queen Teresa argued.

"That was before the king fell sick" Michael elaborated.

"Then lets find it and remove it at once" she rose up in readiness to search. They both searched underneath the bed.

"Did you find something?" she stood up after looking for some time.

"No. There is nothing here" Michael gasped for breath as he stood up to answer his mother.

"We need to start deliberating on how to find a sorcerer that will cure him" she sat down in frustration.

"We still need to check. He might have stacked it somewhere very hidden" Michael had believed Julia couldn't be wrong about this.

He bent down again to continue his search.