71 - Toast

"How long has he been in darkness?"
"Ever since I got into the werewolf kingdom." Prince Nicholas answered. All the leaders were in the dining hall having dinner in the werewolf kingdom. It was in celebration of their victory.
Lily put a forkful of chicken into her mouth then sipped from her wine. "How did it happen?"
The prince recounted the whole story and the commander gave desolate sigh.
"The doctors?" She raised an eyebrow. "Have you taken him to other kingdoms? They could have the antidote." Lily ended with a shrug, watching princess Laura feed her father.
Nicholas took a sip from his wine. "We've called all the doctors, magicians and healers we know and there as been no change. "
Lily felt pity for the werewolf king. She couldn't imagine being a leader and not having her eyes working. She wouldn't be able to lead the war if she was blind. "The kaayan healer could be of help."
"Lily, we've had a lot of doctors come in from different kingdoms but there hasn't been any changes. The old man is blind for life."
"You should give the healer a chance."
More experienced doctors, health practitioners and healers had been to the werewolf kingdom to see the king and try to heal him and restore his vision but it was just impossible. All they did was raise everyone's hopes up and crush it. "Alright. I'll inform the princess."
"Your wife." Lily rolled her eyes.
Lily always reminded him of his marriage to princess Laura. She hated the fact that she was around the prince and his his wife and she was just his lover, hidden from his wife.
The fairy queen stood on her feet and strolled to the front of dinning hall, her long blue gown flowing gorgeously being her. She raised her glass of champagne and used her small fork to click her glass making everyone to focus on her.
She started. "Your strength at the face of danger is astonishing. Your perseverance, strength and resilience has led us to victory so can we all fill our glasses." The fairy queen refilled her glass with champagne and the others did the same.
She raised her class and said, "to the commander." They others chorused, "to the commander!" Glasses clicked and they all sipped their drinks.
After the toast, they all all merried, celebrating the commander.
A guard joined them in the dining hall, walking over to Nicholas. Everyone watched as Nicholas' fork fell from his mouth to his plate and as he gulped uncomfortably. His jaw hardened and forced himself to speak when he failed miserably at it, he nodded dismissing the guard.
Everyone one watched expectantly at the prince, waiting for him to get out whatever news he was told.
Nicholas couldn't believe his ears. Yes, he hated him but he never wished for him to die.
Under the table, Lily took his hands and whispered into his ear, "are you okay?"
He got a full look at the commander's masked face and shook his head. He wasn't okay. "He. He..." Nicholas sighed.
Lily was confused just like everyone. She didn't like the way tears welled in his eyes and they turned red with rage. The others on the table murmured amongst themselves trying to think if whatever news could get the prince upset. Was there another war brewing again?
Princess Laura from across the room was confused. She wanted to fly over to the other side of the dinning hall to speak to her husband but she had to be with her father. The frown etched in the princess's face disappeared when her father touched her arm slightly.
"Are you alright, my dear Laura?"
"Ye..yes, father." She stuttered and the king asked again looking directly into his daughter's eyes like he could see her. It freaked the princess out a little.
"Why is the room so tense?"
"Everything is fine father. You don't have to worry yourself about a thing. " She took a spoonfull of food and asked her father to open his mouth.
From across the room, the commander was running her hand on the prince's right hand trying to help the him regain his composure.
"He's...d..dead." He brought out in a small voice which made everyone frown because they couldn't hear him. Then he got out a louder, "my father was found dead in his dungeon."
Everyone gasped while Lily squeezed his hand in her's as support.
******
"I'm sorry about the loss of your father." Laura announce as the prince made his way into her room. She didn't mean it. The old man had been a menace to all the kingdoms of the supernatural realm. Left to her,she would have wanted them to kill him. She didn't want to have him around her kingdom because being alive in the dungeon posed a threat to the world. If king Eric ever got out somehow then that was the end for all the States but the old mad had made things easy by executing himself.
No matter what he did and how he treated him, he believed king Eric was still his father and so the had cried in the arms of the commander. She had consoled him ever so lovingly that he had fallen in love with her all over again.
Princess grinned as he perched on her bed ,next to her. She shifted closer to him and took his hand and placed on her lap. "I know he was evil but he's still your father and I'm I'm sure you loved him." She gave his hand a slight squeeze.
"He isn't my father." Nicholas brought out simply.
"He confessed it to you?"
"You knew?"
Princess Laura nodded. "He told you?"
Nicholas nodded too. "How?"
"He confessed it."
Silence lingered on in the atmosphere for a while. The princess out her head on her husband's shoulder. "I missed you so much, my love."
Nicholas cringe hearing her call him that. His muscles tensed as she placed a kiss on his cheek then her lips trailed to his neck. The princess found herself before him and slipped her hands round his neck. Her lips found their way to his and the prince froze he felt her's connect with his
When he didn't kiss back, she tried to force her way into his mouth but he placed each hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her off. Confused, she tried to connect their lips again but he pushed her off again and stood from the bed.
Nicholas ran a hand in his hair while the princess came before him. She wrapped her hand around his neck again and he didn't reciprocate the action. She gave him a peck on his lips but he didn't kiss her back, he only pushed her off again and told her, "stop."
"You don't like it, my love?"
"I only came to tell you about the kaayan healer."
The princess was confused. "What?"
"The commander said the healer could help restore your father's sight."
"Really?" She asked forgetting the prince just rejected her.
"I'll advise not to get your hopes up. We've had a lot of doctors come to see your father. They all promised to have his sight restored but he's still blind today."
"Let's just give it a try. I'll do anything to have my father get his vision back."
The prince nodded and made his way out of her room and just before he got out, the princess declared, 'i love you, prince Nicholas."
Nicholas felt his muscles tense and he only walked out of the room going to meet the woman his heart longed for.
Princess Laura's heart broke that the prince didn't care and he didn't say the words to her back. She meant what she told him and she wasn't afraid to say it.
******
King Francis laid on his bed eyes clasped shut. The princess held his hand while the commander and Nicholas remained by the door.
The healer had all her ingredient on the floor of the room. She was sprawled on the cold tiles saying some languages they all couldn't decipher. She took a bowl and mixed some other ingredients into the bowl. Using a small stick,the healer mixed them together and poured it into another bowl.
"Leave."
The prince hummed not hearing her. The healer spoke again,this time with a scowl etched in her face. "Leave."
"I would like to stay with my father. " Laura announced.
"I need absolute silence and concentration. I need you all out."
They all nodded andeaft the room leaving only the king with he healer. Princess Laura had her heart to her stomach thinking of what was going on in her father's room. The healer had given her father a whitish drink to take and he sleep soon after that.
The princess took the prince hand holding unto it. When Lily's eyes caught it, she scoffed. Nicholas tried to get untangle his hands from his wife's but she held onto his fingers.
Princess Laura had noticed how the two stared at each other. They were always together and had dreamy looks ok their faces when ever they saw each other. She knew something was up between them but she didn't know what it was.
"How did it go?" Elaine joined them.
"The healer is in with the king alone." Lily answered. Elaine nodded and hugged the princess trying to comfort her. The princess git upset when Nicholas left her side.
He went to meet the commander who was leaning on the wall. He inhaled her fresh lavender scent and all over again he was in love. He loved her eyes and want to kiss her but he couldn't. It had been a long while their lips laced with each other's and he was dying to have her in his arms to kiss her and taste her.
"You should go meet your wife."
The prince resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I be told you, what Laura and I share is an arrange marriage."
Lily scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I see the way she looks at you. She's in love with you."
"You should focus on the way I look at you." He whispered,"I want to kiss you. I need to." He moved closer to her.
She moved farther from him. "You seem to have forgotten all that you did to the people. You think I'll settle for you?"
"Are you ever going to forgive me?" Instead of an answer to the prince' question, she walked away.
Princess Laura took this as her opportunity to get out of Elaine's hold. She went to meet the prince and hold his hand. She shoved her off and walked away too.
In the king's room, the healer did a ritual to the moon goddess appeasing her spirit and asking for divine healing powers for her to heal the king. She raised the bowl mixed with all the substances she came with and raised it to the sky three times. The healer pulled up the king's eye lids and applied the substance to his eyes and the king woke up covering feeling like hot pepper were in his eyes.
He started to rub his eyes with his fingers, crying at the intense pain he was feeling. Then he fluttered his eyes open and started to see but his sight was blurry. He wiped his eyes again and closed it but his sight was still blurry.
He closed his eyes again and this time the king could see a woman dressed in fur before him holding a bowl.
His sight was back.