Strange

King Gaius p.o.v

I stayed silent as Hilda proceeded down the hall ahead of me.

I admired the swell of her hips beneath the deep purple gown she wore.

Her gold crown balanced gracefully atop her auburn locks.

I wondered how I had been lucky enough to be betrothed to her.

There were plenty of other kings and princes who would have died to marry such a beautiful princess.

Whatever my father had done to solidify the alliance with her kingdom, I thanked the heavens for.

My only regret was that I hadn't been able to give her a child that was truly hers by birth.

We both adored Isla and loved her to death, but I knew that Hilda craved a child that she had carried inside of her.

We had stopped trying for a baby long ago.

Hilda had gotten pregnant again when Isla was about two years old, but she almost died giving birth to the baby boy who died three days after he was born.

After that, we no longer tried to have a child.

It was very likely that Isla was the only child we would ever be lucky enough to have.

And now she was getting sick.

I walked up behind Hilda, who was entering the nursery. There was a small shriek and my stomach dropped.

I rushed in and felt all the blood rush from my face.

Isla was wrapped up tightly in her bed, a cloth draped over her forehead.

Her skin was so pale it was nearly translucent; the pink that usually adorned her cheeks was nowhere to be found.

She looked lifeless, but I could see the rise and fall of her slender chest.

Greta sat next to her, trying to coax some sort of concoction down her throat.

Hilda was already kneeling beside the bed, sobbing.

I rushed forward, knocking my crown off with the fast motion.

"Greta, what happened?"

The sweet woman was heart-broken.

"I don't know, Your Highness. She was playing with her toys one minute, and the next she was unconscious on the floor, ice cold." She used her apron to wipe the tears from her cheek.

Her brown eyes glistened beneath her graying hair.

"I'm so sorry, my lord."

More than anything, I wished to take my grief out on the maid, but I knew that it wasn't her fault.

I refrained and moved to the other side of the bed, grasping my daughter's tiny, cold hand.

It was a shock, as she had been nearly burning hot only hours ago.

"How long has she been like this?"

"She collapsed no more than ten minutes ago, Your Highness. She was playing, telling me that her back no longer hurt, and then she fell down."

I closed my eyes and kissed my little girl's hand.

"We have to call the castle doctor in here."

Hilda looked up.

"He's gone, darling. He's visiting his family, remember? You gave him the week off to go to the village."

I cursed myself.

Of course, and I had meant to call a replacement to be at the castle during the week of the full-time doctor's absence.

But, I had been distracted by his meeting with my people and hadn't yet called for the village doctor.

"We have to call someone."

"No one will be coming at this late hour, sir. It's late for travel, even from the village," Greta said softly.

The meeting had run longer than expected.

It was past dinner time, nearly time for everyone to go to their bed chambers.

"But we have to do something!" I snapped.

"Gaius" Hilda warned.

"Yelling won't solve anything."

"What good is it to be king if I can't get a damn doctor for my child!"

Hilda stood up.

"That is enough. Greta is a wonderful healer and caretaker. She will whip something up until we can get a doctor here. We'll send a messenger to the village and see what he can do."

"I had some hot water brewing for tea, but I put some herbs in it to help our sweet girl. I just need her to drink it now," Greta told them gently, tilting Isla's head to coax it into her mouth.

"Thank you, Greta," I said, standing up to walk to hilda.

"Is there anything else that you need?"

"There isn't much more we can do for her until she wakes up. I'll sit with her until she does." Greta leaned forward to smooth back Isla's hair from her clammy forehead.

"We won't let you sit alone, dear," Hilda said.

"I'm going to call a maid to bring us something to eat and we will wait here with you."

The nurse nodded gratefully as I pulled up two more chairs from other places in the nursery.

When Isla was a baby, she was picky on where she liked to be rocked.

When she was hungry, she would only want to nurse next to the window, where she could see the sky.

When she woke up in the middle of the night and just needed to be consoled back to sleep, she would need to be rocked next to the fire.

She was a picky baby, and that behavior led to having multiple chairs throughout the large room.

The night rolled on uneasily.

The room seemed to grow dark with the dread that filled I, Hilda, and Greta.

Isla didn't wake up.

She did moan in her sleep and begin to writhe in a way that caused even more panic amongst u.

When she calmed down again, we debated on whether or not to restrain her.

Isla was a skinny little girl, but she had always been strong for her size and age.

"Gaius, something is very wrong," Hilda whispered as she held Isla's little hand.

"Her heart is beating too fast."

I leaned forward and pressed two fingers against her neck and was shocked at the way her heart was racing.

It felt as though it was trying to beat right out of her.

"Greta?" Hilda whispered.

Greta was already listening to Isla's chest.

The back of her head was facing Hilda, but I could see the worried expression on her face.

She made eye contact with me and I could see how scared she was.

Her chocolate brown eyes were filled with fear and helplessness.

Before she turned to Hilda, she covered it all up, becoming carefully straight-faced.

"I don't know, my lady."

"Isla," Hilda whispered.

"Wake up, honey. We need you to wake up."

There was no response from our unconscious child.

Tbc