The king has escaped

*POV* Coral Sparks

I barely retained consciousness through the whole of the painful ordeal, the birth was easy compared to having twins. Clay stayed beside me the whole time, holding my hand and giving consoling words.

The woman who was helping through it quickly wrapped the child in my skirts she cut off with a knife. She smiled at me. "Don't worry my queen. I will take care of him until you are cleaned up."

The maids that had entered a little after Clay and his companions moved to help me. When we finally made it to my rooms and I was cleaned up Clay and his friends entered.

I had never met either of them, the 30 something year old came forward to hold out the child. Fear filled me as I remembered what he was, he wasn't mine. "I can't." I shook my head and Clay quickly shoved her back, he knelt down beside me and took my hands.

"Coral, we understand that he isn't your child, what would you like us to do with him?" I thought for a moment. "There is a woman that weeps for a child in the chapel every Sunday. Go place it on her doorstep."

Clay stared at me for a second, but I didn't care. I did not want anything to do with him. "Okay." The baby was rushed from the room. "Clay, what about my husband?" I questioned.

I hadn't seen him since the pain had started, I felt the need to stab a knife through him like he did me. But I knew it would not help anything. I was not him.

"Arrow locked him in cuffs and placed him in a cell." He told me. I was surprised but decided not to worry about it, he could stay there a while I was not ready to look at him.

"Okay you rest." Clay said as he got to his feet, I grabbed his hand. "No, please stay." I begged as tears filled my eyes. He looked to the other woman that was standing and respectful distance away. She nodded and he turned back to me.

"Okay, let's get you to bed." He lifted me carefully and laid me on the bed before pulling up the covers. The woman left and he pulled one of the comfortable chairs over beside the bed. And took my hand once again.

"Clay, what am I going to do?" I asked him, as my mind turned to the thought of ruling a kingdom alone, I had always been the king's pretty queen that sat quietly and smiled.

'What if the king was to die? Or if I was to make him disappear, I could probably…' my thoughts turned to the unthinkable. Clay squeezed my hand. "Don't worry Coral, no matter what I am here for you." I smiled.

I finally had my twin back with me, I just wished he would take me away from this place. Make me disappear. I could go somewhere where I could live with my twins and have the perfect life.

"Thank you.." he smiled and tears fell down my cheeks.

I stared at him until sleep finally took over my tired body. Dreams filled my mind and with it heat, I awoke with an intense headache and Clay fast asleep on the floor beside my bed.

The door burst open, a frazzled maid reluctantly let in Finley and he entered in a mess, his spear knocked into the door frame and he stumbled after losing his spear. He rushed in and bowed quickly. "My queen?" He glanced at Clay questioningly. "Yes Finley?"

His attention snapped back to me, he fumbled with his spear, his hands gripping and regripping it, with a deep breath he began to speak. I noticed that his face was red and his eyes were puffy.

"My queen, it seems the king has escaped." He stopped with another breath, before continuing. "He also took Jane." I hopped from the bed.

"Finley…" I began, he broke and a cry caught in his throat. "I was guarding her like I do every n- Night but then all of a sudden I was waking up and her cell had been opened, and the king was gone also."

Anger filled me as I watched my friend break down, Jane's husband the dashing always caring Finley was crying in front of me as the man who had wrecked my life had his lady.

I stepped forward and wrapped him in a hug. "It's already." I soothed, remembering how dark my thoughts had gotten, I had forgotten my friends. Clay moved and awoke quickly getting to his feet. "What's going on?" Finley jerked away from me.

Before bowing left the room, I sighed sadly and turned to the confused Clay. "He just came to tell me something." I knew I had to tell Clay about the king but I couldn't get him involved in my problems.

He had already seen me throw away a child. I wondered what he thought of me as I smiled quietly and rang for my maids.

It had to be sometime in the afternoon, I sipped my healing tea and watched Clay talk to his friends across the dining hall. "I wonder what he is talking about?" I thought I finished my late breakfast and stood.

I dressed lighter than I usually did for my own comfort, I had a meeting with the old grumps that were the right hand men of the king to discuss what had happened and what was to be done next.

When I had told Clay about the king escaping, he had almost burnt my bedroom down, I wondered if bringing my twins back would be safe. I missed them. But there was so much to be done after the king left, I had to learn about running a kingdom.

I feared that he would return one night and take me away, and why he was so focused on producing a child of all four elements was beyond me.

First the twins and then the commoner's child. With a little bit of research I found that all those that had participated in the spell except me had died. I wondered if it was because his fire burned them.

And to my horror the bodies had been thrown in the great river while I gave birth to a child that wasn't mine. My mind went down worse things I had found out about my husband once he had left. Clay taped the table pulling me from my thoughts.

"Hey sis, how about we go for a walk." He smiled down at me, I knew he was just trying to cheer me up but a walk probably wouldn't do the trick, but I grabbed his offer hand, there was no way I was going to miss a chance to spend time with him. Who knew what tomorrow would bring.