The baby’s cry grew louder. The midwife was still holding the newborn, standing next to the bed while the Flasworth madam was attending to Ariel
"Your highness," the midwife gasped, she was a bit startled to see Kaiden. A soft smile tugged the midwife’s lips.
"It is a boy." She announced. Kaiden didn’t react. He felt sothing was wrong. Why were they buzzing around Ariel and not the baby?
The alchemist and a physician were busy chanting spells, lost in the mont, and they almost forgot his presence. "How is the consort?" He asked, completely ignoring the crying baby.
His fist clenched by itself. He didn’t want to rush to a conclusion. The physicians stopped whispering their chants. They nervously glanced at each other.
"Why aren’t you answering? How is Ariel doing? " His voice choked. His eyes were on the pale Ariel. The labour was too long, it went for hours.
The Flasworth madam, being the head physician and alchemist, took it upon herself to say the words. Her deanour was calm and refined.
"The baby was born healthy..." She said first clearly avoiding sothing. She drew in a deep breath scared of saying the words.
She knew how much the king loved the consort. It was a popular gossip among the nobles. "But the consort could not make it, we lost her before the baby finally arrived. We had to force the little prince out."
The floor under Kaiden shifted. He almost stumbled as his world nearly collapsed that day. "She is dead..." He could barely say. Kaiden wanted to rush to her side but his feet refused to move.
Ariel could not be dead. She was looking forward to the baby. They even picked nas together and had a lot planned out.
Why?
"Her constitution was too weak. I am sorry for your loss. " She bowed her head. He managed to pry his leg from the ground where it was stuck towards Ariel.
Kaiden walked right past Cedric without sparing a glance at the newborn. Ariel’s eyes were still open, but their glow was gone. Her lips looked pale. Kaiden has seen a lot of dead boys but none broke him like this.
He reached out for her wrist. Her skin was still warm, her body was light, and there wasn’t a single pulse. "Ariel," he called her sweetly then bent over to pull her in his arms.
He held her close, tears already streaking his cheeks. He pressed her head against his shoulder, whispering softly, "Ariel, why aren’t you answering?" He was still in denial.
The cries grew louder and more irritating. "Can you make it stop crying?" he snapped, his eyes darting to the newborn.
"Your majesty," the midwife gasped. She nervously swallowed. "He just wants to be held by his parents. " She added. Her hands holding the newborn trembled
Kaiden’s eyes darkened. "She didn’t even get to hold him because he killed her," Kaiden said. His eyes grew colder.
"He killed his mother," Kaiden added. As if the baby could hear the false accusations started to cry more loudly.
"That isn’t what happened. The prince is inno...." The midwife’s words were rudely cut off by the king.
"If you can’t get him to stop crying, get that bastard out of my sight before I do sothing I regret." He didn’t bark, his voice was calm. Too calm to ignore the warnings.
Everyone left the room, except for the Flasworth Madam. "Your majesty," she called out calmly. Kaiden was not in the mood to listen.
"What are you still doing here?" He asked her. A lump ford in her throat; she had more to say. She wanted to tell Kaiden the newborn wasn’t the reason Ariel died but instead the consort was poisoned.
The poison made the labour more difficult than it should have been. "Please, I want to tell you..."
"I said, get out before I lose it." Kaiden barked. The sky rumbled, and all the windows burst open with wind rushing in. The renowned alchemist swallowed her lump and fled the room imdiately, closing the door behind her
It was then left with Kaiden and Ariel’s bloody corpses. He buried his face in her shoulders, and a sob finally broke his lips. "You always wanted to leave . Why didn’t you glance back?" He cried, his sobs continued.
"Was I never good enough?... Ariel..."
She could not answer him. The strongest pillar of Draconia cried his heart out over the one he loved. He didn’t leave her room or let go of her body until his mother begged him.
"Life is just unfair, Kaiden. Even a king crumbles and cries but you have to let her go...."
"Ariel deserves to rest. It is the least you can do." His mother calmly said.
"Why did they take her away? Death should have taken instead. What am I going to do now she is gone?" His voice faded.
The king’s mother sat on the bed, she reached out to Kaiden’s hand and slowly pried Ariel’s cold, stiff body. He was reluctant to let go, only his mother could get to him.
She knew he loved Ariel, yet this was beyond her imagination. She held his face, her eyes staring straight at him..
"Look at ." She demanded.
He tried to glance away but was forced."Mother, I just can’t." He admitted
"You can, Kaiden, and you will ", she snapped at him, forcing him to look at her. The tears continued rolling, but his throat had gotten too hoarse from crying.
"You are king, my dear. You will survive this not just because of duty but for her. For what she left behind. I am certain if she were to choose, she would choose the baby, and she would want you to love him."
Kaiden’s heart squeezed, knowing how selfless Ariel was. That would be her wish.
"I don’t think I can bring myself to love him or hold him. He took her away from ." His words made his mother’s heart ache.
The hatred in Kaiden’s eyes was real. She had never heard a father say sothing so cruel. "Don’t say that. He is just a baby. You should love him."
Kaiden shook his head. "I can’t mother. I wish he were dead. Now I have to live staring at the face of the one who killed her." He barked out crying.
"You are being selfish, Kaiden. How can you say you love her when you can’t love the last gift she gave you?" She said not bothering to filter her words.
He didn’t answer. The forr king consort stood. "You are free to cry but rember you have responsibilities." She reminded him.
"I will take the boy with for now." She said, Lady Annette knew if she left the baby here, he would not survive infancy. That’s how cruel the harem is.
She left the room and Kaiden didn’t even say a word to stop her.
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