~Interlude 1~

~1159~

~Three Years After the Incident~

King Denile coughed blood into a bucket they had placed at his bedside. Light shone in through a window, and his family surrounded the grey-eyed old man. He'd been bedridden for weeks now.

His son, Whedon, sat at one side of his bed, tenderly gripping his hand. His normally neat blonde hair was now disheveled, and he rarely left his father's side.

The young Prince Norton seemed scared to approach his grandfather, sitting a distance away from the bed. The once bright-eyed boy had an air of dread about him. He had never lost a family member before. Denile assured him that he'd be okay, but the boy seemed doubtful.

Commander Ein stood at the door to his quarters, ensuring only those with permission entered his majesty's chambers. While he stood stoic and confident as a commander should, there was worry in him. After decades of working alongside each other, the King's condition had shaken him. Even he couldn't hide that.

At Denile's bedside was a doctor who had been treating him. But the man had an uncomfortable look on his face.

"My King..." he began, "I haven't seen a condition like yours before. With how you've been faring... I would advise getting your affairs in order."

Whedon, Norton, and the rest of the family were heartbroken at the news... but Denile was furious. He picked up the bucket and pitifully tossed it at the doctor. He managed to avoid it as it came.

"Get out. If you can't help me, I'll find a doctor who will."

"Sir, I'm going to do what I can, but I don't think I have enough time."

"Get out!" Denile shouted, quickly devolving into a deep, raspy cough.

"...As you wish, my King," The doctor bowed his head and left the King's quarters.

Whedon gripped his father's hand tightly, "That doctor is just wasting our time. Don't worry, we'll find another way."

"You've been through worse," Ein added.

"I know. I'm not dying anytime soon," Denile asserted.

Denile spent his time speaking to his family about all manner of things. He told his grandson Norton of his many exploits in his youth. How he, Commander Ein, and the Kingsguard once stormed a nearby town being occupied by ruffians and saved them. That was when the people of Mortel first saw him as a hero.

But the way they looked at him now... they saw Denile as a dead man who hadn't quite died yet. The way they lingered on each of his words as if it could be his last... it made Denile furious. After all the good he had done over the course of his life, he wouldn't die in such a pitiful way. He couldn't.

But Denile's family saw his death as a forgone conclusion, all but Whedon. He carried the same hope that he would pull through. But each day, Denile's condition grew worse.

Until one day....