*LONG CHAPTER ALERT*

-Jade-

Jade jumped off Dimma, handed the reins to Loren and hugged her cloak closer to her. The black creature nudged her with his muzzle in her cloak and she smiled faintly. It almost felt like he knew something was wrong.

"Where is he?" Jade asked Loren quietly while he gave the reins to a stable boy who met them. From the look of it he knew who Loren and had been given coin to take care of their horses. She did not receive an answer. Loren was busy with instructing the stable boy about how he was supposed to take care of the horses.

Jade took the opportunity to take her surroundings in; they were in a city she had never set foot in before. Even if it was the one closest to Thornstead, she had never been here. It was located a couple of hours journey away on horseback, but her father did most of his business in Thornstead or in other adjacent villages, never cities.

It took so long to get here... How did they get William here in time? Jade wondered. She had no clue how they could have possibly gotten here in time with William alive in her father's poorly constructed carriage.

A bad feeling slowly grew inside of her. She had managed to stay optimistic about going to see William, but now, when she knew how long it had taken her and Loren to get here, she was not so sure there was anything to be optimistic about anymore.

Jade swallowed and let her eyes sweep the snow-covered streets around them. There were trails made from carts, horses and people on foot in the snow. All the while there was not a soul except the stable boy, Jade and Loren outside. What seemed like a snowstorm was building up. Jade looked up to the sky and thick foreboding clouds of what she guessed would spew out enormous flakes of snow hung above them. Maybe people were staying inside, just waiting for the chaos that would be needed to take care of after another thick layer of snow had fallen.

With an impatient look Jade noticed that Loren was not finished with the stable boy.

Should I tell him that Dimma will be fine and that is my husband which I am here to see? She snapped internally and rolled her eyes as she took another look at the city around her.

All of the sudden she noticed that Loren was walking with hastened and determined steps toward a building made of dark grey stone that was three stories high. Jade did not pay it more attention than that because her heart was beating so hard it felt like it was going to make its way out of her chest.

She ran through the snow to catch up with him and pulled her hood down from her head.

"Where is he?" She asked impatiently as Loren walked up two steps and then opened the door.

"On the second floor." He answered her and motioned her to enter first with a sweeping motion of his hand.

. . .

Jade was led to a door on the second floor. The hallway leading to it was in was poorly lit and it smelled strange. Its scent, or stench, smelled like sick people and wounds that were poorly tended to, and it something smelled damp. Jade's nose wrinkled and the bad feeling had nested in her stomach, it grew stronger and her heart felt weaker with each second that passed in this wretched place.

"He is in here." Loren stated and handed Jade a key. She took it and tried her best to hide how much she was shaking.

"Why is he locked in there?" she whispered and looked over her shoulder if anyone was following them.

"He is still a prince, miss." Loren said with a lowered voice. "And even though King Uldard is loved in many parts of his kingdom, there is still those who would like to see the end of his reign and his kingdom fall... If anyone would get word of the king's only heir being on his deathbed, there could be a risk that someone would try to make it go a lot quicker..."

"He is not on his deathbed." Jade whispered in protest. "Not yet." She lied to herself. It had become somewhat of a habit of hers the last couple of days.

"Jade. You have to come to terms that this might be the last time you see him." Loren sighed. Jade reacted to how darkly he said her name, like he did not even believe that William would live himself. "He is hurt very badly." Her heart shattered into a thousand pieces from Loren's words.

Jade shook her head and stuck the key inside the keyhole.

"I do not want to hear another word." She hissed and went inside the room. She closed the door and locked it behind her. A silent sniffle made its way out of her as she took in what Loren had just said. "No. It is not real, not yet." She whispered and inhaled deeply before she turned around.

The room was very small, and it smelled awful; like blood, dirty rags and filthy water. There was only one window in the room, and it was very small, leaving very little light to shine in. Due to the lack of daylight there were candles placed here and there. Jade threw a quick glance over the room and was surprised how Loren and the king could have brought William here in the first place, they must have panicked. There could be no other explanation for bringing him into such a poor looking establishment.

A heavy sigh awakened Jade from her observation of the room. In a small bed, in the far-right corner of the room, William was lying.

"William! Thank the Gods that you are still here!" Jade whispered and placed her hand over her mouth when the sight of him broke her heart all over again

His torso was naked, but he was bandaged from beneath his chest and down to his hips. A thick fur-cover laid over his lower body.

"How can they leave him like this?" Jade whispered in disbelief. "He will freeze to death!"

She rushed over to cover his naked body but noticed that he was sweating. The cover had been left were it was on purpose. He had a fever.

The usually so calm face was in a constant grimace, from pain and discomfort Jade guessed, and there were beads of sweat in his face. She walked closer slowly and swallowed nervously as she took the vision of her husband in once more.

The eyebrows were furrowed, and he looked so different. Jade had never seen him look anything but forceful and healthy. To see him like this, weak and slowly dying, made her more uneasy than she wanted to admit. It felt wrong to see him like this. William was usually so strong and sometimes he seemed almost immortal or invincible to her, how could it be the same man lying in front of her now?

He looks so weak... She cried internally as her feet carried her all the way to his bed. She sat down on the right side of him while being very careful not to disturb him in his rest.

The urge was too much for her and she leaned in over him. He did not even smell the same. There was a slight stench of sweat and something else hanging around him. It came from the wound probably, so she ignored it. The closed eyes remained just that while she lost the fight with herself and reached out to touch him. She caressed his left cheek softly and hoped it would not wake him.

"I miss you..." she whispered and placed a gentle kiss between his eyebrows. "Please don't leave me here all alone..."

"Jade...?" The coarse sound of his voice suddenly appeared. She gasped at the sound of it and leaned back a bit so she could see his face. The dark blue eyes studied her. Jade noticed that her mouth was open as William took her presence in. He did not even smile at the sight of her.

"You are still here." She sighed in relief and felt a single tear trickle down her face. Even though she already knew he was alive, for now, she was so thankful to hear his voice.

"Yes." William moaned quietly. "And you are still crying." He said and Jade could not keep herself from smiling at his stupid comment. "I thought I told you not to."

"How are you still here?" Jade asked in a sniffle. Her lower lip trembled as she spoke. William narrowed his eyes in dislike from the sight of her crying and then his nose wrinkled when something hurt him.

"You lost so much blood and... you were so cold." She sniffled and placed both her hands over his cheeks. Her thumbs stroked him gently beneath his eyes. He felt warm to the touch but if she was to believe Loren his temperature was not the issue. Beside from the fever, which could kill him all by itself if it was vicious enough.

"I would love to say that is all thanks to me and that I am just appeasing you by not dying... but the doctor is the one who-" William groaned as his wound pained him greatly. Jade moved back but was hindered by his right arm next to her. It grabbed her wrist and she could feel how weak he was, and it destroyed her. More tears streamed down her face.

"I cannot believe they brought you here." Jade whispered and gestured with her eyes towards the room. "It is so dirty. There is no chance you will survive if you stay here."

"Yes, I know, but the doctor is very skilled it seems. There is just not coin enough for him to..."

"I hope he is not getting any if he is doing as poor of a job as I suspect he is..." Jade muttered when the stench still lingered around her, making her grimace slightly.

"My father has promised him a completely new establishment if I live." William said with his voice still coarse. "So... I assure you he is doing absolutely everything to keep me alive." He sighed.

William groaned once more, and Jade tilted her head. Her eyes fell to his wound and she could see that his bandages needed to be changed. There were visible dark stains from William's blood that had drenched the bandages.

"Do not pity me, Jade." William growled when he saw where her eyes were. "I should have seen that knife." He grunted. The stoic face turned dark and it was clear that he was ashamed that the girl had caught him by surprise and been able to stab him. "I just-"

"It is too late to dwell on that now." Jade sighed and forced the image his words brought back into her mind. She did not want the girl to reappear in her mind. "She is dead now."

"You should not have-"

"But I did." Jade interrupted him. "And she is gone now."

"I still do not want you to pity me." He grunted and Jade smiled a little, his pride was hurt. "At the very least I deserved to get hurt because of my mistake."

"I am sorry, did you forget that you almost died?" She snapped back with a relaxed smile on her lips. "That is the most stupid thing you have ever said, William! I cannot believe you are being haughty when you are practically-"

Jade became quiet when William grimaced in pain as he moved his other arm and reached out for her. He grabbed her left cheek and drew her close to him.

Perhaps we could have this fight another time... Jade berated herself internally and swallowed nervously.

"Maybe you should not move so much." She whispered and felt the smell from his bandages cause her to flinch slightly when their foreheads touched. "I will go and get the doctor, your bandages need to-"

"Just... be quiet." William mumbled. His lips grazed hers, begging for a kiss since he did not possess the strength to move closer himself. Jade smiled faintly and obliged him.

If this was the last time, she saw him she would not argue with him. Their lips met softly and she sighed as it somehow brought her more peace than anything had ever done. William sighed in relief as Jade pressed her lips against his and gave him what he wanted. As it died Jade felt his hand fall a little, he was too tired and weak to hold it up. Carefully she caught it and placed it on the bed.

"Loren said-"

"Jade. Be quiet." William reminded her sternly and nudged her lips with his own once again.

Well, he might be dying but he is just as stubborn as always. She thought and smiled as her husband took another kiss from her.

"When can I speak?" she whispered and caressed his cheek tenderly.

"I asked Loren to bring you here so I could be with you before I d-"

Jade stopped him from finishing his sentence by placing her thumb over his lips. A loud sniffle erupted from her and she pressed her forehead against his.

"Stop crying, Jade. Please, I beg of you." William groaned. "I can't stand seeing you cry."

"No, I can't. Please do not die." Jade begged him and lost her capability to remain calm and collected. All her anger and fury ran off her like water. There was no one to pretend around anymore and William would have seen right through her if she would try to fool him.

Before William could answer her, Jade sunk down from the edge of the bed to the floor. Her knees hit it slowly and she clenched his right hand in hers as she cried against the dirty sheets in the bed.

A part of her felt ashamed that she let herself be so vulnerable in front of the man she had tried to prove herself so strong to during their time together. But she was so tired of keeping up the with the person she wanted him to think she was.

The hand she held in both of hers clenched around her. He wanted her attention. Jade ignored it and just sat there, on her knees, begging him not to die. She begged the Gods not to take him from her.

"Jade-"

A loud knock on the door interrupted him. Jade got to her feet and opened the door with a fast motion. Tears still streaming down her face.

On the other side stood the king and another man she could only assume was the doctor.

He was quite young. Almost her own age, maybe slightly older. He looked very clean and his face was clean shaven.

"Is he...?" The king breathed the words out when he saw how distraught Jade was.

"He is not." Jade answered him in a sniffle. "Come in." She sighed and stepped aside.

"Your grace." The doctor greeted her kindly and a pair of light grey eyes exuded his compassion for her and William's situation.

"Do not call me that. I am not a royal." Jade said and closed the door behind them.

"Yes, you are." She heard William cough from his bed.

The king let out a sigh when he heard his son's voice. Jade walked over to William and sat down next to him again.

"I am not." She whispered and caressed his cheek gently. William tiredly closed his eyes and seemed to enjoy her touch immensely. "His bandages need changing." Jade said to the doctor with a stern voice, without tearing her gaze from her husband. "They smell."

"I know, your grace." The doctor said. Jade turned her head towards him and gave him a dark look. "My apologies, miss." He added when he realized his own mistake.

"Jade. Dear." The king said her name very softly as he ordered her to move away from his son so the doctor could do as she had told him.

Jade looked at William shortly before she rose to her feet and walked over to the king. He stood by the end of William's bed and studied his son with torment in his eyes.

"How is he?" he asked her quietly while the doctor started preparing new bandages. Jade was pleased to see that the new ones were newly washed.

"Have you boiled them?" She asked the doctor before she answered the king.

The doctor turned and nodded reassuring towards her.

"The doctor is very good at his job." The king told her when it was clear Jade had no faith in him.

"The establishment and its smell say otherwise." Jade muttered. "Your son is in the same condition as I assume, he was in before I got here." She sighed and felt her lips tremble.

"May I?" The doctor asked permission to speak but was looking at the king. He received a nod in return. "I am well aware of the state of my clinic." He told Jade and she was surprised that he talked back to her. "I plan to-"

"I do not care what you plan to do with this place." Jade spat and did not care how rude she was. "Just make sure he survives. What you do after that I could not care less about."

A low chuckle broke the uncomfortable silence and their eyes directed themselves to the patient before them. William had a smirk on his face, but his eyes were still closed.

"Is something funny, son?" The king mumbled and put his arms behind his back.

"No... I just love to hear my wife scold someone else than me for once." William groaned as he chuckled again. The men laughed quietly but Jade was not quite as amused.

"Just you wait..." The king chuckled and he seemed to think of his own wife for a second. Jade narrowed her eyes when there was warmth in the king's voice. He still loved his wife, all though she had done her very best at keeping William and Jade apart.

Someday, I would like to know how it came that they got married in the first place... Jade thought and remembered that Elizabeth had told her that the queen had not always been despicable and bitter. The king obviously clings to what little love and affection he still holds for her.

The doctor started working and carefully, but with skillful speed, removed William's bandages. Jade grimaced at the sight of the ugly wound. It was not infected but she almost threw up from the bare sight of it. Deep and ugly it stared her right in the eyes.

Neither the king nor the doctor seemed bothered by it and Jade figured it had to be since one of them did this for a living, and the other one had been to battle so many times that he had probably seen much worse in his life.

The doctor threw the dirty bandages in a bucket by his feet and then cleaned the wound with a clean rag.

Jade watched as what little color William had in his face paled and he turned completely white as he had to endure the cleansing of the wound. A dark groan roared inside of him as the doctor did his job.

From nowhere William started panting and then let out a heartbreaking roar of pain.

"I think you should..." The king nodded towards William. "Sit with him. It might help."

"I do not want to be in the way." Jade said quietly, but the doctor nodded towards his left side and motioned her with a quick shrug of his shoulder to sit down next to him.

"It might go faster if you can get him to lie still." He said with a serious tone as he prepared another rag that was supposed to clean the wound.

Jade went over to William and leaned in over his head as the doctor continued.

"Jade?" he sighed quietly in her ear as she leaned in over him.

"I'm here."

"I..." A sigh left him, and Jade turned to watch him immediately.

"Oh my God!" She gasped and leaned in to listen to his heartbeat. "William!" A hand appeared on William's chest when she was just about to put her head against it.

"He fainted." The doctor reassured her calmly. Jade looked at him with tears in her eyes. The doctor met her eyes with a very calm look on his face, one that told her that there was no doubt or worry in his mind. "This hurts more than hell. It is better if he is unconscious. He will be more comfortable this way... Trust me, he is still with us." He told her and smiled kindly.

Jade looked at the king and then at the doctor again. They both looked very calm.

How can they be so calm? She thought to herself but felt her heart's pace slow down as their reassuring gazes soothed her panic. Her eyes turned to William's face; it was calmer than before, but you could still tell that the last thing he remembered was pain.

The king left after a moment and then it was just Jade and the doctor.

"Thank you." Jade whispered without taking her eyes off of William when the doctor was starting with the new bandages.

"You do not have to thank me, your grace." The young doctor answered.

"Yes, I do." Jade sighed. "And I am very sorry for how I spoke to you earlier. I had no right."

A quiet chuckle left the man next to her as she brushed some hair away from William's face.

"You really love your husband, don't you?" he asked her.

What a stupid question.

"Yes." Jade answered and gave the doctor a wondering look.

"I can tell." He said and laughed a little.

"From the way I spoke to you?" Jade asked and turned her attention back to William.

"From the way he spoke of you... and the way you spoke to me, yes." He answered her in an amused tone.

"Will he make it?" Jade asked. She was not in the mood for small talk. She wanted to apologize, and she had done it. Now she just wanted the doctor to finish his work so William could rest.

There came no answer from the doctor, so she turned her gaze towards him. He was looking at William's face, quickly leaned over his patient and touched his forehead and then his neck.

"His fever has gone down somewhat..." He mumbled. "But his heart is still quite weak."

"Just answer the question." Jade whispered in exhaustion and caressed her husband's cheek tenderly.

I want him back...

"If the fever is going down, it means good news... but I cannot promise that his wound won't get the best of him." The doctor mumbled in deep thought as he worked. "He lost a lot of blood and it will take a long time before he is back to his normal health, if he makes it."

"You are not the type of person who can just answer with a simple "yes or no" are you?" Jade muttered.

"Would you rather prefer it if I told you that he will die and crush all hope you have left, and what if he lives? Why would I cause you, or anyone, that pain? Or do you want me to light a beacon of hope in you by saying that he will live, and then rip him away from you if he dies?" The doctor answered her with a voice that dripped with experience from earlier mistakes.

"Fine." Jade sighed. "But not knowing is purgatory."

"At least there is room for some hope." The doctor said and rose to his feet. "There. I am done for today. He needs to rest, if he wakes up, make sure he eats and drinks."

Jade nodded affirmatively and was then left alone with William.

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I hoped you liked this chapter!

Vote or comment if you did, it makes my heart skip a beat! 

And now for today's and all the other days' safety-message:

STAY SAFE EVERYONE! WASH YOUR HANDS!

Much Love

Jenny