* * *
KING EZREK CLENCHED and unclenched his hands, his skin now fissured with age. He mused, entranced by how the wrinkles disappeared while his hands were fisted, creating a translucent sheet across his veins. He relaxed, letting the skin pucker into ripples once more.
“My daughter would be a young woman by now,” he muttered. “The kingdom would have a princess with smooth hands, capable of ministry and healing.”
The king dropped his hands to his sides and looked up. Rheumy eyes lingered as they scanned various points in the room. He sighed, remembering the past and yearning for what had been better days. His throne room was bare and unwelcoming. Sixteen years ago, he’d torn down draperies and pulled up carpets in a fit of rage. The halls had remained empty and cold ever since.
Once he’d learned that his wife had died after bearing a daughter, his world and his desire to rule had ended. Search parties for the princess had returned empty-handed. The kingdom was in shambles. Most of its subjects had given up and moved on. Two loyal subjects remained within the boundaries of his kingdom: an old crone who’d stayed on as the king’s healer and a nurse who’d denied any knowledge of what had happened to the baby.
Too depressed to light the evening candles, King Ezrek rose from his throne and made his way toward his bedchamber. He passed the dining hall, which housed a table that stretched nearly forty feet long. What had once been a site for grand banquets and merriment was now covered in cobwebs. Spiders feasted among blankets of dust. Minstrels were no longer welcome.
The king and the late queen had hoped for a son, perhaps too much. Together, they’d chosen a name for a male child. The king regretted having neglected to decide on a backup name should a female baby be born.
“If only I’d given her a name,” he said, pulling at wisps of grey beard, striped with white, “perhaps I’d know whom to seek and where to search.”
He paused to look out a window that looked upon his land. “Where are you, my daughter? Are you alive and well? Is there any chance the world will return you to me?”