didn’t even like me. Why would he choose to help me? Maybe my father had told him to find me. Either way, I felt overcome with guilt. It was my entire fault that I was hurt. I couldn’t believe that I had been so stupid running away like that. I realized that I should have died that day. It didn’t make sense that I hadn’t been killed. I was only seven, but still I knew that stories and I knew the fatherless children of victims.
No one survived an attack by an oar demon, but somehow I had. Even those who survived the initial attacks, usually died of the poison before they could be saved. But somehow, I hadn’t died, and neither had William. It didn’t make any sense. I felt my father slip some medicine into my mouth and I drifted back to sleep.
William
A few days after the attack, my mind was alert, but my body still felt like it was sleeping. The last thing that I could remember was calling for help, and then I woke up in the King’s private chamber. It reminded me of the day that my father had died. I had spent that night in the King and Queen’s private chamber, so that they could look after me.
They came and went often, dividing their time between me and the Princess. I knew that I had suffered more injuries than the princess, but her recovery was expected to be longer because the poison had spread further into her body then it had in mine. I still couldn’t believe that we had both survived; especially not the Princess. She had been near death when I found her. None of it made any sense; especially not my own actions. I tried to remember back, why I had gone to help her. I wasn’t sorry that I did, but I understood what a foolish thing it was to do.
I couldn’t find an explanation for what I had driven me into the forest to save her. It was almost like I had been possessed. That was the first time that I had begun to wonder. Was there something protecting the Princess, and me? Some of the king’s best knights had been killed by oar demons. My father had been killed by one, but yet we had survived. In a way, it felt good, like I had gotten my revenge for my father’s death. I hoped it had been the one that killed my father.
My thoughts drifted to the King. I knew he had to be angry with me. He had forbidden me for picking up a sword. It had saved the life of his daughter, but I knew that disobeying the King came with heavy consequences. I tried to sit up, and pain immediately shot through my entire body. This is punishment enough I thought to myself.
The Queen came into the room. I looked at the woman that I had come to love as my mother. I wondered if it would be ok to call her that. “If you just give me a minute your majesty, I will get down and kneel.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “I see that you’re feeling better,” she said smiling.
“Yes your majesty. I’m feeling much better, although I still can’t move at all.”
“The doctor says that you should be able to start moving again in a couple of days. Isabel is already starting to move a little bit.”
“But how?” I asked. “I thought the poison had spread further into her body then it had mine.”
“You have a broken leg, arms, and ribs.”
“Oh,” I said. Astonishment washed over me. A broken leg? How had I walked for so long carrying the Princess? My mind drifted back to the thought of something watching over us.
“I know what you’re thinking,” the Queen commented. “None of us understand how you survived, or how you managed to travel so far.”
The Queen
It had been the thing that was on all of our minds now that the children were recovering. None of it made any sense. Two children surviving an oar demon attack, and then William, walking on his broken leg, and carrying the Princess with a broken arm and ribs. How had he managed? Surely he must be something special. There must be a reason for it. Perhaps it was divine intervention. Perhaps William was meant to be a knight, and this was supposed to be some kind of message.
The king still wouldn’t hear of it though. He, as well as everyone else marveled at the fact that the children had survived, and especially William. He kept saying how proud William’s father would be.
“Then honor his memory, by letting his son train to be a knight,” I would say.
“No, I’m honoring his memory by not letting his son become a knight. Especially not after he saved Isabel’s life.” He leaned back in his chair. “Three generations of the boy’s family, have now saved three generations of ours, and he’s the only one not to give his life to do it. Don’t you see, I owe the boy life? If I let him become a knight, he is sure to die.”
“You don’t know that,” I replied. “Look at how much resilience he’s already shown. What are the odds that he would survive an attack? What are the odds that he could carry someone else on a broken leg, while having broken ribs, and a broken arm? What are the odds that he could resist the poison? For the love of god, the boy is on the way to a full recovery!” I argued.
His eyes met mine. “ My mind is made up. We can’t risk his life again. I’m not even sure that I want to let him work in the stables anymore.”
“What?” I exclaimed.
“If I let him work in the stables then he could try to run off and do something heroic again. Next time he might not be as lucky as he was this time. No, I want William under supervision at all times from now on.”
I realized what was going on. He loved William, like he would have loved his own son. He had almost lost him, and our daughter. I got down on my knees in front of him, and laced my fingers through his. “ I agree, they should both be under our supervision at all times from now on.”
He kissed my hand. “ I don’t know what I would have done if I lost them,” he confided. It was the first time in days that I had seen him put his guard down, and I was thankful for it.
“Dear, let’s not take away what he loves. He’s already lost so much. Let him continue to work in the stables. I could go while he works.”
“I guess, I could too,” he relented. “ Maybe it would be good for me to spend more time with the children.”
My heart softened towards him. It had been such a long time since I had seen this side of him. For the past few years, all he could think about was the defense of the kingdom. At times, it was like he wasn’t even himself anymore. I was grateful that he had finally come out of the trance. Once again, I wondered if divine intervention was at play. Maybe almost losing the children was supposed to be some kind of message to the both of us.
I heard footsteps at the door. I looked up, and was shocked to see Isabel. She looked weak, and was having a hard time maintaining her balance, but she was walking! The poison was finally leaving her body. The king ran to her and scooped her up. She smiled at him, and buried her head into his shoulder.
I walked over, and embraced both of them. Now all we needed was for William to get well.
Isabel
I made a much quicker recovery than expected. I was told I would take longer to heal than William, because I had so much of the poison in my body. But somehow I had recovered much more quickly.
That night I asked to see William. I wanted to thank him for what he had done for me, and to apologize for what had happened to him.
I was surprised that I had yet to be reprimanded for my actions. My mother or father hadn’t lectured me once. Maybe that was still to come, when I felt better. Father carried me to William’s room. He said he wanted me to save my energy.
Before we entered, he stopped to warn me. “William’s injuries are more severe than yours were,” he explained. “You need to be careful not to touch him.”
“Why can’t I touch him?” I asked.
“Because, many of his bones are still broken and need to heal,” he explained. “ You should also know that he might not look exactly the same. His face is still bruised and swollen.”
“Do I look the same?” I asked.
He looked to my mother, and said, “ Of course you do.” Something told me that he was lying, and I made a mental note to find a mirror later.
When we entered the room, William was awake and Catheri
ne was sitting at his bed side with my aunt and uncle. Her eyes brightened when she saw me. Father put me down, and Catherine came running to me.
“Easy, Catherine,” he said. “Isabel is still quite weak.”
“I’m so happy that you’re well. I was so worried about you.”
“We stopped to see you on our way here, but you weren’t in your room,” my uncle explained patting me on the head and kissing me.
“Child, come sit, you shouldn’t be up moving around,” my aunt said concerned.
“I’m tired of not moving,” I complained.
“Same here,” I heard William say from behind them.
I hobbled over to him, and tried to get up on the bed to talk to him. I blushed when I realized that I didn’t have the strength. I hated having to ask for help. Thankfully, may father seemed aware of what was going on.
“You shouldn’t be climbing up on things,” he scolded winking at me, as he picked me up. “You need to recover your strength more. He sat on the bed and put me on his lap.
“Are you ok?” I asked William.
“I’m getting there,” he responded.
“I wanted to say thank you for what you did for me that day,” I said.
“You don’t have to thank me,” he replied. “ I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” I felt my father tense up. I could tell it wasn’t something he wanted repeated.
William seemed to catch on. “ I would always help someone that