Okay, this chapter gets a little intense with the backstory again, basically going a little bit into the king's background story. If you aren't sure you want to read it that's totally fine, it's not really critical to the plot itself, so you can message me and I can summarize it for you or you can skip and it shouldn't be too much of an issue. It's not actually too much worse than with the queen's backstory, but I just wanted to give you a heads up.

Thank you for reading!


"Halt? Halt are you awake?"

Halt slowly opened his eyes, squinting against the sunlight coming in from a window. He was very tired, making it hard to focus on anything. After a moment, though, his eyes adjusted and he glanced around him.

This wasn't his room- he recognized it as the infirmary after a moment. He was laying on a cot close to the window- closed to the chilly fall breeze, thankfully- covered in a light woven blanket. At last he found Caitlyn smiling widely at him.

"You are!" she laughed with relief, squeezing his hand happily. "They wouldn't let me in until they were sure you were going to recover. I was so worried, Halt. It happened so fast."

He tried to talk, but all that came out was a hoarse cough. Cailtyn hastily lurched over to the bedside table to grab a cup of water sitting there.

"Can you sit up, Halt?" She asked, holding the cup carefully with one hand and supporting him with her other hand. He was embarassed at how much he had to rely on Caitlyn to sit up, and even that simple motion left him dizzy and disoriented for a moment. Caitlyn waited until he got his bearings again, then offered the cup.

"Do you want me to-"

Halt quickly shook his head at Caitlyn's offer and reached for the cup. If she was hurt, she hid it well behind an understanding smile and let him do it himself. The cup shook when he took it, and he probably should have asked her for help, but he was relieved to know he could look out for himself again. At least a little.

"What happened?" he asked finally, handing the cup back before he dumped it on himself.

"After you threw up, I ran to get help. They told us it was food poisoning, probably from the soup, but it was faster acting than normal."

Halt shuddered. The taste had still been strong in his mouth when he started feeling sick, and now the two sensations were hopelessly associated with each other. And... Ferris. His brother had been acting very strange that night. Halt wanted to believe that it was a coincidence, but after the incident at the wall too...

"What's wrong, Halt?" Caitlyn asked softly. The boy hesitated, deciding whether to pull Caitlyn into this.

"I don't know if it was an accident." he answered at last. Caitlyn froze.

"What do you mean?"

"It... it might not have been the first time Ferris has tried to kill me."

He thought Caitlyn would have been surprised, but he should have known better. She just nodded worriedly.

"What was the first time?"

He found himself telling her about the incident at the wall, and then awkwardly about the events before the ball. She smiled softly at him at that.

"You can see it too?"

"What?"

"Sometimes I feel older than both of them." she whispered, "You can see it in mother, but it's similar in Father too. They haven't been loved, and so they never grew up."

Halt looked at her in surprise, marveling at her insight. That was just what he had been feeling, only he hadn't been able to put it into words.

"Just... be careful with Ferris, Halt." she bit her lip, "If there is a chance for him to heal now, we have to help him very carefully, because he's dangerous. Even if he is our brother. Please, Halt? Promise me you'll be careful?"

He nodded, squeezing her hand weakly in agreement, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Halt decided he had been laying around long enough. He tried to pull off the sheet so he could stand, but Caitlyn held him down.

"I should get up-"

"No, you can barely hold a cup of water right now, Halt. The physicians said you needed a day to recover after you wake up before you even consider getting out of bed."

Halt sighed dramatically, letting his head fall back on the pillow.

"That's stupid."

"Yes, common sense is stupid, Halt." Caitlyn rolled her eyes right back at him. "Come on, it won't be so bad. I'll sing to you or something to keep you occupied."

"You can't sing, Cait."

"Neither can you!" she retorted indignantly, "You're worse than me, actually."

"That's why I'm not singing."

"Ugh, fine!" Caitlyn threw her hands up, "I'll read to you. How does that sound?"

"I guess..."

"Spoiled brat," Caitlyn stood quickly and turned to hide her smile.

"Love you, Cait!" Halt called after her, smiling tiredly.

"I love you too, you grumpy prince!" Caitlyn yelled back exasperatedly.

...

The next day left Halt still feeling weak and a little unsteady, but he was incredibly glad that he was able to walk on his own. He wanted to leave and see Pritchard immediately, but he wasn't sure if he could make it all the way there and back yet. He was stopped sometime in the afternoon by an older servant.

"The King has requested your presence, Prince Halt."

The boy looked suspiciously at the servant. What would the king want with him? But the servant was waiting for his response.

"Um, alright."

"Follow me."

Holding a hand up to lean on the wall every now and then, Halt followed the man through the castle into the king's study. It was neat and tidy, with only a few assorted papers and one book lying on his desk. It looked a little like his own smaller study- organized, unadorned. His father was standing by the one window in the back, looking at a sheet of parchment.

"How are you feeling, Halt?" He asked without looking at him.

"...Fine, sir." Halt wasn't sure how to take this sudden conversation. The only time the king even looked at him was to scold them for something. He shifted uncomfortably.

"That was an unfortunate accident," the king continued, turning to study the cover of an old book on one of the shelves. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

Halt had no answer to that. He just stood there and waited hopefully to be dismissed. But the king wasn't finished.

"Do you think I'm a bad Father?" he questioned quietly, resting his hands on the shelf. Halt paused, unsure how he was supposed to answer, but his father read the silence well enough. He huffed a mirthless laugh.

"I suppose any decent man should have told his son it would have pained him if he had died. I don't know." he shrugged, "I try to be a good man. I've run this kingdom well- the people are content. I've given your mother power and wealth, I've provided for you children. Isn't that what a father's supposed to do?"

Halt stood very still. He knew what he wanted to answer, the certainty growing stronger with every moment he spent with Pritchard. No, that wasn't all there was to being a father. A good father cared about his children, too.

"I didn't have a good example to follow from," the king continued, clenching his fists so his knuckles pushed against the wood of the shelf.. "My own father- the previous king... he was a hard man. If we disobeyed him, or if it had been a difficult day... I never lay a hand on any of you. I promised myself I wouldn't. And yet your mother feels it's still not enough. Am I a bad father?"

Halt hadn't known any of this. No one spoke of his grandparents, and he had never thought to ask. He subtly reached out a hand to steady himself against the door frame.

"I don't know, sir," Halt said softly, answering the only way he could.

"I do what I can," the king murmured, almost as if to justify his actions to himself as much as Halt. He turned and stepped towards his son, his voice gaining in intensity. "I don't touch any of you, I ignore what my father did to me and I give you a place to grow up in safety. I put up with the stress of running a kingdom and I keep it strong. I do everything in my power to be a good father, what my father wasn't. I don't have it in me to give anything else!"

Halt stood his ground, watching his father with wide eyes, but he couldn't help flinching a little at the last shouted words. The king noticed, and stopped, looking ashamed and frustrated. He stepped back, breathing harshly.

"You can go," he muttered, his voice heavy with defeat. Halt didn't hesitate- he left quickly and silently.


The scene with Halt's father was inspired by the similar scene in August Wilson's play Fences. I read it for school, but it made me cry, it's so good. Ahhh you should read it! Or watch it, the movie is awesome too.

And to the guest who posted the other day, since I can't thank you via messages, Thank you for the review! :) I'm glad you like the story!

And thank you to everyone else who has been leaving reviews as well! They keep me working on the story!