Ratings: R/NC17+
Warnings: Violence/Gore, Sex.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story, living (or passed) human beings or fictional characters. These events never happened, according to history or as the original author intended them. This is a work of fiction and is not intended to offend. For entertainment purposes only. Thanks.

Chapter 14: March, 25th

It had been two days since Levi had been locked in the dungeons of Rose Castle. Kept deep in the depths of Rose Castle, he was cut off from all forms of communication with anyone but the soldiers that rotated to guard his cell, and after several attempts of asking them questions left him with no answers, he had given up trying to speak with them. He was left unaware of what the conditions of Rose Castle and its inhabitants were in. He wasn't sure when he would be put on trial, or whether he would have been given a chance to defend himself, and it had reached a point where he had stopped caring if he would be able to defend himself at all. His last two conversations with Prince Erwin haunted him and blocked out all the good memories they had made together. All he could see was how Erwin had sat in his bed, his eyes red-rimmed and his skin pale, and hurled wild accusations at him. Nothing he did could keep the memory from coming to mind, and he often cried himself to sleep for several short hours because of it, before waking up screaming because he revisited the same moment in his dreams.

At night, there was an eerie glow in his cell that he couldn't figure out. He anticipated to hear news of a storm, since the light resembled the reflection of flickering forks of lightning, but he hadn't heard any booming thunder or the chill of any heavy rains. The light appeared random, with no motive or origin, and it unsettled him. He couldn't pinpoint a cause of it and each time he woke up and discovered it, he felt panicked for no apparent reason. It didn't appear in the daytime, which he could only mark arriving by the changing of the guard's shifts and the times food was brought to him. But he couldn't be sure if it had appeared once or twice during the day as well, since the cell appeared the same all throughout the day and night, lit only by the secondary light of the glowing torches outside his cell door. He hadn't the desire to ask the guards stationed at his door about the odd light, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention.

At first, the soldiers that had been stationed as his guards outside his cell were unknown to him They - both tall, young men with firm demeanours and quiet voices, would be just outside his door, all throughout the night and day, rotating every six hours. Today, the third day of his captivity, Captain Nanaba had surprised him by reporting to duty as his guard. The small blonde tried to speak to him through the door, asking him if he was alright or if he wanted any water, but he never replied if he could help it. Despite Nanaba's attempts to keep him company or gather any information from him, Levi felt it was unsafe to trust him and spoke very little in return, often communicating with a shake of his head to deny the blonde his companionship. Captain Hanji took the night watch over him, behaving more professionally than Nanaba. The brunette followed his orders to not communicate to the prisoner at all, and Levi hadn't heard a word from him from the time he started his shift until he ended it. Then he would hear him speak to Nanaba and inform him of the uneventful shift, filling him in on whether he had fed Levi or emptied out the pot they had given him to use as a bathroom - a rare occurrence of late since he barely ate the food given to him; he was much too sick for food.

From deep in the dungeons, Levi felt that he was going to lose his mind from being kept so isolated from the people he cared so deeply about. It pained him to be so unaware of what was happening in the castle at all. The cells were underground, in the basement of the castle. The walls were made of dark brick and the front wall was made of sheets of iron held together by thick rivets. There were no windows and no natural light. The only source of light and air was the small door, made of six iron bars welded together that stood six feet tall. The air felt heavy and steamy, but the entire cell was cold. The metal bars had dew on them in the morning and his breath could be seen as he breathed at night. Levi had ripped the cuffs of the pants off so that his feet and ankles were free from the cold, dirty material, and the guards had ripped the sleeves of his shirt in several places when they had bullied him into the cell, leaving him in something that resembled the rags Erwin had told him he was fit for. He wanted to take off the expensive boots, surprised that the first guards hadn't already taken them, but without them his feet would freeze and he feared his toes would catch frostbite. And removing the boot seemed impossible enough - his foot had swelled once again, so to remove it would involve strength, pain, and medical attention. Given that his foot was already injured, he considered if being naked would expose his wound to greater risks of bleeding or infection.

The shoes and his clothing had discoloured while he was down there, and had begun to smell faintly of his blood and sweat and dirt. Since he had been sleeping on the small bed of hay they had provided him with, his skin had become irritated from the dry straw and his clothing had begun to have the appearance of a farmer's worn garments, a fact he found ironic given the disguise he had used to sneak back into the castle.

This morning, he had waited until Nanaba's shift had started to crawl towards the door. He reached out intending to tap the door, hoping to catch his attention, but Nanaba's figure blocked out the only source of light that entered the cell. Levi assumed the small guard had finally stood up from where he usually sat on the small step-stool outside the door to look through the bars at Levi.

"Levi?" Nanaba asked cheerfully, "Need anything?"

"C-could you bring m-me some water, please, Captain Na-naba?" Levi requested, surprised to hear how rough his voice sounded. His throat was dry, so his words came out as a scratchy whisper.

"Y-yes, of course!" Nanaba agreed, surprised to hear Levi's voice so gruff as well. Levi could hear him shuffle off before he returned shortly and brought him a cup. He unlocked the door so that he could step inside and hand it to him, then looked at him on the ground and crouched down by his side.

Levi weakly lifted his arms, but the manacles around his wrists that bound him to the back wall kept him from reaching the cup. He had already stretched the chains to their limit crawling towards the front wall to catch the guard's attention. Clearly, the horrifying tactics and protocols of Rose Kingdom that Levi had questioned existing when he arrived was kept secret from the castle and kingdom until experienced for breaking the few rules the crown had set down. Afterwards, it seemed the royalty spared no mercy towards anyone that would disobey them. Nanaba sighed softly and came closer, handing Levi the cup. As he watched him struggle, he pitied the smaller man, so he held the cup and the man, supporting his neck and head as he drank.

"Thank you." Levi mumbled, after swallowing several mouthfuls. "But I wanted some more to wash myself with." he explained.

Nanaba's face paled and he looked towards the door. "I'm not sure if I could get you that." he began to explain. "You might freeze, and I don't think the prisoners are allowed-"

"Please!" Levi gasped, his fingers curling around Nanaba's wrist, "Please, please! I'm begging you, I'm honestly begging, Nanaba! I-"

"I'm really sorry, Levi!" Nanaba panicked, "I really can't-"

"Oh, just step out of there and leave him to me." Carolina spoke, stepping into the cell and carrying with herself a large bucket of warm water, several bowls, and a small stool. She also had several towels draped over her narrow right shoulder.

Nanaba stood up the minute he saw her. "Oh, Carolina." he breathed, "It's you."

Carolina gave Nanaba a tight smile, then put her bucket down. "Let me see him." She firmly demanded, "I haven't seen the poor child since he was run out of the castle! Oh, my word!" She exclaimed, her voice dropping to a moan of sympathy, "Nanaba!" She exclaimed, "Do me a blessing child, and take those wretched things off him." She pointed out the manacles around Levi's wrists and ankles. "He's not going to harm an old woman like me, I assure you of that. He's not going to harm anyone at all!"

Nanaba nodded and headed out of the cell to retrieve the keys. He came back and unlocked Levi from his binds, then brought into the cell with him a small oil lamp to provide them with a greater sources of light than the weak glow of the torches that came through the cell door. Afterwards, he headed outside and locked both Levi and Carolina in. "Tell me when you're done so that I can let you out, Ms. Carolina." He informed her. "I need to keep this door locked, especially if he's unbound. I can't risk being removed from duty."

Carolina rolled her eyes but smiled to herself. "I understand, Captain Nanaba. It's worth more than your job to disobey your orders."

Nanaba sighed outside, glad that Carolina hadn't given him a hard time.

"He's such a sweet boy, that Nanaba." Carolina whispered to Levi, "Reminds me of you. Always wanting to do the right thing for people, even if it gets them into some trouble."

Levi didn't move, only stared at her with his eyes wide. He wasn't sure if he wanted her to wash him, he didn't feel comfortable with the thought since she was no longer assigned to assist him as a prince, but he had wanted to feel some degree cleaner than what he was at the moment. The realization that Carolina had not been sent here to wash him - since she was no longer looking after him as a prince - had stirred a thought in his mind and provoked another question for him that distracted him from the idea of cleanliness: why was Carolina even here at all? His throat had gone dry again and he found it hard to speak, so he simply kept his mouth shut and watched her, his questions obvious in his large silver eyes.

"Come now, boy, let's take off your clothing. I'm going to use the towels to wash you." She had sat down on the stool she had brought with herself and then took the largest bowl of the set she had brought and set it before herself on the floor. Then she turned the medium sized bowl upside down and placed it inside the largest one, and wordlessly guided Levi to sit on it so that he wasn't seated on the dirty floor. "Come now, you can talk to me." she coaxed him gently, helping him remove an arm from his shirt. She was thankful he was still cooperative with her and not stubbornly attempting to sulk on his own as she anticipated he would.

"C-can I?" Levi asked, breaking his silence. "Y-you don't think I'm a liar too, d-do you?"

"I know you're a liar, Levi." She informed him, her voice not wavering in the least as she removed the garment from his chest. "But I also know that you're innocent." She smiled at him, her voice soft and honest. She paused to help him drink some more water from the cup Nanaba had left them.

"You knew then?!" Levi asked, his voice cracking as he pieced together her words. "You knew I wasn't the prince of Sina?!"

"It was a bit obvious to me." she confessed, then shrugged again. She hated to admit it, but she enjoyed the look of surprise on the young man's face. "But I can't say I figured it out on my own."

"Who then?" Levi asked, still surprised. His head felt heavy but for the first time in days he could feel his mind begin to form a plan rather than questions. He began to feel hopeful, no longer alone, so it wasn't as if the entire kingdom would grant him a trial only to gloat about beheading him afterwards. More importantly, could he perhap enlist the help of others to help defend Erwin from the inside spy planning to assassinate him?

"Captain Miche." she informed him with a smile, "He didn't directly tell me that you weren't the prince, but he told me he had his reasons for saying that you were."

"I tried to tell him when he found me," Levi rushed to explain, "But he told me not to tell anyone. I felt so guilty. Even now. I betrayed everyone's trust. I wasn't sure why he told me to lie, but I didn't want to..." Levi's voice fell lower and lower as he began to form a new theory. Could it be Miche was the inside man for the raiders? 'No,' he argued with himself, 'The raiders were afraid of Miche.'

"Shh, I'm sure Miche has his reasons." Carolina replied, watching Levi's eyes glaze over as he debated with himself. "Besides," she continued, hoping to catch his attention and keep him from self-abusive thoughts. "The most important thing is that we're all together. And we'll find a way out of this disaster."

"No." Levi whispered, realizing Carolina had no idea about the raiders and that she could help him relay the message while he was incapable of doing so himself. "Ms. Carolina! Nothing is alright!" He began, grasping her wrists and pleading with her to meet his eyes, "Prince Erwin is in grave danger! I tried to warn him, but he didn't believe me!"

Carolina paused in wiping down Levi's arm with a wet towel. "What?"

"That's why I came back!" Levi explained, "I stumbled across the raiders in the forest when I was running away. I overheard what they were talking about! They weren't a random attack! They were hired hit-men that were targeting Prince Erwin and his father! We need to inform Captain Miche at once! I tried to warn Prince Erwin but he-"

Carolina raised a finger to silence Levi, then sighed heavily while looking at the floor. "Captain Miche has been dismissed by Prince Erwin." she informed Levi, breathing deeply. She sighed again, watching the fear waver in the boy's eyes, "He's been demoted to a captain in the regiment. Captain Flagon, the man that ordered your arrest, is now Prince Erwin's personal guard."

"No!" Levi gasped, attempting to stand. His shaking legs couldn't support him and he fell back onto the stool. "He's in danger! There's someone inside this castle that's planning on killing him!"

Carolina swore, and dropped the dirty towel into the bowl she had been wringing the dirty water into. "I knew you returned for good reason." she whispered, at a loss of what to say. "I knew, I just knew you wouldn't come back unless you absolutely had to." A moment of silence passed in which Carolina picked up the towel, wrung it out, and soaked it in the clean water to wipe down Levi's back, then she urged him to look at her again, "What did they say, the raiders? What did you hear them say?"

Levi shook his hand in front of himself, trying to bring the memory to mind word for word. "One asked the other if they were hired to kill 'that blonde prince from Rose.'" he replied, emphasizing the words that he quoted from the raiders. "And they went on to argue if they should raid the castle to kill him or rely on their 'inside-source' to try to finish the job. Several of them were very scared, they mentioned Miche by name, saying he's the tallest and strongest soldier in the region."

Carolina nodded, "They would be smart to stay away from him." she agreed, "But if they find out that Erwin had dismissed him from his services- oh! And we have no idea who the inside-source is."

Levi nodded, then slumped forwards. "Ex-exactly." he agreed, hugging himself around the waist as his stomach began to cramp in pain, "They could in-form the raid-raiders of Fl-Fllagon's promotion, whoever they a-are." He stammered through the pain. He hadn't eaten a meal since he had stolen the apple from the donkey just over two days ago, and more recently abandoned food completely, having rejected the bread that Nanaba and Hanji had pushed through the bars at the bottom of the door on their first shifts.

Carolina splashed his face with water to waken him, then called for Nanaba to bring him some stew and bread.

"He's not allowed stew." Nanaba replied, "Only bread."

"The boy will willow away!" Carolina exclaimed, "Bring him bread and stew this instant! Even the prisoners in Rose Kingdom have a right to eat."

"Right away, ma'am!" Nanaba replied, hurrying off to find another solider that could fetch him the food.

Levi opened his mouth to reject the food, having become accustomed to denying it at this point in order to save himself the disappointment of fighting to stay alive only to be executed after trial. But now that he was aware of Carolina's allegiance, he made no protest of food, feeling an odd desire to eat and gain whatever strength he could in order to save Erwin. "How is Er-Erwin?" Levi asked, his voice strained, focusing on the man rather than himself. "How is he? He was- sick when I last saw him."

Carolina hugged Levi to her chest, then began to wash his face. She dipped a small bowl in the bucket of water, then tipped it over above his head so that she could begin to wash his hair as best as she could. "He's faired better, child." she replied in a grave voice. "He hasn't gotten out of bed for days."

Levi exhaled in frustration, trying to wrack his mind for a sense of justice. It wasn't fair that Erwin had gotten sick when he was being hunted like some damned dog. "He ne-needs protection." He mumbled, struggling to make sense through the ringing in his head. The sudden headache was draining to him, it was probably brought on because he was finally being able to wash his hair. The water dripping down from his head was a dark grey colour with dirt as it fell into the bucket under him. The run-off stung his chaffed skin and cut wrists where the manacles had dug into his flesh and he winced softly. "Som-someone should guard his room until he f-fe-feels better, at least."

Carolina nodded, continuing to lift water from the large bucket and pour it over his head, then ran her fingers through his hair and along the back of his head. "Shh, shh. I know, I'm sorry." Carolina whispered, trying to comfort him. "I'll see who I can get up there." She mused, already planning to speak to Miche about everything Levi had told her.

Nanaba arrived with the food and unlocked the door, coming inside to set the tray on the ground in front of Levi. "Please hurry," he begged them, "I need to remove the dishes before Captain Hanji's shift. He'll expose me, I know he will."

Carolina nodded, then asked Nanaba to gather the washcloths, towels, and empty bucket of water from washing Levi. "Please take these out for me, I need to feed him." she explained.

She began to brush through his hair with her fingertips, recalling the day she had cut off his long locks. It made sense for him to have such long, unkept, damaged hair now. While she had tried to pass off the damage from the fire, then being left out all night, being sick and injured, it didn't make sense as to why a prince was so poorly groomed over a few days. There was no way a young man's hair would grow so wildly, become so tangled, and resemble a child's when the boy-servant found alongside him would be kept so neatly. Now as she ran her fingers through his hair, she felt an heavy irony settle into the pit of her stomach; it made no sense for such a once-well groomed, well mannered, intelligent young man to be locked away in a dungeon when he better suited the status of a prince.

She took the bread from the plate, noting that Levi had made no effort to begin eating, and dipped it into the stew to soften it. Then she raised the moistened bread to his lips and coaxed him into taking a bite. She knew, as she had when caring for children, that it was the first few bites that were the hardest, and afterwards they would begin to eat with vigor that left her confident in their growing strength. She made sure Levi chewed the bread and swallowed it, not just pocketing the bolus of food in the cheeks of his mouth in some futile attempt to starve himself. All the while she continued brushing his hair in her free hand, keeping a comforting rhythm while stroking the back of his head until he had finished the entire single portion of bread. Then she picked up the bowl and began to spoon the broth into his mouth, tricking him with drinking only the soup, before adding vegetables to each bite. Her insightful bright eyes watched Levi's face, noting the way his breathing began to fall into a steady pattern and some colour began to return to his pale face.

"Carolina, ma'am," Nanaba spoke up, "Please. The time."

Carolina chuckled, using the spoon to gently wipe the broth from Levi's lower lip. "Alright." She sighed, softly enough for only Levi to hear, "I'll take my leave now." She spoke to the captain, "But you do take care to make sure he doesn't fall ill. 'Can't believe you two just left him fainting from hunger." She lectured the guard, rising and taking with her the tray of food and the small stool. "And don't chain him to the wall like some animal. He's still just a boy!"

Nanaba nodded, smiling in agreement with Carolina. "Of course," he agreed, "yes, of course! I will inform Captain Hanji of such decision."

Levi smiled for the first time in days. His lips were cracked and he felt them split from the foreign expression, but he was grateful to have Ms. Carolina and Miche on his side. At least someone could make sure Prince Erwin was safe, even if it meant he would have to rot away in this dungeon. His chaffed wrists and lip were bleeding and his head was throbbing, but after being cleaned and now fed, he felt much stronger and optimistic about the whole situation.

Nanaba got him another glass of water and removed the dishes before Captain Hanji arrived for his shift. When Hanji did arrive, Nanaba took the risk of giving him a false briefing on Levi's schedule for the day, informing Hanji that Levi had been feeling sickly and continued to refuse food, accepting only water. Out of fear of the boy dying, he had called for Carolina to visit and she advised him to unchain Levi from the wall and fed him some bread. Carolina also advised them that it was in their best interest to let Levi spend the night resting. Hanji nodded and sat in front of the door on the small stool, commenting that he was expecting that his shift was going to be another boring one.

Carolina immediately headed to the wall when she was done taking care of Levi. She called up to the guards above her to ask if Miche was nearby, only to discover that Miche was the one that called down to her, smoke escaping his lips. He disappeared back above the wall and she heard him coughing several times, before he took the stairs two at a time to come to her, since she had trouble walking up the narrow stairs to the top of the wall. He dropped a small, rolled joint to the pavement and he stepped on it to put out the flame.

"You're smoking again?" Carolina asked him, surprised that he had returned to the vice he had long-since quit.

"Yeah. I've...clearly been put under too much stress. We actually just had another arrest."

"Of who?" Carolina asked, her eyes narrowing in surprise.

"The skinny raider with dark, stringy hair. He denied it the entire time, but Captain Flagon insists he matches the description of the man Levi gave us. He's in a holding cell right now. Flagon personally saw to it."

Carolina nodded, then licked her lips. "You don't seem convinced."

"I'm not entirely sure. I would love to ask Levi to confirm the man's identity, as I'm not sure if this really is our man. True, he's tall and skinny with dark-hair, but he doesn't seem that dangerous and didn't try to fight Flagon when he was being arrested. He gave us his name and a reason for being in Rose Kingdom, but he isn't a citizen and that makes him look suspicious. He could have been in the bar just to scope out the city and perhaps is trying to kill Levi and finish the job he started, but I just don't see why he would be in the bar openly, having a drink after all this. Isn't that too dangerous? Wouldn't they expect us to be searching for them? And, why would he be alone? Unless, he was trying to get caught so he could get into the castle. But that doesn't make sense because he wouldn't be able to get out of the dungeons anyways."

"What's his name?" Carolina found herself asking, cutting off Miche's ramblings and outspoken thoughts.

"He gave us the name Kenny Ackerman, but of course that could also be false. He says he was here because he's part of a crew that sailed here with the intention to trade staple materials. I had asked the captain of the ship that he had told us he sailed in on and confirmed that he was part of their crew. However, the captain has no intentions of taking him and several of them men back for the return trip, since they had only signed contracts for a one-way journey and apparently Kenny wasn't a treat to have onboard."

Carolina sighed unhappily, her gaze turning down. She paused as her eyes fell on the crushed joint. "I want my boys to be healthy." she reminded him, hoping that a lighter reminder was of more use than a stressful lecture, before attempting to move the conversation along. There was nothing they could do about the man in the dungeon but hope that they caught the right man. At least if they had, they could worry less about the raiders attempting to storm the castle, which reminded her of her initial reason to seek Miche out.

Miche nodded, ashamed that he had been caught. "It was a moment of weakness." He mumbled, "I don't plan on re-making a habit."

Carolina nodded. "I'm not here to be a thorn in your side." she began, bracing him before she changed the subject to what she really needed to tell him. "But I've just been down to visit Levi in the dungeons and I found out some very scary things. Let's hope that Kenny really is our skinny raider, because I have some rather grave news."

Miche inhaled sharply, then nodded. "Alright." he murmured, his interest evidently peaked. "Go on."

"Levi told me he returned because he wanted to warn Prince Erwin that his life is in danger."

"Danger?" Miche's eyebrows pulled together under his bangs and he pursed his lips. "Erwin's?"

"Yes. Levi said he ran into the raiders when he was in the forest. Said they were talking, debating about storming Rose Castle to kill Prince Erwin or wait to hear from their inside-source first."

"Inside-source?" Miche repeated, "Who would that be? We can probably compile a list of who to be alert around: Flagon for one-"

Carolina shrugged and cut him off, attempting to stick to the things that Levi had entrusted her to pass on to him. "Your guess is as good as mine. But, as you are aware, Erwin has been getting sicker. Levi suggests we put a guard outside his room, in the event that the raiders decided to storm the castle and he's not feeling well. I completely agree with this suggestion and feel ashamed that we hadn't thought of it ourselves. And, I couldn't think of a better soldier than you."

Miche smiled at Carolina's praise but his expression fell as he realized it meant standing guard outside Erwin's bedroom door all day until the prince felt better.

"I'm- I'm not sure I should do that." he replied, "What if Erwin sends me away?"

"He won't have to speak to you. You'd just be outside his room. He probably wouldn't even notice. In his condition, I don't think he would mind much at all."

Miche thought it over, then frowned and nodded. "I could probably try to find out who their inside-source is as well. No doubt he would try to keep around Erwin, even if he is sick."

"Exactly," Carolina agreed. "I'll make the suggestion to the king."

"But don't mention the hit-man." Miche urged, "We can't explain how we found out about him. And we can't let the inside-source know we picked up on him."

Carolina nodded, glad that Miche was thinking logically and strategically about it all, despite his obvious depression.

"At any rate, tell the King I volunteer for the position and that I insist on guarding his son. Tell him that I take my vows seriously and whether Prince Erwin wishes it or not, I have vowed to protect him, even at the cost of my own life. Tell him I suggested a guard since I had been informed that the prince's condition has become worse so that he can have access to immediate aid, should he need it. I doubt his father would disagree."

Carolina nodded, beginning to smile. Now that Miche was strategizing again, she was sure the time he spent outside Erwin's door was going to be put to good use. He would no doubt think of a way to defend Levi during his trial, and if all went well, they would be able to give Levi his freedom back at the very least. She pulled him down by the shoulders to kiss his cheeks, surprising him and causing a pink blush to appear under his bangs. Then she headed inside to speak to the king, knowing that she would be able to convince him of the necessary measures to keep prince Erwin alive.

Erwin had lost track of the days he had spent lying in bed. Even though he could see out the window, he wasn't sure how much time had passed whenever he caught sight of the sun or the moon outside. He pulled the blankets up and sighed, but he didn't feel any warmer. He was propped up on his pillows and surrounded by blankets, but he felt as if he was surrounded by ice. The window had showed the glowing orange sun today, the room full of its warm, bright glow, but the rays felt as cold and empty as he did. He was beginning to shiver by early nightfall, and was attempting to summon one of the castle staff to request more blankets from when Queen Zackly entered.

"I've brought you hot soup, young prince." she informed him, "With plenty of salt."

Erwin shook his head. "I don't want to eat." he replied, feeling sluggish from the fever. His words came out as a weak moan of protest.

"You must eat." the queen urged him, "You need strength to fight off this flu."

"I don't wa-want to e-eat." Erwin repeated, "I'm. Fr-freez-zing."

Queen Zackly approached his bedside and placed the tray with soup on the bedside table. She clapped her hands together twice and one of her ladies-in-waiting immediately entered the room, carrying several blankets. "I'll give you a blanket for each bite of soup you take." she offered.

Erwin nodded, turning his face and opening his mouth. He didn't so much care for the food as he did for the blankets, desiring only warmth. He felt as if his body was frozen, as if he was in the depths of a cold hell. The queen fed him a spoonful of soup and even the boiling water felt icy to him. Her lady-in-waiting held her arms out and Queen Zackly took one off the pile. True to her word, she placed a blanket on the pile around him after he finished taking one bite. He took another two bites, gaining another two blankets, then shook his head and denied any more. "I want to sleep." he informed her, closing his eyes.

Queen Zackly frowned, then ran her hand through his hair, pushing his blonde bangs off his face. Despite saying he was freezing, the prince was fevered. She turned to her lady-in-waiting and ordered her out, then took the bowl of soup back to the kitchen. She took it to the wash basin, intending to clean it out, but the bowl slipped from her fingers and shattered on the floor.

"Your highness!" Carla cried out, "You shouldn't have to do that, here let me get it!"

Queen Zackly smiled sympathetically at Carla. "Oh, it's no big deal. I'm naturally just so clumsy. I can't help taking care of Prince Erwin; it reminds me of taking care of my own children." She stood up and smirked wickedly, looking down on Carla as the young woman bent down to pick up the pieces of the shattered bowl. "You know the feel, don't you dear? When your child is sick and you're stricken with worry that you'll lose them forever? I don't suppose you could imagine it, losing your son..." she paused, stopping mid-sentence as she stared over Carla's head at the green-eyed boy that was seated at the kitchen table. She glared at the child, then returned her gaze at Carla, before giving her a coy smile. "Thank you. I'm so sorry for making a mess."

Carla looked up from where she was picking up the shattered pieces of the bowl, watching the queen stare at her son and growing increasingly alarmed with what she was suggesting. When the queen looked back down at her, she smiled up at her forced her tone to remain sweet. "It's no problem, your highness. I'll take care of this."

"Thank you." Queen Zackly replied with a tone that implied she expected Carla to, then turned on heel and left the kitchen without another word.