Everything seemed to freeze as Eric collapsed onto the dock. The sailors stared in horror and the King looked back, his face a mask of anger and disappointment. Several seconds passed, before people began to realise he wasn't getting up, or moving at all for that matter. The sailors crowded round, wondering aloud what to do as the King disregarded his unconscious son, and continued towards the palace. The two sailors who had spoken earlier dropped what they were holding and rushed towards the crowd.
"Let me through" called the first, pushing his way into the centre of the crowd where the young Prince lay. The second was close behind him. The first, the captain of the crew, knelt down beside Eric and began two important checks. One: did he have a pulse? Two: was he breathing? Luckily, both these things were correct, but his breaths were more like short gasps than actual breaths.
"Somebody go and get Carlotta," instructed the Captain, "everyone else move back and give the poor boy some space." One of the sailors rushed off towards the palace and the others obeyed their Captain's commands.
"What do we do" asked Neil, the sailor who had followed the Captain?
"We wait for him to wake up" said the Captain, moving Eric carefully into the recovery position.
"But we've no idea what's wrong" stated Neil.
"This is true," replied the Captain, "but one can only hope he'll be alright."
Carlotta had been worrying about Eric all day. The look he had received from David before the two of them had left, had stuck in her mind all day. Suddenly she heard the front doors of the palace crash open, followed by the angry yells of the King. She rushed out of the laundry room to greet him.
"You're majesty, welcome home" she said, curtsying in front if the King. David glared at Carlotta.
"Just what do you do with that son of mine," he yelled, his voice rising to three times its normal volume?! "He's pathetic, and useless, and if I ever see anything like that again he won't be living under this roof much longer!" And with that, he strode down the hall and out of sight. Carlotta was left staring after him in utter bewilderment. She turned her attention back to the open doors, expecting to see Eric any second. But instead of Eric, one of the sailors from the dock appeared in the door frame.
"Jacob, where's Eric" she asked, a hint of panic in her voice.
"You best come and see for yourself ma'am" replied Jacob, clearly out of breath from running up the steps to the palace. Carlotta hurried to the door and looked down to the docks. At first she wasn't entirely sure what she was supposed to be looking at; but then she noticed the sailors all crowded round one another.
"What's happened" she asked, urgently?
"It's the Prince ma'am," said Jacob, "he collapsed." Carlotta felt a pang of fear inside her, and only after a few seconds could she bring herself to move. She and Jacob rushed down to the docks, before pushing their way through the crowd. The sight of Eric lying motionlessly on the hard wooden dock, made Carlotta feel as though her stomach were being tied in knots. She knelt down and gingerly brushed Eric's hair back from his face. His eyes were red but apart from that, he looked incredibly pale.
"Oh, darling" whispered Carlotta.
"He's been unconscious for about six minutes" the Captain informed Carlotta. The maid nodded and took the opportunity to take in Eric's state. It was obvious that he'd been crying, and the fabric of his trousers between his legs was slightly damp. A bruise was already starting to appear on the right side of Eric head, where he had hit the dock with such force.
"What do you suggest we do" asked the Captain in a hushed voice?
"I not entirely sure," replied Carlotta truthfully, "it think it would be best to get him inside." The Captain nodded in agreement, as Eric visibly shook from the cold. It was the middle of January, and wasn't a particularly warm day. The only thing keeping Eric warm had been his constant movement, but now he had been lying still for around ten minutes. Carlotta scooped him into her arms with such care, cradling him as you would a new born baby. His skin felt cold against hers and she held him slightly tighter. She walked the length of the dock and up the steps with Eric trembling slightly in her arms and the Captain beside her. The maid felt a thousand emotions racing around her head. Anger, because of what David had said about Eric, and the way he'd treated him. She felt terrible for Eric, heavens knows how he must have been feeling prior to his collapse. She was confused as to what had led to the collapse in the first place, and nervous as to what David had in mind for Eric now. She shuddered slightly at the thought as she entered the palace, receiving worried looks from the maids and servants who had paused what they were doing when Carlotta appeared carrying Eric.
"Thank you Gary" she said, turning to the Captain. He nodded a quick bow and looked at Eric one last time.
"Keep me updated" he said. Carlotta nodded, and watched as the Captain returned to the docks. She was interrupted from her thoughts when Eric shivered in her arms. Looking down she could see a slight hint of blue beginning to colour Eric's lips. She gasped and quickly placed the back of her hand just about the young Prince's mouth. Yes, he was still breathing; it was only the cold turning his lips blue.
"Ma'am" spoke up one of the maids. Carlotta turned her attention to the three maids who had positioned themselves in front of her.
"Is there anything we can do?" Carlotta thought for a moment and then spoke to the three of them in turn.
"Tiana, I want you to go a fetch a pile of blankets, bring them to Eric's room. Gemma would go into town and make the doctor aware of what's happened, tell him to get here as soon as he can. Lydia, I want you to run Eric a warm bath, a fetch some clean pyjamas for him as well" she instructed. The three maids nodded and hurried off to do their individual jobs. Carlotta carried Eric up to his room, arriving shortly before Lydia, who placed the pyjamas at the foot of Eric's bed. Carlotta smiled a silent thank you, and begun undressing Eric. She knew she would have to be quick considering that he was already freezing cold. But after removing his trousers, Carlotta noticed that the skin inside Eric's thighs was red and raw. She gasped at the sight and turned to Lydia.
"Would you go and get some cream please" she asked? Lydia nodded and left the room again, as Carlotta continued to change Eric, leaving the pyjama bottoms off for now. Lydia returned with the cream at the same time as Tiana came in with three blankets.
"That'll be all thank you girls" said Carlotta, the two of them nodded, leaving Carlotta alone with Eric. She rubbed cream gently against his raw skin, before wrapping a blanket around his shoulders and laying him down beneath the thick duvets of his bed, abandoning the pyjama bottoms until the cream had dried. The thickness of the duvet and the blankets meant that the colour eventually returned to Eric's lips and cheeks, and he had stopped shivering. Once the cream between his legs dried, Carlotta bathed him before applying more cream, re-dressed him in his pyjamas and returned him to his bed.
"Ma'am?" Carlotta turned her head to the door where Gemma stood.
"The doctor said he can be here in an hour" explained the young maid.
"Thank you" replied Carlotta. She turned her attention quickly back to Eric as he let out a soft groan, the first sound he had made for almost forty minutes now. His head shifted slightly, but his eyes stayed shut, almost as if he were sleeping.
"Sshhh, it's alright darling," said Carlotta softly, "I'm here."