Eric buried his face into the older man's shoulder and sobbed as he was carried upstairs. His four year old frame shook with uncontrollable tears, despite Grimsby's attempts to soothe him. The fabric of Grimsby's waistcoat was soaked with tears around the shoulder, acting as a cruel reminder as to just how unhappy Eric currently was. As the King's advisor turned into the upstairs corridor where Eric's room was, he spied Carlotta and Gemma. The two maids were walking from the other end of the corridor. But both pairs seemed to freeze when they spotted each other. After what felt like an eternity, Eric began to squirm in Grimsby's arms; and, a little reluctantly, the older gentleman placed Eric down. Eric was in pain, and he knew it. Every step, every movement made his limbs ache. The bruising to his chest and abdomen became very obvious as he ran down the corridor. But he ran through the pain, straight into Carlotta's open arms. The maid knelt down on the floor, and gathered Eric gratefully into her arms, holding him close and letting him sob into her shoulder.
"Oh, Eric darling I…" she began, but was surprised when Eric lifted his head.
"I'm really sorry" cried Eric! The maid could only stare at the young Prince who stood before her.
"W-whatever for" she asked?
"Because daddy h-hurt you, and it's all m-my f-fault" sobbed Eric!
"Eric, that wasn't your fault" said Carlotta, her voice a mixture of surprise and confusion as she cupped Eric's tear stained face in her hands.
"Yes it w-was, I ran off," said Eric, almost hysterically, "I d-didn't m-mean to!" Whether it was from the exhaustion of crying so much, or pain, Eric collapsed against Carlotta. She held his close against her breasts, with one hand on the back of his head. The two of them stayed like that for a long while, until Eric's sobbing subsided and became short gasps and sniffles. Carlotta pushed him back a fraction and cupped his face again, tilting it up slightly.
"Eric, look at me" she said softly. The four year old looked, his blue eyes shining with the never-ending flow of tears. Carlotta didn't move her hands from the side of his face, but moved her thumbs gently across Eric's cheeks, wiping away some of the tears.
"None of that was your fault darling. Okay?"
"B-but your h-hurt" said Eric, his voice hitching every so often.
"I'm fine darling; you're the one who got hurt. Your daddy should never ever have hit you" said Carlotta. Eric didn't reply, just wrapped his arms around Carlotta's neck. Being careful not to hurt Eric, the maid rose to her feet. She and Grimsby stood staring at each other, until Gemma excused herself.
"Grimsby that can't happen again" said Carlotta, as Grimsby stopped just in front of her.
"I know," replied Grimsby, "but David won't be reasoned with. I've brought up Eric in conversation many a time, and he doesn't seem to want anything to do with him." Carlotta sighed. Both adults knew that if it were anyone else, they would have called the police, and told them that David was abusing him son. But David was the King, he owned the police force, and there was nothing anybody could do about that.
"I think we should try and keep Eric away from David as much as we can" suggested Carlotta. Grimsby nodded in agreement.
"Will he be returning to his lessons" he asked?
"Very soon, yes, I think it might be best to keep his mind off of things" said Carlotta. Eric adjusted his position in Carlotta's arms, reminding them of his presence. But the movement sent a jolt if pain streaking across his chest and he cried out, clinging tighter to Carlotta.
"Oh, darling be careful" she said, moving him slowly into a more comfortable position, as he whimpered in pain, fresh tears gathering in his tightly shut eyes.
"I'll call the doctor" said Grimsby.
After yet another, thorough examination, Dr Sheffield announced that there was nothing broken.
"Just give the bruising time to heal," he said. "You can wrap the worst areas in bandage to restrict movement if you want to, but that's all that would need to be done."
"Thank you" said Carlotta, glancing down at a now sleeping Eric. "I'm sorry we taken so much of your time recently."
"It's no problem at all" replied Dr Sheffield. Then, with a little reluctance, he added, "ma'am, if you don't mind my saying; you shouldn't be expected to let this happen. He may be the King but that gives him no right to abuse his son."
"I know," said Carlotta sadly, sitting beside Eric and brushing his hair back. "But I just don't know what to do." Dr Sheffield thought for a long while. He knew how difficult it was. Reporting the King would come to nothing. It didn't matter who reported him.
"Perhaps the Queen wouldn't mind talking to him" he suggested? Carlotta couldn't help but sigh.
"It may sound hard to believe, but the Queen cares even less for Eric," she said sadly. "I try and do what I can for him, but… he just seems so unhappy sometimes." Dr Sheffield put a reassuring hand on Carlotta's shoulder.
"You're doing brilliantly," he said, "it's just a shame his parents can't do the same thing." Carlotta gave a weak smile as Eric whimpered in his sleep.
"Does he often have nightmares" asked Dr Sheffield, upon hearing Eric? Carlotta nodded.
"Does he come to you" continued the doctor? Carlotta nodded again.
"He soon learnt not to disturb his parents once they went to bed," she explained. "If he has a nightmare, he knows to come to me. This thing is, my room's such a long way away from his, and after having a nightmare he wasn't too keen on wandering the halls by himself. Sometimes his crying wakes me up, and I have to get there before either of his parents hear him." By now there were tears in Carlotta's eyes, as she recalled the countless times she made the long journey to Eric's room in the middle of the night, or early hours of the morning, and found him sitting up in his bed, trying desperately to stifle his sobs; for he knew what would happen if he didn't. Dr Sheffield could see that Carlotta was troubled, and wished more than anything to help in any way he could.
"If there's anything I can do, you let me know" he said.
"Thank you," said Carlotta, her voice coming to nothing more than a whisper. "I'm sorry to have bombarded you with all of that."
"It's not a problem," said the doctor, "I can tell you been waiting to say that for a long time. It's my job to help people after all, is it not?" Carlotta smiled, and nodded, wiping away the tears and focusing her gaze on Eric. The two stood in silence, watching as Eric began tossing and turning, a cold sweat forming across his chest and forehead.
"Sshhh" cooed Carlotta, stroking Eric's cheek. But only seconds later, Eric awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright and breathing heavily. He was quiet for all of two seconds before he began to sob.
"Oh darling, sshhh, sshhh," said Carlotta, picking Eric up and sitting him on her lap. "It was just a dream" she said soothingly, rubbing circles on Eric's back. The young Prince merely whimpered, cuddling closer to the maid as his cries subsided.
The silence remained; until the air was pierced by and ear-splitting scream.