Eric wasn't quite sure what had happened up until this point. The last thing he remembered clearly was King Vernon sentencing his father to death; everything after that was fuzzy and, quite frankly, irrelevant. Even now he wasn't entirely sure what was going on, and was often having to look up to see where he was. And every time he did, Carlotta would tell him that he was safe and hold him a little bit tighter. Exhaustion meant that he was drifting in and out of consciousness every ten minutes or so. Sometimes he woke up screaming, only to have Carlotta's motherly tone sooth him back into a fitful sleep. The same nightmare played on repeat every time he closed his eyes, and the worst thing was; it was real. There was nothing impossible about it; nothing that wasn't going to happen or couldn't happen. Everything was possible, and half of it was already true, and that scared Eric more than anything. His mother was dead, his father only days away from it. Tony had died immediately after his head connected with the brick wall and Edward had fractured his jaw. Who next? It seemed as though everyone he knew was being taken away from him. What about Grimsby and Carlotta, what would happen to them? As the scene played over in his head once again, the young Prince screamed and shot upright.
"Eric, Eric it's alright darling I'm here, I've got you" cooed Carlotta, as Eric jolted awake for what seemed like the thousandth time. The maid really was beginning to worry about him. Every time he woke, he seemed more confused than he had the time before; as if he wasn't quite sure where he was or what was happening. He would glance around quickly before his gaze fell upon her, then he would stop, and bury his head against her bosom, sobbing quietly. She made every attempt to comfort him, but nothing she said seemed to have any affect for more than a few minutes.
It was half past three in the morning, and she and Eric were sat in the living room of the Manor House. The ship had docked at around half past six last night and immediately Carlotta had known that there was something wrong.
Carlotta and Catherine stood side by side, watching as the vessel made its way in to port. The sun was just beginning to dip over the horizon, smothering Glowerhaven in a warm orange glow; but Carlotta hadn't time to enjoy the beauty of the evening. Whereas her day with Catherine had been enjoyable, she had spent every second of it worrying about Eric. Since the day he was born she had been by his side, ready to help him, to comfort him. Today she had passed that responsibility to Grimsby and Edward and, as much as she trusted the two men to take care of Eric, she couldn't help but worry. The same way any mother would worry about her child the first time they spent a day apart. But throughout the day, Catherine had constantly reassured her that everything would be alright. In fact, over the course of the day the two women had become very good friends, and had spoken as though they'd know each other all their lives; but it had all been overshadowed by Carlotta's constant worry for Eric. Even now Catherine could tell that he was all that was on the maid's mind.
"Honestly Carlotta, he will have loved it" she said with a smile. Carlotta smiled back. Perhaps she was right, for once everything would be fine. But, as the gangplank was lowered, it became painfully obvious that everything was far from fine. Edward was the first to appear, and the first thing that struck the two women was that his clothes were soaked. With a short gasp, Catherine hurried over to her fiancé, cupping his face in her hands and causing him to wince in pain. Carlotta saw this and quickly moved her eyes back to the ship, awaiting any sign that whatever had happened had left Eric unharmed. She waited for what seemed like an eternity, but was really only a few seconds, before Grimsby began making his way down to the docks. The small bundle in his arms made Carlotta's breath catch in her throat.
"Eric" she choked, her voice coming to nothing more than a whisper. Not caring whether she was in the way or not, Carlotta rushed down to meet them. Wordlessly Grimsby handed Eric to Carlotta, the blanket still wrapped around the young Prince's shoulders, covering his shivering frame.
"Oh darling" breathed Carlotta, holding the four year old tightly, one hand coming to rest on the back of his head which was currently rested on her shoulder. His onyx hair was damp, and hung in front of his clouded blue eyes. But he didn't seem to care; he seemed dazed, almost as if he wasn't really there. Tears traced paths down his cheeks but no sound escaped his lips as he lay silently in Carlotta's arms, his body trembling. With tears in her own eyes, Carlotta turned to Grimsby.
"What happened" she asked? Grimsby sighed; the burden of recent events weighing heavily upon his shoulders as he was forced to relay the story to Carlotta.
"David was at the docks," he said bluntly, deciding that Carlotta deserved nothing less than the truth. "As always when he's around there was… conflict; which resulted in Eric ending up in the water." Carlotta gasped, glancing down at the boy in her arms.
"But, he… he can't swim" she said.
"I know," replied Grimsby. "We've Edward to thank for him still being here." Another sigh made his shoulders slump. "He took a nasty hit to his jaw and Tony… he…"
The rest of Grimsby sentence remained unsaid as a scream pierced the evening air. Carlotta and Grimsby both turned to see Catherine on her knees, with Edward knelt in front of her, his arms wrapped around his fiancés shaking shoulders as she sobbed uncontrollably. Carlotta didn't need Grimsby to continue, for Catherine's reaction told her that Edward had just told her the same thing. Tony was dead. Fighting the urge to cry, Carlotta looked back to the King's advisor, who looked as though he'd aged ten years since he'd left this morning.
"Where's David now" she asked, unsure as to whether she wanted to know the answer?
"He's been sentenced to death, he's being held on board for the time being, but will be moved to King Vernon's dungeons soon." Carlotta was lost for words and could only stare at Grimsby with her mouth hanging slightly open. Sentenced to death.
Even now, nine hours later she was still in shock. Shortly after Grimsby had told her everything, she and Eric had been put in a carriage back to the Manor House. Grimsby had gone to King Vernon's palace to discuss King David's upcoming execution and plans for the future of his Kingdom. It had been said that meetings would take place over the next week, including visits from other powerful people under King David's rule. Grimsby would be staying in the palace until everything was properly taken care of.
Catherine and Edward had gone to the hospital of the neighbouring Kingdom where the Earl's body was being kept until a funeral was arranged. They were expected to spend a few nights there, which meant that Carlotta and Eric were alone in the Manor House, besides Lady Victoria, but she kept mostly to herself.
Whilst Eric drifted in and out of sleep, Carlotta was left to think over the events of the past few months. But her mind was drawn to only one thing; and that was the meeting being attended by Grimsby. She knew that Eric would be the main topic, and that discussions would be had over when to have him take the throne. Whatever decision was made, she vowed to herself to be there for him whenever he needed her.
One day the boy in her arms would rule the Kingdom… and he'd be fantastic, Carlotta had no doubt about that; because over the last four months he'd shown just how strong he could be.
One day he'd marry the girl of his dreams, and maybe even start a family of his own.
The dampness of her cheeks suddenly became very obvious and she wiped away her tears with shaking hands. Up until this point she'd never really thought of Eric growing up. Of course, she knew that it couldn't be stopped, but what she feared, more than anything else, was the day that Eric stopped needing her. Just thinking about it made a lump grow in her throat, and fresh tears cloud her vision.
But for now, in this moment, he needed her, more than ever. With tears in her eyes, she began running her finger through his hair as she had done so many times before and lightly kissed the top of his head.
"I've got you darling," she whispered, "and I promise, no matter what happens, I'll always be here for you… always."
TO BE CONTINUED…