Wendell awoke to Anthony shaking him. The room was dark except for the flickering candles around his desk.
"Prince! The Duchess is awake!" he was almost shouting. This bit of news certainly dismissed any lingering drowsiness. Instantly he was awake.
"She's alive? Is she alright? Have the Prince and Princess been informed?" he asked. By the time he was on the last question he was already across the room.
"She's alive. I don't know if she's alright and when I came down to get you some servants were going to get the Prince and Princess," Anthony replied briskly. He started to trot after Wendell, the young king was rapidly making his way to the stairway. Anthony was panting when he got to the hallway leading to the Olga's room. He fell behind the king as Wendell took the stairs two at a time.
As Anthony came to the sickroom door, he stopped himself. He could not be the first one in. He looked around and saw Thomas.
"Thomas, have the Prince and Princess gone into the room yet?" he asked.
Thomas stepped forward to give his answer, "Yes Your Majesty. Shall I announce Your Highness?".
"How long have they been in with her?" Wendell asked before giving the command.
"Not yet fifteen minutes," Thomas said.
"Then no. Have somebody notify me after another fifteen minutes. They should have at least half an hour with their daughter," he told Thomas as if he were just deciding.
Then as an afterthought, "What of the Healer and her apprentice? Have they come out yet?".
"No Sire not yet," Thomas informed him.
"Probably giving some medical advice to the Prince and Princess," he thought to himself. So he started back down the hall.
"What's going on with the Duchess?" Anthony asked as they met mid-hallway.
"I've put off going in for another fifteen minutes to allow the family some together time. I do wish I could speak to that Healer though," Wendell answered. Here Anthony grinned a cheeky grin.
"And I would like to speak to that pretty apprentice. She was very charming," he grinned, "But I can't for the life of me remember her name," he said in a frustrated tone. Then he began listing names.
"It was something really feminine. If I could only remember what it started with, I know I could figure it out," he said almost to himself.
"Rose," Wendell said quieter than he meant to.
"What?" Anthony asked with his head cocked to the side.
"The apprentice's name is Rose, Anthony," he repeated in a louder voice.
"That's it! I knew it was something like that," Anthony exclaimed in a satisfied voice. Then he did a double take and gave a sideways look at Wendell.
"She really is pretty. But I always did have a fondness for redheads," Anthony said with a smile on his face.
"She isn't a redhead. Her hair is blonde, with a slight strawberry glow," Wendell told Anthony in a way that suggested he was telling a child a well known fact.
"Uh huh," Anthony said as if analyzing something, "I see,".
"What do you see Anthony?" Wendell asked in a distracted voice. He wasn't really paying attention to Anthony.
"You have the hots for Rose," Anthony said teasingly. Wendell began to blush deeply, a reaction that belied his claim that he did "not even know" what that term meant. It at least suggested that he understood the implication.
" 'A strawberry glow'?" Anthony snorted, "Come on you have a major thing for this girl. You don't talk that way about somebody unless you have some sort of interest in them,". Wendell just looked down at his feet and murmured something about improper conversation for gentlemen. Before Anthony could get another jab out Thomas was upon them.
"Sire, there is a problem in the sickroom," he said breathlessly. He had sprinted down the hallway the minute he heard the news, and that was quite a feat for a man of his age.
"What kind of problem Thomas?" he asked after the servant had regained his composure.
"Something is wrong with Mistress Yaga's apprentice. She has not regained consciousness," he said somberly. Wendell's face which had been so red before, was now as white as a sheet. The king raced down the hallway at a speed that suggested he had not lost all the traits of a golden retriever. Thomas looked at Anthony with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Glad he didn't have his eye on Virginia," Anthony said, which caused Thomas even more confusion.
"The boy's a jinx," he continued.