And now, we go from Rosella's POV to Graham's, as the castle doctor gives him one last look-over.

I make a reference in this chapter to the KQ2 remake and the story of the Father.

Chapter Two: Graham

Graham sat on the edge of his bed, gazing out over the sun rising over the countryside.

It had almost been his last sunrise.

"How are you feeling, sire?" asked Master Fairdale, one of the castle healers.

"Amazing. Like I could climb up a beanstalk and outrun a giant all over again," Graham said.

"Well, not until we've finished the examination first." Fairdale took an instrument out of his robe pocket. It looked like a Y-shaped tube with a small funnel at one and and two earpieces at the other. "If you could take a deep breath for me, sire," he said, placing the funnel against Graham's back.

Graham did so.

"Very good. And your heartbeat sounds as it should." Fairdale put the instrument back in his pocket. "That fruit is quite remarkable," he said, glancing at the half-eaten fruit sitting on the night table.

"Indeed it is," Graham said. The magic fruit looked like a pear-shaped apple, but to Graham, it had tasted like a tropical fruit - a mango, maybe, or a papaya. "Even more remarkable is what Rosella had to go through to get it," he added.

It was hard to believe that this little fruit had pulled him back from the brink of death only a short time before. And it seemed like the fruit had taken one or two long-running aches with it.

Rosella had shared only the general details of her adventure in Tamir, but it sounded like she'd battled all manner of demons and ghouls.

"May I take it with me? The other healers will want to study it. The castle botanists, too," Master Fairdale said.

Graham didn't immediately respond.

"King Graham?" Fairdale asked.

"That's two for three," Graham said quietly.

"Sire?" Fairdale was confused for a moment. And then he remembered. "Oh. The Father's curse."

"You remember, then," Graham said.

"I was in the great hall when it happened. All of us were."

"It was…" Graham closed his eyes. "First the kingdom and my entire family would be in jeopardy. Then my heart would stop." And he was silent.

"You're thinking of the last part of the curse. That your heirs wouldn't reign over Daventry." Fairdale prompted.

Graham nodded. "But my children are both returned, both safe and well." He looked at Fairdale. "What do you make of it?"

Fairdale thought for a moment. "I don't pretend to be an expert in curses and deep magic, King Graham, beyond the magic that the other healers and I use," he began. "But seeing as the kingdom is restored, and your health, too…" He paused. "I think it shows that curses can be undone. If indeed the Father actually cast a curse."

Fairdale picked up the magic fruit, wrapped it in a cloth and put it in his pocket. "I wouldn't dwell on it too much, sire. One bridge and one troll at a time."

"I suppose you're right," Graham agreed. "Anyway, Master Fairdale, I suppose you've got better things to do than listen to a king's ramblings, so I'll let you go about your business."

Fairdale left the room with the magic fruit, and Graham was left with his thoughts.

Rosella had gone off to her room a few hours earlier to get some rest, and the gods knew she needed it. Graham had urged Valanice and Alexander to do the same, since they'd not left his side all night.

He'd been barely conscious for all those hours, hovering in a state between life and death. It had felt like a giant had taken his heart in its fist and wouldn't let go.

At one point, he thought he'd seen King Edward's ghost before him.

"Trying to join me in the kings' tomb, Graham?" the old king had tsked. "Not your time yet, boy."

Graham realized that he was holding his adventurer's cap in his hand. He turned it over in his hands, looking at it for a long moment.

Only twenty-four hours before, he had been tossing it to his children. It already seemed like ages ago.

Why had he decided to throw them the cap?

Was he really just passing the baton along to a new generation of adventurers? He wondered. Or had he just felt that he just couldn't do it anymore?

He'd saved the kingdom from ruin during the last days of King Edward's reign. But he felt like he couldn't do it during his own reign. He hadn't been able to find his son. He'd felt powerless when the dragon descended upon the kingdom.

He knew how much the people of Daventry looked up to him. He'd felt like he'd failed - he'd failed his family and his people.

Rising from the bed, Graham stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the courtyard. Down below, the castle was humming to life again, with the staff and guards running to and fro on their daily rounds.

A few people running through the courtyard spotted him and waved up at him eagerly, and he found himself waving back.

The sun rose higher into the sky. It was now mid-morning.

You've gotten yourself a new lease on life, king. Now you've got a family you need to spend time with. And a kingdom that needs mending.

"I don't think you should give away this cap just yet," Rosella had said. "You've got too many years ahead of you."

Graham put the adventurer's cap back on his head.

xKQx

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