Hello again. Here is another chapter for you all. This one is sad but necessary for Kit to become the prince we all know and all. It's a bit short but I promise to post the next chapter sooner.

Anything that looks like Disney probably belongs to Disney.

Read and review and fill my world with sunshine!

From then on, Kit tried his best to go with his mother every time she went to the village. He became a familiar sight along side the queen.

However, the queen had always been a little on the frail side, never having fully recovered from a bad fever when the boys were young. She fell ill again and this time, she did not get better. As she grew weaker, the king rarely left her side. He loved his wife and relied on her judgment more than his own. She was his moral compass and heart. She gave many pieces of advice to the king to help him after she was gone.

Kit wasn't allowed to see his mother very much, it being thought that he would excite her too much. Kit didn't agree with this decision but his father's advisors and his nannies were adamant that the queen didn't need to see him.

Kit was very determined to see his mother and see what he could do to make her feel better. He also wanted to make sure she still wanted to see him, he knew she loved him but the nannies' words about being a bother had hurt and he felt unsettled in his heart. His brothers had teased him about being a mama's boy but not as much as usual which made him think something was really wrong. He snuck into her bedroom one night when he knew the king had a late night council meeting.

He tried to be a quiet as possible but let out a little gasp at seeing his mother so pale and tired.

"Kit, is that you?" the queen whispered faintly, stirring into a seated position in her bed.

"Yes, mother." Kit was shocked at what he saw. His mother's cheeks were hollow and not rosy like usual. She had frown lines on her face and she was sitting still instead of dancing about. Her fine hair was limp on her pillow, not curled and pinned up.

Something must have shown on his face because the queen started to reassure him.

"I am not in that much pain, Kit. I just feel very tired is all."

"Are you going to get better?" Kit asked fearful of the answer he saw all too plainly on her face and in her eyes.

"No, Kit, I won't get better…but soon I will be at peace with the Lord." The queen answered honestly, trying to smile at her baby.

Kit's blue eyes filled with tears and he put his head down on the bed.

The queen patted his head with her hand weakly but comfortingly at the same time.

"It's alright dear." She murmured.

"But I will miss you," he sniffed, "You can't leave me!" Kit exclaimed, his angry voice muffled by the bedclothes.

The queen smiled sadly and gestured for Kit to join her on the bed. After he got settled lying next to her, the queen put her arms around him.

"I will miss you too, but I will be watching over you always. Just remember how much I love you and then I will be there with you." The queen smiled and kissed his head even as her throate tightened with the pain of leaving her baby.

"But what about the magic, can't that save you?" Kit asked, grasping at anything to keep his mother with him.

"No, Kit. Magic is a wonderful thing but it can't interfere with fate. You won't be alone. Remember that even the animals can be your friends if you treat them as such, they can understand us even if we can't always understand them. And magic comes from goodness, a place in the heart. So as long as you value goodness and kindness you will have magic with you. And that magic will keep me close. So while magic can't cure my illness, it can heal my heart because I can still be with you."

Kit's tears still flowed but he smiled at his mother and gave her a hug. "Can I stay with you tonight? I promise to be quiet and let you rest, I just don't want you to be alone while father is busy." Kit implored, his blue eyes bright with tears and love.

The queen smiled and kissed his head again. "I would love nothing better."

Kit snuggled in her side and that's how the king found them early next morning.

The queen woke up before Kit and smiled at the king. He smiled back but then frowned and said "I hope Kit didn't keep you up all night because he had nightmares again."

"No, he came here because he didn't want me to be alone. I have had the best night's sleep since I have been sick when he was here." The queen's face left no room for disagreement.

"Oh," the king was relieved to hear that and glad that his son had taken care of the queen when he could not.

"Listen my dear, I have a request to make of you." The queen said, reaching out her hand to grasp the king's.

"Anything my darling, anything at all." The king gripped her hand tightly.

"I want you to find a friend for Kit at the palace, perhaps the captain of the guard's son Alistair? He seems like a good boy and is only a few years older than Kit."

"But why would Kit need a friend? He has his brothers and anyone else would be of lower status. It isn't done." The king was puzzled over the unusual request. He had failed to see the rift between the boys unlike the queen.

The queen frowned at that and argued, "Kit will need someone he can trust and who will tell him when he is in the wrong and to keep him from the curse of royal conceit, much like I did for you when we first were married."

"I will consider it my dear." The king promised, kissing her hand as he remembered fondly the early days of their courtship.

A few days later, the queen passed away. The entire country went into mourning over the loss of their beloved queen. The king was heartbroken and the queen's request was forgotten amidst the king's numbness and the struggle to rule the kingdom on his own.

On the other hand, Kit had remembered his mother's words and reached out to the palace dogs and horses for comfort. His heart felt like it weighed a hundred pounds and each step was a struggle. His mother had always made the world so light and wonderful. Kit didn't know how he could go on as he had promised her but the animals made him feel better. They didn't ask pointless questions or ignore him or sigh sadly at him. They were just there for him and best of all, they let him hug and pet them.

All the boys were neglected by their grief stricken father who made the effort to rule the kingdom but had little energy or courage left to raise his sons. He left the task fall to his advisors instead. The advisors had little trouble with the older two sons who easily went along with the weapons and fighting training. The boys were glad to find some attention and soon figured out ways to keep the attention on them.

However, Kit was forever questioning and asking how the weapons were made and what people fought with in other countries and what if your opponent didn't have the same weapon as you? The advisors had no patience for Kit and frequently answered him with "It's just how it's done."

Fortunately for Kit, one of the knights, Marcus and one of the smiths, George took an interest in the bright young prince and answered his questions as best they could.

The advisors had assigned the palace librarian, Edmund, to the boys' education and ignored his unfavorable reports of the older two boys. Kane would pay attention when it suited him, preferring to spy on the court and learn the gossip while Kurt would make trouble until he was kicked out of class where he would go to the training yard and pummel a training dummy. Kit was a librarian's joy, full of curiosity and always borrowing one book or another when he could be prevailed upon to stay indoors that is. Kit still loved the outdoors more than anything and played in the woods whenever he could.