Groggily, Victor rubbed his left eye and sat upon his bed as the light shone through the gap of his bedroom curtains. He looked around confused that nobody had woken him yet, usually, Gabriella is ready by his side with clothes for the new day.

"Gabriella?" The bedroom remained silent. as if everybody had disappeared.

“Ha Ha, very funny Gabriella. Come out wherever you are,” he looked around with a big smile as if he was waiting for the joke to be over, but it didn’t because what happened next is Gabriella entered the room with a saddened gaze hidden under a flattened lip.

“What’s wrong? Did someone die?”

The maid’s darkened, she told him with a heavy heart, Victor’s eyes widened while his mouth opened slightly. The color in the world around him slowly turned greyscale, his head felt light as he stumbled out of the bed, but his maid took hold of him and helped him stand up again. The door slammed open, Victor ran through the hallway with panting breath and teary eyes.

Until he found it, the door to her mother’s bedroom, guarded by two knights. He walked closer and was stopped by the two knights earlier, “Let me IN!”

“No, my Prince. No one is allowed to enter this room. Queen’s order.”

“Stick that order in your ass and let me in, I order you!”

“No…”

Victor struggled against the two knights, but they kept him from even seeing his mother, until he heard it, “Victor, it’s okay. They just...helping me. Let them do their jobs.” Her voice was different, something isn’t right.

“But!?” Victor looked at the sealed door and dropped to his knees.

“They said you were sick. They said that they don’t know what’s wrong with you. They said-”

“They said a lot of things, my precious son. It’s a fever, nothing to worry about,” his mother’s cough can be heard even behind those doors.

“If it is just a fever, then why won’t they let me see you?” His grip tightened while glaring at the doors.

“I won’t let you see me because...I don’t want you to get sick. We both can’t get sick.”

“I-I don’t care!”

“Well, I do, and don’t you worry about me, okay? I’m leaving now,” his mother sounded lively, and Victor’s chuckled at that fake cheer as he rubbed his puffed-up eyes. He stood up and reached out to the door, but even that is apparently forbidden as the guards stopped him.

“My Prince,” said a man with a deep voice, Victor turned and the old knight; commander Julius is standing beside him in full armor while donning a grave expression.

"The King ordered you to follow me to the throne room."

***

The majestic door opened to a large hall with a throne made out of obsidian at the end of the room. Each of the royal families that ever sat on the throne has their names carved into it and the latest one was Victor's father; David Lawson, The Survivor, King of Frozehaven. The old knight stayed behind as Victor walked down the long dark carpet up to the throne. Upon reaching it, he dropped to a knee and kept his gaze down.

“Victor Lawson, Prince of Frozehaven!” his presence was announced by the man holding a trumpet.

"Prince Victor, this kingdom has called you. The choices you'll make will either doom us or save us. Tomorrow, two convoys from two faraway kingdoms shall arrive, and ask for your hand in marriage. With these unions and new form alliances, our country will be saved from the brink of starvation. So what are your answers, Prince Victor?" said Duke Zacharias while every court member gazes rested heavily on the prince.

The King remained silent as he waited for the Prince's answer.

Victor gritted his teeth, eyebrows furrowed and hands clenching, "Not one smither of mom's name ever mentioned it as if she was nothing to you!"

"Do you even know that she's sick?”

"What kind of husband are you?!!"

The court was shocked at the outburst, tension grew in the room, everyone was occasionally glancing at the King, trying to guess his next action. However, the King remained calm and ushered everyone out. They left the room without complication, the door closed on the way out; leaving both of them alone with each other.

Victor couldn’t look at his father's eyes, never had he snapped at his father like this in front of people. The King rose from his throne and walked down the step; dragging the bottom of his cape to meet his son. A pair of leather boots is visible in front of Victor.

"Rise," one word all it took for him to command Victor to stand.

Victor stood while still unable to meet his father’s gaze. Suddenly, the Prince fell onto the floor while with a reddened cheek and wide teary eyes. His father had slapped him so hard that he couldn't even see when his father even moved his hand. The look of disbelief on Victor's face as his hand trembles in fear.

“I blame myself for letting your mother spoil you. You knew nothing of the question you asked.”

“I knew to at least put her first before everything else. Unlike you. She’s sick and all you care about is the politics…”

“As I said before, you knew nothing. The signs have been clear from the beginning and you still couldn’t see it past your own selfishness and ignorance,” The King walked back to his throne and sat on it once more.

“See what?” 

“The cough, restless sleep, the weight loss. She’s dying, Victor...”

“But mom told me.”

“Lies, all of them. A trait that I hate the most about her, and yet, it is the most endearing part of her,” said Julius, his voice almost cracked at the end of the sentence.

“If she’s dying then why won’t you do anything?!”

“I have done everything, from science to magic to alchemy. It is incurable. I almost gave up on everything and fell into despair when she told me to get back to work just to make sure the people survive even at the cost of her life. She put our people first, and it is at least, I can do, but now, I am at my wits,” The King rested his chin on his hands.

“So I decide the Kingdom’s fate?”

“No. There won’t be a choice for you. Everything has been planned and executed, both candidates from our neighboring Kingdoms shall arrive tomorrow and ask for your hand in marriage. This Union will strengthen us and keep us going. The only thing you can decide is the candidates you want to marry.”

“But?”

The King raised a finger, silencing Victor, “Now leave and make yourself presentable tomorrow.”

With a defeated expression, Victor stood up and headed toward the doors. He left the throne room behind, “My Prince?” called the old knight, but the young prince continued to walk past him with a downcast look.

Aimlessly walking down the hallway, trying to process everything that had happened today, but failing to do so, it continues to bog his mind with a headache until he smells a familiar baking scent.

Muffins.

Still, in his pajamas, Victor makes his way down to the kitchen, trying to seek comfort in the muffin Gabriella always made for him. Surely the sweetness of those muffins can alleviate the troubled feeling looming over his heart and mind. However, as he got closer to the kitchen, he heard someone being scolded, Victor peeked around the corner and saw a glimpse of Gabriella's silhouette.

"Gabriella, what is wrong with you?! Wasting our rations with those muffins!"

"I-I'm sorry," the maid said with a painful smile.

"For goodness sake, Gabriella, why did you even cook so many of them?"

A normal smile he had seen every waking moment, but why does this smile make Victor's heart throbbed so painfully, "Because the Prince always smiles when I make these for him. I was hoping that these could cheer him up."

“You can’t keep pampering the Prince all-day, we are short of rations already if the court found out about this then...there will be nothing that I can do to save you.”

“It’s okay.”

With a heavy heart, he slammed the cold wall beside him and quickly ran back upstairs. Tears dripped down his cheeks as he held in the cry. Useless, incompetent of anything, even at standing up for Gabriella. He stopped at an isolated balcony and sat on the floor with his back against the stone railing, that was it, the breaking point. He couldn't hold it anymore, every heavy emotion broke through his wall and he finally started to sob,

Victor snorted and whimpered at the horrendous day he had, everything went wrong so fast.

“Have you heard? The Queen is very sick,” the murmuring of servants stopped Victor from sobbing further.

“That thing last night must be an omen.”

“Thing?”

“Yes, last night when I was checking the hallway for any work to be done, I saw it through the window, a beast under the hood of darkness on top of the roof at the north tower, black as the night itself with white glowing eyes. Truly a cursed creature. Just talking about it sends a chill down my spine.”

“What are you girls doing? Stop diddling and start working!”

“Yes, Ma-am!” the servants scattered.

Back to the balcony, Victor was nowhere to be found. He was running using all his strength until he barged into the library and headed straight to the secret door. Squeezing through the slowly opened door, he climbed up the stairs with furrowed eyebrows and heaving breaths until he slowed down toward the glass pane door.

Is this it, did saving that girl bring all this misfortune today?

He felt the rising temperature as he got closer. Feet anchored to the steps, pondering the decision made by his mind. With a single push, it opened, both eyes widened.

It was green.

It was a lot.

It was flowers and shrubbery, and one shaped like a panther.

Victor looked around him, trying to find the strange girl, but found no one. His suspicions grew higher as he searched every corner until he found her, surrounded by thick bushes and slept like a log while his own cape rested on her. She snorted a bit and Victor chuckled as he made his way closer to the sleeping girl.

"Did you do all of this?" whispered Victor as he tucked the girl.

“What are you?” sighed Victor.

“Do I even want to know?”

Victor glanced at the book beside her. After holding it in his hand, he opened a random page between those covers and started to read as time went by. Somehow, somewhat, everything had calmed down in that room with her, Victor finally had a calm mind and a clear thought. The people need him, Gabriella needs him, he had to rise up for the responsibility that was bestowed upon him for his mother.