During the next week the king's health did not improve. There was always someone with him and during that time he had only spoken a few times. The doctor said the fall had given him severe head trauma and even if he did survive, he would never be the same again. Elizabeth couldn't pull herself to do it. She didn't want to see her father broken like that. So she buried herself in the library, searching for anyway possible to save her father.
"Lizzie, you can't keep doing this. Your father might get better the doctor said it himself, but you can't isolate yourself like this." Elizabeth knew she was lucky to have Cornelia. She was the only one that had bothered to visit Elizabeth in the past three days. Yet she couldn't keep feeling irritated at Cornelia. How could she possibly know what she was going through.
"Lizzie? Lizzie are you even listening to me?" Lizzie snapped back to reality.
"Oh, um yeah. I think I'm going to go see my father."
"Alright. If you need to talk you know where to find me." Cornelia got up and left the table. When she got to the door she looked back at Elizabeth with sad eyes.
Originally, Elizabeth wasn't planning on going to see her father but two hours later her eyes were drooping and she felt her mind wandering off. Maybe going to see Papa wouldn't be so bad she thought to herself. The hallway to her parent's room was dark and lit by lit by only a few candles. She could hear murmuring in her parents bedroom and wondered who was in there now. She walked in and saw her mother on the bed with tears streaming down her face and the king's hand held to her face. For a moment Elizabeth held her breath and hid in the shadow of the door way. Suddenly the queen looked up.
"Oh, Elizabeth I didn't notice you there." She brushed the tears off of her face. Elizabeth didn't think that she had ever seen her mother cry. She was always so strong and no-nonsense. Now the queen looked so small and powerless.
"Actually mother," Elizabeth replied. "I was thinking I could spend some time with Papa."
"Alright." That was all the queen said before she left the room. It was odd because nothing was ever that easy for the queen there was always something extra Lizzie had to worry about.
"Come here buttercup" the king said. He had gotten much worse since the accident.
Lizzie went to sit on the king's bed. It was weird since this was one of the places she almost never went to in the palace. Her father's face was ashy and his voice was scratchy but Lizzie knew he felt much worse than he was letting on.
"So, what did you do today sweetheart?"
"Well, I have been in the library mostly for the past couple of days looking for ways to help the doctor cure you and I think I might have found a few things that could-"
"Lizzie, stop it." the king said. His voice had gotten angry but then he said more calmly. "I don't want you to worry about me. I lived a full happy life and I'm glad I got to see you children grow up. Now will you promise me something Lizzie?"
Lizzie looked at her father ready to cry but she knew that she had to be the brave one.
"Yes Papa?"
"Tell the boys the stories." A small smile crept across his face. "Don't make them forget about magic."
"I promise Papa." She bent over to kiss her fathers cheek and then rose to leave the room. She looked back once at her father but his eyes had already drifted shut. When she got to the hallway she ignored the guard. She knew that he would find someone to watch over the king.
On her way back to her room Lizzie thought about what her father had said. She swung the door open to her bedroom. Bookshelves lined the walls and everything was beige with purple embellishments here and there. As she pulled on her nightgown and got into bed she thought about the story her father had told her and her brothers the other night. Then it struck her. A magical flower in Corona that could heal any ailment you might have. Lizzie knew she would not be going to bed anytime soon.
