Izzy watched as Alex fell unconscious, his head thumping to the ground and his hair disheveled; however, still managed to look like a fallen angel.
A guard had come in with an expression of horror and mixed surprise. It was only after Izzy had yelled at him that he flinched and went to get the doctor. Izzy had stayed by Alex’s side the entire time. She stayed completely still until the doctor came rushing through with several maids.
“Make way!” the head maid, Violet, yelled as she came in.
Izzy was shaken up and stubborn to let go of Alex but Violet pulled her away harshly.
“Step aside and give us room to help him,” Violet said strictly. She had no intentions of hurting Izzy but when the prince was dying, it was vital to step up and order people around.
“He’s still breathing,” the doctor exclaimed as she examined Alex’s wound. The doctor was already working on stopping the bleeding as one of the maids helped her put pressure on the chest wound.
“Violet, go get the healing herbs and some ginger. We need to hurry and patch him up!” the doctor ordered and Izzy saw as Violet left the room.
“Get the king and inform him what happened,” the doctor yelled at one of the guards. She pointed to the other, “Get the bodies of the Vauldin out of here.” The two guards looked startled at first but recovered and nodded.
Once the guards were out, the doctor ordered the maids to help move Alex to his bed. They were stronger than they seemed and easily carried Alex carefully to his bed where they let him rest. The herbs and ointment came and the doctor applied it to Alex’s wounds.
Through this, Izzy couldn’t get herself to say anything. She stood very still, shaken and numb at the situation. When the doctor was done, she cleaned her hands with a cloth towel and looked at Izzy with strong eyes.
“It is not my place to ask what had happened but I want you to know the consequences you will be facing because of this. I wish you the best of luck,” the doctor said quietly and let with the other maids.
Izzy felt shaken as she let the doctor’s words sink in. Was she to be beheaded? She had failed at her duty and thrown off course. What would Timothy think?
Instead of dreading her future, she sat by Alex’s side for hours, crying for the mistake that she had made and the emptiness she felt without him making a remark of his or comment on things Izzy knew he shouldn’t.
Hours began to turn into two days but Izzy still sat by Alex’s side, praying and hoping that he would wake up. The tears in her eyes were no longer wet and her skin was so dry from the salty tears that they began to peal. There were no more tears to fall.
The king had not ordered her death or even ordered her presence. She was left in Alex’s room, never touched except when one of the maids, Irene, would force her to eat something. She was worried about Izzy as she had noticed Timothy had cared for her very much. For Timothy, Irene thought, she would care for Izzy. No one else wanted anything to do with her as she had failed but Irene stuck by her side, encouraging her to get some sun but Izzy would always refuse.
It was only when Zachariah finally came in to check the status of his friend that he noticed Izzy quietly sitting in the corner. He forced her to get out of the room for once and when she refused multiple times like she had done to Irene, he didn’t take no for an answer. He carried her in his bare hands and brought her out to get some sun. He noticed that she was pale and the tears she had shed made a dry streak down her cheeks.
“Izzy, you have to start eating again,” Zachariah urged for the hundredth time. Izzy looked out at the sunset and sighed: the first sign of life she had given him.
“Your beautiful skin has gotten pale and the bags around your eyes show me you have not slept in days.” He kept still as he waited for a reply but ended watching the sunset with her. Finally, Izzy began to stir.
“I don’t deserve neither sleep nor food. I should be where Alex is or even worse,” Izzy replied. Her voice was course as she had not spoken in days and it had taken all her energy to answer.
“Never say that, Izzy,” Zachariah said harshly. He hated how weak and vulnerable Izzy was. This side of her made him feel uneasy. She was never the one to show any weakness but their vulnerability showed him that she really did love Alex.
“It is only time until King John asks for my head.” Zachariah was about to protest when a guard came running towards them. Zachariah stood up to meet the running guard.
“The prince has awoken!” the guard exclaimed. This caught Izzy’s interest as she stood up as well. The truth in his words made Izzy suddenly aware of her surroundings. The adrenaline coursed through her body and she felt the need to run to Alex.
“When has this happen?” Zachariah asked.
“Just now, my lord. He wishes to see Isabelle,” the guard said, looking at Izzy who suddenly felt her heart skip a beat.
Zander is ok! Izzy thought. She was so burdened with the knowledge that he had protected her. As his bodyguard, she was regretful and ashamed, but as a woman…Her heart fluttered, remembering the anger in his face when she was injured and how he had protected her.
“Come Izzy,” Zachariah said as he took Izzy’s hands in his and led the way into Alex’s room.