Healing a king and a kingdom (yajirobe and silverdreamer)

Alfre saw the woman and took her hand and kissed the top of it gently as he gave the woman a kind look,"it is a great honor to meet you," he said as he kissed her hand gently looking at her for a moment any smiling a little charming kind smile. "I am King Alfred it is a great honor to have you here. We are going to have a festival in a month and I hope you can stay till then," he added in as he got to his feet again.

"My people will show you the way to your room, it will be a honor to help you and I am sure I won't be all that hard to find. I want to let you know I am always in town the garden or the library," he said kindly as he looked at her and then motioned for his servants to led her to her room knowing that most likely the princess would have a lot of things that she would need to take care of that day.

The Princess smiled warmly to him and gently curtsied. Within a grin formed as he kissed her hand twice and there was no sign of a rumoured feral female around. "Thank you, my lord." Shes spoke the words calmly and deeply, far more used to making her words carry without shouting. She gave him a soft nod of her head at his words about where he could be found. The only one that sounded appealing were the garden and the library. As the Kings servants came towards her to guide her to her room she gave her another nod. "I look forward to getting to know you my Lord and shall I hope see you this evening for tea."

She made her way to her room. This one was broader than Eri's and far more luxurious. She smiled at the sight and hoped that such a room was a sign that he was certainly open to her advances. She spent the rest of the day setting her room as she wished and unpacking her belongings. The fact that the King had hoped she would remain for the month made her confident for the time ahead.

Finally the evening came andshe dressed in a soft blue gown, the clung to her frame without taking away the mystery of what could be beneath the thin material. The servants guided her to a elegant room that had been prepared and she sat at the end of the table and waited for Alfred to appear.

Alfred gave her the room by more chance then anything he knew soon the rooms of the castle would be filled with various people,in the building most of me with plans for their future weddings with him. He smiled as he worked in the library and made sure that everything was going well with his regaining of knowledge. He read over things and was so happy that he was able to remember every single law that he was looking over.

Alfred went down dressed in a red robe that showed his status as he walked down into the dinning room which was lighted up with different types of lighting. He sat down as he saw the princess coming down to have tea, tea was out and waiting on them. He figured that this was needed and he needed to be kind to this woman. He wondered what Eri happened to be up too. He has to be here but part of him loved being able with her at all times and missed her at the moment.

Eri was at that point working hard, sweat clung to her form and the out fit she had worn was long soaked. While the labour was tough it gave her blissfully little time to think of Alfred and the woman with the six children was lovely to talk to and help. Her children enjoyed the new weather as children did without the perception of danger.

The Princess was delicate in the way she ate her tea, she appeared to be the perfect lady. Not a hair was out of place and not a drop of food spilled or landed on her robe or the table. She kept up small talk with Alfred and spoke of her family back home, the way of their climate and asked him questions about what plans he had in regards to the Kingdom and other points of land. She did not inquire about the feral lady she knew was here but after some time she realized that Alfred was not fully focused on her. His gaze kept drifting and a thoughtful expression touched his features. "My lord, is everything alright? You seem rather...distracted if I may say."

Yes, the princess had seen though him really easily as he sat there. He smiled as he looked at her rubbing the back of his neck as he did idly for a moment or two as he smiled. "Well, there is a lot going on here actually, I think you will enjoy it, but I was thinking about something's i can do for some of the people in town," he said with a kind smile on his lips, "like the rain it will have caused some damage and I will have to get to work on things to help various people soon."

He was honest as looked over at her and sipped some tea, "your family sounds lovely, your father was a friend of my late wife," he said looking over at the woman,"I also remember visiting one time, it was so much colder up there, I could never see how your people,,were able to deal with the cold so,well. I would be inside by a fire all day completely useless for anything," he said with a smile as he made fun of himself.

He soon was done with the tea and walked her to her room, she was typical from what he could tell, but not a band woman at all. After he left her in the room, he went in search for Eri. He wanted to check in on her and seen what was happening with the beautiful woman whom he saw too as a princess. He saw this knowing she wasn't but how she helped his people and how she made him feel that was good enough for him really.

The Princess was not entirely happy with how the end of the evening transpired. The Prince had kept looking around as if looking for some one and seemed while not eager to escape, certainly not captivated by her audience either. She watched him as he quickly left her room and sighed quietly. It was not the best of starts but she thought higher of him for concerning himself with those beyond the castle itself.

Alfred would find Eri's chambers empty and when asked around none of the staff could tell him where she was. All they could tell him was she had gone into the down earlier, dressed sensibly considering the weather and she had made no mention of when she would return.

Eri had been asleep perhaps two hours by the time they King went seeking her when she woke to hear loud, feminine screaming. As she had slept the sky overhead had began to clap thunder and the room lit with lightning. The door was open and a chill as well as water hit her from the drops that seemed eager to enter the house.

Eri rapidly rose to her feet and found the mother calling out to her child. One had run off into the night in search for the cause of the lightning. Eri could only assume the child believed the festival had come early. Eri informed the woman to wait with her other children and she would bring him home.

She followed his cries of excitement with each flash of light and rumble of thunder. He had made his way towards one of the dam walls they had attempted to put up. She caught sight of him as he neared the top. Unfortunately there appeared to be no guard on duty to prevent any fools, drunks or curious children from climbing the sopping stairs. Seconds later as the child clapped as another strike of lightning made the sky illuminate he lost his balance and in he went. Seconds later a frantic Eri followed just as the tide pulled out some. She managed to find him kicking haplessly at the water and made a mental note to teach these children how to swim herself before she enveloped him up in a protective cocoon of her form and with one arm tried to kick them both back to the wall. Yet the tide seemed so confused about itself and the waves were dangerously wild but after what felt to be a dozen life times she managed to get both herself and the child back to one of the damn walls though she was not sure if they had been moved along the island in the waves. She could hear people screaming, she heard male voices but her vision was so blurry she could barely make anything out.

She would later remember pushing the youngster up over the edge so that strong hands with what she hoped was warm towels and hot liquid would dry him up and get him home. Just as she was about to drag herself out of the roaring tides though the waves moved outwards and she felt her body be dragged into the dark depths. She felt a moment of pain as her head hit something and then genuine darkness took hold as she fell unconscious.

The king went outside after he saw her no where around he hated getting wet and it was kind of cold too. The mud, he would be a mess but he felt he had to find her and rescue the princess of his dreams. He looked around all over before he managed to find her. She was up in a dangerous spot he could see her from a bit away. He moved quickly as he went up to where she was. He climbed his way up.

Each movement was focused and driven as he had to get to her before it was to late. He dove into the water. He didn't see the kid till he grabbed her. He pulled the pair to the enbankment as he saw they were both passed out. He could feel the cold so much more easily now. He picked up the door and carried them into town where he found a nice woman who let him in. He laid them both by he fire as he sat he made sure they had everything needed to keep,warm no worried about himself. He saw in her the same spirit he saw in his late love. He walked around nervously worried he would of lost two loves of his life which showed him just how deep his feelings for her were.

As he looked at them he thanked the old woman who Eri had told him about two days before. He smiled as he made some food before starting to feel the effects of the cold and water too. He made sure to downplay this, he was not the one who almost died after all. He made some soup for the four of them whenever the kid and Eri woke up actually they would have warm soup to help.

Hours passed but soon the boy stirred first, after he had been given a change of clothes and felt dry he ate the soup before he asked the old woman where his mother was and when he could see her. The rain continued to fall outside as Eri continued to slumber through the night and into the next day. Once natural light filled the skies the boys mother around full of apologies to the King and concern for the pale form of the woman whom had saved her sons life. Yet she had other responsibilities and knew she could not help by being there so after being promised she would get to thank the Eri personally when she was well again she left to return home.

Eri's breathing was but her skin began to run hot and her skin became flushed rather than coloured natural. The doctor who had attended the King's former wife arrived by the staffs orders and assessed her. He cleaned up the small head would to the back of her neck and could feel she was fighting her way through a fever. Finally after long minutes he advised the King that her heart rate was strong but faster than normal, she would be best some where quiet, clean but with access to cold water. He warned the King that over the next few days Eri was going to burn up and it was now the Kings job to make sure she was cooled as much as they could. She likely would not likely but the King would have to be cruel to be kind.

For the hours Alfred didn't sleep at all as he rested looking on as he worried so much about her. He knew that she was not okay but was glad that the kid was. He was happy about that and he knew she would be very happy about that fact as well. He smiled as he took him to his mother dropping him off before returning to to see the doctor and hearing the most troublesome news from doctor he paused as he looked at him.

"I will do what ever I have to do to help her, there will be a isolated room set aside, I want you to do what ever you have to do. I am not going to lose another one," he said his voice showing his determination as he looked at him. Keep me in touch and with all the info that I can use. I will leave her alone I can't be cruel to her face, she is a weakness of my own," he said as he looked at the doctor. "Please find some soups and have an assistant bring it to my room later," he said as he head to his room and laid down but couldn't sleep at all as he coughed lightly.

The doctor nodded his head lightly and once the arrangements had been made , a carriage came and several soldiers carried Eri outside and carefully put her in the carriage. The doctor traveled with her and had several staff help him once they reached the castle. The isolation room had been built in the basement of the castle. He had Eri changed into a light and thin material and had the female staff members wash her with ice cold cloths which gained verbal and physical reactions even though Eri was unconscious. She would try and push or kick away the cloths or growl at them to stop it yet she was still unconscious but the fact she could feel such changes and react to them were both good signs.

While she was lost in the fever Alfred became her world and in some ways her nightmare because she could not escape all which she had been avoiding for days. Each dream was different to the one before but all included him and her. Some were sexual some were simple such as them wedding or her watching their children grow. Watching Alfred teach a son the laws he would come to live by or Eri teaching a daughter how to plant flowers.

The assistant took soup to the King and some medication to take to try and prevent any potential illness. The man also made sure the King was dry and warm and would eat the food to give him energy to fight off anything that had managed to work it's way into his system. The assistant was also the messenger between the doctor and the King, he informed him of Eri's progress each time he was ordered to visit him.

By day three of the rains they began to slow and lighten and finally stop. The clouds began to break and sun shine through the Kings windows and onto his bed. Eri's temperature had reached an all high during the night and for five hours nothing they did seemed to bring it down properly but thankfully as the sun came out it finally appeared as if her fever had broken. Her temperature returned to normal, she had woken up just enough to drink a few sips of water and some onion broth before she fell into slumber again.

The assistant informed the King of the good news along with his breakfast and that when he was ready he could visit her though she was still sleeping.

Alfred spent the whole period meeting mostly with the princess. He told her about he situation being honest with her. He didn't want to led her on anymore. He did do something to pay for her in a way. His late wife had a little brother. He set up the princess and the important young handsome lord as he knew that he pairing would help the alliance and that the young man was almost as powerful as some kings and they would fit together well.

Alfred heard about the news and went to Eri as fast as he could. He moved though the castle and headed down the way to where she was kept. He smiled happy to see her. He had missed her so badly over the days that they were apart. He opened the door and slipped in and looked at her as she slept on her bed. He sat down and just watched her sleep a smile on his lips as he said nothing as he did so. He was so happy to see her in bed and she looked so much better then she did when she saved the boy.

The Princess was not entirely happy with the situation as it stood but there was little else she could do currently. The King was clearly worried about the feral woman seemingly under his care and the potential for a match with his brother in law was too strong to appear to reject it. Yet she remained at the castle and wished to remained until the Festival happened.

After a while of Alfred being in Eri's room she started to stir. She moaned quietly before her eyes opened and she looked to the King who looked tired and yet oddly happy all at the same time. "Did the boy survive?" She asked quietly as if nervous she was going to make too much noise. She slowly became aware that the simple robe she had on was not any of her own and certainly was not the clothes she had on last time she had a waking memory. "Is the town alright? Did the rains do too much damage?"

The brother in law enjoyed his time with he princess as he spent time he talked to her about the idea of going home and agreeing to make it a maternal marriage meaning what ever children would come from the marriage would stay in her family and remain part of her families home allowing them to keep power despite the fact the princess happened to be a woman. He could tell it was a challenge as she had eyes for her brother in law.

Alfred put his hands on he woman's hands as he smiled at her."the town is fine everything got fixed up just fine. The boy is fine as well," he said with a smile,"he has asked about you from time to time wanting to be able to thank you personally as soon as he could."

Alfred looked over her as he blushed softly and hugged her gently in his arms as he pressed her up against himself for a moment."I was really worried about you and worried I was going to lose you," he said softly before getting up and smiling at Alfred and rubbed the back of his neck blushing hard as he smiled. "I told the princess who came here that I had someone I was interested in and set up with my brother in law."

Eri smiled warmly and all the tension that had filled her form as her consciousness came to disappeared as she relaxed into the bed. That was until Alfred reached over and seemed to some how manage to envelope her in his arms and be embarrassed by doing so all at the same time. It was only because she was recovering and that she still felt weak did she not end up simply doing as her dreams will her to there and then. She could see it, she could feel the ache to but she could barely give her plants energy let alone anything else. "Please send the boys mother my apologies. I promised I would bring her son back home. " The comment seemed quite silly but she had made a promise and felt a small tendril of a failing at the fact she had not managed to fulfill her promise to the full extent.

A small feeling of disappointment and loss filled her as she felt him pull away from her and she smiled gently at his own as she laid back into the pillows. She already felt tired from the little conversation and physical contact. "I am not so easy to get rid of." She murmured faintly, her eyes already drifting closed. "Oh? I look forward to meeting her when you are ready to introduce me to the female you are interested in."

In part she spoke out of being ill and in part she also spoke as she tried to divert his attentions once more. She was weak and would certainly end up saying more than she should while unable to silence herself. "I am sorry Alfred but I already feel so tired..as if I have not slept for days..do you think.. we could go outside tomorrow though?"

Alfred looked at Eri, she was tired, he couldn't blame her she had been so close to death for so long, he had been so worried about her as well. He smiled she looked into her eyes for a long moment. He listened to her and then nodded his head, "why don't you tell your when you get better, and him, I am sure that they both are thankful for you saving the child, if not for you, he would of died, and I am sure that the mother is far more grateful for your kindness and almost your sacrifice then she is upset at what happened," he explained firmly though not overly firmly as he looked down at her for a moment feeling so happy to talk to her.

"I am interested in you and you alone, the princess who came here, well I have set her up with my brother in law and well, things look good, you will have a sister in law as a princess someday," he said idly not even worried about his words to her as he looked at her. He heard her statement and then slipped into the bed next to Eri, "I am not going to leave now, but you do need your rest," he said to her softly as he laid there, "come rest, it wouldn't hurt anything for me to make sure you stay warm and snuggle up with you," he said with a smile as he pulled her over so that she could rest her head against his strong chest. He knew it wasn't anything bad, but he felt that if she got to be near him maybe he could help her recover, this was nice too having the chance to snuggle was a win for him really.

"rest up, I am tired too, I haven't got much sleep worrying about you," he said honestly as he yawned softly. He then slowly drifted off himself as he laid there not giving her a chance to tell him to get out of the bed, or anything just laying there to be a pillow for Eri as she rested as well.

She smiled gently as she heard him speak about the child and his mother. In her mind she knew she had done what the mother what the mother would remember but still. She could feel the need to allow darkness to overwhelm her but she remained and forced herself to be conscious as he continued to speak. At his mention of her she forced her eyes to open though that took what little energy she had left from her. "You are being quite foolish Sire. Your interest should be directed towards a woman born of the royal bloodlines."

She could not stop him as he climbed upon the bed besides her, nor did she try to. Her eyelids shut and she finally let herself sink into the darkness that waited for her. His body heat made her comfortable and truly settled.

As it always does morning comes and the king, got up before Eri, he noticed the pattern of vines had worked their way into this room. He looked at them and was surprised to see them, somehow they started to grow along the ground but that was all, there was no danger from them, but he found it odd that such things would happen in the room. Alfred blinked as he kissed the cheek of Eri softly before he slipped quietly out of the room. He knew she needed a good bit of rest as she was far from 100 percent after all.

Alfred walked to his room and rested a bit more himself, as he smiled thinking about the day or night before. He got up and got ready for that day. He gathered his things together, and prepared himself for spending time in the garden working so that it would be ready for the festival which was coming faster with each and every passing day. He walked in and washed his face before heading down to the main hall to get himself breakfast which was something filled with pancakes this day, they looked great and smelled great as well. He took a whole stack and put them on his plate and got some milk to go with them a great way to start a day.

Eri slept steadily through the night and soundly. She felt Alfred rise and stirred slightly until she heard him leave the room. She returned to slumber though it was not as settled in his absence. Once he had gone the vines started to shrink and seemed to return to where ever they had come from. It was closer to midday when she finally stirred truly and used the bathroom to freshen herself up. That seemed to take a lot from her and she felt so silly at the effort it took to do such a simple task. She was brought food and checked on while she rested and then carefully and slowly walked around her room and a little out into the hallway beyond before tiredness dragged her back to her bed once more.

The Princess spent her day attending duties she placed upon herself. She ventured into town to talk to people there but mostly to find out information about the Prince and the feral female. Later in the day she penned a note to one of her fathers friends fathers. His soon had a connection with nature in similar fashion to the woman called Eri. She requested his presence at the castle to help one of his kind recover from a illness. She had high hopes that they would connect beyond that.

Once Eri fell asleep once more and the room was plunged into shadows that seemed to move across the room, her dreams of before became nightmares as she felt herself lost in water , she could not find the surface nor the bottom no matter how much her limbs trashed through the dark depths. She began to scream and thrash in her sleep, her legs kicked out at the blanket that seemed to be trying to kill her.

Alfred looked around as he saw the princess and saw that she was by herself. He wondered if she was okay. She seemed a nice enough young woman, and he wanted the best for the beautiful woman after all. He wanted the best for all the people who came and were friends to his kingdom. He counted her amoung the friends he had. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her wondering what was on the mind of the woman. He waved his hand as she seemed sort of lost in thought as he approached her.

"Princess," he said softly as he looked at her and sat down, "are you okay, you seem to have something serious on your mind, something I should know about?" he asked with a smile as he looked at the woman sitting down next to her. "I sometimes have that look on my face, it is almost always when I have something important to think about or am planning something big. I hope it is good news that your mind is focused on right now," he said kindly to the princess, "you know I never have asked you what you go by, I am truly sorry about that. If there is a way I can make it up just tell me, and I will see what I can do."

The Princess turned her gaze to the prince as he spoke to her. A warm smile touched her lips. "Oh my apologies. I was just considering whether I would of had the bravery your friend has should I have been in her situation and I thought perhaps a friend of mine that suffered a similar incident could come and be of help to her while she recovers. "

She smiled even more broadly at Alfreds next question as he seemed to take a personal interest in her rather than just talking to her because he felt he had to. "My name is Athena, Prince Alfred and thank you for asking. "She moved a little closer to him but was aware to keep a little distance between the pair to not make him realize what she was up to, too soon. "Is there anything I can do to help yourself or your other guest?"

Alfred raised an eye brow as he looked at her and then smiled as he nodded his head, "yes, please if you can get this friend of yours to come and help Eri, I would be most greatful, it would be a great honor to have someone help and heal her. So far everything done has had limited success and hasn't worked so well," he said looking at Athena as he was glad she was willing to help. He felt glad that he had been right about her, and that she was a good person wanting to help him and Eri. He smield as he didn't even notice her move closer to himself as he sat there. He was to overjoyed at the idea that Eri was going to be able to get better.

"Well Athena, I can't think of anything you can do really," he said pausing before thinking about it, "Well we have a lot of planning for this festival, and I am sure you have a lot of experience with this type of thing. Would you be willing to help me with planning out some ideas for this. I am not so good at many aspects of how to plan for things like declarations and other minor things. Things that need a woman's touch to help with honestly," he said looking at her pausing, "I will understand thought if you don't want to help, and won't look down on it at all," he aid with a kind warm tone. "Is there anything I can do for you, your my guest after all."

She watched him intently as he spoke about the festival. She had no concern with helping plan it if as long she did not have to get too dirty along with it. "Oh I can certainly help with the festival if you wish and all I require help with if you are willing is to be shown the land beyond the castle. If you would not mind perhaps escorting me around tomorrow and telling me the history of your kingdom."

She was waiting for his answer when one of the members of his staff came up to him at a brisk pace. The female leaned in against his ear to whisper something she did not quite catch.

The female member whispered low so the new female guest could not over hear her and she was about to get to the point of Eri screaming when from the floor above Eri's screams reached an almost ear piercing shriek. "We tried to settle her but nothing has worked...the doctor thinks she is having nightmares."

Alfred smiled as he was glad to get some help for the planning. He was glad she had volunteered. He wasn't going to give her any dirty work, he figured this work was the type that took thought and ideas more then anything else, of course he didn't know her aversion to that type of work either. He nodded his head, "tomorrow morning, I will walk you around the castle, and check things around her, we can go over the history if you want, that will work, we can go into town and have lunch or have lunch here too if you wish," he said as he looked at the woman as she approached . He heard the talk of whispering next and nodded his head.

"Please send for your friend as soon as possible, I need him, Eri needs him," he said softly as he looked at Athena, "I will owe you greatly for this, she is a good woman, and she needs someone to help heal her of her problems that she is facing," he said to her softly as he got up, "well then tomorrow, I shall see you whenever you can, I will be in the gardens working, you can come out and find me there whenever and I will get started to work with you."

After taking his leave he went right to Eri and saw that she was extremely loud, he looked at the doctor worried about this as he walked over and calmly placed his hand on Eri's shoulder, "Eri wake up, your having a dream, it isn't real," he said to her calmly as he put his hand there and shook her gently after a moment hoping that he could somehow against logic get her out of her horrible nightmare.

Athena smiled and did as her mother taunt her. She let the man go and deal with his guest. The sooner she was recovered the sooner she would be out of the castle and able to enjoy the company of her soon to be new friend. "Go and help her of course. I am sure we can discuss everything another time when everything is much calmer and you look much less stressed."

She gave him a gentle nudge and a wave as he departed for the rooms above.

Eri did not stop screaming until the moment she heard Alfred's voice but even then it was not a silence that filled the room. She appeared to be shaking and crying while her eyes remained closed and she seemingly still deep in slumber. Yet she was quietening down, her body relaxed but her right hand reached out and gripped his wrist tightly as if she clung on to a safe line.

Alfred waved to Athena, she didn't seem a bad woman at all, she seemed a pretty nice one actually. He headed down to see Eri and saw her state, seeing it, it worried him so much, he knew that she needed help, and he had a hope that this woman's friend would be the person to be able to help her. He wasn't special or knowledgeable in the ways that this woman seemed to, maybe they weren't the same type. That had to be the reason for which she was so openly against their marriage, her being special, and him being just an average king and man.

Yet, he cared for her, that was something he couldn't deny, he owed her so much, he felt her hand cling to his waist and knew he would be there for a while. He pulled her closer so that she could rest her head against his chest as she slept. He hoped that this would help a fair bit, he knew that she needed someone to comfort her from her nightmares. He couldn't think what horrors that she was dreaming. Maybe she had some horrible secret in her past that she couldn't tell him about, maybe it was really not so good. He worried about her, but he had a feeling that Athena's friend would be able to help more then himself.