The Altercation Of The Heart

Chapter 6

It was 9:00 in the morning, and Emmeline was late. She had just left the home, reluctantly. Her mother's condition was getting worse every day and there was nothing Emmeline could do about it except watch her mother when she refused help or to be taken to the hospital. The wheezing, the coughs and rapid heart rate made Emmeline and her sister shake with worry. Both sisters agreed to let Esmeralda stay behind to take care of their mother, it was a Saturday so Emmeline was not missing anything important. While worrying about her mother, she forgot about the job she needed to go to. Emmeline couldn't believe that she had forgotten such an important thing that not only she needed but her family too.

Emmeline walked as fast as her short legs could go. Now entering the city centre, Emmeline rushed through the crowds of people hoarding around different stalls. Practically running, she finally made it to the staircase leading to the palace. She leapt up the staircase skipping every other.

By the time she got to the kitchen (passing the guards at the gate), she was sweating and breathless. Luckily, Marissa was not there but once she put her things away and came through the corridor back into the kitchen, she was caught. Silas had his arms crossed and his face was neither smiling nor frowning.

Emmeline's heart was now practically beating out of her chest. She couldn't believe that she was caught. 'Please don't tell me I have lost the only job sustaining my family.'

"You came in late." Silas bluntly stated.

Emmeline bowed her head in shame, "I'm sorry your Highness. It won't happen again."
She lowered her head further to create a curtain with her hair, which was a mess, to hide her watery eyes, her hands were behind her back. She sobbed silently, hoping that King Silas wouldn't notice.

"I would hope it wouldn't happen again. I will not tell anybody so long as you deliver breakfast to my room every morning that you're working." Silas commanded but realised that something was wrong.

"Of course, Your Highness." She whispered. Tears now trailed down her face, which enticed her to turn her back to him. Emmeline lifted her head when she turned away and spoke, "Sorry for my rudeness, it isn't my intention. I have had a long morning, Sire."

Silas' eyes softened and he walked up to her, turning her to face him once again. She turned her head but he used his middle and forefinger to turn her face back to him, he then put both hands on each cheek. Wiping the tears with the thumbs on both his hands, he spoke softly, "Whatever is going on, I promise it will get better." He held her cheek, cleared of tears and brought her head forward to him to kiss her forehead. Before leaving, he brushed away any remainder tears. His footsteps could be heard in the corridor he was going down.

Throughout the day, all that was on Emmeline's mind was the sensation of Silas' hands on her face and her ill mother back home. However, the feeling when Silas put his hands on her cheeks weighed heavily on her mind. The butterflies swarmed into her gut just by thinking of the sensation and when he swiped the tears away, it made her feel all kinds of things she'd never dreamt of feeling. She couldn't believe that a King, King Silas to be precise, would even give her the time of day never mind touch her skin. 'I wonder what he felt when he touched my face. Maybe he felt nothing and I am just acting like a teenage schoolgirl with a crush. How embarrassing. I bet he is thinking of more important matters than me, a maid.' Emmeline breathed out and continued scrubbing the floors in the west wing.

The tiles in the west wing were different to the ones in the north wing. These tiles were a glassy, tinted colour but were ultimately clear. Emmeline scrubbed hard when she realised that these particular tiles collected dust and dirt as if that was the job it was given. When she finally cleaned the neglected floor, she realised that the whole floor was a gigantic lake filled with small fish of different colours. Outside the west wing was a garden that held a pond surrounded by bushes and tall trees. Emmeline thought that that was where the fishes swam out to.

'I hope that ma is better when I get home,' She thought while scrubbing, 'I don't have enough to pay the rent, the lodging bills, or food. As well as, Esme's textbook books and ma's medication. The amount of pressure on me was immense, I couldn't believe that I was able to handle it all with just one breakdown.'

It was now the end of the day, Emmeline put on her cloak and picked up her basket of belongings. Yawning for a moment leaning on the hook that her cloak was previously on before she made her way out of the palace and down the hill by the stony staircase. Emmeline leisurely strolled through the city centre, her body was only filled with tiredness and dread. Every step she took felt as heavy as the last. The walk from the palace, which usually took forty minutes, took an hour and twenty-five.

When Emmeline got home, she thought it was going to be her time to relax and let all of her troubles flow freely but I just kept piling on. She entered and the first thing she noticed was that her mother's breathing was erratic and heavy. "Ma?"

Tears flowed down her mother's cheeks as she struggled to take a single breath. "Ma! Esme! Esme, come quick!" Emmeline screamed as loud as she could. She put her hands on her mother's trembling shoulders.

Esme rushed out of the kitchen after coming through from her garden. "I didn't realise that-"

"Esme, please there is no time!" Emmeline said, harshly. "Go and get Timothy, the next-door neighbour and go to the hospital, quickly!"

"Ma, it's going to be okay. Take deep breaths in and out for me." Emmeline started to mimic the breathing techniques of her mother, who was suffering so painfully. Her mother's hand clutched onto Emmeline's arm that rested close to her shoulder and looked into the worried eyes of her daughter, breathing in and out.

Esme put on her cloak and rushed to the neighbour's house, who willingly helped carry their mother. Esme then ran to the village hospital in the dead of night to warn the doctor that their mother wasn't breathing as well as she should have been.

Meanwhile, Emmeline was behind Timothy, who had shoulder-length, curly blonde hair and tanned skin, rushing their mother to the hospital. Her mind screamed tiredness but her mother was in trouble. If she wasn't able to breathe normally soon then her life could be in danger, something Emmeline was concerned about.

After the long journey of running and speed walking, they arrived at the hospital, where Esme was standing at the front of it, pacing to and fro. Their mother was wheeled away quickly on a hospital bed and then there were two left, after they said they're thank you to Timothy he left. It wasn't the first time he helped them get their mother to the hospital, both girls together were not able to carry their mother and felt helpless in doing so. They were so grateful for him, more than he could realise.

Esmeralda started as both girls took a seat in front of the room their mother and doctors were in, "I am sorry, Em. I didn't realise that she couldn't breathe. I just wanted to get some water from the well and I thought I wouldn't be that long. Also, she was asleep, so I thought it was okay for me to leave her for a few minutes. I'm sorry, Em, really I am." Her eyes started to build up with water and her brown pupils began to glisten. A single tear fell her left cheek. "It was my fault, Em." She sobbed, uncontrollably.

"It wasn't your fault, Esme. Ma can get incredibly ill in just a moment. Her condition is unpredictable. You didn't know so it wasn't your fault, okay?" Emmeline explained, "I don't blame you for anything, I promise." She held her sister's hands as Esme sobbed. Bringing her in for a hug, Esme cried herself to sleep on her sister. Emmeline stroked her sister's medium-length brown hair whilst she was thinking. 'I hope mother comes out of the room, healthy. I already had my breakdown earlier but now it was my turn to comfort my sister. At this point, I couldn't be selfish. Even though I wanted to cry my heart out, I didn't. I held it in with all of my forbidden feelings for King Silas and the tiredness from the job. Should I get another job? This visit to the hospital isn't going to be cheap.'