The Crimson King

Chapter 44 | Holding On

Hi everyone!

Believe it or not, despite the rather dark warning below, this is actually one of my favorite chapters :) Maybe because it is the beginning of a turning point? Either way, I hope that you all enjoy it. I know I've put you through a lot recently, but we will come through together.

Thank-you all so much for your wonderful, interesting, constructive, lovely comments in the last few chapters. I'm so lucky to have your support!

Lots of love,

Daisy

Trigger warning: Trauma, emotional damage, sensitive content- including suicidal themes and depression (but no-one else dies I swear guys). It gets better. Grief is a process. If you or someone you know are experiencing depression, please reach out for help. My messages on Wattpad are always open :) <3

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Chapter 44 | Holding On

*

"It's hard to turn the page
when you know someone
won't be in the next chapter,
but the story must go on."

-Thomas Wilder

*

On the day that no one could have predicted, it was Ezekiel who responded first.

Two months after his abrupt departure, in the middle of the night, his Majesty, Darius Greyson, suddenly burst from his room in the West Wing.

He was half-dressed, his chest heaving, his eyes wild and desperate. It was unknown what time in the night he had returned; none had been alerted to his arrival, not even his closest guard.

Those who saw him said that he appeared as though he had suddenly woken from sleep. He rushed through the halls with such urgency that almost everyone in the palace was alerted to his presence.

He barely paused outside the door to the East Wing before flinging it open with a crash. The sound alerted both Ezekiel and Gabriel – resting in their rooms nearby- but it was Ezekiel who arrived first.

The King had disappeared into the Princess's rooms by the time Ezekiel rushed through the same door- only moments later. Tentatively, he stepped over the threshold, and when no force compelled him back he breathed a short sigh of relief. The Kings command had been lifted.

A colossal splashing entered his ears then, followed by the sound of violent coughing. His short respite quickly turned to dread, and he almost fell over himself to enter her room. The bathroom door was ajar, with the light on inside, and a sickening foreboding stifled his throat.

Upon seeing the scene before him, he froze. 

Water drenched the floor and Darius knelt in the centre of the tiles, Iris's naked form clutched in his arms. Her dark hair stuck to her wetly, paling her skin in comparison. As Ezekiel arrived, she leaned to the side and spewed out more water, her breath coming in short, shuddering gasps.

Darius was rubbing her frail back forcefully, his lips at her ear as he whispered words to her that Ezekiel could not hear. The ends of Darius's blonde hair were wet with bathwater, and it dripped onto the Princess's face, running down her cheeks like tears. Ezekiel thought that he had never seen his King's face so pale, nor his hands shake so much as they did now.

Iris was trying to say something to him, but her words were choking and her shoulders heaved as she began to cry.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, her voice raw with disuse. "I didn't mean to, it was an accident. The water was warm- I just fell asleep-"