Amity and Enmity

Chapter 64

Day: 1523

Days Left: 3957

Lives Saved: 8

His fingers incessantly tapping his knee, King Consort Elis sat for an excruciatingly long time outside of the check-up room, a room specifically made for medical examinations and health evaluations residing in the royal castle. Coming from a smaller and poorer country, Elis found it weird to have a private hospital ward within the royal palace, but the small wing dated back centuries, built to protect the royals as they had to cover their faces, so hospitals were not an easy option.

Over the past month, Elis and Cori were in and out of this room, tested, prodded, and examined, but finally, all of that should be over today. Today they were supposed to get their results.

Cori was already inside, wanting privacy for her results, so Elis waited outside for his and in support of his wife, preparing his mind for the worst.

Eventually, Elis was called into the room where Queen Corinna IX and the head royal physician sat silently.

"Thank you for coming, Your Majesty," the physician bowed, motioning Elis to sit beside the queen. "Unfortunately, it is bad news. I am afraid..." The doctor looked at Cori. "Her Majesty must not give birth; with her majesty's health condition, it would be unsafe, risking paralysis or perhaps even death."

Condition? What health condition? Elis' tapping fingers grew quicker, almost hitting and thumping his knee now, but the rest of his body froze up, unmoving, stiffened; all of his fears and anxiety at this moment condensed into the tapping of his fingers.

The rest of the conversation was a blur to Elis, something about options for surrogacy or adoption to have an heir, followed by Cori having surgery to be infertile just to keep her safe, and then the doctor stressed and advised against Cori giving birth once again, listing risks and statistics. Even after suggesting surrogacy as an option, as well as freezing the queen's eggs, the doctor added that some of her eggs would likely be weak, resulting in a sickly or stillborn child or a miscarriage, which was from both the queen's health condition and seemed hereditary too. To end, like kicking someone when they were already down, the doctor said how healthy and fertile Elis was and how he had no issues in his health at all. Though she remained silent and still, Elis could feel Cori tense sitting next to him after that line.

Before he knew it, Elis found himself outside of the room and in the library with Cori, the place where she always went to find peace and calm down.

Without any communication needed, they both sat down on the windowsill overlooking the window, books in hand.

"We can still adopt," said Elis eventually as he sensed enough time of contemplation had gone.

Cori shook her head.

"If you are worried about what the public will think, that they won't accept them as an heir, then they won't find out," said Elis. "Many royals do it if they are infertile and unable to have a surrogate. No one can find out so easily since we all wear masks; they have no idea what we look like. And if the child has barely any magic, we can just blame my genes."

Putting down her book, Cori huddled her arms around her legs, one of her silver shoes slipping off her foot and dropping to the ground. "No, they have to be of my blood."

"One of my sisters adopted."

Cori just shook her head again.

"Then you want to try surrogacy?"

"I know of some protection spells that should decrease the chances of stillbirths."

There was a pause as Elis hesitated, then finally asked, "he said you had a health condition?" Going into this marriage, Elis knew that Cori was a closed person, but he did not think, after almost a year together, that she was still keeping something from him, at least something this important.