Pandora's Box

Chapter 5: Part II

A rush of pride lighted the queen's face. There was a rare strength of conviction in Donovan that many people twice his age and then some could not easily claim. She was glad to have him by her side. 

Adella held the mirror face down, letting its golden glow pour freely over her husband. "This mirror was given to me long ago, by the queen of a beautiful people who live among the very stars. In mortal tongues they are called the Aether. She told me the mirror would always reflect the truth even if magic were being used to veil it."

The air around the stricken king shimmered and hummed with magical current. Adella worked an incantation, honing her senses into a dome that extended to the edge of the king's bed. The rest of the world retreated into shadow: the scent of the crackling fire, birdsong at the stretched windows, the spears of golden sun lancing the windows.

Adella's steady hands guided the mirror in even passes along the bed. Her shoulder abruptly shuddered. Unseen spellcraft pushed back against the mirror's gaze. Adella forced more of her will into the arcane device and commanded her hands to be still. She completed the ritual and turned the mirror over.

The queen's fingertips flew to her lips and stifled a gasp. She had suspected the presence of dark magic but even the deep well of her own power had proven unable to detect it. Using the mirror as a focus enabled her to pierce the obscuring veil.

And the results broke her heart.

Seething spots of festering rot covered the king's body in the mirror's reflection. A curse... The hostile lesions of dark emerald magic angrily gnawed at King Drake, stealing his very essence with each passing moment and spasm of muscle.

"Quickly, Donovan. Take this," Adella said, hurriedly handing the boy the mirror. "The king has been exposed to a very potent strain of Blight magic. I've never seen its like. It's spreading and quickly."

"Can you stop it?" Donovan asked, clutching the mirror with both hands.

Energy sizzled about Queen Adella's shoulders. Her eyes blazed with sapphire light. "I shall give him all I have." Adella raised her hands and wove a gathering storm of spellcraft into a blanket of sluicing light. A sudden wind gusted through the chamber, extinguishing the fire and dousing the myriad smaller candles. Adella's conjured magic grew brighter and brighter. It hovered above the king's bed, gathering strength and love and light.

Donovan shielded his eyes from the growing light and gusting wind. The Breath flowed through Adella's being, empowering her surging voice. The blanket of light descended upon the king and faded as it seeped through the bed. The gusts died. Adella's knees weakened of exertion and the queen collapsed onto the arm of the chair by Drake's bed.

"Your Highness," Donovan said. The boy caught the queen's arm.

"I am fine." Adella's eyes remained flooded with the remnants of magical current, blurring her vision. "The king... how is my husband?"

A strong hand closed around Adella's. Its callouses told the tale of a man who had always put the good of his people first and who wasn't afraid to roll his sleeves up for honest labor. "My love..."

Relief washed over Adella. She pressed the back of Drake's hand to her lips, burying his exhausted flesh under a storm of hurried kisses. "Drake, my love. I thought I'd lost you." Tears flowed from the corners of the queen's eyes.

"Never." Drake coughed, deep and retching. "I would tear the very heavens down to remain by your side."

Adella smiled, but the usual stoic strength in Drake's eyes was missing. Drake weakly turned his head to regard the boy by Adella's side. "Donovan..." A wet cough burst from the king's mouth. He gasped to recover his breath. "Donovan, find Pandora. Bring her."

***

The strange melody had arrived at the edge of Pandora's awareness early that morning. It was a haunting tune: something born from twisting a music box's key. After a handful of servants denied being able to hear it, Pandora decided to leave it to fatigue and let it slip away.

Then the medicus had arrived. Arrived with grim tidings.

The eerie melody had boomed with a vengeance then, drowning out the rest of the world. The news from Lucius had been terrifying and twisted her stomach into knots. Her father could not possibly be upon a death bed. He was fierce and young of spirit and had a strong heart. Nothing could fell King Drake. Nothing could take her faday...

Now, Pandora's footsteps barely touched the ground. She raced for her parents' chambers, world blurring around her. Donovan had arrived at her chambers just as the medicus had been leaving for the Citadel. She had known immediately her father had not crossed over. Donovan's words had been galvanized with hope and reassurance. Still, the princess wanted nothing more than to see for herself the miracle of her mother's magic.

The door to the bedchamber burst open under Donovan's shoulder and Pandora flew past. Life fell all but silent as she crossed the threshold, save for a single voice that managed to whisper.

You can save him...

Pandora pushed the words aside and rushed for her father. His eyes were open and his smile grew as she neared. She reached for his outstretched fingers. "Faday!"

"Pandora..."

The princess's heart pounded, but each anxious beat came knowing her father was alright.

As their fingertips brushed, King Drake convulsed. His body spasmed and then fell still. A final breath rattled from deep in his lungs.

"Donovan, bring the medicus! Now!" Pandora shouted. The princess interlocked her slender fingers with her father's. And squeezed until it hurt. Hot tears burned her eyes. Adella draped her arms over the sobbing princess.

"It's too late, my daughter. He's gone."

In the back of Pandora's mind, in the middle of memories already fading too quickly and the shattered dreams of a future never meant to be, the music box played its haunting tune.