Crossed Hearts | h.s

Twenty Three

"Father," Geneva said as she dipped into a curtsy. When she lifted her head and brought her eyes to the bed, she felt her body go numb. Doctor Moore, Caris, and Anna surrounded Luther, all of them wearing the medical masks that were thought to prevent the infection from spreading. As Geneva looked at them, however, all she could see were three crows with their long beaks, all hunched over their victim.

"My girl, my Geneva," he said, his voice as faint as his heartbeat.

She blinked away tears as she neared the bed and stood next to Caris, whose sniffles were muffled by the beak of the mask she wore. Before Geneva could speak, a priest entered the room and said a prayer over her father, heard the dying man's final confession, and left the room with a bowed head.

"I'll give you all a moment," Doctor Moore said, then walking over to the opposite side of the room.

Luther reached out and took Geneva's trembling hand. She snapped her eyes to his and caught a ghost of a smile on his lips. "You shake with fear, but you must be strong," he said, "Tell me, who will you wed?"

Her heart sank at the realization that he would not be present for her wedding, but she dare not tell her dying father that who he had planned on her marrying was dead. She tightened her fingers around his large, cold hand. "I will be sure that whoever I marry will help bring Velora to greatness, as it used to be."

"You alone can bring Velora to greatness," he said, then shifting his nearly lifeless eyes to Caris. "And you, dear Caris, will be a wonderful wife and, one day, mother. Make sure your sister doesn't worry herself sick over politics."

"I will, Father," she sniffed.

"And I won't be here to smooth over your petty conflicts, so that'll be up to your mother," he said, looking up at Anna. He released Geneva's hand and took his wife's, squeezing it in a loving manner. Geneva hadn't seen them so affectionate in years. "Thank you for being the greatest wife and queen a king could have."

"I am far from that," Anna whispered as tears formed in her eyes.

He tried to shake his head, but he was too weak. "Nonsense. You have been the greatest love of my life."

Hacking coughs replaced his voice and blood drooled from the corners of his mouth. Before Anna could wipe them away with the cloth on the bed beside him, another fit took over his body. He lurched forward with a cough and then leaned back on his pillow when it subsided, his body even weaker than before. He inhaled sharp, uneven breaths until he didn't exhale again, and his eyes were unmoving.

Geneva stumbled backward, her hands frantically pulling at the string of her mask to remove it as her breaths grew shallower and ragged. She felt as if the walls were closing in around her. Finally, she yanked the mask over her head and let it drop to the floor, her hands hanging limp by her sides as she stared at her father's lifeless body. She then looked at her sister, who was sobbing into their mother's arms, but Geneva couldn't hear them. She couldn't hear the doctor as he ordered the servants to fetch someone to move the body, nor Matthias as he barged into the room and began to spill words of condolence to Anna. With heavy steps, Geneva walked over to the window and clutched the curtains in her hands, squeezing them with all of her might as if it might have given her some strength in return.

But the sound of two words pulled her back to the rest of the world: "Your majesty."

Geneva turned around, finding Matthias bent down on one knee, his head bowed and eyes gazing at the floor. She was still for a moment, weighing with her options. She could have either retreated to her chambers and refused to face the reality that she was indeed queen, or accepted it as her father would have wished. As if it were as natural as breathing, she extended her hand to Matthias. He brought his eyes upward, trailing from her hand up to her solemn face, and then took her hand and kissed her knuckles.