The Frail King & Kindhearted Nanny

I knelt before the king, my eyes wide with disbelief. He was the king of Robaine? The same king who had been so valiant in past wars?

"My apologies for my appearance," he said with a smile. "But I am a bit sick. However, I wanted to see you. You really do look just like your mother. You have your father's personality though. A bit disappointing."

I stared back at him, my heart racing. I couldn't believe this was happening.

I have so many things to ask.

"Father," Evanil intervened. "I know in light of the recent events the timing may not be the best, but I would like it if you could have the High Magician check her over? We believe she may have been subjected to manipulation magic."

The king's expression turned grim as he looked at me. "I see. I'll have an attendant contact the temple. Did Maliece..."

"Yes, your excellency," Maliece said, stepping forward. "I made sure to do the test. She is our Theodosia in body. But in mind, she doesn't remember us."

"Ah, I see," the king said, tapping his forehead. "That won't be good. We need her to debut as soon as possible. I'm sure they'll try to poke her to see if she is the real thing. Let's start with the temple. We need her as knowledgeable as possible of her life before Kitelle. We don't know what's going to be pulled. I'll get Marco on board."

He strode over to me, placing a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. His eyes said he was in deep pain.

"I am sorry I am not as healthy as I once was to protect you," he said. "I promised him the day you were born I'd always protect my godchild and I failed. I hope you bear no ills towards me and that you give me a chance to make up for the time you've spent in pain."

I nodded, not sure what to say. I was still in shock over everything that was happening.

"If what you all say is proven to be true," I said, "then you have nothing to be sorry about. I'm starting to piece things together bit by bit. It's not your fault, the true assailant is far different. All I ask is that you tell me a little about my father and mother sometime."

I still don't completely trust the situation but if things turn out as they say then I want to know as much as I can. To solve the riddle of my past.

He looked at me, puzzled by my statement. But then, a warm smile crept along his face.

"Of course," he laughed. "The true assailant has yet to be revealed. We've narrowed it down to a royal of Kitelle but finding out whom is tricky. I suspect that not all of them are involved so we have to proceed cautiously. We have some small information Evanil can brief you about. Plus, there's a higher authority that would like to know about all this too."

A higher authority?

Suddenly, the king clapped, startling me. I had started to get lost in my thoughts on the situation.

"For now let's get you bathed and rested," the king commanded as maids filled the room. "You've been locked away for quite a while without experiencing a taste of luxury right? Let's change that. I'd like to see my future daughter-in-law in better shape."

I know I haven't had an adequate bath but do I smell that bad?

I looked over at Maliece who quickly looked away. I turned to Evanil who only gave me an empathetic cough.

So no one was going to tell me and I was just walking around hugging everyone?!

"None of us want to hurt your feelings, Princess," a soft, gentle voice said. A stout woman curtsied to me, her long gray hair pulled back into a bun. Her light green eyes smiled brightly at me. "It has been so long since we last met. You have grown into a beauty. I can see it beneath the dirt."

"We've also met before?"

"Oh many times!" she beamed, grabbing my hands. "I still remember your light voice saying, 'Nanny Emilia, can I have some cookies?' So cute! But that's in the past now."

Nanny Emilia.

My head began to pound. I shrank to my knees as the pain intensified. Everyone jumped to my aid. Nanny Emilia was first to pull me into a hug, shielding my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said, my voice muffled by her shoulder. "I don't know what's happening."

"It's okay," Nanny Emilia said. "It's just a reaction from a memory trying to force itself forward. It's a natural reaction."

I pulled away from her and looked up at her, my eyes wide with fear. "My memories? So, it could be true…about my past."

"Yes it could." Nanny Emilia said.

I felt my body temperature rise. The pain moving throughout my body. It felt like a sharp needle stabbing multiple parts of me at once.

"Is there anything for pain?!" I burst out. "It hurts! It hurts so bad."

"I'll go get Ninya," Nanny Emilia said rushing off into another room. "her magic is rooted in healing. She'll be able to help with the pain!"

I took a deep breath and tried to distract my mind; hoping it would help me not notice the pain. Maliece held my hand and sat on the floor breathing with me. She convinced Evanil and the king to leave things in her hands as their crowding of me was causing more harm than good with their worried shouts.

"Princess!" A girl said tumbling through the door. "I'm Ninya! Tell me where the pain is."

"Everywhere!"

Ninya let out a deep sigh and a large green sphere of light enveloped me. "This may be uncomfortable Princess, but I need you to count to 15."

I nodded and counted down. With every number a different point of pain in my body began to dissipate. Finally, at 15 my head cleared. Nanny Emilia joined us again in a worried sweat.

"Are you feeling better Princess?!" She cried

"Yes Nanny I'm fine now, thankfully. Thanks to Ninya."

Ninya jumped at my words, startled. Her chestnut hair flying about and her wild amber eyes tracing the room nervously. She quickly tried to refute my claims, saying she hadn't done much except hide the pain for a short duration.

"Unfortunately I'm not as strong as my late mother." She said with a slump "She could even heal people completely. I can only mask people's pain for up to 8 hours."

"Then I guess you'll have to be her second attendant!" Nanny boomed "Well need to make sure she's okay until we can get that magic off of her. I'll be with you of course. Not that it matters. You cannot refuse once I make a request with his majesty."

"But Miss Emilia I'm not very good at my skills yet!" Ninya argued "You even said I can't boil water!"

"Then you won't touch water." Nanny scoffed folding her arms. "It's not as if I can't do it."

Ninya stood quietly in defeat. What a cute girl. She'll do fine. Everyone is nervous on the first day of the job.

"For now let's get our Princess cleaned up." Nanny said scooping me into her arms "I'm sure a nice bath will help you forget about that just now and maybe clear your head about things."

I nodded and we left. But as we walked away, I couldn't help but wonder: who had done all this to me? And why had they taken my memories? Most of all, what will I find when I get them back?

I knew that I would find out the answers soon. But until then, I would have to trust Nanny Emilia and the others to help me through this.

I took a deep breath and tried to focus on the present moment. I was safe now, and that was all that mattered.

I would face my past when I was ready. But for now, I just wanted to rest and forget about everything that had happened today.