Samantha Edwhan

End of the Winter Star

Chapter 19

A month went by and Gerold’s strength waned. He wasn’t able to attend courts for very long. Most days, he assigned Griffin to handle the courts on his own and reviewed the decisions afterwards.

Freya put in her resignation. Gerold wondered if she didn’t want to watch him die or if there was another reason. But he didn’t want to put her on the spot. He let her leave quietly and started looking for a new announcer for the courts.

The head of guard, Mason, assigned a bodyguard and nurse to accompany Gerold at all times. His only true privacy now was when he went to bed at night. Adelaide slept on the floor, still incubating their egg. Gerold missed her warmth, but the wellbeing of their egg was more important. He refused to sacrifice a life for his own selfish wishes.

Moving became more and more difficult. The lump on his leg started to ache non-stop. Gerold struggled with the stairs most days, and he was too weak to fly. He struggled to eat and was starting to struggle with breathing too.

One morning, Gerold was sitting at the head table in the Great Hall for breakfast. Everyone was eating, but Gerold only stared at his plate. He wasn’t hungry at all. It had taken so much effort to get down here from the bedroom, but there was no point to it.

“Darling, you should eat,” Adelaide said. “You need to keep your strength up.”

“I’m not hungry,” Gerold told her quietly.

“Adelaide’s right, Gerold, you need to eat,” Griffin said from his other side.

Gerold shook his head weakly. The action made him dizzy. His nurse sidled up beside him and picked out a small piece of banana bread.

“Try this,” she offered the bread to him.

Gerold pulled his head away. The thought of eating was making him feel woozy.

“I think I need some fresh air,” he said, forcing himself up. He glanced at his nurse and bodyguard. “Please don’t follow me.”

“We can’t leave you unattended,” the nurse said.

“Then… keep your distance. I just want to go for a walk in the gardens, alone,” Gerold told her.

The nurse nodded. The bodyguard dipped his head silently.

Gerold turned and made his way out of Great Hall. The walk felt long, even though it was only a short distance. He managed his way to the door for the gardens and pushed through it. The cool morning air of early winter hit him. Snow hadn’t started to fall just yet, but the frosts were lingering well into the day. He was aware of his nurse and bodyguard following along behind him. Thankfully, they respected his wishes and kept their distance.

Gerold followed the path through the gardens. He passed the fountain and the gazebo and continued all the way to the end of the path. There, two small plants resided in the cold soil. One was smaller, with brighter leaves and small flower buds forming. The other was larger. Its leaves were a depressing grey-green and its stark white and blue flower petals were drooping sadly. Gerold sat down with a sigh and gently raised one of the wilting flowers with his forefoot.

“You’re dying too, my friend,” he muttered. “I guess I should have expected this.”

Gerold dropped his foot back to the ground and stared at the flower. He’d had this plant ever since he’d hatched. His father said it sprouted in the garden, seemingly at random. It grew slow, flowered in winter, and went dormant in summer, but it never died. When Gerold became Prinze and moved to the castle, he’d carefully uprooted the plant to bring it with him. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt a connection to the plant. He knew he always wanted to have it in his life, wherever he lived.

Gerold glanced at the younger plant. It had grown beside his own the day Markos hatched. Gerold had initially hoped more of them would sprout up with his other offspring, but none ever did. It seemed to be a special plant for just the first hatched in the family.

Thankfully, the younger plant was still strong. Gerold hoped that meant Markos would live a long life after him. Perhaps he would grow older than Gerold had. Would he have eggs of his own? Perhaps his oldest would have their own flower too. Gerold took comfort in that thought.