King Edwards Loss - Chapter Six

Many years have passed since the queen's death and the disappearance of his daughter, Kristen.

King Edward, now alone with no wife and no children, spends time with his best friend, Brandon.

Many of the ladies of the court try to cheer the king up, but he has no interest in any of the court ladies. Many townspeople figured that the king would find someone to love again and that the kingdom would return to the happy state it once knew. However, the king refused any company of women. He preferred to be alone.

Brandon stayed in court to keep the king company and his mind off his loss. He was determined to try and pull the king out of his slump. Brandon had never seen Edward this hurt. He worried for his friend that it would start to affect his mental or physical state.

When they were not hunting or fishing, they enjoyed a good round of chess. 

The court's ladies decided they needed to find a way to seduce the king to try to bring joy back to court since the death of the queen. They hated how their once happy court was now a miserable place. When the king was happy, everyone was happy alongside him. But when the king was sad, the court suffered for it. The king quit throwing festivals and did not entertain any guests.

Waiting for the right moment, one of Edwards's closest ladies found his weakness. He hesitated, but she would not take no for an answer. He thought just this once; he would let himself feel the comfort of a woman, only for a short while. Edward refused to let himself fall in love with anyone ever again.

That only worked for a short time, then the king was back in his wing by himself. He spent years searching for his daughter, only to be disappointed when another day passed. The years started to go by, and his hope that the princess was still alive began to fade. Everyone could see the life fading out of their king as well.

Edward found himself spending a lot of time alone. He didn't spend time with his best friend or any of the ladies anymore. 

He slept a lot and seemed to be spiraling into darkness. 

He started going to the royal graveyard to visit his queen, whom he felt he had killed. He spent many hours crying over her grave and the memorial they had made for his daughter.

The ladies kept the queen's old chambers clean, but no one else was allowed to enter. The king himself had never entered the chambers since the death of the queen.

A few more years go by, and many fear that the king will never marry again or have heirs to the throne, leaving the kingdom vulnerable. He seemed to be pulling out of the dark phase that he fell into, but he never truly seemed happy.

The king began to gain weight and locked himself in his study to be alone when not dealing with court matters. The searches for his daughter became too much for the king that they eventually stopped. 

Brandon visits court after being away searching for the king's daughter. When he returns, the condition of the king has him worried. Edward had lost his spirit to do anything that he used to love to do. He didn't fish or hunt, he never left the court. 

His sister, Mary, comes to court from time to time to see her brother. She starts to worry about him, as well. "Edward, you can't let your grief take you over like this. You need to take care of yourself for the kingdom. Your people depend on you." "Dear sister, I don't have anything to live for. I lost everything," "You will take the throne when I'm gone," Mary returned home, realizing her brother was not going to listen to her. She could only hope he would come to his senses before it was too late. 

The king's health started to get really bad. He kept having bad migraines and seemed to drift in and out of consciousness. He continued to put on more weight and seemed to start aging very fast. He hardly resembled the king he once was.

One of the king's ladies went to Mary to beg her to return to court. They feared the king's health was beyond the healers. 

The following week, the king's sister Mary shows up at court to pay the king a visit. "I hear you're not feeling well. You're not taking care of yourself. You are the king, you have a responsibility to your people. I'm going to stay here a while to help you get back on your feet," she tells him.

Mary can tell her brother is truly hurting, and even though her presence there might not bring him any happiness, she was determined to stay by his side. 

Many days Edward would play chess with his sister and gradually started to seem happier. Many thought the king was going to be his old self again.

For the next few months, the king seemed to be feeling a lot better. Edward even started to throw festivals again, and his sister Mary sat beside him on the throne.

But that didn't last long, for the king's health started to fail again. His migraines returned, and he began to have pains in his chest. Many of the court doctors were sent to try to find out what was wrong with the king. They gave him medicine to help ease the migraines and tried many treatments to ease the discomfort the king experienced. 

In the middle of the night, the king awakened with a sharp pain in his head and chest. He manages to stand on his feet. Out of breath... 

Edward falls to the floor... dead. His guards find him there only hours later. The kingdom had lost its king, and no one but his sister, Mary, was in line for the throne now that the queen and his daughter were gone. It was a sad day in the Kingdom of Winchester.