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. A lot of the town people 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 at court to keep the king company and his mind off of 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.

Brandon knew the king loved to play chess. So at least for one day, he managed to make the king seem at peace. Edward enjoyed playing chess. And it worked, but only for a short while.

The court's ladies decided they needed a plan to find a way to seduce the king and try to find him love again. They hated how their once happy court was now a miserable place to be. 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.

Edward was very lonely and decided to be with one of his favorite ladies. He just wanted some comfort for a short while, but he knew he would not allow himself to fall in love with anyone ever again.

That only worked for a short time, then the king was back in his wing by himself. 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 anymore, or any of the ladies. 

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

He started going to the royal graveyard to visit his true love. 

He spent many hours crying over her grave and the memorial they had made for his daughter.

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

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

The king began to gain weight and, when not dealing with court matters, lock himself in his study to be alone.

Brandon sees the king while visiting and now starts to worry that the king's health is in serious jeopardy. Edward starts to spend even less time with his best friend.

His sister, Mary, comes to court from time to time to see her brother. She starts to worry about him, as well.

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.

Many started to worry about the king's health, so one of the personal ladies of the king finds his sister Mary and asks her to visit her brother.

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 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 her presence, there might not bring him any happiness.

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 make him well again. They gave him medicine to help ease the migraines, but couldn't help the pain in his chest.

In the middle of the night, the king awakens 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 has lost their 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.