It was early in the afternoon and everything seemed normal in the palace. Although it seemed normal, Zeidan knew there was nothing normal about any of it. His life was turning into a mess and there was nothing he could do about it. It has been two years now since he last saw Lyne and his health was deteriorating. He could feel life slipping away from him slowly, or perhaps he was just being too hard on himself for letting his guards down. He could not protect Lyne and her unborn child when they needed him the most and now he is suffering from it. 

    “How are you feeling your Lordship?” Stevenson bellowed from the entrance of the palace as he was ushered in by one of the palace guards. He trotted towards the King who was sitting on the throne with his head in his left palm deep in thought.

    “I must have kept the King waiting eh? The King must not be angry for the journey to this place is a long one. There was a pressing matter that needed my attention back home that delayed me a little. I assure you that I set out early to make it here in time.” He said as he got closer to Zeidan who was now looking at him after he had been brought out of his retrospection by the royal doctor’s arrival. 

    “How are you feeling your highness?” He said as he mounted the elevated part where the king was seated. 

Zeidan drew in a long breath and exhaled sharply.

“I must be honest with you Stevenson, I don’t feel better. Perhaps the syrup isn’t working. Or maybe you need to increase my dosage.” He said as Stevenson watched and listened to him with a perplexed expression.

“Sometimes I feel better, other times I feel worse. The point is that it ain’t working. The syrup is not working.” Zeidan said searching for answers from the doctor. 

    “To be honest with you my King, I really do not know why you are still sick. You ought to have been better by now, that I am sure of. But I want to assure you that you will get better. As far as I am concerned, the dose from this syrup is what is keeping you going my King, hence no stopping it.” He said.

Suddenly realizing he had a bag with him that he was carrying, he said, “Oh, my King, I brought the syrup. I am sure the last one I brought is almost finished, if not finished by now.” 

Zeidan watched as he set down the brown leather bag and reached for the syrup inside.

“She did a number on you, my King. You must really love her so much. But we will get through this.” Stevenson said soothingly.

Zeidan thought about Lyne again, maybe she had survived somehow and given birth, perhaps if he could just see her, maybe he will be well again. He knew that was impossible anyway. 

The palace door creaked open and a guard walked toward him and Stevenson. 

“My Lord, there are some royal entourage outside that wants to see the King.” The guard said bowing.

“Send them in.” He said as the guard took another bow and left.  

He was surprised to see Styx walk in with two guards following him. Just when he was thinking about his daughter, he showed up. Styx was not an easy man to deal with. He does not just visit without a very crucial cause. He had promised to protect his daughter when he married her and he was sure Styx came here to ask for his daughter. He had once thought she might have gone home if she had truly survived but such wasn’t the case as no one had seen her back home either. 

    Styx walked in steadily and halted midway to admire a carving on the palace wall. Turning now to look at Zeidan he said aloud,

“I have not seen my daughter Zeidan, and it’s been two long years.” He managed to stand up as Styx and his guards walked towards him now briskly with a stern look on his face. Stevenson drifted backward giving room for the two royals to talk. Styx locked eyes with him once he was inches away from him. 

    “You haven’t seen her either, have you?” He said still looking at Zeidan. He looked away and sat back on his throne in dejection. 

    Styx turned to look at the royal doctor who was watching the whole scenario. 

    “And who do we have here?” He asked. 

    “My name is Stevenson, my Lord. I am the one who has been taking care of the King since he took ill.” Stevenson said with a bow. 

    “You know I have not been well, and regardless I have done everything in my power to find Lyne all to no avail,” Zeidan said looking up at Styx with sadness in his eyes. 

    Just then, Gabe staggered out from the hallway leading to the chamber. He staggered towards Zeidan and called dad in a baby tone. 

Then Luana chased after him from behind calling his name. 

    “I can see you are doing everything in your power Zeidan,” Styx said with anger rising in him as he walked towards the long table in the middle of the palace. 

    Luana caught up with Gabe just in front of Zeidan. 

    “Stevenson, it’s about time you showed up. You did not tell me he was here darling.” She said as she looked at the doctor who was rearranging his bag. 

    “I know I should have been here since morning your highness. I was held back by a pressing matter. As soon as it was resolved, I set out as early as possible to bring the King his dose.” He explained to Luana.

    “Hand me the Syrup.” She said as she ignored the presence of Styx. After getting the medicine, she bent to kiss Zeidan. 

    “I’ll be inside my love.” She said as she picked up Zeidan and walked in with the medicine much to the disgust of Styx. Noticing the air around the palace to be getting too hot to breathe in, Stevenson announced to the king that he will now be on his way. With this, he walked out of the palace quickly like he was escaping from a crime scene.

    Zeidan could see the rage on Styx's face as he walked briskly towards him holding out a clenched fist.

    “We had an agreement Zeidan. Did you forget that?” He asked angrily.

    “I clearly remember everything Styx,” Zeidan said. 

    “Well, it doesn’t look like it. I can see you have moved on with your life rather than looking for my daughter. I must say I am disappointed in you Zeidan. You gave me your word, you even penned it down but yet, here we are.” Styx said now turning to leave. He took a pause again and said, “I want to see my daughter here when next I come visiting.”

With this said, he left the palace with his guards trotting behind him. Zeidan watched as he left, and he knew what Styx meant by that statement. Things could get messy on his return.