Red Hood

Chapter 2: Making Plans

CHAPTER 2

MAKING PLANS

Prince Isaac had been fuming all day. He’d taken out his anger on the poor unsuspecting people who happened to be in his way and he couldn’t care less what they thought.

No one else knew how difficult life was for a sole prince of a kingdom and those who expected him to be the very essence of charm had been greatly disappointed. Isaac knew he had a short temper and he’d tried his best to control it but today had gone completely wrong for him. First, the meeting with the Royal Court had been a complete waste of his time since the lords – and lady – present only wanted to discuss the main issue which concerned the female knights and how they would disgrace the kingdom if they kept up. How could he care about such a topic when his father seemed on the brink of death?

The rest of the palace occupants had no idea their king was seriously ill – not even the Royal Court. The royal wizard, Dinvar, was having trouble trying to heal King Nicholas for the past two days and there was still no sign of improvement. His mother kept calm at all times in public but he knew she was worried about her husband and that was why she hadn’t appeared in the court meeting, leaving him in charge.

With a heavy sigh, Isaac excused himself from the dinner table and made his way to his father's chambers where Dinvar was flipping the pages of one of his spell books. His father lay motionless on the bed; deathly pale and cold as ice. His steady breathing the only sign that he was still alive.

"Anything?" the prince asked hopefully.

"Well," Dinvar began, stroking his grey beard. His eyes not wavering from the page he was currently on. "I believe this is ancient magic, Your Highness. And it seems he had been exposed to a rema'ka plant. According to my spell book, it's found deep within the Enchanted Forest."

"So you're saying someone did this to my father on purpose?" Isaac asked, clenching his fists, anger evident on his face.

"It is possible as I do not have use for rema'ka in my potions. Your father will continue to be in this state unless we have the cure in time. This is what I am currently searching for." The royal wizard paused and flipped a page. Finding nothing useful, he frowned and flipped another page.

Isaac walked over to his father and forced himself not to cry. King Nicholas was a great king. Who would want to harm him in such a way? And why? Dinvar had mentioned that the state of the king’s health was slowly deteriorating and if the cure wasn’t brought to him soon, he could perish.

Isaac wasn’t ready to take on the responsibilities of king just yet. Despite the stressed out overload of lessons he’d gone through three years ago once he’d been coroneted as the Crown Prince, he felt like he knew nothing at all. His ever-present studies and lessons about Isalgian history and laws that have been passed through time couldn’t help him at a time like this. And he felt helpless because everything that he’d been forced to learn from reading to self-defense couldn’t help his father at this moment.

With the way everything was changing, he didn’t know if he would be able to handle any issues or conflicts without his father’s guidance. The members of the Royal Court often disagreed with one another on countless occasions and today’s meeting had only added to his already frustrated mood.

"Aha!" Dinvar exclaimed. "The belerus flower, also found deep within the Enchanted Forest as well."

Isaac was starting to really hate the Forest.

"Where exactly can I find it?"

"The flowers grow near the Healing River," Dinvar answered. "Quite fitting actually. Wait, are you planning to go there by yourself?"