The Red-Haired Princess || Akagami No Shirayukihime

48. Paralyzed

Chapter 48: Paralyzed

It had started again — the cold winter. Despite the preparation of the awaited winter, their insides still hardened— just like their Prince Zen.

No one felt betrayal at the moment that he was feeling. To had had someone - his best friend - betray him like that, he felt alone. Shirayuki and Obi are his reasons for crying, hoping and praying every day that the Almighty have mercy on them.

The door quietly opened. Zen wasn't interested to know who as he already knew.

"So, Mitsuhide," Anger was filled inside him since yesterday morning. He swallowed his anger and slept hoping not to do anything out of line. "tell me, how much and secretly does my brother reward you for working for him?" 

Mitsuhide's face bewildered. "I do not understand. Is something wrong?"

All through the evening and night, and even in his sleep, he wished and pleaded for patience so the confronting of Mitsuhide, he would not overreact with his flaming anger, disappointment, and betrayal towards him directly. Yet it seemed he was losing control; the more he looked at him more he despised.

"If you badly need interpretation before understanding, I asked, how much do you get paid for working for my brother and keeping Shirayuki's and Obi's whereabouts secret?"

The confused face of Mitsuhide instantly changed. He was not looking forward to Zen finally finding out. As much as is angry at him was as much as he badly wanted to tell the truth about Shirayuki and Obi with Izana's help.

"Zen, believe me, I wanted, so badly, to tell you, but your brother, he —"

Zen wasn't listening. He kept on staring and cradling his daughter Laila in his arms. As he tried to put Laila down onto her own baby bed, she started whining. His children were so good at pretending just for extra care and attention despite being only one week to being eight months old.

"With everything going on, I kept telling you my feelings: how much I was hurt, angry, desperate to find out not knowing that you, Mitsuhide of all people, were working together with my brother secretly telling him of all my moves and everything, just because he is the King. Mitsuhide, I am remarkably disappointed in you and to ever think that you were actually there for me all this time."

Zen without a second thought left his children's room with Laila in his arms and Zehel taking the lead with his crawling movements. Shortly after, Laila protested on not letting her brother have all the fun and demanded to be of out of Zen's chest, Zen obliged.

Autumn ended so soon this year, and winter was surprisingly early and so unbelievably cold. Zen strolled with his twins for closely five minutes around the castle not caring about what the talkative were talking about behind his back.

They say Suki and Cora on their way.

"My pleas, maids. I couldn't put these energetic babies to their afternoon sleep as I promised."

"No need for apologies, Prince Zen," Suki spoke.

Suki and Cora picked up the small adorable twins who were watching the snow outside from the cut-through pillars, protested of them wanting to be with their father rather than being forced to sleep by their nursemaid.

"Tsen!" Zehel called and waved at Zen, and Zen also waved back. Really amusing how he learned his name in such a wrong way. "Tsen!" Zehel called again and again and again and again till they were finally not able to be seen anymore.

The smiling face of Zen suddenly disappeared, and he started walking; taking a completely different route. Upon reaching his destination, he saw few guards who were guarding the place and as usual, they would command him, in the name of his brother, the King, to stop and turn around, but now, he could hardly care of any darn guard. The guards didn't dare to interfere or even question Zen, especially with a wicked expression on his face, they quietly let him in.

Very much to his surprise, the nurse wasn't at her normal place as she has always been. Zen recognized the doors and entered the first one.

The room he had entered yesterday evening, after finding out on his own where his wife and best friend was, since nobody, even his own brother and his trustworthy friend, decided to keep it to themselves. 

"Prince Zen." Lady Haruko unattached herself from the sitting chair and curtsied to Zen, and he also returned a greeting.

Zen's deep cerulean eyes averted to the man with black hair and yellow eyes, as he stared back to the blue eyes.

Haruko squeezed the man lying down helpless hands and excused herself.

As he was about to speak, Zen interrupted, "Obi, please, not now."

Obi kept his mouth shut as commanded and shifted his eyes. The guilt running through for not being able to protect his own Princess, he felt very ashamed and embarrassed by himself. He always felt apologetic whenever he saw Zen; he never meant to hurt Zen, or even allow Shirayuki to be hurt.

"Anything could have happened to you. You could have been dead," Zen commented as his eyes scanned Obi's left rib. He was shot, during the attack, few millimeters away from the apex of his heart, the most inferior portion of the heart. It had amused Zen and wondered, If the shooter had succeeded shooting Obi's heart, as Obi claims, he, Zen, would not know what to do.

"My brother's secret investigators will be interviewing you on the upcoming two days time, since you're only who really knows what really happened, excluding the maid, of course."

Zen was curious, too. He also badly wanted to know and hear how it all happened, and he hopes to find out from Obi soon, too. But Obi's time-lapse of speaking is always minimized, as he is not allowed to speak much due to the constant fear of losing air to his almost-hurt heart after being in a coma for almost two weeks.

Obi's response was only a simple, weak nod.

Not wanting to disturb or force Obi to speak anymore Zen excused himself. He heaved a sigh and paused when he was about to open the next door. The room that made his body weak, his eyes teary, heart squeeze and cry. Entering that room full of dead hopes made him feel like she wouldn't survive.

He remembers yesterday late afternoon, the day he regrets the most, finding out about his wife and her aide.

He remembers her body perfectly; from head to toe of her body was covered in bandages; from her shoulder to beneath her breast, then continues from her waist to her thigh, her legs exposed, showing the deformed legs, caused by a deadly chemical.

He didn't want to see her. He couldn't face her. He felt like he had betrayed her. He promised to protect her, but this time he didn't save her. Every minute doesn't guarantee her waking up from her unconsciousness state. Her wounds deepening. The last thing that kills his intestines is that if Shirayuki manages to wake up, she might be paralyzed. Forever.

Never ever going to walk again.