The Key to Ruling a Broken Kingdom (Girl x Girl)

7: Patrick

Song: How To Save A Life  by The Fray

Cedric's heavy breathing caught everyone's attention. His father ran to his side, but too late. Cedric's eyes had opened wide, and he was staring at nothing and hyperventilating, and as soon as the king went to his prince, Cedric's head crashed onto the floor, and his eyes closed.

"CEDRIC!" The king cried, shaking the boy on the floor. "Say something! Please Cedric." The king forgot everything else and bawled his eyes out over his son. "What did I ever do to deserve this?" he wailed. "First, I loose my wife, then my oldest son, and now you too?"

I placed an arm across the other king's shoulder. "He's breathing. See?" I pointed to Cedric's chest, softly rising and falling. "He fainted, that's all." I lifted up the young prince with ease, and carried him to his room.

Turning around, I saw the once majestic king following me to his son's sleeping quarters. He stared at the floor as he walked. I could tell he hadn't slept much from the bags under his eyes, and the way he was swaying while he walked- like a drunk.

"Guard!" I said to a patrolling soldier. "Find and bring me the healer." The guard looked to his king for consent, and after the king nodded, the guard left for Prince Louis' room.

I opened the door to Prince Cedric's room, and gently lay him down on the bed. The young prince looked peaceful and at ease. Losing his brother and mother on the same day definitely took a toll on him.

"Patrick?" a small voice said from behind me. I turned and smiled at the king. My savior, in fact. I owed him my life. About a year before Persephonie's birth, one of the maids had tried poisoning me, and the king was visiting me to discuss creating an alliance. After he warned me against drinking the tea the maid had offered, there was absolutely no way I could refuse his alliance, and I also promised him Persephonie after she was born.

"Cedric will be alright" I assured him.

"Patrick, I can't do this anymore" he confessed.

"You can't do what anymore?"

He took a deep breath. "I can't continue like this. The love of my life is dead, and my heir is dead. I really don't have anything to live for anymore."

"You have your kingdom, Cedric, and the twins to live for" I replied calmly, though I was internally panicking. Bruvia could not afford to lose its king. It was already falling apart, and without its king, it would be in shambles.

The king gazed down at his peaceful son. "Cedric is a capable boy. He'll figure out how to rule the kingdom."

"And the twins?" I challenged.

"Lillian and Miles can fend for themselves. Plus, Cedric will be there to help him."

"Lillian and Miles are three years old!" I said, outraged. "You can't possibly want to leave them as orphans!"

The once majestic king took off his crown and placed it on his son's dresser. "Yes I can" he whispered. "And I will."

Walking into his son's closet, the king pulled out the sleeping prince's sword, and aligned it with his stomach. I placed a comforting arm on his shoulder. "Please don't do this" I begged. "Bruvia is falling, and they need you to keep it together."

"Bruvia is falling" the king repeated, and looked at me with his tear- streaked face. "And I am the cause. My father kept it stable. So did my Grandfather. I'm breaking it." Tears slipped down his face, and I hugged him, and held him tight. He sniffed and said, "I'm so weak."

"It's okay" I whispered. "You just need a break. Then take it. I'm sure your advisory board can take watch over the kingdom for a couple days."

The king shook his head, his blonde bangs shaking. "If I leave things up to them, my kingdom will go bankrupt. I'm doing all I can to try and save Bruvia, but I went wrong somewhere, and I don't know where."

I wrapped my hand over the king's on the sword's hilt. "Let go" I whispered. "Let go of this lie. There are people that need you, and Bruvia falling is not your fault."

The king wrenched his hand out of mine, leaving me shocked, and not giving me time to stop him before he ran himself through with his son's sword. He gasped. "I'm- I'm sorry Patrick. W- Watch ov- over my children." He tried taking another breath, but stumbled back instead.

Panicking, I wrenched the sword out of the king's stomach, but only too late. He fell on the floor, and bled out his remain minutes. I called out for the guards. Two of them rushed to the chamber's door, and after they saw the bloody sword in my hand, they connected it with their king, who lay dead at my feet.

"No" I said, horrified, as realization dawned on me. "It's not what you think."

But the guards didn't believe me, they grabbed me by my arms and dragged me away- I dropped my sword behind me. "No!" I yelled. "Let me go!" The guards didn't seem to have heard me.

A/N: Yes, yes, I know. This is a really crappy chapter, but bear with me. I suck at writing minor character deaths, if you haven't already figured that out. But King Patrick has now been imprisoned, Bruvia's king, queen, and oldest prince have fallen. Also, Cedric's going to wake up to find that not only is his mother and brother dead, but his father too. What now? Next update will be  next week. Stay tuned! Remember to vote and comment!