KNEEL BEFORE THE CROWN (BL)

Adam's breath was short, but he was unconscious. When called, he didn't answer anything. The three men were so worried about Adam's condition which suddenly worsened. Even though the man had no history of any illness.

"This is the first time His Majesty has had a fever in decades, he is not someone who gets sick easily. So what are you going to do?" Ackerley asked.

The doctor took out some medicine from his bag, "In the meantime I will give him some medicine for his fever, this is for his nausea, given so he can eat. And rub this oil on his body, which will warm his body. I will wait for him until he wakes up."

Ackerley nodded in understanding, "I will accompany His Majesty as well."

"Has His Majesty not shown any symptoms this month? Because his routine check-up last month showed nothing."

"No, sir. His Majesty has not shown any symptoms lately. But I don't know if he is hiding it."

Ackerley added, "He is eating well, because we are also monitoring him. Is it common for His Majesty's condition to fall this fast?"

"It depends on the type of disease." The man had not finished examining the King's body. "There is no rash, no smallpox, no symptoms on his skin. That means there might be something wrong with the food he is eating. His pulse is very weak, that's what worries me. Because if it is a normal fever, the heart will beat erratically."

"But we are fine. We always eat together with His Majesty."

The doctor opened his bag and took out everything he needed. The man quickly pounded the spices, the servant came in with warm water, Ackerley helped to open the King's mouth. He fed him the medicine slowly. "I hope his fever will go down soon."

He continued by rubbing Adam's body with an oil to stop the man from shivering because a blanket alone would not be enough. Trevor couldn't stop pacing around the large room. He was worried about whether Adam's condition would improve with the medicine. But nothing changed.

"Has His Majesty met anyone lately, Ackerley?"

"Just attending meetings, hunting with Weithia, going to the hospital, working."

The General's eyebrows were drawn, "Weithia! He's the one who's always with His Majesty, right? I'll pick him up."

"Yes! You're right, why didn't I think of that. But Trevor! Wait, I thought the Princess didn't need to know about this."

"Why? Surely everyone in the palace has been talking about this? Sooner or later the news of the King's illness will spread. Maybe that girl can help us."

"I don't think it's necessary to tell foreign countries about this."

The man nodded in understanding. "Okay, if that's your advice."

***

"A beautiful lantern for a beautiful lady." A merchant gave Carmellia a lantern. The girl smiled kindly as she gave her money. It felt like the city of Tropes was brighter than the millions of stars in the sky.

"Weithia, do you know where the flowers ended up? The ocean. From the spring in the mountain and ending in the sea. They will unite. Your Majesty's words are so beautiful, it is true that the tradition symbolizes the beginning and end of life. I can imagine the sound of sparrows and seagulls calling each other in my head."

"Is that so?"

The two people mingled in the middle of the sea of ​​people that crowded the city, many vendors selling food, knick-knacks and many other things. The festival felt like a surprise market for Carmellia.

Weithia spoke coldly, "Where is your maid?"

"Layla? I don't know, we separated at the entrance." Her attitude seemed indifferent, too focused on observing the hustle and bustle. "Which do you like, Weithia? The harvest festival or this lantern festival?"

"Both are equally beautiful, lots of food, joy, music and romance that is so thick."

"Then be happy like those people. Why is your face so tired? Are you not happy with me here?"

Weithia remained silent and did not answer.

"If you want to go back, please do."

The young man shook his head weakly, "No. I am happy to spend time with you here."

"Are you sure? You won't regret it?"

Weithia smiled strangely, "Regret it? Of course not."

"Then... let's find a quieter place. My head hurts from all this noise."

The girl pulled Weithia towards a dimly lit park with few people. A large tree blocked some of the light from entering. Only the lantern allowed Weithia to still see the girl's face. They both looked up at the night sky, Carmellia whispered a prayer.

Their eyes then met, the girl touched Weithia's palm slowly. "I might be leaving this country soon."

"About that night, about me and His Majesty, can you keep it a secret?"

Carmellia smiled, "Of course."

The girl moved her head closer to Weithia. Hesitantly, she pressed her rosy lips against the Knight's. The bustling sounds of the square drowned them in their own world.

The emerald green glow made Weithia enchanted and lulled into the atmosphere. Their breaths were ragged, the young man tightly hugged the Princess' waist, reciprocated with a gentle caress on Weithia's nape. As if it was not his own will, but controlled by someone.

Their bodies were smeared with lust and desire. The Princess was able to control Weithia as if the young man was hers. Sinking deeper into a passion that Weithia had never felt before. The scent of roses was clearly smelled from the loose hair.

The Princess could feel Weithia's neat teeth with warm breath falling on her face. Until then there had been no rejection from any party. Not a word came out of their mouths, indifference was getting worse along with the increasingly hunting lust. It didn't matter if someone caught them. The kisses were getting rougher like someone who was starving.

Lost in the atmosphere, the Princess said, "Stay with me tonight."

****

The General spurred his horse towards Tropes, cutting through the crowd of people who were partying. In that critical situation looking for where Weithia was, his heart was beating fast. Pulling the horse's reins to run faster. His gaze wandered all over.

The square was filled with a sea of ​​people, making him overwhelmed because he found no sign of the Knight anywhere. His horse was stuck and had difficulty moving. Sweat poured from his forehead. Biting his lips, so worried about the condition of the King.

Hoping that Weithia could provide assistance to save Adam's life who was dying in bed. The man tried to control his panic, because he had never experienced that situation again for a long time. He didn't want bad luck to befall his beloved figure again.

His eyes stared blankly, drowning in dark memories that happened fourteen years ago. The crowd of human voices filled his ears, the yellowish orange light that the lanterns created an illusion, making him see the sea of ​​fire that devoured Wilhelmia at that time again.

The shouts of joy made him remember the cries and pain that the previous King and Queen made. He seemed to freeze, because he suddenly remembered all the memories that he had buried deep.

He spurred the horse through the crowd until he arrived at a dark corridor, no light entered the place. His eyes again brought the man drifting into bad memories, the corridor was like a palace corridor, he could see little Adam crying over his mother's body lying lifeless.

The same scene, a dark corridor with silver light from the moon that entered through the high windows at that time. He ran as fast as he could to Adam, hugged him deeply and immediately left Queen Helena who was lying stiff covered in a pool of thick blood.

He still clearly remembered when his shoes stepped on the liquid, every step he took carrying the Queen's blood made his heart ache as if being showered by thousands of needles. The sound of Adam's cries filled his ears just like the hustle and bustle of the festival.

Completely immersed in his darkest memories. Adam was taken, shaking violently, to find shelter. The bodies of his troops were strewn everywhere. Along the dark corridor, he could not bear to see the destruction of Wilhelmia.

His struggle to save Adam and ensure his survival was finally felt again that day. His soul and body would not be willing if Wilhelmia had a new warning for Adam.

"General!"

The familiar voice woke him from his deepest memories. The destruction of Wilhelmia and the death of the King and Queen.

"General! What happened to His Majesty!?"

Trevor still felt weak, because his heart was beating so fast. His breath was irregular and he felt very confused. His head was confused when he returned to reality.

"The king?" he asked in a low voice.

"Yes! What happened!?" Robin shouted so that his voice would not be drowned out by the music and songs of the Wilhelmian people.

Trevor was pulled back from his reverie, "He suddenly fell ill. The doctor and Ackerley are looking after him. Now we have to find where Weithia is. Because that young man is always with her. Maybe he has information that we don't know."

"Okay! I brought my friends from Haven. We'll just split up here. Are you okay!?"

Trevor nodded slowly and immediately spurred his horse away. "Where exactly is that young man. There's no way he's gone far." He muttered.

****

The sound of Carmellia's moans could be heard so clearly, as the two of them entered the garden deeper until they reached the edge of the forest. The sound of the crowd became faint in their ears. Beads of sweat came out from all over Weithia's body, making his clothes wet.

Unable to resist the pleasure that the girl gave him, the Knight didn't know when to stop. His morals were instantly destroyed, unable to determine the boundaries between right and wrong. There was nothing he could think of except the pleasure he was feeling at that moment.

The Knight was not like the real Weithia. Just like an honorable princess is able to do dirty things with a man who has no ties to her. The Princess' naughty lips had explored every inch of the Knight's body. Making the man bite his lips so as not to make any sound. The quiet situation made the two figures act wilder. Trying things that had never been felt before. The Princess laughed seeing Weithia's face which was satisfied with her game.

"Don't regret it." She said.

Weithia's head was spinning, his head was so dizzy and his eyes were dizzy. All he cared about was the Princess. No one else. He was as if hypnotized by the beauty of the girl in front of him. A beauty he had never seen before. So mystical.

Her gaze seemed to be burning in a bonfire in winter while her body danced around him. The sound of a groan could not be held back by the young man's lips, as the Princess' slender body moved. Their hands clasped together, when Weithia's back touched the cold grass that night without a single piece of cloth protecting him.

That night felt very short because she was lulled by the butterflies flying inside their bodies. The girl could smell the scent of vanilla and orange from Weithia's hair which was wet with sweat. Their bodies had become completely united, with the sky as their roof and the ground as their feet.

Carmellia said in a seductive tone, "Weithia... don't worry, I will protect you. Just follow all my words, okay?" 

A strange man, with gray hair smiled from behind a towering tree. The darkness managed to be his hiding place. When his plan succeeded perfectly, seeing the Knight was no longer a holy person. He stepped away, leaving the two of them making love passionately.

The King did not get better, he even had difficulty breathing into his lungs. Ackerley and the doctor tried their best to maintain Adam's life by doing whatever they could. They were haunted by the fear of what happened to the two people of Wilhelmia, what if the King also experienced the same thing.

The fever medicine that the doctor made did not work. His old legs were now running back to his office to look for other potions that might be effective in making Adam a little better. Whatever it was. His heart was hesitant because he could not give just any medicine to the man. There would only be two possibilities, success or failure.

When Trevor was looking for the whereabouts of the King's Knight, it turned out to take longer than he expected. Ackerley decided to call doctors and healers from all over Wilhelmia to save Adam's life.

They discussed creating a tense atmosphere, Ackerley with a panicked expression tried to find a way out. What if these doctors and healers could not save Adam's life.

Until one of the old women said, the symptoms that Adam made were similar to the poison from the Aconitum Napellus flower, which was also the cause of the death of the noble woman and man. Those words made Ackerley's knees weak instantly.

"Are you sure that the cause is the night shadow flower?"

"I can't be completely sure, it's just that His Majesty shows the same characteristics." Said the woman while looking at her colleagues asking for approval. Followed by a nod as an answer.

"There is no antidote." Ackerley muttered. "There is no antidote for that poison!"

"His Majesty could die at any time, what should we do?" said the old woman. Her colleague had given various medicines and methods to save Adam's life. But the man did not show the slightest progress.

An air bag was inserted into his mouth, so that Adam could breathe. It was feared that giving random medicine could actually make the King lose his life faster. A potion with a sharp and pungent smell was also dripped into Adam's nose in the hope that it could make his breathing smoother.

"All we can do is wait."

"If 10 doctors and healers still can't save His Majesty's life, it's better for me to die with him." Said a middle-aged man who knelt beside Adam's bed. With his hand checking the man's pulse every moment.

"Don't talk like that. We'd all rather stay here until His Majesty gets better. I won't go home if His Majesty hasn't woken up."

"Yes, I'll do the same thing."

"I've never even heard of the night shadow flower."

"That's a very rare poisonous flower. It only grows in lowland or coastal areas. Wilhelmia is a mountainous area, so it won't be found."

One of the healers joined the conversation, "Is it true that there is no antidote?"

"Not yet. It's very rare for people to use that poison, because there really is no antidote." The old woman spoke again, "What about the Astrella flower? That magical flower can cure any disease." She said seriously.

Ackerley said, "No one has ever seen that flower, many people think it's just a legend."

"Although it's never been seen, it doesn't mean it's not real."

"I doubt it, ma'am. That flower is actually the result of black magic created by witches. But some say that if it's The flower only appears when a witch dies."

Everyone in the room was shocked by their friend's words. Some of them didn't even believe in the existence of the mysterious flower. They saw Adam still lying helplessly, with a pale face and gasping for breath.

Not long after, several religious leaders came. They all immediately surrounded the King's bed while praying together. After doing various things, they hoped that God would give his miracle.