Morning all. I saw a mouse in the sunroom this morning so I will be writing my prompts, having my coffee and then go a little crazy looking for possible entry points and deep cleaning the sunroom. Except for the windows by the porch. I can’t clean those windows. If I clean them then birds fly into them. The windows are fine, the birds are not. So I have a set of windows I don’t clean. But as the mouse did not come through those windows I’m fine with that. It’s odd though, we will occasionally get a mouse in the deep winter if it is a cold one, but we have never had one in the summer. But it does schedule my day. Write, Coffee, mouse entry point and eradication with a deep clean in just for fun. Let’s begin.
I kind of like this. Not entirely sure where it is going, but I do like it. It is that moment before a big change.
Thursday, July 24th: The king is gravely ill.
The king is gravely ill. Galen admitted it to himself even if the words had not been spoken out loud. He paced his quarters. The king swore him to secrecy about his condition and Galen agreed. He knew the reasons. With no named heir as soon as the king’s condition was known, it would be chaos.
While the king had no children, being unlucky with not just one but five wives, and had no siblings. He had scads of cousins, second cousins and beyond. All would see this as their chance for advancement. Some would seek the throne itself while others merely sought to move up a rank or two. There were those content with their rank, however they would seek profit and power by offering their support for someone’s bid for the crown.
Kingdom wide favors would be traded like party favors, the economic stability of the kingdom in the balance.
Galen agreed to keep silent because he felt the king’s particular health issues did not affect the mind. They were mere physical afflictions. They would take him to the grave, but they would not impair his judgement. Had they impaired his judgement, Galen might have felt differently about keeping silent.
As he paced in his quarters Galen had to admit that he also kept silent because he did not want to be the one to kick off the chaos. He did not want his voice to signal the power grab that would inevitable ensue. At the moment no one knew of his involvement. He had not come to court as a healer. The king knew of his skills and Galen thought that before he was allowed permission to remain at court, the king had some inkling of his illness. He was certain that his healing skills were sought and that it benefited the king not to have them known.
Galen visited the king in secret, bringing what relief he could. The king had not seemed surprised by the thought of the illness not being one Galen could cure. It was another sign that the King knew what was happening before Galen arrived. Galen contented himself with doing what he could, doing no harm and making certain no one knew he did anything. He became intimately familiar with the hidden passages in the palace walls and knew the timing of every servant’s routine.
He was fairly certain he could move from one end of the castle to the other without anyone noticing he left his quarters.
‘Not that I will have to do this much longer.’
While Galen never said aloud the king was gravely ill, not even to the king. Today the king asked how long. No other reference, just those two words. Glen answered, ‘Two months at the outside.’
The king nodded and nothing more was said. Galen slipped off. If the king’s valet noticed the king’s failing health, he kept the knowledge to himself as well as assisted the king in concealing it before he appeared before the court.
Despite not discussing it, Galen was smart enough to figure out at least part of the plan. Court concluded for the season and this afternoon the king would leave for his hunting cabin. He always took a few weeks with minimal staff before he invited various other lords to hunting parties.
Ten til Midnight 