The Demonstone Castle was in chaos as the shocking news of Prince Oberon suddenly falling into a coma spread like a wildfire.
The atmosphere was tense, and there was a palpable sense of anxiety and worry in the air.
All the physicians bustled about the room, trying to revive the prince, while guards and servants stood at the door, keeping a close eye on everything that was happening inside.
When Rebecca heard the news, she was beside herself with shock and grief and rushed out of the tower and towards the Demonstone Castle immediately.
The moment she entered, she was struck by how still and unresponsive Oberon was, lying motionless on his bed. Her heart sank, and she couldn't help but have her eyes water as she tried to gently shake him to wake him up, "O-Oberon? Son, wake up…Mother is here. Why are you worrying me by being like this? Oberon!!"
What unsettled her even more was the expression of Oberon, which was contorted into a grimace, as if he was witnessing something horrifying before going into a coma.
One of the physicians standing behind took a deep breath as he bowed and feebly said, "Y-Your Highness, please do not—"
"You!" Rebecca suddenly stood up, her hands clenched into fists, "My son was healing just fine, and now he's in a coma? What did you people do to him? Were you trying to heal him or make his condition worse?!"
The physician looked terrified, but he stood his ground and said, "We have done nothing, Your Highness. We have been monitoring the prince's condition closely, and everything was going well until he suddenly fell into a coma. We examined him thoroughly but couldn't understand what happened."
Rebecca felt a surge of anger coursing through her veins, and she couldn't control her rage any longer. She grabbed the physician by the collar of his coat and pulled him towards her, his face turning red with fear.
"You dare to lie to me?" she spat and went on," You dare to stand here and tell me that my son is in a coma, and you have no idea why? I will not tolerate such incompetence! I want to know who all entered this room and their activities in the past twenty-four hours," The physician trembled in fear, wondering if he was going to lose his life here.
"Rebecca, let him go. Punishing him won't gain you anything," Seron's firm voice echoed across the room, making Rebecca let him go and immediately turn her head towards Seron, only to see Igrid following him behind as well.
"I have already questioned the guards you stationed and everyone who attended to Oberon. None of them did anything, nor did they notice anything unusual. But I have brought the royal physician with me. So calm down and let him take a look and we might learn how this happened," Seron said in a low voice as he stood beside Rebecca.
Rebecca took a deep breath to calm herself down, especially since Igrid was here. She knew he was the best and knew he might learn something about her son's condition.
Igrid was the best and most senior physician. Furthermore, he held an important status in the kingdom, especially since he had the trust of the late Demon King and the present queen.
Rebecca knew he was the only physician whom she couldn't try to force out an answer, nor would she want to antagonize him lest she fails to learn what happened to her son.
"Igrid, my hopes are on you," Rebecca said with a hint of desperation in her voice.
"I will do my best," Igrid nodded gravely and approached the bed, placing his hand on Oberon's forehead to examine him.
He closed his eyes and had his brows furrow as moments passed. Finally, he spoke, "Your son's condition is unusual, Your Highness. His vital signs are stable, but his mind…"
Rebecca furrowed her brows as she stepped forward and asked weakly, "What about his mind?"
Igrid removed his hand from Oberon's forehead and looked at Rebecca as he said in a grave tone, "His mind seems to be in a very disturbed state."
"Disturbed state? I don't understand…" Rebecca mumbled with a confused look.
Igrid explained, "To put it in a simple perspective, it's as if he had been seeing nightmares constantly without any break for years until his mind came to a stop as a self-preservation mechanism. For us, it might have been just a few hours, but time can flow differently in our minds, especially if it's a dream or a nightmare."
"A nightmare??" Rebecca was taken aback, not expecting such an answer, "Oberon never had any nightmares, nor did he have any when I saw him the last time. Why would someone like him even have nightmares?"
Igrid let out a sigh and said, "That's why this is puzzling. I am unable to see why this happened to him. I can only make a guess. It could be because of the disconnect between his mind and body, which could have triggered a disaster in his mind or something else. But I have yet to notice anything that tells me something else caused this. As far as I learned from the other physicians, he didn't even drink any of the medicines we gave him. Still, we have been expecting him to recover within just a few more days and never noticed anything wrong with his body or mind."
Rebecca clicked her tongue in frustration and asked, "Forget it for now. You can still treat him, right? When will he wake up? Within a few hours or tomorrow?"
Igrid's expression became difficult as his eyes met hers, "I am afraid it's not that easy. I am unable to say how long, but it may definitely take years before he recovers...if he recovers at all."
Rebecca felt as if the ground had fallen out from beneath her feet. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Years?! How can that be? What do you mean if he recovers at all? Not a day has passed where my son hasn't talked to me, and you are telling me I won't be able to talk to him for devil knows how long?"
Seron cleared his throat as he intervened and said, "Take a breath, Rebecca. Igrid is trying to help us," Seron then looked at Igrid and asked with knitted brows, "I know conditions like these are not definite. But…if you had to guess, can you give us a good idea of exactly how long till he gets better?"
Igrid briefly looked at Oberon and then said in a low voice, "Cases like these are quite unheard and very rare. But theoretically if one suffered around 5 years of nightmare, it would take the same amount of time for the mind to heal. However, since Oberon has a strong heart, I can say our best chance is to see him waking up after a year. Still, this is just my educated guess, and I can't offer any guarantees. My sympathies."
Rebecca's eyes lit up upon hearing that her son might wake up within a year. Even if it was still painful to hear, it was better than waiting 5 years, "My son is fearless and strong. He tamed Jesryth at the tender age of thirty despite knowing that Jesryth was a very aggressive dragon and had even killed those stronger than him. If my son could achieve such a feat, this is nothing," Rebecca said as if to reassure herself too.
Still, she was determined to find out how this happened and said, "I will go and see the queen and get to the bottom of this."
"I am afraid that's not possible. The queen is currently indisposed," A young man's voice boomed into the room as Rebecca turned around and had her eyes quiver upon seeing someone she wasn't expecting to suddenly barge in.
"You…" Rebecca saw Asher walking in with a group of maids trailing behind him, each carrying a bouquet of flowers. She felt her blood boil at the sight of him and couldn't believe he had the audacity to come in.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice laced with venom.
Asher's smile widened as he replied, "Isn't it obvious? I am here to offer my sympathies and these flowers for Prince Oberon on behalf of my wife too, of course."
Rebecca scoffed, "Oberon doesn't need your flowers. Take them back."
"You want me to tell my wife you didn't want her flowers? I am afraid Prince Oberon might not feel the same," Asher said with a concerned look.
Rebecca took a sharp breath as she stepped forward, "You—"
Seron stepped in and said in a low voice, "Let him be. You can always remove the flowers later."
Rebecca harrumphed as she took a step back, making Asher smile as he ordered the maids to place the flowers around Oberon's bed, "I took some effort to make sure to pick the best flowers with medicinal properties that could heal the mind. I am sure Igrid would agree, right?"
Igrid nodded awkwardly smile and said, "Yes. Those flowers could be helpful," He could sense the tension but it was not like he could question the royal consort's intentions. The flowers indeed could help soothe the mind.
Rebecca was tapping her fingers on her elbow fiercely, feeling that this smug bastard was somehow behind what happened to Oberon.
"Where were you for the past few hours?" Rebecca suddenly asked, making Seron give her a strange look while the rest of the people in the room seemed confused.
Asher inwardly smiled as he turned around and looked at her, "Of course, I was at the tower. We probably missed each other, but I came here as soon as I could upon hearing what happened to Prince Oberon. We may not have seemed like it, but we did share some important moments together in the past. So it breaks my heart to see him like this, especially when I had yet to share more memories with him, sigh."
Rebecca cracked her knuckles as she figured out the hidden meaning behind his words, making her even more sure that he definitely did something!
"What did you do…" She mumbled with a blank look as her blood began to slowly rise in temperature.
Seron heard her mumble and had his eyes widen as he immediately pulled her to a side and said in a low voice, "Watch what you are going to say next. If you accuse him in any way here, you will open a chest of troubles. Do you understand the seriousness of what I am telling you here?"
Upon hearing his words, Rebecca reeled in her emotions as she stiffly stood on the spot. However, her face was visibly shaking as her eyes tore into Asher's back.
Asher was grinning on the inside as he took out a few flowers from the bouquet and carefully placed it around Oberon, one by one. One above his head and one each beside his arms.
Veins popped up on Rebecca's forehead, knowing that this bastard was mocking Oberon by placing flowers around him. It was similar to the traditions of certain races who placed flowers around their dead.
As Asher did this, he looked at Oberon's face and mumbled inwardly, 'Enjoy your 'dreams', Sleeping Prince. I am going to have a lot of fun while you sleep. But do wake up soon because I am far from being done with you.'
Asher slowly straightened his back and felt a sense of elation upon seeing this poor fucker's state, especially his contorted facial expression.
He then turned around and looked at Rebecca's red face as he said, "My sympathies again. I can only imagine how hard this must be for you. But I shall pray for his speedy recovery. See you at the tower, yeah?" Without even waiting for her reply, Asher walked out with the maids trailing behind him.
'You won't get away with this…' Rebecca mumbled inwardly as she glared at his back.
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