Esteemed Healer
Nicholas returned to the palace to a flurry of activity. There were servants cleaning the halls, while soldiers moved the injured and the dead from the public spaces.
"Any of our men injured?" Nicholas asked as he noticed the high casualties around him.
"Connor was injured and so was Regina, but the benefit of having Corporali Mages around you is that you aren't injured for long." Regan told the prince with a grin as they passed the public spaces of the palace and entered the parts reserved for the king and his family.
"Your highness." Dion greeted as he and the other ministers bowed deeply as they greeted Nicholas.
"Which clan took the worst hit?" Nicholas asked in a low voice.
He knew that his brothers would still have spies lurking, but since he couldn't speak to his people in private he had to speak as quietly as possible.
"The Bellator clan, your highness." Dion responded quietly as he kept an eye out for evesdroppers. "The king commanded them to help."
"As they should." Nicholas said with a nod.
Bellator mages were warrior mages, their role was to protect the king and his kingdom.
Nicholas knew that they had been hesitant because the king was sick. They knew that the battle for the throne wouldn't be far away, they all needed to be in peak condition to protect their prince and to fight for him.
"Where are they now?" Nicholas asked as they entered the King's wing of the palace, the core of Merlen.
"In our infirmaries, your highness." Dion reported.
"Heal them slowly and have soldiers guard them.
"You and Prince Edward have a deal." Connor reminded Nicholas.
"We are healing his men as he asked. He could always go to Owain for help if the Corporali Magic works too slowly for him." Nicholas knew Edward would never go to Owain for help.
They were fairly certain that if Edward sought Owain's help, their third brother would probably give Edward's men poison in the guise of healing potions.
Of course, no poison could heal faster or better than a Corporali Mage could.
"They won't wait forever, your highness, how long do we tell them we need to heal their men?" Dion asked as Nicholas caught sight of the grand doors that led to his father's chambers.
"Two weeks." Nicholas said in a definite tone as they stopped before the king's guards.
"The king sent for Prince Nicholas." Dion told the guards, who bowed and let Nicholas through.
Nicholas knew that he would have to face the king alone at first, he needed to convince his father that he had a mage that could heal him.
He tried his best to seem nervous and fragile, it was harder to act as the complete opposite of his true nature.
"Father." Nicholas bowed as the doors closed behind him.
The king sat on a throne-like chair, supported by cushions. Nicholas could see the discomfort that he was clearly in.
"No need to be so formal, son." The king gestured for Nicholas to come closer.
There were only two other people in the room aside from the king and Nicholas, they were both the king's most loyal servants.
Nicholas had seen them around the king lately a lot, it seemed that his father had reason to distrust the other servants.
"You asked for me?" Nicholas said as he approached the king.
"Your mother was one of the most powerful healers in Merlen." The king said as he boasted about his fourth wife. "She could heal any illness."
"Father, I'm not my mother." Nicholas looked at the king in genuine surprise and confusion.
Had the king gone mad? The entire kingdom was aware that Nicholas was the weakest prince, barely capable of healing himself, much less likely to be able to heal another.
"Don't be foolish, Nicholas. I'm sure you have some of your mother's abilities." The king pointed out as he offered his son his arm. "Come, tell me what illness you see I have."
Nicholas hesitated, his hands trembled as he reached out and touched the king's arm. He closed his eyes and allowed his magic to pass through the king.
King Alexander knew exactly what his son was doing, there was no way that the king couldn't sense how powerful his son was at that moment as he searched his body for any ailment.
Suddenly the magic stopped and Nicholas grew tired.
"I'm not as powerful as my mother." Nicholas mumbled under his breath.
"I felt it, don't lie to me, son." The king said in a stern tone as he observed Nicholas.
Despite having seen it himself, the king refused to believe that his son, a son of the line of Merlen, the son of Lady Liira of the Corporali clan, was actually a weakling.
The blood in Nicholas' veins ensured that he was a powerful mage, and yet as he grew older the weaker he became.
"Father, I can't heal you, but I know someone that might be able to at least slow the illness." Nicholas told the king in a defeated tone.
He wanted to show the king that he too was disappointed in how weak he was.
"Very well, who is it?" The king asked, giving up on the idea that his son was more powerful than he actually allowed them to see.
"A Corporali Mage that was sent to us from the Corporali Clan lands, he is quite capable and if what the Corporali council said is to be believed, he is better than my mother." Nicholas boasted to the king, hoping that he would believe his son's words.
The king was silent as he considered Nicholas' suggestion.
"Very well." The king said as he finally gave into his son's suggestion. "How soon can you have him take a look at me?"
"He is outside right now!" Nicholas was beaming with happiness when the king accepted his suggestion. He already knew what was wrong with his father, all that he needed to do now was to get Thomas to stand in as the mage curing the king.
"Let him in." The king commanded.
Nicholas quickly turned and walked towards the doors, pushing it slightly ajar.
"Thomas." Nicholas called out as he spotted his older brother Edward impatiently waiting outside.
Regan had previously warned Nicholas that his brothers wanted to assess the king's condition themselves. Hopefully by the time they were done with the king's first healing session he would seem stronger.
"Your highness." Thomas said as he bowed in front of Nicholas who gestured for him to follow inside.
Thomas glanced at the other Corporali Mages before vanishing through the door, behind Prince Nicholas.
"Father, this is Thomas." Nicholas introduced his friend who bowed deeply to the king.
Nicholas knew that his father was unlikely to remember or recognize any of his people aside from Dion and Master Leeroy. He didn't doubt that despite having seen Thomas multiple times in the palace, the king was unlikely to recognize him.
Thomas bowed to the king, waiting to be allowed to rise.
"He may approach." The king said as Nicholas gestured for Thomas to approach the king.
"Thomas, we need to know what ailment my father has. Dion and the other Corporali Mages have taken a look and they still don't understand what is wrong." Nicholas informed Thomas as he nodded for his friend and minister to put a hand on the king in order to diagnose him.
"Very well, my prince." Thomas declared in a respectful tone as he placed his hand where Nicholas had gestured.
Thomas closed his eyes and sent Corporali magic to probe the king's physique.
The room was silent for at least ten minutes as Thomas pretended to examine the king. Nicholas watched on as he formulated a plan on how to heal his father without the king realizing that it was in fact him and not Thomas.
Thomas' eyes snapped open as he nodded and broke the contact between him and the king.
"Your highness, if I may speak to you in private." Thomas asked Nicholas, who nodded in turn.
"You may use my library." The king said as he pointed to the door on his left.
Thomas and Nicholas bowed to the king before leaving to speak.
When Thomas and Nicholas were certain that they were the only people in the room, Thomas spoke up.
"Your highness, Nicholas, I can't tell what's wrong with the king. Sure he looks sickly, but there is nothing wrong with his organs or his blood, or even his mind. I probed everything." Thomas frantically said.
"It's his mana, it's been poisoned." Nicholas announced. "The problem is that the poison has been administered to him over a very long period of time."
"What do we tell the king?" Thomas asked. "And who could have such access to him?"
"That is another question for another day. For how we need to restore his mana. The poison is not in his mana veins, it's in his mana mark itself." Nicholas explained to Thomas.
"I've never heard of a damaged Mana Mark being healed." Thomas declared with a frown on his face.
"I think I can cure my father, it will just take time." Nicholas said as he frowned and looked at the door that led to his father's chambers.
He couldn't help but wonder who could have the ability to harm the king in that way?