Minutes passed, and the silence was broken when someone knocked on the door.

“The Majesty King and Queen are here to visit,” said the person behind the door.

“Yes, open the door, please,” Hagen answered and stand up to greet our parents.

Not long afterwards, father and mother walked into my bedchamber. Father have his usual authoritative expression although it was laced with worry, while mother have an indescribable expression I’ve never seen on her before.

Father was tall and have a wide shoulder like Kennet, and even on his fifties, he still looks as fit as a fiddle, although time does started to show on his physique in the recent years. I was shorter than them and a lot leaner like mother, and both me and Kennet inherited our looks from mother mostly, except for our auburn hairs and brown eyes.

“Kevin, how are you feeling, my son?” Father asked, his baritone voice sounds loud in my room.

Kennet scooted over to the foot of the bed while they walked closer to me. I told him I’m alright, and he nodded. A sort of relieved sigh escaped from his mouth, and he looked over to Hagen to ask about the details of my condition.

Mother was… unusually quiet. She just stood there, with the same expression she walked in with and stayed on father’s side. I find it odd since she’s not the kind of person that like to keep her silence for a long period of time and used to fill in the quiet room with her chatter.

After father was done talking with Hagen, he sat on my bed and asked me to recount the incident so he could gave the families of the people on the ship some confirmation about the situation as I am the only survivor currently. I told him the short version of what I remember from that afternoon. The guilt I felt is still present on the back of my mind, and I felt bitter after I finished recounting the story. Father nodded, “So that’s what happened. Don’t you worry about anything else. I’ll take care of the problem so you don’t have to. You just have to focus on your recovery, alright?” After saying that father was ready to leave, but he hesitated for a second. Before I asked him if something was wrong, he patted my head and said, “It’s good that you’re still alive. Don’t guilt yourself over their death, son.”

I blinked, not expecting him to realizing my feeling about their deaths and comfort me over it. After an awkward pause, he rose from my bed, “Well, I’ll be going now. There’s so much thing I need to take care of. Just rest and do whatever Hagen told you to do. I’ll come by again later.”

And he walked out just like that. I still stared at his back, still dumbfounded and not realizing that mother did not followed father out until I felt the bed dipped again. She sat there for a few seconds, her hand busying the sheets while she talk, “Agathe has decided to nullify your courtship and has chosen another prince from the Meles kingdom. The news just come not long ago and we must accept the decision because you never arrived to their kingdom to court her,” she’s looking at me now, and I can see some worry and an undertone of nervousness on her eyes, “are you alright with that?”

I was confused for a moment. Who’s Agathe? Then I remembered that she said ‘courtship’, and I remember that she was the princess I was supposed to woo into marriage before the storm came crashing down on our ship that day, and my mind wander to a more unpleasant thought. Seeing that I did not answer, she must thought that I was upset about the news since she continued, “There’s no need to worry about her since there’s plenty of girls more beautiful and smart in the world just like there’s an unlimited amount of fishes on the sea. She’s the unlucky one for letting go of a smart good man like you and choose that obnoxious Prince Vester. We definitely can find some good girl you’ll like to marry some day, or if you will, you can try to find the one you like yourself in our kingdom and we’ll support you until you have her, no matter what’s their status. Would you like that?” She rambled, and just like at father, I blinked at her.

It was rare for her to compromise with my wishes—or others, really—and how my still hands made her babbled to a side of conversation that I understood little of is something beyond my tired mind can handle, so I let her talk while stealing confused glance at Kennet, whom seem to have a hard time suppressing a smile from his face. We let her pour her mind about the many pretty girls in our kingdom until another knock came upon my door and Hagen letting them in with my meal.

Knowing that I have some hard time listening to mother long chatter, he politely shooing her away by saying that it’s time for my medicine and then I need to rest, and mother nodded at his words.

“Alright, get better soon, we can talk about it more when you’re feeling better.” I did not want to have any more conversation about girls or marriage anymore than I have to, but I just nodded and told her that I would be okay and then she left.

Kennet and I looked at each other after the door closed and with a wry smile, he said, “She might not looks like it but she’s worried about you and feeling guilty for sending you on that ship. She didn’t really know how to make it up to you so I guess this is what she came up with.” The two of us smiled the same wry smile and glanced back at the closed door.

Our family might be dysfunctional and very distant at times, but below the surface, all of us did care deeply to each other even thought we have a hard time showing it openly.

I finished my meal that’s consisted of chicken broth and a loaf of bread then I have a cup of medicine for my headache and blood loss that Hagen concocted while I ate before he told me to sleep, saying that he will be staying with me since Kennet have things to do, but he promised that he’ll visit me again in the evening, and he confirmed that it was just around two in the afternoon.

Feeling warm and full, I felt a lot better. I asked Hagen where Rasmus was, and he told me that Rasmus was out to the town to find some things for my medicine while I was still unconscious.

“He was most likely will be back in an hour or so, and previous illness has completely healed, so don’t worry about him and just focus on your recovery.” His hands were preoccupied with some bottles of medicine and whatnot on the table near my bed, so he speaks a bit louder than usual, “He was worried about you and haven’t been sleeping properly since your arrival, so I sent him to the town with the guise so he can get some fresh air because he refused to left your side since. Knowing Rasmus, he’ll probably going to cry in relief if he knew you’re awake later,” he said with a laugh.

I doubt about the crying, but Rasmus will do everything for my well being if he knew he can do it. Despite being my knight for the whole two years now, Rasmus was more like a mother hen and like to do some trivial things for me although it’s not a part of his job anymore, and over the years, I had given up on trying to stop him from doing the little things he adopted as his additional job without considering his own current image.

Sighing, I lay back on the bed and listened to the sounds of the waves. It seems like everyone I saw today has told me not to worry and yet, the worry seems adamant to stay on my mind and I know for a fact that the memory of that day will never truly be gone from my mind. Maybe ever.

I heard the sounds of several seagulls making a call and the sounds of waves hitting the rocks and walls. The urge to walk on a small beach within the walking distance from the palace I often visited to clear my mind was stronger than ever. Me, grandmother and Kennet used to go together, but it has been a long time since Kennet joined me on my walk through the beach, and although Rasmus often offered to accompany me, I mostly go on a walk by myself. The sounds of waves calmed me down somewhat, despite me having a near death experience on the ocean itself, I can’t hate it, the sea. They beauty of the vast ocean is my go to when I have a bad day, and the sounds of waves had accompanied me on my slumber and awakening moment, just like the rain and storms.

Grandmother used to tell us that Mother Nature can be very scary sometimes, but there was beauty in her every form, and that’s just how she works, she shows us beauty, in her carefree and unpredictable manner, just like the rainbow after the rain, the so us as humans have to learn to adapt and be prepared for anything, and in the mean time, we can appreciate the beautiful things she offered in this world and helping her keeping its beauty in our own way to persevere it for the future generation so they would be able to see the same beauty we have in our lifetime.

I listened to the soothing sounds, letting it lulling me to sleep as the medicine finally kicking in and I dream of the familiar blue creature under the sea.