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Kai scurried breathlessly into the throne room and skidded to a stop. He said nothing, but shifted from foot to foot uneasily. When King Steinar looked up from his conversation with his sister, he asked, “Kai, did you need something?”
Kai quickly crossed the room, dipped a quick, shallow bow, and grabbed Princess Rakel’s hand. “Come quick, Princess! Korsa’s hurt.”
Rakel’s eyes grew large. Steinar put his hand on her shoulder. “Go Rakel.”
The princess followed Kai from the throne room, her normal decorum sacrificed on the altar of speed. “Where is she, Kai?” Rakel puffed.
“The guard took her to the healer’s room.”
The pair clattered down the back stairs into the servant’s corridor and down the hall to Hanna’s quarters. Rakel did not even knock, bursting through the door to check on her six-year-old daughter. Korsa was sitting in the center of the room, the sleeve of her dress hanging limply behind her, having been slit from wrist to shoulder. Hanna’s light blue magic swirled around a bloody gouge in the child’s right shoulder.
“Momma!” Korsa cried, trying to rise from her seat. The nanny, Corrine, gently held her down. Korsa’s face was streaked with tears, and she grimaced repeatedly as Hanna manipulated the wound. Corrine rose and allowed Rakel to kneel beside the girl. Rakel smoothed the dark curls away from her wet face. Her mother’s gentle touch caused Korsa’s tears to flow again.
Hanna glanced up. “Princess.”
“Is she all right, Hanna?”
Hanna nodded as she continued to work. “Yes, Princess. The wound is deep, but it will be sealed soon. She’ll need to be careful with it for a few days so it won’t reopen.”
Rakel sighed with relief. Her fear abated, curiosity surfaced. “What happened?”
Erik said, guilt tingeing his tone, “It was an accident, Momma.”
Rakel turned to look at Korsa’s twin, who seemed to also have tear stains on his face. Rakel took a deep breath to quell the anger rising in her. “Tell me, Erik.”
Just then, Korsa cried out, and Hanna soothed, “I’m sorry, Little Princess. I know that hurt. I’m trying to be gentle.”
Rakel turned her attention back to her daughter, rubbing the back of the child’s hand with her thumb. “It’s all right, Sunbeam. You’ll be well soon. Hanna is the best healer in Verglas.”
“Where’s papa?” the little girl sniffled.
“He’s in Glowma for the day. He’ll be back in time to tuck you in tonight.”
Korsa cried harder. “I want papa!”
“I know, Little One,” Rakel said, not at all surprised. Korsa was solidly a daddy’s girl.
“There you are, Little Princess. All patched up,” Hanna said, rising and washing her hands in the nearby basin.
“Thank you, Hanna,” Rakel said, gathering the little girl into her arms.
“You’re quite welcome, Princess. Please come back if the wound reopens or the area around the wound gets hot or red.”
Rakel nodded and headed for the door. Corrine, Erik, Kai, Gerta, and several guards trailed the princesses as they headed back to the Queen’s Corridor.
Reaching their apartments, Rakel set Korsa down on the settee, then turned back to Corrine. “What happened?”
“I’m sorry, Princess. I didn’t mean–.”
Rakel brought her hand up, palm facing outward. She spoke gently, “Please, Corrine, just tell me what happened.”
“Prince Erik was using his magic to pull an arrowhead from a tree. I told him to stop, and I think he tried, but he lost control and the arrowhead embedded itself in Princess Korsa’s shoulder.”
Rakel did not allow herself the growl that wanted to escape. Thoughts of what might have happened stole her breath, but she immediately pushed those thoughts away. "Tirun was not on duty today?" she asked, knowing that the guard could have used his magic to stop Erik's.
"No, Princess. I'm so sorry."
“Very well, Corrine. Thank you.” When the woman still looked guilty, Rakel stepped across the room to her side and took her hands. “This is not your fault, Corrine. You did nothing wrong. You may take the rest of the day off. I know this scared you.”
“What if the arrowhead had hit her eye or her neck, Princess?” The woman started to tear up.
“But it didn’t. Korsa is safe. And we’ll do what we can to prevent this from happening again. Now go home and rest. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes, Princess. Thank you.”
“You’re dismissed.”
Corrine bowed and slipped out.
Rakel turned her sights on her sheepish son. “Erik, what have we told you about practicing your magic unsupervised?”
“I was supervised, Momma. Corrine was there.”
“You know you must be supervised by one of your tutors or papa or me. Corrine is not a mage. She does not know how to help you learn to use your magic. You could have really hurt someone.”
“I thought I could do it.”
Rakel breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth twice before saying, “Come here, Erik.”
He came close; she crouched and put her arms around the boy, hugging him hard. “Managing magic takes a lot of practice. Papa and I both practiced for years to learn to use our magic.”
“You and papa had to practice?”
Rakel chuckled and hugged her son. “Yes. You’ll learn, but you need to practice in the right way.”
Erik nodded. “Yes, Ma’am.”
“There will be consequences for using your magic unsupervised. For now, I need to tend to Korsa, so I need you to go to the nursery and stay there.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Rakel kissed the boy’s head. “I love you, Bud. And I’m very thankful you’re my son.”
Erik’s countenance brightened slightly. “I love you too, Momma.”
Rakel patted his shoulder. “Go on. We’ll talk later. I’ll have someone bring you your lunch.”
Erik looked at his sister who looked like she was nearly asleep, “I’m really sorry I hurt you, Korsa.”
“Thanks,” the girl managed.
When Erik walked out the door into the corridor, Rakel finally allowed herself to relax. Being a momma is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world.