I Dying 😢😢😢

I dying 😢😢😢

“I am dying, Richard.” Queen Anne stared into the flames, which only deepened the shadows below her eyes and heightened the pallor of her skin. “The physician says it will not be long.” She lifted her head slowly until their blue eyes met. The agony of this truth, no longer deniable, seemed to age him by a decade. Yet she did not look away.

“He has advised you to quit my bed to safeguard you from this pestilence.”

“Your bed is mine,” the wan king protested in a hollow voice. “It has always been so.”

A half-smile tugged fruitlessly at the corners of her mouth. “No more…”

Suddenly, he knelt before her, no longer a king, but a man, and as wide-eyed and fearful as ever she had seen him. “Nan, would that I could command you not to die! How can I lose you now? I cannot do this without you…”

With one hand, Anne combed her fingers through his dark hair, though they trembled slightly. She pressed the others to his lips. “You can and you must. But fear not, my sweet lord. We will meet again.” Her hand moved to cup his cheek tenderly. “…though long may it be until that day comes.”