The Royal Contract

When he looked back, he saw people converging into her room. Something was happening, and everyone seemed to be panicking as they entered the room.

“No, no, no!” He repeatedly said as his pulse quickened and his heart almost skipped a beat, thinking of the worse of the situation.

He wanted to rush back into the room, but his feet refused to move, afraid of what he would find once he saw her condition. He believed he was not ready to see her go. Not just yet.

Nevertheless, his feet eventually stepped closer to the room. He could hear people talking inside, but his mind could not process the words. He felt like he was still in limbo as his soul floated in the air.

“David, what are you doing there?” One of the nurses found him outside the door. “You should go in.”

He could see her lips moving. But he could hardly make out the words or even understand them. His mind had made up its conclusions. He was already preparing for the onslaught of pain that would soon come.

“David? Are you alright?” She asked, probably noticing his state as she repeatedly called his name. “David, did you not hear me?” She continued as she tried to snap him back to consciousness.

“What did you say?” Finally, he heard the last portion of her question as his vision cleared and his hearing returned to normal. “What is going on?” He finally dared to ask.

.....

“David.” The nurse smiled at him. “It is Rosella.” She took his hand and squeezed them tightly.

“What?” He could feel his throat restricting again, hearing the raspiness of his voice as he forced the word out of his lips. He did not understand. He was confused by the way she acted.

“Rosella is awake.” The nurse said to him, jumping with joy as she held his hand. “She has finally woken up.” She repeated for him.

He suddenly fell on his knees as he finally turned to look inside the room. Suddenly, all the energy in his body evaporated. He did not know what he felt, shock, happiness, pain, relief. He was feeling everything at that moment.

He had waited so long for this moment when it finally happened. His body and mind seemed to turn numb. Rosella was awake. He silently repeated inside his brain, hoping his mind would accept it as the truth.

“Hey, she is awake.” The nurse assured him, pulling him to his feet. “Come on. I think you both need to see each other.” The nurse helped him, ushering him inside the room where the doctor and nurses blocked his view of her.

Slowly, he forced his feet to walk toward her bed, hoping to see her beautiful eyes for the first time since the accident. But his heart never decreased speed as it beat erratically inside his chest.

Truthfully, he could not shake the feeling that this might be a dream. What if he suddenly woke up discovering that nothing about this was real? Frankly, he did not know how long he could keep up with the pain of not knowing whether she would ever return to him.

“Rosella, look who I found waiting outside your room.” The nurse that helped him said as they finally reached her bed.

Then, the doctors and nurses moved aside, making room so he could stand by her side. Finally, he was face to face with the woman he could not wait to see again. He could see that her eyes were wide open.

She did not say anything as her eyes moved toward his direction, but her eyes expressed something he did not understand. Was she conveying confusion? But, of course, that was not surprising. She must have millions of questions at that moment.

“Hi!” David spoke, forcing a husky whisper out of his mouth. “Hi! Rosella.” He repeated once he tried to clear his throat, hoping he would sound better.

“Mmm!” That was the only thing he heard from her. It was as if she wanted to speak, but no words came out.

“Try to take it easy, Rosella. Your throat might still hurt. You might find it hard to speak for a few days because of the tube we had just taken out of your throat.” The doctor explained to both of them.

He guessed he understood what the doctors were saying. She could not say much just yet. But her eyes slowly drifted close as if she was falling back to sleep.

“What is happening, Doc?” He asked, slightly confused by her condition.

Was she alright? Did she return to a coma?

“Don’t worry, David. Rosella is just resting.” The doctor tapped him on the shoulder. “Seeing all of us at once must be overwhelming to her senses. She just needed a little more time to adjust back to consciousness.”

He thought that made sense since Rosella had been sleeping for quite a while. He had already waited this long. He could wait for a few more until she could return to normal.

He watched the doctors monitor her vital signs and perform a few more tests before they declared that she was on her road to recovery. All they had to do was wait until she woke again to test if there were any neurological deficits.

“We can only check until we can communicate with her.” The doctor told him. But so far, they were hopeful.

He sat beside her bed, deciding not to leave her side. This time, he never wanted to be out of her sight, just in case she woke again. He wanted to be the first person she saw when she opened her eyes.

“When will she wake up again?” He asked, hoping it would be soon.

He held her hands, which were already warm to his touch. He could also see that her cheeks might have returned some of their colors. But most importantly, she was now breathing on her own. The doctors had finally removed all the machines attached to her body.

“Hopefully, it would not be a long wait anymore.” The doctors assured him, finally leaving him alone with her again.

Now, she looked like she was only peacefully sleeping as her breathing evened out and her heart regularly beat inside her chest. She was going to be ok. That was what mattered.

“Rosella.” He whispered her name, ecstatic that she had returned to his life. But he tried not to make too loud sounds, giving her time to recover in her time. There was no need to rush. He could wait.

He stared into her eyes, wanting to see them again. But more than that, he wished to hear her beautiful voice again. But again, he had to wait for that too.

As he moved in his seat, trying to find a comfortable position, he found the book that he had been reading to her. It was the sleeping beauty book. He took it, deciding to read it while waiting. He only had a few chapters to go until the end of the story.

Would it have a great happy ending? He hoped so.

He had never believed in fairy tales or read romantic books. But at that moment, he wanted all the impossible to happen. He wanted the miracle of waking his sleeping beauty with a kiss.

He wished for their happy ending.

“I think this book deserves its ending.” He spoke to her softly as he opened the book from where he had left off a while ago.

He started reading the next chapter, telling her the tale of the gallant hero as he tried to save the heroine from the witch that took her captive. Of course, the witch was not a hag with black magic but only an evil person with bad intentions.

Then, he continued to the next chapter and the next until the hero found her and discovered her situation. Of course, just like in any fairy tale story. The hero saved the day, beat the villain, and rescued the Princess.

“Now, all that was left was for the Prince to do would be to kiss the bride.” He read the last portion of the long romantic book as the Prince with the Princess lived happily ever after.

Would the heroes of the story have children? He would not know since it did not say. But he could not help but hope that would also happen to them. He also dreamt of a happy ending for himself and Rosella.

“I love you so much, Rosella.” He uttered in a low voice. He would have shouted it to the whole world, but at that moment, he only wished she could hear his voice as she slept. For her to know how much he loved her.

He wanted to marry her, live the remaining years of his dull life with this beautiful and incredible woman, have dozens of kids if she wanted that too, and be the happiest man alive.