A King's Tale

Physical Contact

Henry gently placed the glass of water that he took for Aurora on top of his night table. She was sound asleep. Maybe the view was indeed too overwhelming for her. Actually, Henry didn’t share the view with anyone. Silverio might have caught a few glimpses of his window but had plenty of other things to do than to mesmerize over the ocean.

But he wanted to show the view to Aurora. He felt that she would somehow fall in love with it. Gradually, if not instantly. She might be able to see the beauty that it offers, the warmth that it may bring into her life despite being overshadowed by the power that it has.

Or was he talking about himself?

He gently laid in bed, close to Aurora, but far enough so their skin wouldn’t touch each other. He just wanted to be close to someone. Henry wanted to watch her sleep.

It has been over a hundred years since he had a woman in his life. Maybe he already had too many. The experience became boring to him. The scent of a woman, the feeling of having one beside you eventually became uninteresting for him.

Well, except for one.

Bianca.

She was a lady from Germany. A pretty woman with a fierce heart. That was one of the things that made him interested in her.

Courting her and winning her trust was not that easy. But Henry did everything to please her, to get her interested in him.

And he managed to do so.

He even brought her to this castle. It was close to a century ago.

Bianca immediately fell in love with Dunnottar Castle, even if it was not as magnificent as it is today. She saw the beauty in this lonely place far from the busy streets of Scotland.

But similar to the other women and people in his life, Henry could not bear to reveal his secret to Bianca. During that period in time, people strongly believed in magical beings, witches, and curses. Which was true. He was the living proof that such magic exists.

But to rest, magic was evil. Anything that is related to the supernatural, anything unexplainable was the Devil’s work.

And Bianca was one of those people who believed that such evil exists.

This alone was enough reason for Henry to hide the truth from Bianca. Besides, how could he explain to her that he was an immortal? That he has been the King of the Dunnottar Castle for more than a century now. How can he reveal the fact that this curse was caused by his womanizing, by his abuse of power?

He knew that if Bianca knew the truth, she would leave him. He could not afford to be alone anymore. He wanted something to hold onto, a reason to somehow cherish his endless life, even for a few more decades with Bianca.

But it was difficult to hide the truth. Eventually, Bianca discovered his secret.

They were out horseback riding at the castle grounds. The tower in the cast was just being built. They were running around, enjoying the rain when Bianca slipped. If not for Henry, she would have ended up impaled with one of the metal pointed spears used in digging up the area.

But it was Henry who ended up with a hole in his left hand.

“What happened, let me see.” Bianca wanted to see his impaled hand. Henry pulled the spear and was trying to hide his hand from Bianca.

But Bianca was persistent. She even tore the hem of her dress so she could use it to tie up his wound.

But when Bianca managed to pull and see his hand, she saw that there was no hole or even a trace of the wound in his hands.

She quickly let go of his hand and started to walk away.

“Please, Bianca, let me explain.” This was the moment that he dreaded the most.

“Who are you? What are you?” Bianca’s face was frightened. She acted as if she didn’t know who Henry was.

“Bianca, please, let me explain.” He was begging for her to let him go near.

“No!” She shouted. “Stay away from me! Where is my Henry? What did you do to him?” She continued walking away from him.

“Bianca, I am Henry. Please. Let’s go back to the castle so I can explain it to you.” He was careful not to make any sudden movements. Bianca continued to move away from him, but closer to the edge of the property, close to the cliff.

“Stay away. You are the Devil. Tell me where is my Henry?” She was crying, frightened. She looked at him as if he was a monster.

Henry started to back up. Bianca was too close to the edge of the cliff. He feared that if he would come closer, she might end up falling.

“Bianca, please, you are so close to the edge. Please, I am moving away now. You can go back to the palace, I will not follow you. You can leave if you want. Just please come back, it is not safe there.” Henry didn’t know what to do. A few more steps back and Bianca will definitely fall into the depth of the North Sea.

“The devil has already taken my Henry. I could not imagine a world without him.” Bianca even stood even more closer to the edge. “I would rather end my life than stay here with the Devil who took the face of the man I love.”

After saying those words, Bianca lifted her hands to her side, leaned backward, and allowed herself to fall.

“No!” Henry shouted. He immediately ran towards Bianca but he was already too late. She was already falling from the cliff.

Without hesitation, he jumped, hoping that he could somehow break Bianca’s fall.

Henry tried to reach Bianca's hand as they fell several hundreds of feet from the sea. He tried his best to reach her but her eyes were shut. She was prepared to die.

“Bianca, No!” He shouted as her body fell into the water.

A few seconds later, Henry reached the water. He tried to look for Bianca below. It took him a while before he could find her.

Henry pulled her to the shore. He tried to wake her. She placed her cold body by the rocks and tried to resuscitate her.

However, blood started to gush from the back of her head. She was losing blood fast. Her head might have hit a rock when she fell into the water.

Aurora was trying not to move or even breathe when she woke up only to realize Henry was lying beside her. His face was facing hers. He looked like he was sleeping. His eyes tightly closed.

She realized that she fell asleep. What made it worse was that she fell asleep in Henry’s bed, in the King’s bed.

And to make it even more embarrassing, Henry somehow fell asleep beside her too.

How can she get away from this situation?

Then to her surprise, Henry’s eyes open up, looking directly at her. Surprised, she closed her eyes shut.

“Do you really think that I am not aware that you are already awake?” Henry was amused with this woman.

Aurora slowly opened one of her eyes. Henry was still looking directly at her. She opened the other one too. “Sorry, I was so dizzy I fell asleep.”

Henry got up from the bed and sat by the edge. “I do not mind. You can continue resting if you want but lunch will be served in a few minutes. By the water, you can drink the glass of water on your side.” He was looking out of the window. It has been decades since he thought about Bianca, on how she died in his arms. How she died thinking he was a Devil.

“I’ll be waiting for you in the Great Hall.” Henry left without waiting for her reply.

“What did I do?” Aurora thought. Did she offend the King? His mood suddenly changed from warm back to not caring at all. She sat at the edge of the bed and drank the glass of water that Henry brought. After a few minutes of composing herself, she went out of the room and proceeded to the Great Hall.

Lunch was awfully quiet for the two of them. The only sound you will hear was the spoon and forks slightly hitting the plates. Or Silverio’s footsteps as he served lunch to them.

“Is your hand still hurting?” Those were the only words that Aurora heard from Henry during lunch.

She didn’t want to talk either. She just looked at him and shook her head. She knew it was not ladylike of her. But Henry was being impossible. How could he be so caring and then turn cold again just because she fell asleep in his bed?

It was his fault that she got dizzy. She was not really good with wide-open spaces. She somehow feared it, for would end up feeling nauseous just thinking about it.

They continued eating without making a single noise. She could not even hear Henry breathe.

When Henry assumed that she was already done, he excused himself. “I’ll be in my bedroom if you need me.”

The King was definitely not in the mood anymore. That‘s what Aurora thought.

“My Lady, do you want to continue with your tour of the castle,” Silverio asked her when she was about to leave the Great Hall.

“Maybe tomorrow, Silverio, I think I need to rest. I still feel a little bit dizzy.” It was a lie. But she was not in the mood to go around the castle anymore. Henry already spoiled the day for her.

She went back to her room and spent the rest of the afternoon browsing through the books in her study. She took one and began reading.

There was a knock on the door. She looked at the window. The sun is still high in the sky. Maybe it was just a couple of hours afternoon.

She was somehow expecting that it was Henry who was knocking on her door. Her assumptions were incorrect. It was Silverio. He was pushing a food cart.

“Excuse me, my lady, I have brought you some refreshments.” He took a tray from the food cart and placed it neatly on the table. “Ahh, you found your way around the books in this room. King Henry is also busy reading in his room right now.” Silverio told her.

“Thank you, Silverio.”

The servant excused himself. Aurora removed the cover and saw an assortment of cheese on the plate. Instead of water or juice, Silverio brought her wine.

“Cheese and wine on a late afternoon.” She told herself. “Why not.” Aurora could at least reduce her tension and anxiety with a few glasses of wine.

She stopped reading and focused on enjoying her cheeks and wine in the afternoon. She was feeling a little rebellious. She didn’t notice that she was almost halfway through the wine bottle.

In Henry’s room, he was trying to divert his attention to reading. He was not happy with his sudden change in mood. And to make things worse, he was not happy with how Aurora was reacting to him.

They were starting to form a connection earlier, but thinking about Bianca changed his mood.

He suddenly felt hungry and remembered asking Silverio for some wine and cheese.

When he looked at the food that Silverio left earlier, he was surprised to see some apples, oranges, and a bottle of sparkling water instead.

He went downstairs to ask Silverio. He was in the kitchen area, drinking hot coffee.

“Silverio, where are my wine and cheese?” He asked.

“I have delivered it earlier, your highness,” Silverio said, confused.

“Are you well? You sound sick.” Henry noticed.

“I have a slight fever, your highness,” Silverio informed him. “Was there a problem with your food?”

“I have apples and oranges in my room. And sparkling water too.” He told him.

“Oh, I am sorry your majesty, I might have mixed up your food with that or Aurora. Let me get them for you.” Silverio stood up.

“Stay here. I can manage. I suggest that you sleep instead, rest inside your room. I can handle myself. Let Diana prepare dinner and send it to our rooms instead.” He commanded. Silverio knew that tone. He was given no choice but to follow.

“Thank you, your majesty.” Silverio’s voice was grateful.

Henry went back upstairs and composed himself before knocking on Aurora’s door.

“Just a minute.” She sounded as if she was giggling.”

Henry waited. When Aurora opened the door, Henry immediately smelled the scent of alcohol from her. Looks like Aurora had been enjoying the cheese and wine that was meant for him.

“Oh, Henry, I was expecting you earlier. But here you are. Come in come in.” Aurora was holding a glass of wine.

“Would you care for some wine and cheese?” She offered him her glass and took a piece of cheese from the food tray. “Here you go your Majesty, I mean Henry.”

Henry took the glass of wine and held Aurora by her elbow. She was already walking wobbly. “Looks like you already had too much wine.” He sat on the edge of the bed.

To his surprise, Aurora sat on her lap and placed her arm around his neck.

“Oh come on, I haven’t had this fun since I turned eighteen.” She was trying to get a glass of wine from him.

Henry stretched his other arm so Aurora would not be able to reach it. “You offered me this wine.”

“Fine. You should be eating this one as well.” She poked his lips with the piece of cheese that she was trying to get into his mouth. Henry opened his mouth and ate it, to stop Aurora from continuously poking his mouth with it.

“There you go. Good. Now, do you want another one?” This time both Aurora’s hands were holding the back of his neck. As if she was a child embracing a parent asking for a favor or simply wants to cuddle.

“You are aware that you are not yourself, are you?” Henry asked.

Aurora moved her face closer to his. “You tell me. You are the one who had a sudden change of mood earlier, not me.” She replied, which caught Henry off guard.

He was right, he had somehow disappointed Aurora with his sudden change in mood.

“I am sorry for that. I remembered someone from the past. Never mind that it won't happen again.” He told her. His voice was sincere.

“Alright then,” Aurora moved her face closer to Henry as if she was about to kiss him.