<span class="mu-i"> ''I shall cling on to the bitter end if need be. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and I intend to do so until the grave.'' </span> It then went silent once more.
Damn it all, you thought. Was there then no one able to aid you in this? Unless, of course, you went to him, but would he be able to heal him? That you didn't know. The fae could be capricious in their dealings, but you were on friendly terms with their lord.
You did not return for the hunt in the afternoon, nor at any other time. The heatwave had been broken by a good week's worth of thunderstorms, and rivers that had once stood low now burst from their banks. The pneumonic plague, which had thoroughly ravaged Rittersbach, had died down as well. And with the current predicament, the council had unilaterally decided to invest you with the regency powers. Now, formally invested as the <span class="mu-i"> Statthalter </span> of Greifswald, you automatically vacated the post of <span class="mu-i"> Reichsadmiral </span> .
De facto, Greifswald was yours already, with your father more or less unable to limit or veto you. Not that you had wished for it, but with things safer in Rittersbach, you should return there to attend to the matters of state. Painful, yes, cruel even, but the realm came first. And though he was too weak to travel now, he could be transported somewhere close to Rittersbach soon enough.
But for now, as soon as you had the time, you rode back deep into the woods, to the enchanted parts, where the fae lived. An ent, shaped from oak, greeted you.
<span class="mu-i"> "Hail, honoured guest, dost thou seek the lord of this wood?" </span> The noise was like the creaking and groaning of ancient trees in a storm, yet somehow soothing.
<span class="mu-i"> "That I indeed do, for it is a matter of grave importance to me."
"Then ride forth; he shall find you, and you shall find him." </span>
Another half an hour of riding brought you before him once more. Just as he was mediating between two pixies. He then turned to you, with his great black stag eyes.
<span class="mu-i"> "You come for my aid, that I know, but for what?"
"My father, he is gravely ill. I am willing to pay or give whatever it takes." </span>
He nodded solemnly, his antlers towering above you. "I shall accompany you, for your father's sake. But be warned, I cannot guarantee that whatever cures I can provide are effective, nor that they are without side effects. Make certain that there are none in his room besides us.''
It took a few days, but he arrived at the Albrechtsburg near the forest, the moonlight giving the pale fur a silvery gleam. He soon enough transformed into his druid-like form, and you silently led him to your father's chamber. Where he was sleeping semi-peacefully, as one could in his condition, though the doctors had given him an alcoholic beverage to help as well.
