I expected to see empty cups and him shivering in the corner with a blanket pulled up to his chin. I expected to see his pale face and bags under his eyes. I expected to see him super skinny with all his bones painfully visible. But when I walk in, there he is. His Majesty, The King of The Great Gardens, with glasses on his nose, a flower next to his bed, and a textbook on his lap. A gray blanket covers his lower body in a way that makes me think that he is the personification of "relaxed". He was completely at peace. 

About six years ago, my father started to feel sick. Two years after that, he collapsed in his office. We've tried everything we could to heal him. The doctors worked around the clock to come up with a solution. They said it was a heart attack. They told me it was a hereditary thing in my father's system. He had internally bled and his health was deteriorating. He wouldn't live for very long.

He looked up as soon as I stepped into the room.

"My baby girl!" He yelled and immediately started coughing afterward.

"My old man!" I yelled back laughing, trying to hide how worried I was. "Don't pop a lung, alright?"

His eyes were like lava lamps. The closer I got to him, the more life I could see fill his system. Anyone else would say he was faking it for my benefit, but I know my dad. The storm had passed. Maybe things were getting worse so he could fight his final battle and win. I missed his royal robes. The Great Garden colors were made for him. He used to hold parades for my stuffed animals. Now he parades around in a hospital gown.

"Why? Seeing you here is like a breath of fresh air." He gives me a goofy smile like a jester would an audience.

He had lost most of his hair a long time ago but he never lost his funny bone.

Mary, my father, and I start cracking up. Like twins, my dad's face and mine light up pink. While I take a seat next to his bed, Mary goes to get his food and medicine. He taps my shoulder to give me a giant hug. I melt in his arms.

"What's wrong, Jeany?" He whispers.

 I get up to put some space between us so that he knows that I am being serious. 

I glare at a random person outside and lean against the wall next to his window. "I want to see them, Dad, and not from up here. She hasn't let me walk in the marketplace in such a long time. When I'm here, I remember how it felt living amongst everyone and not... as we do now. I remember how it felt to walk past each vendor and smile even when no one can see me. I wasn't a princess and you weren't the king. You were Midas, the farmer, and I was just Little Jeans, your daughter. That was enough for us."

The Great Gardens had different sections, all open and without borders. The only ones who referred to them as sections were the royals and their advisors. My dad says that it's to organize which part needs attention at certain times and it also made it easier to keep track of the missing. I took so much pride in loving how much everyone respected their space down there. There were barely any reports of thieves for a long time. Each place was like walking past a beautiful picture.

"I keep telling myself that I'm okay with staying inside. You're here. Mary is here. I should be fine but," I feel him watching me and I wave my hand outside, "have you seen the improvements they've made? The fruit and vegetable stand isn't just that wooden stand anymore. They've made it into an open store. I heard Mother say that the Blacksmiths have stopped throwing their scraps behind the bakery and trying to move into a space a little further away. They've been amazing."

He takes off his glasses, swiping at his eyes. At first, I think it's because he's been up for too long but his voice is thick and broken when he says, "I'm sorry that the situation has impacted your freedom."

I suck in a breath, trying to remember to breathe. I rush back to his side, taking his ugly thin glasses away from him when I remind him that it isn't his fault. The health of this family is important to me and if staying inside is the right thing to do, then I'm happy to do it. He doesn't react the way I hoped. He just stares at me, like he did when I was younger.

Suddenly, I'm five years old again with my voice as small as it was before I whisper, "I miss the 'us' we used to be and I miss our summer days. I miss our walks. I'm scared because I really want you to be there tomorrow but I don't want you to strain yourself."

He hugs me with the strength of twelve healthy men. How can this guy be considered lying on his "deathbed" with strength like that? I smile. He gives me hope that one day we will be alright.

I pull back, laughing at my tears when his book slides off the bed.

BOOM.

We both jump and laugh but no later than two seconds pass when five guards pile in with lances aimed at us. My dad covers me with an arm and barks at the guards to stand down. They lower their weapons and search the room for signs of trouble (per my mother's orders) and make their way out of the room. Once we get a clear view of the door, we both spot Mary holding a silver platter. She's shaking. My heart drops down to the floor. I make my way towards her, balance the platter in one hand and smooth her back with the other. We both walk in, I force Mary to sit down in my chair, give my dad his food and realize he's watching me with a smile on his face. Without putting much thought into it, I hand him his medicine and a small glass of water. I smile back at him when he takes it. He pops the pills in his mouth and gracefully throws back the glass of water in one gulp. Then, his eyes meet mine and he's giving me the same look as before.

"What is it?" I say, placing the empty glass near the counter and smoothing Mary's hair.

"You've grown so much. You're older now and you know exactly what to do." His voice grumbles with heavy emotion behind each word.

It is spoken in such a soft way that my heart grows ten times bigger. My mother and my father are polar opposites. Mother probably never got love from her family and it didn't help that she was crowned earlier than most princesses. Meanwhile, my father raised me away from royalty, like he was raised, and married my mother only when it was safe for me to be claimed as a princess.

"You are growing old, Old Man."

His eyes crinkle as he gives me a mischievous look and Mary scrambles up to help him into his chair. He thanks her and grabs the armrests of his wheelchair while Mary pushes him towards me. I kneel down. My dad signals Mary to give us a moment of privacy. She leaves and closes the door behind her.

"Jeanneth, sweetie, why haven't you been wearing my necklace?"

I usually put it on before I come to see him. Some days I can't handle seeing him at all, or some days he's asleep when I get here, and other days he's in a meeting with doctors. Most recently, he's been busy with my mother over the responsibilities of the kingdom and what I will soon have to take over. I haven't been of age to be in the room and I guess, after tomorrow, I'll have no choice but to be on top of everything so my parents don't have to worry.

"I didn't put it on today." I roll my eyes mockingly, disappointed in the fact that I almost said "couldn't", "Mother woke me up for lessons. Wanted me to do my proclamation in my corset before tomorrow. But! I will wear it tomorrow. I know you would want me to wear it tomorrow."

His eyes glazed over. I wonder if it was the medicine and if it was his time to take his daily nap. "A long time ago, a man who loved his princess spun straw into gold. The princess said, 'The straw is your life before our marriage. The gold is your life turned rags to riches.' The man succeeded in doing so but the princess had already moved on. The man-"

"The man turned the golden string into a necklace, gave it to a poor family in hopes they would sell it for good fortune, and disappeared. The string still holds magic from his lost love and so the story goes." I laughed. "I keep telling you: I know it's not a random necklace that you found in the castle to give to me. I got it. That was one time and I think we can let it go."

My father sputtered another laugh, like a horse, "Pfft. When would I ever give you a gift that doesn't hold meaning? I love you, yeah, but I know your weak spot is fairytales. I'm not dumb."

"You got me there." I tapped on my temple. "Nothing says 'happy ending' like a struggling princess who will probably burn an entire kingdom an hour into being crowned. C'mon. We have all my life for you to tease me about that."

"I know you make jokes, Jeanneth, but I don't want you to have the kind of life you will grow to hate." He turns serious and I swallow my smile, "Your mother and I just want to prepare you for your future. We all are going through a lot and I won't always be here to buffer out your fights. She loves you." We were both tearing up and I hate that I'm crying. "Just let her help in the ways that she can."

"I want us to understand each other but I've been... trapped here. How am I supposed to lead other lives when I can't freely live mine? That's just crazy."

"I would want nothing more than for you to go out into the world and have your own adventure. I want you to live your own fairytale. I want you to be more than a prophecy. I want you to be the natural leader you are and I keep telling your mother that you should go out into The Great Gardens to find yourself before you're chained to the throne for the rest of your life." He can't help but say, "Trust me. I've been there. It's not easy."

"I would give everything I have just for you to be healthy and be the King the Great Gardens deserve. I just want you to be there tomorrow," I repeat.

He tugs me into his arms once more and sighs, "And I want to taste peanut butter pie again. I've been having nothing but lemon and honey and my medications."

I smile. "But it's too much sugar and Mother won't let you."

He shakes in my arms and fakes a gasp. "Your First Lesson: You are in charge. No matter what your husband tells you." My bald-headed father with a voice that never loses its authority says, "I think I can sneak a piece or two into my room. I haven't lost my magic yet."

"Ugh." I let go and glare at his smile, "Why do you do that! We were having a moment!"

My father snaps his fingers. On his first try, it doesn't work. The second time, there's a fresh peanut butter pie sitting next to the empty glass, "When there is a crown sitting on your head, you'll have a lot more magic than any of your ancestors and it wasn't me who told your mother that. It was that crazy witch who got to her when she was pregnant with you so I'm not the one to be mad at here. Go back in time or something and have a few words with that woman."

"Yeah, aren't I the lucky one?" I sighed and gave the pie to my dad, "I think I'll leave 'time travel' on my to-do list until I'm done with tomorrow. That's the biggest challenge right now."