Kit¹ entered his father's bedroom. His heart pounded in his ears, and his vision blurred² as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room. The curtains had been drawn³ on the windows of the round chamber⁴. The royal physician was kneeling by the king's bed, finishing his examination. Hearing Kit, the doctor stood up and moved toward the door. Kit saw the expression on the doctor's face, and he knew what it meant: the king had little time left.

 

When they were alone, Kit strode to his father's bedside. The older man struggled to open his eyes. Upon seeing Kit, King Frederick smiled. "You've come," he said weakly. "Good."

 

Kit gulped⁵. He had known his father was ill, but he had never allowed himself to believe that their time together would be so limited. "Father," Kit started, sounding like a young boy. "What's happened?"

 

"What happens to us all in time, my boy," King Frederick replied.

 

"Not to you," Kit said, trying to boost his father's spirits, even though they both knew it was futile⁶. "Not to my king. Not to my father. You will recover."

 

The king smiled. "You must learn to lie better than that if you will be a good statesman."

 

Overwhelmed, Kit sank down on the bed, taking his father's hand in his. The hand he held was frail⁷, the fingers thin and trembling. This was the hand that had held him when he was little. The hand that had signed peace treaties and the hand that had carried a sword. And now… "Father," Kit pleaded, tears welling in his eyes, "don't go."

 

"I must," the king said. "But you needn't be alone. Take a bride." When Kit began to shake his head, the king went on. "What if I commanded you to do so?"

 

That is unfair, Kit thought. But he had no desire to argue with his father on the man's deathbed. "I know that you want me to marry for advantage," Kit began.

 

"And… ?" his father said.

 

"And I will not." The words came out in a rush. "I'm sorry. I love and respect you, but I won't. I believe we need not look outside of our borders for strength or guidance. What we need is right before us. We need only . . ." He paused, remembering what the mystery princess had said to him when they first met. "We need only have courage and be kind to see it."

 

Silence filled the chamber. King Frederick closed his eyes, and for one moment of panic, Kit worried he had said too much. Then King Frederick's eyes opened again. And to Kit's surprise, he nodded. "Just so," the king said, pride in his voice. "You have become your own man. Good. And perhaps, in the little time left to me, I can become the father you deserve."

 

This was not what Kit had expected. What did his father mean, become the father he deserved? While they didn't always see eye to eye, the king had been a loving and good father.

 

"You must not marry for advantage," the king said. "You must marry for love. Find that girl they are all talking about. The forgetful one who loses her shoes."

 

Kit broke into a sad smile. "But the Grand Duke…"

 

"He will never rule so long as you are not mastered by him," King Frederick said, his voice growing weaker. "Be cheerful, my boy. Have courage, and be kind."

 

Kit smiled at the familiar words. He had just been given the greatest gift—freedom. Freedom to choose and freedom to love. He didn't know what to say except "Thank you, Father."

 

With great effort, King Frederick pushed himself up on the bed so he could look his son in the eye. "I love you."

 

As night fell beyond the curtains, father and son, king and prince, sat together in silence, happy to have this moment and aware they needed to cherish it for as long as they both could.

 

基特走进父亲的卧室。他的双耳充斥着心脏狂跳的声音，眼睛一时适应不了房间的黑暗所以视线有些模糊，因为圆形的房间里每个窗帘都拉得严严实实。御医跪在国王床前，他已经做完了检查。听见基特进来，医生站起身向门口走去。基特看见他脸上的表情，明白了他的意思：国王已时日无多了。

 

当房间里只剩下基特和父亲时，基特大步走到父亲床边。老国王弗雷德里克努力睁开双眼，一看到基特就笑了。“你来了，”他虚弱地说道，“真好。”

 

基特吸了一口气。他知道父亲病了，但不敢相信他们相处的时间只剩这么短了。“父亲，您怎么了？”基特像个孩子一样问道。

 

“孩子，这是每个人早晚都要面临的。”弗雷德里克回答。

 

“可不该是您，不该是我的国王、我的父亲。您会好起来的。”基特想让父亲打起精神来，可他们都知道这是徒劳。

 

国王笑了：“要想当一名成功的政治家，你撒谎的本领可得再高一点儿。”

 

基特无力地坐在床边，不知所措地握着父亲的手。那只手那样无力，瘦弱的手指颤抖着。就是这只手，曾在他年幼时牵着他，曾签下一纸纸和平条约，也曾高举着刀剑。可现在……“父亲，别走。”基特双眼噙泪，哀求着。

 

国王说：“我必须走了。但你不会孤单的，你该娶妻了。”看见基特摇头，国王接着说：“如果我说这是命令呢？”

 

基特心想，这不公平。但他无意在病榻前同父亲争辩。“我知道您希望我的婚姻能带来些好处。”他开始说道。

 

“而你……？”国王问道。

 

“而我不想这样。”他脱口而出。“我很抱歉，我爱您、敬重您，但我不想。我认为我们不必向他国寻求支持或帮助，我们需要的就在眼前，我们只要……”他顿了顿，想起了那位神秘公主初见他时对他说过的话。“我们只要坚强勇敢、仁慈善良，一切都会迎刃而解。”

 

房间里一片沉默，弗雷德里克国王闭上了眼睛。一时间，基特不禁有些惊慌，担心自己说得过火了。接着，国王的眼睛又睁开了。让基特出乎意料的是，他点点头，用骄傲的口气说：“说得对，你是个有主见的人了，很好。也许在我剩下的这点时间里，我可以做个称职的父亲了。”

 

这是基特万万没有想到的。做个真正称职的父亲？这话是什么意思？虽然父子俩的想法时有相左，国王一直都是位慈爱的好父亲。

 

国王说：“你不该为了什么好处而结婚，你该和你爱的人结婚。去找人们都在议论的那个女孩吧，那个把鞋子都跑丢了的小迷糊。”

 

基特不禁笑了，却笑得有些伤感。“可是公爵他……”

 

“只要你不被他左右，他就无法做主。”弗雷德里克国王说道，声音越发虚弱了。“孩子，振作起来。要坚强勇敢，仁慈善良。”

 

听着这熟悉的话语，基特笑了。他刚刚获得了一件最宝贵的礼物——自由。自由去选择，自由去爱。“谢谢您，父亲。”除此之外，他不知道还能说些什么了。

 

国王硬撑着从床上坐了起来，这样才能看着儿子的眼睛。“我爱你。”

 

窗外夜幕降临，这对父子——国王和王子，静静地坐在一起享受这个时刻。他们彼此都知道，只要时间允许，他们就该珍惜在一起的每分每秒。

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