The initial sadness and shock of the Lightning Kid's condition began to fade. The royal family was able to take joy in simply being a family. The King and Queen loved each other just as much as they loved Shark Boy and the Lightning Kid, who were both healthy, beautiful and strong. Shark Boy welcomed the Lightning Kid with hugs and kisses, and the Lightning Kid slept well, and improved his ability to nurse. The world of the Royal Family seemed good and happy.
The days passed, and nobody was bothered to look outside. When they finally looked out the window, the King and Queen noticed something strange. A big bubble had formed around the palace and nothing would be able to travel in or out. The King and Queen were confused; obviously the bubble was a bad thing - goods would need to be brought into the castle and communication was impossible, and yet they'd been happy within this bubble.
The Queen said: "I'd dearly like to correspond with the other kingdoms... yet I'm afraid of what they'll say when they hear the news of the Lightning Kid."
The King said: "As am I. Being free of advisers, be they sage, healer, wizard, crone, oracle or troll has been a blessing hasn't it? We could simply stay in the bubble..."
"Yet ultimately we'll need some of those advisers. We have friends outside as well, can we really hide from them? Also, I don't think Shark Boy will enjoy simply swimming laps around the moat for much longer." answered the Queen. "I don't think I've seen anything like this..."
"I have..." answered the King. "When my father died, I found myself in a similar bubble... they come in handy to shield us from the initial pain, but ultimately we're not healing while we're inside. The only way to heal is to burst the bubble and learn to live with the outside world again..."
The King and Queen looked at each other in silent agreement. It took but a single bolt of lightning from the Prince to burst the bubble. The Royal Family went on excursions, corresponded with foreign lands and yes, had to visit sages, wizard and healers - some of which delivered bad news, some good. When they spoke with others including members of the court, some comments bothered the King and Queen; they found them insensitive, but they knew they weren't driven by malice, but perhaps by ignorance. When they took stock of it all, they noticed that people had been very wonderful and supportive overall. Still, they resolved
to fight ignorance in the kingdom by living their lives as the wonderful family they had always intended to be, and the Lightning Kid would lead by example.
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