ALANNA
"What's going on?" I ask Taera when I notice the maids and healers who are moving back and forth along the hallway with panic-stricken faces. "His majesty is ill" she responds and I frown. It can't be that bad, right? "Is he in his room?" I ask and she shakes her head. "He's in the healing chamber" she responds. "Can you take me there?"
"Of course"Taera leads me to the north wing of the castle which is really cold. The walls are covered in glowing cerulean blue ice. The silver double doors of the healing chamber is half closed. Taera gives me a bow and walks away. Biting my lower lip, I open the door and step in. The chamber is larger than my chamber and Zeron's chamber combined. There's a glowing pool in the center of the chamber which contains cerulean blue liquid. There's also a large bed at the corner of the room and there are several vials, jugs and cups of different kinds that are arranged on a shelf that is situated close to the entrance of the room. Finally, my gaze rests on the figure in the pool. It's Zeron. He's floating in the pool, strands of his hair floating around him. He's wearing a long sleeved linen shirt and matching pants. His eyes are closed, long lashes brushing the top of his cheeks. The skin beneath his eyes is really dark, it makes my heart constrict. I have no idea if he's asleep or not, but his exhaustion is shown even on his face and he's so pale. I watch the healers who are also dressed in white. They circle the pool, arms raised as they mumble strange words. The queen mother stands in the corner of the room, her hands covering her face. Zeron's eyes suddenly shoots open, revealing his flaming red eyes. The queen rushes to his side as he steps out of the pool and sits at the edge, his body dripping wet. She embraces him but he just stares. So, I move forward. She glares at me and looks away.
"Is he okay?" I ask one of the healers.
"I'm afraid he's not. He's dying. We couldn't take away all the pain. He's still hurting and until he bonds with you fully, we can't really do anything"he responds and bows before me. Then, he leaves. I move towards Zeron who has now gotten to his feet and is now fumbling with the buttons of his shirt with shaky hands. The queen tries to help him but he scowls at her and turns away from her.
"Let me help" I say, holding his hand. His gaze meets mine and I pout.
"Please?" I say and he sighs, his hands dropping to his sides. I quickly unbutton his shirt, feeling his gaze boring hole into my head. He doesn't say a word as I peel off his wet shirt from his body, revealing his smooth skin. Damn, he's fine.His pecs and abs are so nicely defined. It's..... mouthwatering. I notice the mole on his left chest and in my moment of stupidity, my fingers brush against it and he shivers. My cheeks turn pink and I swallow hard, avoiding his heavy lidded gaze. "Aren't you going to take off my pants too?" He croaks and I freeze, heat creeping up my neck. He wants me to take off his pants?! I slowly meet his gaze and to my surprise, I notice the amusement in his eyes. Am I seeing things?
"O-O-kay" I stutter and reach for the waistband of his pants.
"You're so innocent" he snickers and moves away from me. My cheeks are on fire right now and it's all his fault!
"How did you do that?" the queen mother asks me with an incredulous look on her face as Zeron puts on a change of clothes. "I-I don't know" I reply and she frowns. Zeron who is now fully dressed lays down on the bed and curls up into a ball. He must be feeling so awful. I quietly pad across the room and sit on the bed beside him. He glares at me, arms wrapped around himself. "I'm fine" he spits and I groan. "Stop it. You're not fine" I say and he clenches his jaw. "Please, let me take care of you. Just this once" I say and he narrows his eyes. "Why?"
"Because I'm your wife? And it's my duty?" I say and he gives me a blank look .
"Just leave me alone"
"Never. I'm just as stubborn as you are" I say, sticking out my tongue at him. His eyes widen for a split second and I grin before tucking the blankets around him. He continues to stare at me, his expression unreadable.
"You should sleep, it might help" I whisper as I sit beside him once more. He scowls at me. Then, we fall into a pensive silence for a while until I decide to break the silence. "Do you get nightmares?" I ask and he stiffens. "I'll take that as a yes" I mutter and he glares at me. "When was the last time you had a good night's sleep?" I press further and he furrows his brows.
"I don't know" his response isn't like his usual response. This time, he sounds drained, his voice tinged with misery. "Oh, Z"
"Don't call me that" he sighs
"Z" I say and he glares at me.
"Z!" I whisper-yell, laughing at the expression on his face.
"My head hurts, you know. You're being too loud" he sighs and I grin. I'm feeling so bold right now and I have no idea why. He's not yelling at me right now, maybe that's why? Or maybe it's because he's ill and won't hurt me? I lean closer to him and his eyes go wide. "Relax, I'm going to make you fall asleep and you won't have nightmares. You'll see" I say. "Really? And how do you plan on doing that?" He asks.
"Just relax and enjoy this moment" I say and he blinks at me. Gah! He's so cute right now, I should pinch his cheeks. Well on second thought, that's not going to happen. He might be ill but I'm not going to trespass his limits. My hand hovers above his hair and I give him a smile. "Can I?" I ask and he rolls his eyes. Without waiting for a response, my fingers sink into his black tresses and his eyes flutter close. Baby steps, that's it. I begin to stroke his soft hair, the pads of my fingers massaging his scalp. Then I begin to hum.
....
TALON
I watch Alanna as she hums sweetly for my brother and to my surprise, my brother doesn't protest. He looks so contented. This is a miracle. I had come in few minutes ago to see how my brother is faring only to be greeted with such a wondrous sight. My brother is really lucky to have Alanna. She's one in a million. "I love flowers. My grandma used to sell them until she died. Want to know what my favourite flowers are?" She suddenly asks Zeron who has his eyes closed. He grunts and she grins.
"Yellow daffodils. They kind of remind me of myself" she whispers.
"What flower do I remind you of?" Zeron rasps and my eyes widen.
Alanna on the other hand grins, her eyes lighting up.
"The blacknight or you can call it the black magic hollyhock" she whispers.
"What kind of flower is that?" He asks, sleepily. "It's a beautiful, dominant flower. Sweet dreams, Z" she whispers and presses a kiss to his temple. I frown, waiting for Zeron to lash out at her but all he does is lie there. When I notice how regular his breathing is, I realize that Alanna had done it. She'd made him fall asleep.