I'm sick.
I'm sick and it's awful.
I can't even go see Viktor and be treated because Nessa won't stop fussing!! Even though Viktor is also a doctor, Nessa insists I only see the local family doctor.
Probably because he can visit me while I'm bedridden, while I'd have to go out and ride into the city to see Viktor.
But that's not the point.
I'm dying here in bed. My sheets feel like sandpaper! I'm cold and hot and my eyes hurt and my mouth hurts and I am DYING.
The only solace I have is that Nessa brings me soup. I don't even remember eating it. And I'm fairly certain it tastes like vomit and dirt because my entire sense of taste has fled me. But Viktor's chicken noodle soup was nice.
It's the last thing I can remember being able to taste.
And Nessa's isn't his.
I want it back.
In my addled state, I have the urge to throw a tantrum until I can get it. Fortunately for all involved, I'm too exhausted for that.
...But I really, really want to see him.
It's so late that it's early morning, but I can't sleep anyway. So I can sneak out before Nessa wakes.
I can go see him and...ah, yes. The tickets. I'll bring him a ticket. That's my excuse.
It makes perfect sense to me.
I can't exactly have a servant dress me, since they'll just tattle. So I have to dress myself. This attempt...is a failure. It hurts to lift my arms. I can feel my stamina being wasted. Trying to fight with a dress is a lost cause.
But.
But, okay! I don't need to be properly dressed to see a doctor, I can just wrap up in a cloak, in my shift, and go see him. He'll even tut and get me some warm soup!!
I stealthily slip through the halls.
Right now Viktor won't be at the clinic, but by the time I get there he will be.
It's....still pouring rain out, but what's that gonna do? Make me double sick?
...I'd be nice to hire a carriage...but...again. Snitches. I have to hoof it. Luckily, Viktor's clinic isn't far. I never even get winded walking there.
Usually.
This is not the case in this moment, because I am coughing and sick and everything feels heavy and weird.
I need a bath.
Oh...I should have bathed before seeing him. Maybe it's good it's raining, then. I'll be washed off when I see him, so I won't look miserable and snotty and ugly and dirty and like death. Just like a wet red rat. A snot-nosed rat.
I want to see Viktor even if I'm a wet red snot-nosed rat, though.
I want to see him.
I want to see Viktor.
I'm not sure why I start crying, other than the sick and the rain and the misery, but I'm sure I can't stop unless I see him.
So I run.
The world's all blurry, but I run, I run until I have to stop and be sick and dry heave a few times. I'm sorry, plants. You didn't deserve to be my victim. I swear I'll replant you, someday, somewhere, if I remember.
Running bad. Walking better.
My lungs burn. My vision's spotty. I'm going to be in so much trouble. But. I finally see Viktor.
I can feel my lips turning up into a smile all on their own, and - heedless of the distance - I reach out toward him. "Viktor...! Viktor! I found...I found...!"
"Ophelia!?"
I crash into him.
The moment his arms are around me I collapse. He can pick up where I left off, I think, as I bask in his warmth and breathe in the scent of him, the reassuring feeling of his arms. In my head, that phrase makes perfect sense. "Found you...I found you...!"
Viktor hugs me tightly to his chest, his voice brimming with alarm. "What are you doing out in the middle of the night in the rain? Have you a death wish? No, I suppose that was a silly question to ask someone who falls so frequently - Ophelia!"
He's fuzzy, but I feel warm. Not hot, but warm. He probably needs - no, no, he definitely needs an answer to why I'm here. He asked. I'm sure I try to say 'I needed to see you to give you your ticket' but..I'm not too sure what I actually say. Maybe something like 'give ticket Viktor'
He's holding me tight against him and my brain is so mushy I can barely think, much less form sentences.
Viktor heaves a soft sigh. "Let's get you inside and into some dry clothes. Can you walk?"
"Yes!" I say triumphantly.
I instantaneously fail.
"No," he corrects, but there's amusement in his tone. "Here."
He tucks an arm underneath my knees, lifting me with surprising ease, as if I weigh nothing at all.
Viktor is warm. His heart is pounding in his chest and I can hear it so loudly, and it feels nice. It's very, very hard to keep my eyes open and stay awake.
Everything feels so...dreamy...floating...
I realize my head's nestled in his neck and he smells really nice. It's calming. I find myself taking slow, deep breaths of him as he carries me over to the bed, pulling the blanket up around my shoulders. "Viktor..."
"Yes?" His voice sounds worried, but his fingers gently brush back my hair, brushing against my skin.
"I have to tell you something..." I manage. "...Important...Viktor...I -"
I feel something soft on my cheek.
The smell of Viktor. The soft feel of his hair, tickling my face.
And the warmth of his lips.
I drift off, blissful, the faint warmth lingering on my cheek.
I feel much better than I have in a while when the warmth of consciousness drifts back under my control, and when the scent of Viktor's soup fills the air.
I'm in Viktor's clinic, lying in one of the beds, surrounded by his scents, and I can see the light from his lantern as he works away in his office.
My last memory before sleep rushes back:
Viktor kissed my cheek.
That-
That definitely wasn't a hallucination, right?!
I turn on my side, burying my face in my hands and squealing silently, wiggling in giddy delight. I felt it. It was real. A real, romantic moment between me and Viktor!!!
I peek through my fingers, my cheeks warm as I take in the sight of him in his element, looking so...so wonderful, and focused on his work, a half-smile on his lips as he reads.