[Krome] Weakness

[Celeste Andaris]

75th Ashan, 717

"Lord Krome, I would advise most strongly against it," Gwen had done her best, her very level best to not let him in. When Xander had insisted, Gwen had asked for a few moments to get her Ladyship ready. She oozed disapproval, but she had relented. Not before warning him, however, that Lady Andaris was quite unwell. The sickness which had been plaguing first Krome and now most of Rynmere had struck Celeste and had done so hard. The doctor was with her, Gwen had told him and he really should stay away until the situation was resolved.

Whilst Gwen went to get Celeste into something resembling an appropriate appearance to greet Xander, she asked him to wait outside. Lady Andaris would not like him to see her at the moment, Gwen had pointed out. Please, she urged, allow her to afford her ladyship some dignity. Gwen had told lady Andaris, and she reminded Xander of it now, that she thought Celeste's insistence on visiting the sick and helping in the soup kitchens had been a bad idea, but Celeste had heard what her maid said and then done it anyhow.

It was maybe ten bits later that Gwen came back out and told him he could come in. Celeste's room, where once she had applied salve to his bruises after he and his father had fought the night before was darker than usual. The shutters were closed and the curtains drawn across. The doctor was in the room and Celeste was sitting up in bed, propped up on a vast array of pillows. She was ashen white except for the twin spots of red on her cheeks, indicating her fever. Her hair was loose and she had a shawl wrapped around her. With the fire raging in the hearth, the room was warm, but she was shivering, obviously, even from across the room. Her head was laying back, her eyes closed.

"Lord Krome," the doctor spoke in hushed tones, barely above a whisper, "I must urge you not to come in here. Lady Andaris is... quite unwell." The pause, there was no doubt, was significant.
"They think I've gone deaf, too." Celeste's voice was weak, but her brown eyes looked at Xander and she smiled. "I must look awful." Her chest was wheezing as she spoke and she grew breathless after just those few words. "They are worried I will give you what I have." Her eyelids were heavy but she forced them open, "it is just concern. It's so nice to see you, Xander."

As Celeste closed her eyes and lay her head back, the doctor caught Xander's eye and his expression was worried, to say the least. "Would you like to step outside, Lord Krome? I will step out with you, discuss your fiance's condition." He seemed to not want Xander to stay in here any more than Gwen did; both of them were wearing masks, of course, to try to protect them at least.

[Xander Andaris]

Xander had waited long enough, sitting around and wondering if his intended would make it through the night. Now he had had enough, he no longer cared about his own health. If he had gone this long without getting sick he seriously doubted he would now, he had survived his own illness as a child, one very similar to this. He was of hardy make, built for the cold and sicknesses of Krome as had his ancestors. "Step aside Gwen, this is enough of your fussing. You would not disobey an order from your employer would you?" He knew she would move at this, even if reluctantly and so she did. Although he had to wait for a short while first.

He paced back and forth in front of the room, much like a farther waiting to see his new born child. Except in this case he would not be seeing such a wondrous sight. All this sickness brought back memories Xander would have rather remained buried, the painful thoughts of his dying sister haunted him each day this plague continued to kill. Now it was happening to his bride to be, she was slowly fading, or so it seemed, and he would then be left alone again by the second woman to ever get a hold on him. Finally after ten bits the door was opened again and he entered into the warm room. It felt like they were trying to slowly cook everyone inside, the air was thick and hot like a hazy Saun trial.

He had to admit, the poor woman looked most unwell and he was worried she if she got any paler she would phase out of existence. He felt a hole form in his stomach as it twisted at the sight, harsh memories returning to him. He felt sick to the core as he wished little more than to return to his room and weep like a child, weep like he had for the loss of his dear sister. "Enough of your worrying doctor, and you Gwen, I will be fine in here." He glared at the two who were far too fussy, he was an honourable Lord who had promised to do his best to protect Celeste and he would not let the possibility of getting sick stop that. "I will talk to you on my way out Doctor, I thank you for your help, please go rest and make use of all my family has to offer you."

Once alone Xander moved quickly over to sit beside Celeste, he was not wearing a mask and neither would he. It was foolish not too and he knew so but he did not think straight in times like these. He also had a tendency to think himself invulnerable, it would most likely one day be his downfall. He took her hand in his. "Oh Celeste, why must you have been so kind to those who were sick." He too had been kind and helped but Celeste had done so much more than himself. He had helped deliver the soup that day but since then he had been more focused on helping to provide food and medicine to the people. He was a better at logistics than caring physically for others so it suited him better. "You will make the perfect Baroness for the people here and the people of Andaris will one day be Lucky to have such a compassionate Duchess." His eyes were sad and fearful but he did his best to express an air of hope and strength, an appearance that showed he believed she would pull through.

[Celeste Andaris]

They didn't like it, not one bit, but both Gwen and the doctor left the room at Xander's insistence. Celeste would argue if she could, but she was half asleep during the exchange, her eyes closed and her breathing rattling in her chest. When Xander took her hand, though, her gaze turned to him. "Xander?" The hand in his was hot, her temperature raging as she looked at him, not quite sure that he was who she thought he was. He asked her why she had been kind, why she had gone and helped.

"Mother told us to always... always remember we are privileged." As a coughing spasm hit, Celeste lifted her hand, in which she clutched a fresh handkerchief. It had been one of the things Gwen had done, in preparation for Xander coming in, putting that handkerchief in her hand. Whilst the episode lasted, she could do nothing but cough and try to wave him away, for him not to see. When she lay back the handkerchief had blood on it and it took her a moment to gather her breath.

"Why aren't you wearing a mask? You should. I might make you ill." Her thought process was confused and hazy, the fever she was running muddling her mind. "Peake told me.. when I was born I sneezed on him. I don't want to see him, Xander," Her brother Peake was dead, as far as Celeste knew and believed, but in her current state she did not remember that. "He said I made him do it, but I didn't. It wasn't my fault was it?" Tears fell down her face unheeded and unrestrained. "Please don't let him in, I can't fight him off, please don't let him in." Her eyes were wide with fear at the prospect, until he calmed her and she dozed again for a few moments.

"Xander?" Opening her eyes again, Celeste frowned as she looked at him with complete confusion in her expression, "What are you doing in my bedroom?" Come to that, she wondered aloud, why was it so cold in here? For as long as he stayed, that was how things were for her. Fever raged and she had regular attacks of coughing which seemed to tear through her whole body. When those happened, the handkerchief always came away with blood on it and she tried not to show him whilst still needing his help to sit up during the attack. There were moments where she was lucid, but mostly what she said made no sense.

After a while, Gwen tapped on the door and came back in, saying that she needed to give Lady Andaris some medicine, but the doctor was outside if Lord Krome wished to speak to him.

The doctor, in fact, was waiting for him and looked at Xander with a very grave expression. "Lord Krome, I think we need to have a talk." He motioned to the small alcove where they could sit and he maintained his somber mood. "Lord Krome, I have treated many with this illness." He had, in fact, had it and recovered. "Lady Andaris has been hit with it particularly hard and she is incredibly weak. At times during the night she was fighting to breathe at all." He did not wish to be giving this news, but it was the simple truth. "I have done everything that can be done and she continues to grow worse. It is like she has no strength at all to fight it." Serious eyes locked with Xander's. "I would suggest that all we can do is keep the treatments, keep faith and pray for a miracle, Lord Krome."

Awkwardly, he patted Xander's arm, and added what encouragement he could. "In cases like these, all we have is hope that she is strong, that she fights. If you can encourage her in any way, Lord Krome, I would urge you to do so. She must fight now, it is her only hope."

[Xander Andaris]

Of course it would have been her mother who prompted this kindness within her, this unstoppable urge to help those who were sick. He too had wished to help them but even he had known when it was important to preserve his own life. He could be no use to Krome if he was dead, no use to those who needed his help when bed ridden. He had applied his help in other ways but Celeste on the other hand had not been so controlling of her safety. "I could have guessed your mother would have been your motivation. I wish I could think so highly of my own." He clutched onto her as she went into the fit of coughs. Holding her up right and ignoring the weak wave of her hand to get him away.

He hid the true shock and terror he felt deep inside at the sight of the blood that covered the handkerchief. He felt like he was losing her and so soon after they had truly bonded. It did not seem fair, the world seemed to want to take away any female he ever truly cared for. "Don't worry about me, I am of sturdy make. You are the one we need worry about, you went and got yourself sick and now you have to put up with my fussing." She was dreadfully hot and yet she shivered, something Xander had never understood about sickness.

Peake, her brother, why was she speaking of him? It must have been the sickness taking over her mind but it seemed odd and as he listened more he started to wonder if it could possibly be? Her words, that she made him do it, that it was her fault and she could not fight him. Xander felt a hole form in his chest, pity filled his heart and he was left almost speechless. Until the tears came and he could not stop the flow it came out at such a fast pace. "It is okay, Celeste, I won't let him in, I am here to protect you. I will fight it for you, I will keep him out. It is just me and you. Just us and I promise you he won't get in." He rubbed the tears from her cheeks as she seemed to calm somewhat.

He held her tightly and kept her up right as she coughed, helping her to return to a comfortable position following them and reminding her who he was and where she was. He still could not believe it was true what she had implied, accidentally, when Gwen knocked at the door and came in, she said she needed to give Celeste medicine and that the doctor was outside waiting for him. So with a gentle squeeze of her hand and a brush of her cheek goodbye he exited to speak with the doctor. He had been stood outside waiting and was clearly not in the best of spirits, Xander could have guessed what he would be told.

He listened to the doctor anyway, listening to the grave news and trying his best to think of the good in the words. Little was there, he seemed to be told nothing but dark and sorrowful information. The only one good thing he heard was the mention of hope, the need to give her hope and to urge her to fight. This was something Xander could do, something he could handle. He was no medicinal expert, in fact, he wasn't even close to vaguely skilled with medicine. However, he knew Celeste and she was stubborn all he had to do was to get her to apply that stubbornness to fighting the illness. "Thank you doctor, for all your hard work. I can help her to fight and I can help her hope as well as hoping myself." He smiled at the doctor and then shook his hand thanking him one last time and then moving back to the door.

He knocked three times and then entered, slowly opening the door in case he was told to wait. Ones inside he returned straight back to her side, his future wife needed him and he was not going out now. "It is okay Celeste,
I am back now, please rest and I will keep you safe." He gently held her red hot hand and then rubbed his forehead with the other hand. This was not good but he needed to give her hope and so he tried. "You know how you are a strong woman, a smart woman and of course a stubborn woman, I need you to use that stubbornness now. Please Celeste, fight this sickness and win, just refuse to pass. I know you can do it." He wasn't even sure she was awake or could hear him.

[Celeste Andaris]

"I like it more than I ever thought I would." Celeste replied, when he said that she had to put up with his fussing. For all that she tried to wave him away, she rested against him, too and shook her head when she saw his face. "Please don't worry, Xander, I'm fine," she smiled at looked at him with incomprehension, "tell mother, will you? I don't know what dress to wear. Is Quincy home? He needs... " A frown crossed her face then and she grew confused and agitated. When he spoke to her in soothing words, though, promising her that it was just the two of them and he would not let Peake in, Celeste calmed and lay back down. "I feel safe, Xander. You don't know what a gift that is." Brief moments of lucidity interspersed the fever delirium and Celeste held on to his hand as she coughed and spoke nonsense, often falling asleep mid-sentence.

He spoke to the doctor and the news wasn't good, but Xander determined what he was going to do and he went back in there. Celeste turned to look at him and smiled, but she seemed too weak to speak. Her eyes were huge in her pale face and she clung on to him. He spoke and whether she heard him or not it was hard to tell, her heavy-lidded eyes were closing and sleep overtook her. Gwen fussed around brought Xander a cup of tea as Celeste slept. It became obvious, as he stayed there with her, what the doctor had said about her struggling to breathe; it was evidently a struggle and becoming more of one each breath.

She woke, maybe two breaks later and she looked at him. "Xander?" Her voice was weaker still than it had been. "Will you stay with me?" She was entirely lucid as she asked that, her hand in his. "I feel so weak and.. please? Just lay here with me and I can sleep then." She frowned and her speech was slurred as she whispered, "I feel safe when your arms are around me. I think Gwen is trying to kill me, she gives me things to drink and they taste bad." Gwen smiled at Xander, her face a mask of concern as she looked at Lady Andaris.

Celeste motioned to the bed next to her. "I know it's not .. but please, Xander? Stay with me and I won't be afraid." If he did as she asked and got into bed next to her then she rested against him and drifted once more to sleep.

[Xander Andaris]

The ways she spoke and of what, it was clear she was not herself. Her mind must have been so blurred and lost, he felt his chest burn and itch as he wished there was something he could do to help her. He was lost there, he had never known what to do. He had been unable to save his sister and now he was unable to help his fiance, he kept promising to protect her yet she kept ending up in pain. First the attack in the village, then the attack by the servant after the party. It seemed no matter what he did you ended up suffering and he was beginning to doubt his ability as a partner.

"It is okay, I will tell mother, now rest let me take care of you." She was clearly delirious phasing in and out of sense. Some points she knew him and understood where she was and other times she seemed to think she was back in Andaris with her family. He knew he shouldn't play along but it was better scaring her, when she realised herself who too changed with her. He tried to keep her comfortable and allowed her to lean against him in between her coughing gits and different confused states. He was gone for a few minutes when he conversed with the doctor and upon return she was still asleep.

He could hear her laboured breath as he sat with her, for breaks it was probably around two breaks before she woke again. He was there waiting and ready, like he had promised he would not leave her and would remain to fuss over her. "It is okay I am here. I will stay of course." He smiled at her as she woke, ready to help her through whatever she was seeing now. She seemed even more weak than before and it worried Xander, why had she deteriorated so much in a couple of breaks. His heart jumped with what came next, it was not her request he lay and rest with her but instead the whisper about Gwen.

As she said she thought the woman was trying to kill her something the serving boy had said came back to him. 'We are everywhere, Lord Krome. We are in the homes of every noble house, you nor your wife, nor your highborn friends will ever be safe.' He suddenly wondered if he had been wrong about his knowing the servants. At the time he had forgotten about Gwen, she was the new servant after all and not someone he had considered. He hid his fear and smiled at the woman, attempting to make it appear like he had not even vaguely believed her. Yet, after what had happened he did wonder if it were possible.

Xander did as she requested and climbed into the bed next to her, her whole body was on fire and he even began to perspire a little from holding her against him. "You can rest now Cleste. I am here to keep you safe, now rest my dear." He gently brushed his fingers through her hair as she lay against him, the other arm holding her up so she did not sleep flat against the bed. He had been told it was better to keep her in a sitting position in order to keep her air ways open and stop the mucus and blood accumulating against the back of her wind pipe. He remained with her for four days, snoozing beside her but remaining mostly awake and vigilant.

During this time he saw Gwen giver her the medicine and the drinks that Celeste had spoke of, although the drinks were few and far in between only one in the whole four days, he wondered what they were but was afraid to ask. He was sure it was something the doctor had prescribed He observed how weak her breathing was and just how much she was struggling to keep alive. However, the fact the drinks were being far less frequently administered was most likely the main reason Celeste recovered, not that either of them knew at the time.

More than a few times her respiration became so weak he thought her dead at first but every time her stubbornness prevailed and she bounced back. On the fourth day he had drifted off to a sleep of his own in the early hours of the morning, having bin unable to remain awake any longer. As his eyes flickered open and his body realised she was no longer in his arms he panicked. Only for a brief moment before turning to his side and seeing her lying in the bed. She was on her side and resting peacefully against the pillow, her breathing was still laboured but as he touched her skin she felt normal. It appeared the fever had finally broken and she would soon be back to her self he was sure.

[Celeste Andaris]

To Celeste, the four trials that passed felt like almost no time at all. Like one moment she remembered he'd been there and then she had been talking to her mother. It was all very jumbled and she could not unpick it. Sometimes, as she lay there with him holding her, she begged him not to let Peake hurt her again, other times her delirium took her back in time and she thought that she was just a little girl again. The doctor grew ever more serious and solemn and suggested to Xander more than once that her family should be called. It always made her afraid when he said that and she implored Xander not to let that happen. Mostly, of course, she slept, but when she talked she was almost always confused. She spoke of the attack during their engagement party, of how he had whispered in her ear and she did not like it because it was what Peake had done. Those carefully held secrets which she had told no one, of how it was because she looked like mother, all of them came pouring out without thought as delirium held her in the grip of fever.

The few times that she was lucid, she did her best to assure him that she was fine and feeling better and she apologised because she knew that she should tell him to go, but she could not do that. Instead, she repeated her request that he stay with her.

Gwen was a constant presence, but it was Xander who Celeste turned to when she was afraid or confused. Each time she dipped into a position where the doctor was called back, no matter what time of the trial it was, each time the doctor told him that she could not keep doing this.

And to her, it passed in a fever-haze which later she would remember only in flashes.

That morning, it was the feel of a gentle hand on her face which she woke to and Celeste's eyes flickered open as she saw that Xander was there. She smiled at him as she realised that they were in bed together, in her weak and still somewhat confused state, a frown then crossed her forehead. "Xander?" Her voice was weak still, but stronger than it had been for a long time, "I remember not feeling well." She tried to piece it all together in her mind, to somehow make it clear but it made no sense and she could not. Instead, she turned and lay her head against his chest, about to fall asleep once more before she realised something quite else. "Did we get married?"

[Xander Andaris]

Her fever was broken and yet she was still weak and also confused, all her memories must have been muddled he was sure. From the way she had spoken to him and the more he had listened the more he had learnt about what happened to her. The cruelty her brother had subjected her too when he attacked her. He would never have expected to learn that Peake Andaris, the mighty war hero, had actually been a monster. Although, he could believe it, nobles had a tendency to be animals at heart. Monsters in the skin of men and women, some might even say he was the same but he of course would disagree.

He felt awful when he thought about how it must effect Celeste everyday to have had a member of her own family treat her in such a way. His father was a cruel man and yes he had beaten him that one night but he had never been that bad. Never had he been subjected to such a punishment and horror, it was not fair and it was now he realised just how difficult Celeste's life was. Since he had met her he had already saved her twice and to hear what her brother had done, he wondered how she kept going through all the misfortune.

He smiled at her as she looked at him a little confused, her speech further expressed that. "Good morning, Celeste." She was clearly still not quite herself, in fact, he thought he could even hear her shuffling the memories around in her head as she tried to piece together the past four trials. "It is okay, you got sick. You are getting better now though, the fever has broken and now all you need is rest and a good heart cup of tea." He watched her come closer, clearly still confused. She rested her head against his chest, the sound of his heart beating almost certainly strong enough for her to hear.

He had expected her to be less calm when she woke, less comfortable with being in a bed with him. Then she asked him the question and a smile came to his face. Clearly she really did not remember anything clearly, he too was tired and as she fell slowly again to sleep on his chest he brushed her hair once again like he had four days earlier. He felt comfortable with her at his side, more than he ever believed he could have just a season before. He couldn't quite understand everything he was feeling, real emotions had been suppressed for so long they felt foreign to him. They felt like someone else was in his head, it would take him time to get used top them again even when he knew he was only really feeling them around her. With others he was his normal self but she had managed to find the real him, the one that he had believed to be dead under the weight of all the lies.

"Not yet, Celeste, not quite yet." His own eyes grew heavy as he began too to fall asleep, staying up for night after night to care for her had taken its toll and so he joined her in sleep.

[Golem]

Rewards

Name:

Celeste Andaris

Knowledge:

Endurance: Fighting off Sickness leaves you Exhausted
Xander: Not afraid of sickness

Loot:

N/A

Injuries:

N/A

Fame:

N/A

Story:

5/5

Collaboration:

5/5

Structure:

5/5

- - -

Name:

Xander Krome

Knowledge:

Resistance: Hardy Childhood leads to Hadry Immune System
Celeste’s Mother: Inspired Celeste to be Selfless
Celeste: Couldn’t fight off Peake
Surgery: The symptoms of Fever

Loot:

N/A

Injuries:

Exhausted- 2 Trials of good rest needed. Longer before rest, the higher likelihood of falling ill.

Fame:

N/A

Story:

5/5

Collaboration:

5/5

Structure:

5/5

- - -

Comments:

This was a good thread! I liked seeing the bit of intrigue that Xander thought about, and I liked your bit of foreshadowing there.

The fever-addled haze was definitely realistic too, Celeste, and is why you didn’t get very many knowledges, unfortunately.

If you feel I've missed anything or if you have questions about your review, please don't hesitate to send me a quick PM. Thank you!