A/N: Thanks to PB7 for betaing this.
It was the third day of Julien's newly gained position as the king of the lemurs. Last night's party had stretched long into the night, until Maurice had called it to a stop so that the new king could get some well-deserved rest; it had been very much necessary too, as Julien had barely been able to stand, let alone dance at that point. So as it was, it was well into the afternoon when Maurice entered Julien's house to wake him up to face his kingly duties.
"Good afternoon, Prince- I mean King Julien", Maurice said cheerfully, and set the tray he was carrying on a free tabletop. He hummed to himself as he opened the leaf curtains from the windows and made his way over to the sleeping king.
"I said: good afternoon, you sleepy head. It's past noon, and about the time you-", he began, but stopped short as he laid his paw on Julien's shoulder to shake him awake. He recoiled with a surprised yelp at the feeling of a way too high temperature radiating from the still form. After the initial shock he reached back over for another feel and had his fears confirmed: King Julien had come down with something on his third day on the job.
"This is not good", Maurice muttered, chewing on his lower lip anxiously. Now that he really looked it was clear as the day: Julien was curled up into a shivering little ball of sweaty fur, clutching his pillow like a lifeline, and frowning in discomfort despite being asleep. Definitely sick. The Royal Caretaker, or maybe it was the Royal Advisor now, patted the king's head comfortingly, and then fetched him a hand-knitted blanket for some warmth.
"There, there, Julien. You stay put while I get the witchdoctor to take a look at you", he said. After one last futile check on the ailing lemur, he left posthaste.
ooooo
"Well?" Maurice asked the instant the witchdoctor, a nice collared brown lemur called Britta, came out of the patient's room. She looked at him with a slight frown, and he noticed a small fresh cut on the left side of her jaw and winced. Seemed that Julien hadn't liked her a whole lot.
"He has an inflammation. It seems nobody did anything about the large fossa bite on his hindquarters and it got contaminated. I cleaned and wrapped it up, much to his... ehm, discomfort, and now all we can do is wait for his system to fight it off", she said with a sigh.
"Is it... bad? I mean, is it more likely that he will just be sick for a couple of days and get better, or...?" Maurice asked hesitantly. From what he had seen and heard, inflammations could kill you. However, Britta smiled and waved her paw dismissively.
"Don't worry. Inflammations can be fatal if not treated, but this wasn't in bad shape at all and I cleaned it all up. He should be fine. If he isn't better in three days you may come and get me again and we'll try the voodoo treatment", she said confidently, which eased his worries greatly. He thanked her and saw her leave, and then entered Julien's quarters to check on him.
"Whaaat? You wanna poke at my butt again? Cos lemme tells you, ya ain't supposed to be touching the royal behind when the king isn't up for the action", Julien declared from the blanket nest he had made for himself, sounding rather groggy and disoriented, but at least awake.
Maurice chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Nah, I'll pass on the butt poking, your majesty. How are you feeling?" he asked, and Julien instantly perked up. That is, as much as he seemed to be capable of right then. He even got up enough to lean on his elbows and look at Maurice.
"Maurice? Phew, I thought you were that awful lady who entered my home uninvited and seemed to think that I'd be receptive to advances while feeling the most awful", he said, and then frowned accusingly at the Aye-Aye. "You're not thinking the same, are you? Cos as flattering as that would be, I truly am not in the mood."
Maurice's eyes widened and he hurriedly waved his paws negative.
"No! No, King Julien, I'm not here to... disturb your rest. And actually, neither was she. She was a witchdoctor who was checking on your health. As you no doubt have noticed you're not in the best of health right now", he explained patiently. Julien and his jumping to absurd conclusions, honestly.
Julien relaxed at this, and plopped back down on his pillow.
"Okay then. I don't see how that explains the butt prodding, but whatever, not important. So, am I going to die?" he asked casually. Sickness tended to mean slow death after all. A real shame - he just became the king and even avoided being eaten by the fossa, only to die from a disease. At least Maurice could be trusted to take good care of his keytar when he was gone.
"Fortunately, she said you won't die. You're just gonna be sick for a couple of days because of the bite", Maurice said with a smile. "Although, I'll wager those aren't gonna be pleasant days."
Julien thought that over and decided that not dying would be well worth any trouble. He crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.
"That's fine. You'll take care of me and get me all better and fit to rule again, won't you, Maurice?"
Julien was asleep before Maurice could answer, but the Aye-Aye patted his patient's shoulder warmly, and quietly promised to do just that.
ooooo
"Are you sure dying isn't an option after all? Because I'm feeling too hot again, but if the blanket moves even a teensy tiny little bit I'll feel all cold! It's impossible! ...I also really need to visit the outhouse", Julien whined while holding his pounding head. He had been enduring this for a solid day now and didn't seem to be getting any better. He was so through with laying down, but got dizzy if he stood up or even sat up. He really wanted to listen to music to pass the time, but had been unable to stay still while doing so and had passed out while dancing earlier, so Maurice had forbidden the activity. He was really miserable.
"Dying isn't an option, your majesty. You would miss out on all the parties we can now hold with the ban lifted", Maurice said calmly, and got up from his seat by the window to go help Julien get up.
"Oh, right, parties! I made them legal again, didn't I? Oh, oh, and the after rescue party was awesome!" the king said, much more cheerful again. He endured the inevitable dizzy fit from standing, and slowly made his way to the outhouse while leaning against his caretaker. By the time they made it back to the bed he was downright exhausted.
"Maurice? If I don't get better you'll be the new king. Maurice the First. How's that sound?" he slurred, and slouched on the edge of the bed, staring dazedly at nothing.
"Thank you for the honour, but I'm sure it won't come to that. Now lay down and try to sleep again, that'll make you get better faster. I'll squeeze you some mango juice when you wake up again", Maurice answered gently, but firmly. This wasn't the first time that Julien had said that today. He was way too fuzzy-brained to keep tabs on what he said, and apparently still very worried about his continued survival, no matter how much he whined for death the rest of the time. It was really quite pitiful.
Julien mumbled something incoherent and laid down, slumbering as soon as his head hit the pillow. Maurice pulled the blanket over the sleeping king and gently wiped sweat from his forehead with a fluffy leaf. Julien made a content little noise at the touch, which brought a smile to the Aye-Aye's lips. It was moments like this that he counted as the highlights of his job.
ooooo
Maurice shot up from his guest bed when he heard Julien screaming bloody murder again. He rubbed at his tired eyes briefly and quickly made his way to his king's bedside.
Julien was sweating buckets and clutching the sheets so hard his grooming claws were digging holes into the delicate material. His mouth was open in a now breathless scream as whatever nightmare he kept having was wreaking havoc to his psyche. This was the third time tonight.
"King Julien! It's a nightmare, nothing is real", Maurice muttered to the distressed ring-tail's ear as he sat down next to him. He ran a gentle paw over Julien's ears, trying to calm him down, preferably without waking him. It had worked well last time.
Julien's screaming turned into whimpers, and he leaned into the touch like a needy child. After a little moment he let go of the sheets too, and his paw flailed pathetically into Maurice's general direction, seeking more contact. Maurice smiled tiredly and shifted closer so that the paws could find him and wrap around him. This seemed to calm Julien down, and the ill lemur sighed contentedly before the grip loosened and he fell back into deep slumber.
"That's right, go right back to sleep, your majesty", Maurice murmured, and kept running his paw over the other lemur's ears. Hopefully this time the peace would last until the morning. By now he was really grateful that King Julien was very rarely sick. In fact, he could only remember one previous instance from when the king was still a small pup, and even then, it hadn't been quite this bad.
Maurice checked his patient over, and very carefully moved the arms from his waist to go back to his own bed. However, his moving stirred Julien and the arms went right back to their previous spot.
"No... don't leave, Mo-Mo. They'll come back if you do", Julien mumbled, and his eyes cracked open a little bit to seek his caretaker's beseechingly. He wasn't quite lucid, but seemed aware enough, much to Maurice's surprise.
The Aye-Aye blinked owlishly down at the ailing king, and then sighed softly and patted his head.
"Very well, your majesty. But in that case I'll really want to lay down as well. I may be nocturnal by nature, but I've adjusted to your rhythm a long time ago and am not planning on changing it", he said, and gave Julien a slight push as a cue to scoot over.
Julien did just that, albeit slowly and gingerly.
"Have I ever told you how much I appreciate that, Maurice?" he asked groggily as Maurice settled down next to him. He nestled close to his caretaker and sighed with satisfaction.
"Not in as many words before now, but it certainly shows", Maurice said fondly, and adjusted the blanket so that it was only covering Julien and not him, as he didn't need it.
"Yes, well, I do", Julien declared sleepily, and nuzzled his face into the other's fur.
"Duly noted. Go to sleep, Julien."
No more nightmares plagued the king that night.
ooooo
"No, I'm not hungry", Julien muttered and turned to his other side, away from Maurice and the bowl of chopped mango and tamarind.
"But your majesty, you haven't eaten anything since yesterday, and even then, it was just the mango juice. I know you don't feel like eating, but it would do you a lot of good to eat at least a little bit", Maurice tried to persuade him. He even used his tail to waft the sweet scent into Julien's direction to entice his appetite, but to no avail. He frowned in frustration and racked his brain for another approach to the problem. After a moment of contemplation he set the bowl down on the table and looked at his king again.
"Alright, you aren't going to eat these. How about something else? Name it, and I'll get it for you", Maurice suggested, while hoping that the plan wouldn't backfire. There was a possibility that Julien would ask for something completely outrageous and hard to get, but with his fevered state it was less likely than usual.
Julien stayed quiet for a while, and with his back turned towards Maurice it was hard to tell if he had fallen asleep or was just thinking the suggestion. It turned out to be the latter.
"Well... I could maybe have some of those yellow flowers. You know, the trumpet-shaped ones with five petals and funny leaves", the king mumbled, and glanced over his shoulder at his caretaker.
Maurice felt encouraged by this, and took a moment to recall the flowers in question.
"You mean Uncarina?" he asked, pretty sure that he was right, but wanting to confirm it. Julien flopped back down on the bed and draped an arm over his eyes.
"I don't care about the name, just the taste. You've seen me eat them before, so you probably know what they are", he said, and groaned, "Can I get cold water again too?"
Maurice smiled a bit to himself and headed towards the door.
"Sure thing, your majesty. I'll get you the water first, then I'll go seek the yellow flowers", he said before leaving.
Much to Maurice's delight, Julien actually ate some of the flowers when he brought them.
ooooo
It was the morning of the fourth day and Maurice was hesitant to check the still sleeping king's situation. If Julien wasn't feeling better today, they'd have to see the witchdoctor again. He was almost certain that Julien wouldn't appreciate that at all, and of course it'd also mean that the inflammation was worse than what they initially thought.
After a few minutes of pondering and stalling, Maurice finally got a hold of himself and placed a paw on the king's forehead. Much to his relief, it felt completely normal. At the very least, the fever was gone. Of course he'd still need to hear it from Julien's mouth before he could ascertain that he was healed, but this was definitely an improvement.
With a hopeful mood, Maurice went to get the morning water for his king and returned shortly to wake him up.
"Nnnh, come back later, the king is still sleeping..." Julien mumbled at the gentle prodding. Maurice rolled his eyes.
"You've been sleeping quite enough recently, so do us both a favour and wake up now so that I can check your well-being", Maurice said, and prodded the ring-tail's shoulder a bit harder. That did the trick, and Julien sat up tiredly, rubbing his eyes.
"My well-being? Oh, right. Sick and stuff", Julien said, and made a face while stretching. He then hopped out of the bed and made a beeline for his mirror, while Maurice just stood frozen on the spot, staring at him.
"My water, Maurice?" Julien said impatiently, and snapped his fingers a couple of times demandingly. "Honestly, you've been doing this long enough that this should come automatically to you."
Maurice gaped.
"You- you're no longer sick!" he finally exclaimed, and a big smile spread on his face. He quickly grabbed the tray and skittered to his king's side.
Julien blinked, looked down at himself, then in the mirror, then at Maurice, then at himself again. Then he laughed out loud and grabbed Maurice's shoulders, shaking him hard enough in glee to make the bowl of water clatter on the floor.
"Yes! Oh, I'm so happy! I knew that I wouldn't die from something as silly as a missing butt chunk!" Julien cheered, and hugged Maurice for a second, and then held him at an arm's length to look at the spilled water critically.
"But look at what you did! Now I don't have any water! Maurice, get me more water, I cannot start a day without proper grooming, you know that", he said, and spun the baffled Aye-Aye around to face the door, before turning to look at himself in the mirror again in excitement.
Maurice blinked a few times, and then smiled to himself and picked up the bowl.
"Of course, your majesty", he said amicably, and exited to go visit the royal watering hole again.
Everything was back to normal, like none of it had ever even happened, but neither would forget it anytime soon. Maybe the bad parts, but both would remember the good parts. And secretly treasure them.