Chapter 7

A few days slugged on by and my condition did nothing but get worse. My fever skyrocketed and the vomiting was so bad it was painful. And I mean painful to the point where I would cry almost every time. My stomach was rejecting everything that went in it except water. For the past two days I had been experiencing a series of terrible headaches that were so bad all I could do was curl up in the feeble position and cry and hope it would be over soon.

With each new ailment, everyone grew increasingly concerned over me. At least, everyone who cared about me, anyway. The prince stayed with me at first, only leaving when there was something very pressing on his shoulders. Whenever one of those headaches would strike, he was usually there to pick me up, cradle me in his lap and try to comfort me until the pain subsided. Jericho didn't much break from his normal routine. He would come in, stand off to the side and watch me carefully for a while, coming over to hold my hand whenever one of my symptoms started.

By the end of the week, every physician in Babylon must've looked at me and not a single one of them could figure out what was wrong. They gave me tonics and medicines and tried every remedy they could think of but nothing worked. Didn't surprise me much, I can tell you that. I kept trying to tell everyone that if anyone would be able to figure out what was going on, it would be an Angel doctor, but it seemed like every time I opened my mouth to try and give helpful advice, my voice would be gone or I would throw up before I could get the words out. This was about the time that they started kicking everyone out of the room, in case whatever I had was contagious.

So far only one medicine seemed to be working for me. I'm not sure what it was exactly, but it helped settle my stomach whenever it started preparing itself for another throw up fest.

Also, according to what the Prince had told me, Jericho had thoroughly inspected the kitchen and kept a very close watch on the food that was brought to me. Jericho has been pretty quiet about it, so I'm not entirely certain of what was happening.

But in other news…

"SOMEONE KILL ME!" I cried and heaved painfully once again for what could've been the millionth time thus far. "JUST KILL ME NOW!" My voice faltered and I heaved again… and again… and again until my stomach was empty and felt like it was ready to burst open. But even then, I continued to dry heave until my body settled down and I was left in silent tears, my voice too tired to sob. The Prince, who was hear against the orders of the doctors that I should be quarantined, once again gathered me in his arms and hugged me to his chest "Put me out of my misery…" I moaned pathetically. He reached over to the bed-side table and grabbed the glass of water that was there.

"Be quiet, Naomi," he hushed me, holding the glass to my lips. "Drink." I quickly cupped my shivering hands over the glass and the hand he held it with and gulped it down, eager to sooth the horrid pain in my throat and stomach, but the Prince put a stop to that immediately. "Slowly!" I admit he'd been rather firm with me since I'd gotten worse. He still pretty much catered to my every need, but when it came to things that would affect my health even more, he wouldn't budge an inch. Like now.

After a good, long drink, he set the glass back down and held me close to him again, gently stroking my tangled mess of hair. I let my eyes fall shut and I breathed heavily for a moment as my brain kind of wandered away, leaving me in a sort of grayish cloud of uncertainty. For a moment, my senses went numb and I kinda… disconnected from reality. I felt… dazed. Disoriented. Confused. Then all of the sudden my senses came back to me and I felt arms around me… wait, who is that? What's going on here?

"Wha… where…" I mumbled incoherently. My vision was really blurry and my tongue was just kinda sitting there doing nothing. I couldn't think properly. Something touched my cheek… a hand? Was that my hand? Someone whispering… can't make out the words… am I talking to myself? Is that my voice?

"Wha… where… ?" Is that my voice?

"Naomi, is the fever getting to you again?" Who…? Fever…? What…?

"What's…?"

"It is getting to you. Don't get excited or you'll vomit again." Ok… if you say so…

"Is she disoriented again?" A new voice…

"Yes. She'll be over it in a minute." I heard a sigh.

"This isn't getting us anywhere… It's been a week and she's only gotten worse… I must be overlooking something."

"Perhaps it isn't poison at all."

"She's showing all the right symptoms..."

"If you are so convinced of this, why don't you tell Father?" A pregnant pause.

"I-I want to keep this as quiet as possible. I mean, Father would start an open investigation, which would only make it harder to find the culprit. I know you think I sound like an idiot, but..." At last I reconnected with the world and opened my eyes. My senses slowly came back, though still a bit hazy.

"Prince…?" I said quietly. He looked down at me.

"What is it, Naomi?" I scrunched my nose up.

"It smells bad in here."

"I don't smell anything," the Prince said, looking around oddly, which made me giggle. He was just used to it by now.

"Actually… it does," Jericho agreed.

"It's me isn't it?" I squeaked. "I smell bad, don't I?"

"You're ill, Nay," the Prince replied, "I probably smell, too, being in here for so long."

"It would be a good idea to go bathe," Jericho suggested, "It might help Naomi recover."

"Are you sure it's safe to move her?"

"It should be… With all that vomiting, I don't think she has anything left."

"Bones," I chimed in half-heartedly. Jericho gave a slight smile and shook his head.

"If she's well enough to make jokes, she should be able to take a bath," he justified. "You should too, brother."

"I can't just leave her," the Prince protested. Aww, he cares!

"I will take care of her, don't worry." The Prince still looked a little uncertain, but he knew that Jericho was right: both of us needed baths. Finally, he stood up with me in his arms and handed me over to his brother. He didn't say anything, just left a kiss on my forehead and was out the door.

Jericho, true to his word, ordered a small, private bath for me in the nearest Baths room. When it was ready, he carried me to there. The servants helped me undress and get in. I blushed at first, since I wasn't used to other people helping me get naked, but in my condition, I could barely even walk. For a while, I sat in silence and I meekly attempted to bathe myself. The hot, steamy atmosphere helped with my headache, and my stomach actually settled down somewhat. After my weak attempt at cleaning up, I just sat on the ledge that ran along the inside of the bath (the damn thing was literally big enough to swim in) and tried to relax.

But that only lasted until Jericho decided to invade my privacy. Or at least, the privacy of me and the few servants that were waiting on me.

"I'll take it from here, ladies," he told the servant girls. They bowed respectfully and left the room, leaving the two of us completely alone. For some reason, the idea of he and I alone, with me completely undressed made my breath catch. The fact that he was so silent behind me made it even worse.

"Naomi," he finally said, his voice very quiet. "W-would you mind if I joined you?" I felt my cheek turn hot. Join me? As in, in the water? ...Naked?

"Uh... no?" What else could I do? Refuse? Oh, something tells me this is going to be one of those incredibly uncomfortable moments that make people want to crawl under rocks and never, ever come out. He didn't reply, but I heard him start moving around behind me, and my cheeks burned hotter in anticipation. A moment later, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him slip his bare legs into the water next to me. I quickly turned to other way, trying to hide the redness in my face and I subconsciously folded my arms over my chest.

"I'm sorry if I'm... making you uncomfortable," he told me. "But I wanted to speak to you..."

"I-it's ok," I said, though I wasn't so sure I meant it. Come on, Naomi, don't be immature... it's just a naked man... Oooh... an incredibly sexy naked man... who happens to be the Prince's older brother... Deciding to be bold, I turned toward him, and what I found made me feel like the biggest fool on the planet. He was still dressed. The only thing missing was his boots, and his pants were rolled up to the knee. I silently berated myself.

"Naomi, may I ask you something?" he finally spoke up after a long, incredibly awkward silence. I restrained myself from jumping. Head out of the gutter, Naomi...

"Sure… what?" I answered.

"What do you think of Dalila?" I stopped. The question had caught me completely off-guard, but I was incredibly relieved. Dalila? Should I tell him the truth, that she creeps me out to no end? How exactly was he asking the question? I doubt it's referring to any type of romantic relationship… should I just lie and say I don't know?

"I… she… uh…" I blabbered, unsure how to answer. But I finally decided on the truth. "She… really… freaks me out." He stayed quiet for a moment. Uh oh, did I say the wrong thing?

"So you feel it as well, then," he finally said. Relief flooded me. "That there's something… not quite right with her. That's good, it isn't just me after all."

"Uh, pardon my ignorance, but what are you getting at?"

"Ever since she first came here, something about her has rubbed me the wrong way… I can't put my finger on it," he turned around and looked at me straight in the eye and dropped his voice. "Just between the two of us, I've been keeping a careful watch on her… I've seen some things that I don't like."

"Things? Like what?"

"When I first returned here, I noticed that she has a way of sweet-talking the guards and servants to do what she asks of them. Much worse, she has the same power over my father. I think that's how she was able to stay here."

"She's been sweet talking the King?" Temporarily forgetting about the awkwardness of the situation, I turned to him. My stomach gave a small lurch of protest. Jericho nodded solemnly.

"I don't like what I've been seeing," he said firmly with a look to match. "And I also find it a little more than convenient that as soon as my brother tells her what good friends you are, you suddenly fall ill."

I dropped my gaze, feeling too sick to be surprised. Ugh, I could already feel another headache coming on.

"So… you think she's behind it? My being sick, I mean." I asked, trying to get all of this straight in my mind.

"I can't be certain, but if you ask me, she's either responsible, or knows who is. But listen to me. From now on, stay away from her. If you see her coming, turn around and walk the other way. Don't talk to her, don't deal with her, and make sure that you're never alone with her. And until this mess is sorted out, I don't want you going off alone. Make sure than either me, Sora or Father is with you at all times, alright?" I swallowed the lump in my throat, not sure how I felt about that. But… if it was for my own safety…

"Alright. I promise." He smiled and brushed my hair away from my face. My skin tingled where he had touched me. That same feeling I'd had when I'd met him was slowly coming back now. The fever was dulling it, but it was there... like somehow, I needed him with me.

"Good." He was quiet again. "...Listen... I..." he stopped, suddenly sounding nervous. "...How do you feel now?"

"A-a little better. But I think I'm going to need to lay down soon."

"I see." I hear him inhale sharply. I looked over at him, and saw that he was... trembling?

"Are you alright?"

"Yes," he answered quickly. A little too quickly.

"You're shaking." He turned away.

"...Listen, Naomi... There's something I want to tell you... because for some odd reason, I feel like... I can trust you."

"Is that why you're shaking? Anxiety?" He swallowed.

"Yes, actually. I'm afraid my social skills are... very lacking. It takes me a while to get comfortable around people. Or in a conversation. That's why I tend to keep to myself."

"So that's why you weren't there?" I asked, something suddenly clicking in my mind.

"Why I wasn't where?" he inquired, his face full of confusion.

"At the big 'welcome home' feast for the Prince and I," I told him. His gaze fell.

"Oh... well, yes, that's part of it." He sighed. "I'm not very good with large crowds. I'm sorry that I couldn't see my brother, but..." he left it at that. "Well, it isn't important."

"Ok... so what was it you wanted to tell me?" He shifted his position closer to me, and looked around as if to make sure we were really alone.

"Don't take this the wrong way." He lowered his voice. "I know what you are." My face went completely blank for a moment and a slew of questions swarmed my mind. How did he know? I hadn't said anything! I'd been careful about hiding my charm! Oh great, this could only mean super trouble for me now. I could not have this getting out. If everyone in Babylon knew I was an Angel...

"...How do you know...?" I whispered, premature panic slowly sinking in.

"Don't be alarmed. To be perfectly honest, it was your hair that gave you away to me, along with the little charm you wear. Humans wouldn't notice, of course. They just think you're from some distant land where everything is different. But to another Angel, those things are dead giveaways." He gave me a comforting smile. It took my overheated brain a moment to realize what he was saying, and another moment to realize exactly what he was saying.

"...You're an Angel," I said softly, but firmly. He nodded.

"On my mother's side, yes. But no one knows about it except my father. Please don't tell anyone."

"I won't, I promise. If I did, then both of us would be in hot water."

"In case you didn't notice, we are in hot water," he said, gesturing around the room. I shot him a look.

"Don't try to be funny. I'm serious." He chuckled lightly.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." I groaned as my stomach did another flipflop.

"...I think I need to lay down." Without hesitating, Jericho hoisted himself out of the bath, and then took my hands and pulled me out. My legs refused to work, however, and I stumbled forward. Lucky for me, he caught me before I could hit the ground, and likely end up taking him down with me. He kept a firm grip on me as I tried and failed several times to right myself, and the more I did that, the more nauseous I started to feel. Finally, I ran out of energy and fell to my knees.

"Naomi...?" Jericho's voice was very concerned now. "You're shaking." I shut my eyes in attempt to keep myself from getting dizzier than I already was. When I didn't respond, Jericho smoothly scooped me up in his arms and walked over to a corner with a bunch of fluffy pillows and set me down. "Just relax and try to control your breathing. Don't think about the nausea." I did what he said, except trying not to think about feeling sick, only made me think about it even more. I opened my eyes to tell him I wasn't feeling much better, I almost immediately wished I hadn't. Jericho kneeling over me, and my lack of clothes made me feel vulnerable.

"Uh..." Oh crap, I'm naked... Oh crap, he's handsome... Oh crap he's touching me...

He felt my forehead and checked my pulse, and then left my side in order to pull his pants on, probably because he noticed my discomfort. When he came back, he pulled me into a sitting position and wrapped his black overcoat around my shoulders, "How's that?"

"Better. Thank you."

"Do you think you can dress yourself? I'm afraid I can't be of much help, but I can call one of the attendants."

"I think I can manage. Getting dressed on the floor is a skill I mastered back in school." Jericho smirked, and my god, did it look good on him.

"Let me guess. You chronically oversleep?" I nodded, and he chuckled. After he brought me my clothes, I did the best I could to put them on and Jericho, fully dressed as well, carried me back to my room.

The bath really helped me out. My fever went down and I felt much better the whole rest of the day. I was even well enough to attempt eating again. I had a pretty big dinner, considering my condition, and took my tonic to keep my stomach settled and afterwords, the Prince read me several more chapters from my book. As always, I conked out while he was reading. For a moment I thought it was over and I would be back on my feet in no time. Well…

It was the middle of the night when it happened. It started with a fever dream, which woke me up. Everyone has different types of fever dreams… mine were usually of falling and horrible smells and sounds. My head hurt a little and my stomach was kinda queasy… I figured it was just my body trying to recover from the dream, since it had been pretty vivid, so I just lay still, waiting for it to go away. It didn't. The small queasy feeling in my stomach slowly grew to nausea. My chin started to tremble and my throat began to constrict. I knew what was coming. So, I pulled myself over to the side of the bed and leaned over in anticipation…

The headache came. It hit me so hard I nearly fell out of bed. The ridiculous intensity of the pain blinded me. My ears started to ring. My head felt so heavy and so hot… Memories of that dream came back to me… The sensation of falling… The god-awful scent of rotting flesh, vomit and chemicals returned to my nostrils… I could already feel tears falling down my cheeks.

This was cruel. This was inhumane. It was pure torture! I couldn't stand it. So many tormenting elements all being added in at once… I couldn't take it… I'm gonna puke. I'm gonna puke. I'm so gonna puke… Can't stand it… vomit coming… Gods, that smell… gonna throw up…

I opened my mouth…

"PRINCE!" And I threw up.

My temperature reached an all time high. My stomach was empty and I was frozen to the bone. I was shivering violently, clutching at my blankets, trying to get warm. There was a cool wet cloth over my forehead now, but the way my head was feeling, it wasn't going to stay cool for very long.

Even though my ears were still ringing, I could hear the conversation going on around me. The Prince and Jericho had heard me scream and rushed to my aid. Let me tell you, it seemed like forever until the whole thing finally passed. But it left me feeling very beaten and drained. I didn't hear much of what the two men were saying; too busy trying to get rid of that awful chill I had. But when they finished their discussion, the Prince reluctantly headed back to his own bedroom while Jericho hung back.

The older prince sat on the bed next to me and felt my cheek, then moved the cloth and felt my forehead.

"You're burning up, Angel," he said softly.

"…It's so cold…" I murmured, trying to control my chattering teeth.

"Can't do much about that, sorry," he replied.

"…My tonic…" I said cracking one eye open as my stomach gave a small lurch. "Where is it?"

"Tonic…?" Jericho gave a quick puzzled look and glanced around, eventually spotting the small bottle on my nightstand. He picked it up and examined the unmarked container. "This?"

'"Yes…" I weakly reached for it. "It usually helps…" He took the cap off, still studying the bottle closely, and sniffed the top, only to cringe and turn away. I tried to reach for it again, but he stopped me.

"Wait for just a moment, Naomi…" he told me and turned away, and reluctantly put the bottle rim to his lips and took a drink of it, only to come away looking like he'd swallowed a flask of vinegar.

"What are you…? What did you do that for?" I asked, watching him force it down his throat and cough violently.

"I figured as much. Naomi, I want you to stop taking this." He stood up.

"What? Why?" Why would he take away the only thing that actually made me feel better?

"Because this is what's making you sick." He walked out onto the balcony, taking my medicine with him, and in one smooth move, he hurled it over the side. I tried to yell at him, but I only had enough energy to sit up.

"…That was the only thing that helped…" I complained as he came back in, shutting the balcony door behind him.

"I know," he returned to my bedside and sat there a moment before looking at me, his expression like he had just come to a decision. He carefully took my hand and held it comfortingly. "Listen carefully. Tomorrow, I'm going to speak with my father on this matter. Until then, I want you to stay in bed and rest. Don't eat anything they bring up to you, don't drink anything but water, and don't take anymore medicines. Whatever happens, let your body fight this off on its own. Understand?" I swallowed. His grim tone wasn't making me feel much better about my condition. My head suddenly felt like it weighed a ton, and I dropped back onto the pillow.

"Yeah. I get it…" I murmured. His hand came to rest on my forehead again.

"Good girl…" he whispered. "I will have this resolved soon. I promise." He stayed with me for a long time until I was asleep again. This time, I didn't dream at all, and for once, I had what could qualify as a peaceful night's sleep.

Unfortunately, things would only get worse. The next morning, the Prince came into my room looking either regretful, or thankful. I couldn't really tell, since my head was still on fire, which made seeing clearly much more difficult. He sat at my bedside, asked how I was, and then delivered the news.

"Jericho was arrested last night."

Kiri: And the plot thickens! Woo! What's with Naomi's mysterious sickness? Is it poison? Is Dalila the true culprit? Will Jericho uncover the mystery?! NO ONE KNOWS! WoooOOOooo... anyways, not much time for an FAQ today, guys. Sorry. but hopefully I can get another chapter out to you guys before the end of the weekend. And the reviews are all great! A bit few in number, but still, I love you guys! Keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter! Ciao!