Heya. How's your summer goin'? :3

The Apocryphal One: I love the dynamic Severa and Kjelle have. Severa being belligerent and Kjelle just shrugging it off just tickles the right part of my brain.

Well, no promises on the fates idea. I'd probably write some other stories first.

Emblem of Light: Don't apologize! As much as I like reviews, I don't want you to feel forced into it!

Hm, typos eh? Better fix that. I'll probably forget, though…

I'm sure that somehow, I'm living my life wrong, but I haven't quite decided if that's a correct statement or if it's just paranoia.

I have been rather distracted lately; a number of games I have been eager for recently came out… Monster Hunter Generations and Bravely Second take a fair bit of time. _

Anyway, let's move on, shall we? Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-One

Aurora was about ready to die. Her stomach had been the first to complain about the rather aggressive motions of the boat, followed by her head. She was near the middle of the ship, where the rocking was not quite so severe, but needless to say that she'd already lost her lunch. Breakfast was probably gone too, at this point. Brady grumbled as he held his staff over her- it alleviated the seasickness, somewhat, but it was becoming increasingly clear that she had some proper illness along with it.

"Yer the only woman I know who could get herself seasick and sick. I'd tell ya to get yer keister into bed, but I dunno if you could even make it that far." Brady grumbled. Aurora shrugged, too nauseous to come up with a smart remark.

"Going… To… Die…" She whined, curled by the railing. She looked awful. Sallow and sweaty, her hair in a mess. Brady grunted, as he forced her to stand, supporting her. He staggered under her weight as he lead her along the deck to head below.

"Ya know…" He growled as he struggled. "I really should start workin' out. I can't even haul you more than a couple'a feet…"

"Urgh…" Aurora just moaned in pain as she struggled to keep her weight off of Brady. Everything was blurry and her vision swam. She nearly tumbled onto her face, if it weren't for the scrawny healer yanking her back upright.

"Hey, hey, stay with me!" He snapped. Despite the harsh tone, he was concerned. Aurora was usually more talkative than this. She had said maybe seven words in the past half hour. Luckily, Brady didn't have to haul her alone anymore, as a much stronger pair of arms suddenly hauled Aurora up.

"Let ol' teach carry her, kid." Vaike said, a bit softer than normal in consideration for Aurora. "Jus' tell me where ya need her."

Brady grunted and led the way, and soon, Aurora was placed in a bed with a damp cloth on her head. Vaike grimaced. "Ogre's teeth, she's running a fever too! I could feel it through her clothes."

"Yeah yeah…" Brady grumbled. "Do a pal a favor, would ya? Grab my ma and some water. She needs to get some in her, with the way she's been sweating…"

Vaike was off in a flash. Time seemed to pass quickly- for Aurora, it felt like the minutes ticked by fast, but in the most agonizing manner. Vaike was back before she knew he had left, with Maribelle, a bundle of staves for the healers in one arm, and an entire water barrel in the other.

"Uh… That was more water than I'da thought but uh… thanks?" Brady raised a brow, but shook his head. "Ma, ya gotta help me. I'm not so good at dealin' with sickness as I am injury, but I can tell right away this is a two-healer job."

Maribelle huffed at her son's informality, but pulled her glove off to feel Aurora's forehead. She tutted loudly. "We need to reduce her fever, first. Not too much, or she'll get even sicker, but enough so that it's not dangerous for her."

The two set to work- Aurora, still only semi-lucid, mumbled softly. "Are… Ai… n… Mio… okay?" Each word was an effort to get out. Vaike, who had turned to leave, paused to answer.

"Saw 'em earlier. They're fine. Whatever you have, they don't." He gave her a thumbs up and a big grin. Despite the rather cheesy gesture, Aurora cracked a weak smile in return. She shuddered and grimaced at another wave of nausea- she couldn't tell what was the motion sickness and what was the disease. It was pure misery.

"Well, she'll live, but she's not going to enjoy the next few days." Maribelle tutted. "I am afraid that you're in for a rather rough ride, dear."

"What else is new?" Brady shook his head with a weary sigh. "Still, we should give her space once we finish up here... Don't wanna get whatever she has. I think Pa has some medicine packed up he could give her."

"Ah, excellent. Brady darling, could you fetch him for me?" Maribelle filled a ladle with water and began spooning it into Aurora's mouth- she drank in little sips, barely able to handle anything more at once.

"Quite the… team of healers you three… are…" Aurora smiled softly, despite feeling wave after wave of pain and discomfort.

"Aurora, dear, stop talking lest you vomit on my dress. It's my last clean one."

Why is she wearing a clean dress on a ship? Aurora pondered, but she took Maribelle's words to heart and kept her mouth shut, except to sip at the water. Donnel entered a bit later to give her some kind of concoction- it tasted foul and was difficult to choke down, but Aurora managed without complaint.

The couple left quietly, as the woman began to drift, exhausted.

"She's almost… pleasant, like this." Maribelle huffed. "I can't stand it."

Donnel chuckled softly. "Guess we're too used to th' gal yellin' or crackin' jokes."

Aurora's road to recovery was a smooth one, fortunately; with as many healers on board as there were, alongside those with a decent knowledge of medicine, the Quartermaster was back on her feet by the time the ships arrived back in Regna Ferox. Being sick had been almost as bad as being properly injured. One of the most maddening things in the world was being forced to lay in a bed. Rather ironic, considering that had she been healthy, Aurora would have loved spending days asleep.

As they finally reached castle Ferox, she had recovered, physically. However her mood was restrained and dampened, as they held a sort of wake for Basilio, because "The oaf would kill us if we didn't drink to his name," as Flavia had put it. So, there she perched, at a table, sullenly nursing a small mug of ale. It was just one thing after another lately. Aurora was grateful for the brief reprieve, but she could sense impending disaster.

Or several, depending on your definition of "disaster".

The Quartermaster stood, needing some fresh air, tugging a heavy woolen cloak on to stave off the freezing air. At least it was still, with no wind to bite at her hands and cheeks. For once, she found something to crack a smile at. Her daughters playing in the snow. Ai had never seen the stuff before, and Mio was laughing and showing her how to make snowballs.

Aurora sat and watched the two pelt each other with snow, smiling.

Little things like this really did make it all worth it. Even the briefest, most childish moments seemed to bring her nothing but joy. She really did adore these girls.

With a grin, she curled some snow in a ball, and let it fly, hitting Mio square in the back. The ensuing snowball fight lasted for a good hour or two, before the family were forcibly dragged back inside before they ended up getting sick from the cold.

I just wanted to get this fucking chapter done. I kept getting distracted by stuff. What a pain. It's a little short because of it, and maybe

I'm back at college too...

Still, I hope you all enjoyed it~ Thanks for your time.

Goodnight everybody!