DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters.

Please R&R

I'm sorry about two things… For being so late with this new chapter (schoolwork, Yaoicon…), and also… for what Lucille will go through in this chapter.
WARNING: Mentions of rape…

Somewhere in the midst of the night, a loud noise woke Lucille, and he sat up startled. "W-what?" No actual response, but he suddenly heard Kohaku coughing breathlessly. "Kohaku? What's wrong?"

"H-hurts… B-breathing hurts," the violinist groaned, roughly grabbing the blonde's hand. "H-help…" It sounded so scared and hurt, Lucille felt himself panicking. "L-Lucille?"

"I'm here. What can I do?" He really wanted to hug his friend as tightly as possible, but that wouldn't exactly help with the breathing problem. "Do you need some water? S-should I call the doctor?"

"No. J-just… please help me to sit up. M-might make it easier to breath."

Carefully, feeling as if he was trying to lift dead weight, Lucille dragged the violinist into a sitting position. Pulling his own pillow up against the wall, he let Kohaku lean against that. "Is this okay?" His friend only nodded in response, barely visible in the darkness. Worriedly, the blonde took hold of Kohaku's hand and gave him a soft kiss onto his cheek. The violinist's skin felt way too hot, clear evidence of a bad fever. Damn, should he get up and get a wet towel, or keep sitting with his friend? Or should he just call for Eles, and hope that the girl would wake up?

"Don't wake Eles," Kohaku mumbled, like he knew what Lucille had been thinking. "She really should go to work tomorrow, we can't miss that money."

"Then, should I go get some cold water and a towel? Your fever seems really high."

"You sure you won't fall if you walk all the way alone?"

"For you, I can do anything," Lucille reassured him, gently pulling up the bed-sheet over Kohaku's shivering body. "I'll be right back, just try to breath calmly." Carefully, he got out of bed and slowly walked a bit. "Should I put on the lights?"

"No. Unless you want to see me looking pathetic," Kohaku responded dryly.

"Another time, honey. When I'm not so worried about you." He didn't get a reply to that, and realized he probably had made his friend feel guilty. Crap. Well, he could worry about that later.

With some effort, he managed to get a bowl of cold water and a towel, and even managed to get back to the bedroom without dropping anything. After putting it down on the nightstand on his side of the bed, he sat down next to Kohaku and put the wet towel on the violinist's forehead. In response, his friend let out a somewhat airless sigh. "Thanks."

"Sure." Feeling the coldness of the room, Lucille got back underneath their blanket and carefully wrapped his arms around his friend, making sure not to make it any harder for him to breath. Evidently, Kohaku didn't mind it at all, since he immediately relaxed and rested his head on the blonde's shoulder. In response, Lucille started caressing the taller man's hair. It was damp from sweat, but that didn't make him feel any reluctance to continue to try and comfort his friend in any way he could. "Try to sleep, okay? If you need anything, I'm right here."

"Only if you'll sleep too."

"But…"

"Babe, I can't sleep if I know you're awake while you should be sleeping too," Kohaku explained softly. "Trust me, I'll wake you up whether I want to or not, if this cold gets any worse."

Cold? It clearly had turned into a lot more than a simple cold by now. Either way, this wasn't a good time to argue about that. So instead, Lucille only nodded in agreement and forced himself to relax and close his eyes. Feeling his friend breathing so shallowly in his arms, wasn't the most comforting thing in the world, though. Shouldn't breathing get easier now that the fever was being brought down? What if he'd choke or anything? Damn. Biting hard on his lower lip, Lucille tried to refrain from panicking.

"Babe… You're trembling almost as badly as I am."

"Sorry. I just hate to see you like this." Guiltily, the blonde buried his face in Kohaku's hair. "Just go to sleep."

"I'm trying. I just can't get comfortable enough," the violinist sighed exhaustedly.

"Sorry," Lucille mumbled, fearing that him leaning against his friend was making it difficult to get comfortable.

"Not because of you. You're warm, and soft… and you holding me is really soothing." A strained cough. "Breathing just hurts too much to ignore the pain, and my head hurts too. And I feel sick."

"If you feel like you're about to throw up, just tell me and I'll grab the nearest trashcan."

"Mmh," Kohaku nodded. "Geez, I hate this fever."

"Let me guess, your whole body feels like you've just ran a marathon?"

"Yeah."

"I know that feeling. If there's anything I can do to help…"

"Just shut up and keep holding me, then. And get some rest, you need it as much as I do."

"Okay." Still feeling desperate to help, Lucille started caressing Kohaku's hair. The violinist didn't seem to mind that at all, it probably was a good thing to give him some distraction from how bad he felt. Well, Lucille was fully willing to distract him any way possible. At least Kohaku was silent now, breathing raspy but steadily. Hopefully he'd fall asleep soon, then maybe he'd feel better in the morning. Honestly, Lucille wasn't sure what he'd do if his friend would feel even worse tomorrow.

Finally, after what felt like ages, Lucille felt Kohaku's body going completely limp, and his breathing evened out. Careful not to wake the violinist, he snuggled closer against him, allowing himself to fall asleep too.

"Mmh…" Slowly waking up, hours later, he realized it was morning already. Damn, he still felt tired. No wonder, really, after last night. That thought instantly woke him up completely, and he quickly checked his friend. Kohaku apparently hadn't moved much during the night, as he was still lying in Lucille's arms. His face was pale and sweaty, his breathing still sounded labored, but at least he didn't seem to have gotten any worse. Gently placing his hand on the violinist forehead, the small blonde felt that the fever had gone down just a bit, despite the fact that the wet towel had fallen and was now buried somewhere between the blanket.

"Just sleep on, I'll try to get myself dressed and make some breakfast," Lucille whispered, before carefully letting go of his friend. Kohaku stirred a bit when he lost contact with Lucille's warm body, but relaxed again when the singer wrapped the blanket around him. Before getting himself some clothes from his suitcase, Lucille searched for the towel and dipped it in the bowl of water, before putting it back against Kohaku's forehead. The lower his fever would get, the better.

Getting dressed went more smoothly than he had feared, walking around was an entirely different matter. Barely having slept last night hadn't done any good for his body, he couldn't argue with that as he had to practically crawl against the walls to get to the kitchen. Evidently, Eles had already left for work, as she was nowhere to be seen. Good. Although Lucille could understand that she'd feel more useful by helping them out in the house, it was a fact that they wouldn't be able to get by right now if it wasn't for her job.

Still, Lucille couldn't help but to feel guilty about putting so much pressure on the girl. If only he'd be fully recovered already, then they could get back to work as the unofficial royal orchestra, and they could earn money that way. For now, all he could do was to take care of Kohaku while he was ill, and to try not to overexert himself. His own weakness right now annoyed him to no end, honestly. If he'd ever get that captain of that damned ship who was the cause of his injury, he wasn't sure which methods of torture he'd try first.

Letting out a sigh, he gathered some fruit and yoghurt, along with two small bowls and spoons. Simple and healthy, since he was pretty sure that anything more complicated would go wrong. Only about ten minutes later, he carefully made his way back to the bedroom and put the two bowls on his nightstand, before walking around the bed and opening the curtains in front of the window, letting the morning light shine into the room. In the bed, Kohaku stirred a bit and then blinked a few times before looking around.

"Good morning, honey," the blonde greeted, sitting down on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got run over by a train," Kohaku groaned. "But better than last night. How about you?"

"Eh?"

"Not too tired?"

"Not really." He smiled softly. "However, you shouldn't be worrying about me right now." Turning around before Kohaku could start arguing about that, he picked up the bowls of yoghurt and gave one of them to Kohaku, "There's apple, banana and some pear in it." Foreseeing his friends next comment, he added; "And no, not blood."

"You could have let out the fruit, then you wouldn't have to use a knife."

"Fruit is healthy, and you have to get better soon. No arguing, just eat."

Sending him a faint chuckle, Kohaku started eating. "Tastes nice."

"Thanks," Lucille smiled, starting to eat too. It did taste good indeed, nice and fresh. And if Kohaku thought so too, that must mean that he was indeed feeling better. Last night, he had seemed close to throwing up, while he was eating slow but steadily now. Still, his breathing sounded more and more strained, which worried Lucille more than he wanted the violinist to know.

"Would you mind to tag along to the marketplace today? I should've already gone yesterday, we're almost out of food."

"No way that you're getting out of bed now! Not until you're finally completely healed from that cold."

"But…"

"You still sound like you're fighting for every breath, it'll only get worse if you go outside while it's still freezing." Tenderly, he stroked his friend's hair. "You shouldn't keep pushing yourself. You're really strong, but even you will reach your breaking point eventually. There's no need to consciously force yourself to that point."

Letting out a raspy sigh, which resulted in a cough, Kohaku looked away. "Still, we need food."

"I'll go. It will mean that I'm gone for at least an hour, but it'll be fine."

"You can't walk all the way to the marketplace, and I won't let you go outside on your own!" Immediately, his own body punished him for raising his voice, making him cough breathlessly. "Lucille, I don't want you to get hurt. Or to catch a cold too," he explained after some moments, a lot more quiet. "If you'd get too tired to stay on your feet, you could freeze to death in that forest. Besides…" Another cough, making him visibly wince in pain. "We don't know what the queen is planning to get you back to work faster. She might have pawns in the town."

"Then they won't seriously harm me, since that would defeat the purpose. I'll rest a bit at the marketplace before going back here. There isn't much of a choice, Eles has to work and you're too ill to go. Don't worry so much."

"How can I not worry, after I almost lost you once? I love you."

Despite their argument, Lucille felt a happy smile taking over his face. "I love you too. Which is why you can be sure that I'll return safely. I'll never leave you."

Closing his eyes for a moment, Kohaku sighed again. "Okay then. But at least wait until I'm asleep, otherwise I'll die from worrying."

"Deal. Now, let's finish breakfast first, then you can sleep."

Slowly they finished eating, and Lucille was glad to see that Kohaku had managed to finish the bowl. After returning the bowls to the kitchen, and getting a glass of water for his friend in case he might get thirsty, he sat with him for a while. Kohaku's eyes were already closed again, but his raspy and unsteady breathing was enough to betray that he was still awake. They had decided on letting him continue to sit, since he felt worse when he lay down. Better not to push his body any further.

"Lucille?" the violinist suddenly mumbled, without opening his eyes.

"Yes?"

"Be careful outside, okay?"

"I will. Just go to sleep, hopefully I'll get back here before you wake up again."

"Yeah."

"Sleep well, honey." This time he didn't even get a response, and Kohaku drifted off to sleep within moments. Tenderly, Lucille gave him a kiss onto his cheek, before getting off the bed. His friend didn't even stir, so hopefully he'd stay asleep for at least an hour. Carefully, the blonde dipped the towel in cold water again, and then placed it on Kohaku's forehead. After wrapping the blanket around him as warmly as possible, he finally dressed himself to go outside, grabbed enough money to buy groceries, and left the house.

Cold. It was still snowing, but at least it wasn't bad enough to make it difficult to see. Honestly, he felt nervous enough about having to walk out here alone. Going from tree to tree, supporting himself with leaning against those, he started walking towards the village. Meanwhile, he kept looking around sharply, to see any possible threats before they could reach him. Whoever had placed the message from the queen, written in blood on that piece of fabric, they could very well be waiting here to threaten him in person.

Something made a soft noise in the bushes, and he almost tripped startled. What… Geez. He almost laughed when a small squirrel suddenly ran out of the bushes and fled into a high tree.

Forcing his heartbeat to calm back down, he started moving again. It was so quiet here, suddenly, not even the birds made much sound. It only served to make him more nervous, as somehow every small sound seemed so much more loud and threatening than it should be. And he couldn't even walk faster, his legs were already starting to get sore. "Damn…" he growled, when he nearly tripped again. Well, at least he was already halfway to the village. Still, even that didn't make him feel much better.

What if Kohaku had woken up already, and now sat in bed worrying about him? What if the violinist would try to follow him, despite how ill he was? Or what if the fever was currently getting even worse? What if there was something really wrong? What if the queen would sent someone to kill him, just to hurt Lucille?

Forcing himself to stop thinking, he shook his head. No, that wouldn't happen. He'd reach the marketplace safely, do groceries, and then return home to Kohaku. Hopefully the violinist would feel better, but he just couldn't have gotten worse. It would be fine, it had to.

Far in the distance, he could see the light coming through the trees growing more bright, signaling him that the edge of the forest was getting closer. Almost there. Before his mind even registered the man jumping out of the bushes behind him, two strong rough arms already grabbed him from behind, pulling him into the bushes. "Let go!" he screamed, turning around as far as he could. A masked figure stared coldly back at him with pale brown eyes. The person wore a uniform from the queen's army.

Feeling his legs collapsing underneath him, the blonde stared up at the man. "W-what…" he stammered.

"Queen Gemsilica suspects you're forgetting about real life. Therefore, she sent me to make sure you don't forget your curse. Don't ever think you can escape unhappiness, even with that violinist."

"Don't you dare hurt him!"

"Oh, we won't. In this state, anything we'd do to him would probably kill him, and that would be useless. But, as the Queen said, you don't deserve happiness. We can easily end your happiness without even touching any of your so-called 'friends'."

Something in the man's voice made his blood turn into ice in a mere moment, rendering him completely unable to respond. Still, when he was suddenly pushed onto the cold ground, his body automatically started fighting to get away from underneath the other man. "Let go of me! P-please!"

"Would you rather have me doing this to that cute little pianist?"

"What… n-no…" No. He couldn't mean… If he did… "No!" It came out as a choked cry. "No.." Would this really happen? But he had wanted it to be Kohaku to do this to him. Not some dog of the Queen's, who only wanted to hurt him.

"Too bad, blondie." Roughly, his pants were pulled down a bit, and his face got pushed into the snow. To his own shock, Lucille felt tears streaming down his cheeks. No… This couldn't happen. When he felt the horrible pain in his behind, though, reality was forced upon him mercilessly, and he screamed. His mind practically shut down in self-defense, still it felt like hours before something warm and gross was released inside his body. Undoubtedly some of the most horrible hours of his life, even though they probably had only lasted for mere minutes.

"Now get yourself to that village and find some help. We can't have you dying yet." With that, the man left into the woods, leaving Lucille sitting up shaking.

"Damn…" Growling from the pain in his back and behind, he pulled himself off the ground and redid his pants. He had to get to the village, groceries, help… Vaguely, he realized how badly he was trembling, how strangely numb he felt. But he had to get to the marketplace. He couldn't afford thinking, it'd break him down. Just go to the village, concentrate on that. Slowly, his arms wrapped tightly around himself, he made his way out of the forest. Many people were at the marketplace, no one seemed to pay him any attention.

Groceries, his mind told him hazily. Get groceries, then get back to Kohaku. Taking another step forward, he almost tripped. "Hey, are you all right?" a familiar voice asked. Startled, he turned around. The woman from the plush toy stand. No thread. "Hey, what happened to you? Where is your friend?"

"He… he's at home. Got sick. Have to do groceries, I just… ran into some trouble." He tried his best to smile at her. "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine, boy."

"Well, I can't be expected to look great after a month in a coma," Lucille responded dryly, hoping that his pathetic attempt of humor would convince her that he was all right. Of course, it didn't. He realized that as soon as she took his arm and practically dragged him to the stands selling groceries. "Really, I'm okay. Shouldn't you be at your stand?"

"I'm closed today, I have to visit my daughter this afternoon. Still, I have more than enough time to walk along with you until you're safely back home," she replied.

Walk along with him? He felt more like a dog being dragged along by her. Well, at least the queen wouldn't risk involving random villagers while threatening him. After all, hurting this woman wouldn't do Lucille any harm, therefore it would be of any use to Gemsilica. And to be honest, he wasn't sure whether his legs would hold him for much longer, if he'd have to walk on only his own strength. Most importantly, though, having to keep up his cover of just a regular young man in front of this woman, was distracting him from what had just happened in the forest.

"What do you need?" her voice suddenly shook him from his thoughts.

"Eh, some apples, some baking powder, rice and meat," he mumbled, feeling a bit like a child.

"What kind of meat?" the owner of the stand asked.

Chicken, cow, human? What did it matter to him right now? Damn, he should just concentrate on groceries. "Chicken would be nice," he responded finally.

"Alright then." After having paid the man, and taking the paper bag with groceries, Lucille turned around and started walking back to the forest. Immediately, the woman followed.

"There's a small pharmacy nearby, if you might want to check if they have something that could help your friend," she told him. "Did he catch a cold or anything?"

"A pretty bad one, I think it turned into the flu," the singer replied. "But indeed, it's a good idea to go check it out." With some luck, they'd also have something to erase memories of involuntarily having sex. Although he doubted that. Well, something to ease the pain in his back and behind would be nice too.

"Here it is," the woman pointed out, after less than two minutes of walking. "I'm sure they have something to bring down fevers."

"That'd help a lot," the blonde nodded. The sooner Kohaku would be better, the less worried he'd feel. It really scared him to see the usually strong violinist so vulnerable.

No other costumer was in the pharmacy at the moment, and the shop assistant walked up to them as soon as they came through the door. "Can I help you?" After asking for something against the fever, and something to ease the pain in his lungs so Kohaku could breath more easily, he also asked for a simple painkiller and hoped that the plush-animal woman wouldn't ask anything about that. Luckily, she didn't. In silence, they waited a few minutes until the shop assistant had gathered the medicines and put them in a small bag. Quickly, Lucille paid and left the shop.

"Do you need anything else, or are you ready to go back home?"

"Back home," the singer replied, groaning inwardly when he thought about how far that was. Normally, he wouldn't mind it at all to walk, as he loved forests and loved the snow. Being stressed and exhausted as he was at the moment, though, he felt like he had to walk a marathon on one leg. And despite his thick clothes, he actually started feeling a bit cold. Well, hopefully that would fade as soon as he'd get moving again.

I'll update in week^^