This is a work of fanfiction. All characters (except Emerald) belong to Aphmau / Jessica Bravura.

Cover Art belongs to Aphmau / Jessica Bravura.

Please don't sue me.

"Don't worry, Ava. I'll protect you!"

Noi knelt in front of the small human where she was propped against the boxes in her closet. As soon as he'd heard the 'monster' begin roaring in Mrs. Oates's hand, he had reacted purely on instinct and hidden in the closet to keep his princess safe.

"Hello?" On the other side of the closed door, the old woman in question kept knocking on the door. "Hello? Are you all right?"

"What were you trying to do?" the small Daemos asked, sounding betrayed. "I thought you were going to help Ava!"

"My late husband didn't like loud, sudden noises either, so I can completely understand if you were caught off-guard or bothered." She paused for a moment. "Come to think of it, I don't think Emmy appreciates them, either. Oh, I do apologize. I can assure you though Ava is perfectly safe."

Noi cracked the door open and peered out cautiously."A-are you sure?"

She laughed in relief. "Oh yes, yes. It's just a hair dryer used to dry hair. If Ava keeps her hair wet for too long, she may get even more sick."

"R-really?!"

"Of course. Don't you dry your hair?"

"No... "

"Hmm... well, I suppose your hair is short enough to dry on its own. Either way, don't worry about it. I can dry her hair myself while you wait in the other room if it makes you feel more comfortable."

"Oh, no!" Noi insisted, throwing the closet door open. "I wanna help Ava feel better!"

"Oh, what a nice young man you are, overcoming your fear for her," Mrs. Oates cooed.

"N-nice?"

"Yes! I can tell you care for Ava a lot. Must be hard having to share her with all the other hunks," she finished with a laugh.

"Share?"

She waved him off. "Oh, we'll talk about it later. Come: let's dry her hair, then we can get her dressed in something nice and warm." As Noi nodded and turned to retrieve Ava, Mrs. Oates became lost in thought. 'Come to think of it, I don't remember if Emmy took the time to dry her hair before they all left for the store... '

"That wasn't a far walk at all." Rhys seemed surprised how little time it had actually taken them to arrive.

Emerald gave him a tired smile. "Why do you think I was trying to get Ava to get a job here? It's close, convenient, and we really could've used that employee discount if she'd gotten hired." She suddenly let out a mighty sneeze, barely covering it with the crook of her arm. "You know, you guys really didn't need to come along. I could've managed this myself."

"Your feelings of inadequacy are of no concern to us, prisoner," Asch sneered. "It is more important to complete this mission so Princess Ava can reco - " He was interrupted as Emerald sneezed again. "See?! I will not risk success to spare your pride."

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, wiping her nose on a tissue she'd brought along in her pocket.

"We could've gotten here faster, you know," Leif mumbled in annoyance to Rhys.

"Of course we could have, but look around you." The spectacled Daemos gestured to the humans milling about them in the mall. "Humans seem to prefer to walk. To do anything else out of the norm would cause panic."

"But how do we know?" The Daemos prince seemed curious to explore this option.

"Don't you recall when Leif jumped out of the window with Ava?"

"Oh yeah," the former assassin smiled. "That was fun."

"I prefer our method of travel as well," Pierce cut in.

Emerald looked around the group in curiosity. "What, exactly, is the Daemos method of travel?"

"We will follow Ee-urth customs while out in public." Rhys was very careful to direct her attention away from talk that might give her too much insight into their world. Even if she wasn't feeling well at the moment, he suspected she could piece together a lot if they gave her enough to work with.

She shrugged, not bothered by the subject change. "Fair enough." The veteran entered the store, motioning for them to follow along. "Let's get the stuff on the list and go home."

"Ugh, this is taking forever!" Leif sighed in annoyance.

Asch had his arms crossed like a pouting child. "I agree! How much longer are we going to be forced to wander this 'store' until we are done?"

Emerald looked up from the list, leaning against the cart handle. "Look, I haven't been able to shop since I got that stuff for the musubi, and even then that was only supposed to last a day or two. Now that I've gotten paid properly, I can resupply the kitchen and show you guys some real cooking recipes."

"Do you have your own spell book like Mrs. Oates?" Rhys's eyes lit up at the thought.

"Mine's not organized in one place like hers, but I do have some recipes I've printed off over the years and saved." She grinned a little. "You can also cook without a recipe if you've memorized it, but sometimes it's fun to just experiment and see what happens."

"You can do that?!"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't recommend it right now. I'm not exactly swimming in disposable income at the moment, so we should just stick to things we need. Maybe next time I can get a little extra for us to play around with." She turned her attention back to the list, but paused. "Do you guys want to help make this go faster?"

"Yeah!"

"Absolutely."

"The sooner we're done, the better."

"Yes."

Emerald chuckled. "Okay. I'm going to teach you guys about a little something called 'Labels'."

It took some time, but with Rhys guiding them the other Daemos picked up on the concept pretty quickly. There were only a few more items left to get, plus a few things Emerald had thought of at the last minute.

"I'm starting to get annoyed with how long this is taking," Asch grumbled as he returned with the bag of onions he'd been sent to fetch.

"Oh, hush," Emerald whispered, leaning a bit more heavily against the cart handle as she rubbed her forehead before she looked at him. "Could you please go help Leif and Rhys find the chicken broth? We're almost done."

The Daemos prince huffed, but actually listened for once and walked down the nearby aisle.

"Are you okay?" Pierce asked quietly beside her. He noticed she'd been slowing down as they traversed the store.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah." She stood up a little straighter, giving him a shaky smile. "My head's just... hurty. Probably doesn't help I didn't actually eat anything before we left... " A chuckle. "Should've had more than just a cup of tea."

The tallest Daemos frowned, leaning in closer. "You are too warm."

"Hmm?" Emerald touched her cheek with the back of her hand, frowning at what she felt. "Well, that's stupid." She sighed tiredly. "Figures."

"Dame Emerald, are you feeling all right?" Rhys came up beside her, placing the broth carefully into the cart as he studied her. "You look unwell."

"Fever's picking up." She blinked tiredly, looking at her list again. "Doesn't matter, though: we're almost done."

"Is it as bad as Ava's?" Rhys moved to check her temperature himself, but the veteran blocked his hand with her arm.

"It'll be fine." Emerald glanced behind him. "Where are Asch and Leif?"

A loud clatter, followed by Leif whooping in delight, met their ears from the next aisle. Rhys and Emerald sighed at the same time. "I'll go get them," the former muttered. "Pierce, please stay with her and assist in any way you can. I think we need to return to the apartment."

The tall Daemos nodded, moving to Emerald's right side as she pushed the cart along. "What is left?"

"Two more things: shredded cheese and a box of Derpy-Eyed Munchie Bear Pops." They had arrived back at the dairy section, so she reached over and got two large bags of shredded mozzarella.

Pierce examined the bags once she put them in the cart. "I do not recognize these symbols from your list."

"Not on it." She coughed into her elbow, wincing. "Heard Noi likes pizza. Gonna make some."

"Then, the Derpy-Eyed... "

"Ice cream. For Rhys." Another cough. "And everyone else." She pushed the cart towards the freezer section, leaning on the handle as she walked. The Daemos general resumed his place at her side, watching closely. 'We need to leave soon,' he thought, a little worried. 'She seems to be feeling worse.'

Emerald stopped the cart near a wall of freezers and opened a door. The air that came out was absolutely frigid, but she didn't seem to mind. Pierce was fascinated as he watched her stick her head inside and close her eyes, seeming to appreciate the cold. Before he could ask her what she was doing, the veteran straightened up and grabbed two boxes of the Munchie Bear Pops.

No sooner had the two of them turned around, Rhys walked up with the other two Daemos. "Are you done yet?!" Asch barked out, scowling.

She nodded carefully. "Just hafta' pay." They made their way to the checkout without further incident, although the group did receive several odd looks from the other shoppers. The veteran didn't seem to notice, mechanically placing each item on the counter. Once the cart was empty, she returned it to the corral before coming back to stand with the Daemos.

The cashier was equally mechanical, taking her time on each item before carefully bagging it and moving on to the next.

Asch threw his head back and sighed dramatically. "This human is so slow!"

"Patience, Prince Asch." Rhys was quick to intervene.

The cashier (Jane, according to her nametag) sighed. "Look, I don't get paid enough to go faster."

"I can make her go faster... " Leif whispered, reaching back towards his knives.

Emerald shook herself out of the daze she'd been standing in and smacked his arm. "No. Bad Leify."

The former assassin looked absolutely offended, but sighed and stood sulking with his hands by his side. "Fine."

"That'll be $92.78."

Emerald pulled out her wallet, but then stood staring at it for a few seconds. When she didn't move, Leif poked her in the side. "Hey, what's the hold up?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah... " She pulled her debit card out and completed the transaction, almost dropping the receipt when the cashier tried to hand it to her.

"Are we done here?" Asch growled.

"Yeah." She moved to grab the bags, but Rhys and Pierce beat her to it. "Allow us to assist, Dame Emerald," the former said softly. He gently reaching past her to grab one of the bags as the latter grabbed the other two. "It is why we came along, after all."

She stared at him for a moment, before Asch poked her shoulder a bit roughly. "Move it, prisoner!" He lead the way out of the store, not slowing down to see if he was being followed as he was confident in his knights' loyalty.

Leif lightly pushed Emerald's shoulder as well. "You heard the man. Let's get going." The veteran had no choice but to move, walking after Asch and Leif as Rhys and Pierce followed close behind her.

"Guys... wait a sec... " Emerald paused outside the mall doors, leaning against the light post stand as a wave of dizziness overcame her.

"Pierce, take this." Rhys handed the Daemos general the bag he'd been carrying, going immediately to her side. "Dame Emerald, are you all right?"

"Yeah. Juss'a little... dizzy... " She shook her head to clear it, falling back to sit on the stand. "A lot dizzy... "

Rhys tentatively reached out. When she didn't immediately block his hand, he grew bolder and placed it against her forehead. "You are incredibly hot," he murmured with worry.

To his surprise, she giggled lazily. "Hotter'n Ava?"

"Um, I'm not sure." He looked back to the other Daemos for help, flustered at her sudden shift in behavior.

"We need to get back to the apartment, now. My patience has run dry." Asch glared at Emerald. "Get up, prisoner!"

"Asch, stop!" Rhys reached down and helped her stand, draping her arm over his shoulder to support her. "Her sickness seems to be intensifying."

"We should not have allowed her to accompany us." Pierce stepped up, studying her closely. "She has been getting worse for a while now."

"No, I think it would have taken us longer to gather the ingredients without her." He frowned when Emerald didn't respond, instead leaning her head against his shoulder.

Leif stared at them impassively. "If she's doing this badly, then Ava is probably dead by now."

"Dead?" The Daemos general looked terrified at the thought.

Rhys shook his head. "We need to abide by the human conduct. Walking is the preferred method and - "

"What about that?" Leif pointed at a passing car.

"That... does seem faster."

"Leif, obtain one," Asch commanded.

"On it." The former assassin approached the nearest car and easily ripped the door off in one smooth motion. "Got it!" he boasted, tossing the door aside with one hand.

"Good work, Leif!" Rhys began helping Emerald walk towards the car. "Let us hope this thing is swift enough to get us back before Ava or Emerald suffer further."

Asch puffed up his chest, acting every bit the Royal he was as he sauntered towards the car. "I will command this... thing."

Pierce placed the bags on the floor of the backseat, then carefully maneuvered himself to sit inside. On the other side, Rhys helped Emerald get in and sit next to him. She leaned into the tall Daemos, resting her head on his shoulder and humming happily.

"Emerald?"

"Shh," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his. "It's like spooning an ice sculpture."

Leif laughed as he sat on her other side, shutting the door behind him. "She sounds like a lot more fun right now."

"It is... worrying," Pierce confessed.

"Oh, enjoy it. It's probably the first time she's let loose in her entire life."

"All the more reason for us to get back," Rhys broke in as he sat in the front passenger seat.

Asch took his place in the driver's seat, leaning back. "Indeed. This outing has taken far longer than it should have."

Once they were all settled, Pierce took the time to actual study the vehicle. "What is this?"

"It seems to be a carriage." Rhys turned slightly to face the backseat. "How is she?"

"Icy snuggles," she practically purred.

Leif interrupted. "But if this is a carriage, where are the minotaurs to pull it?"

"We must yell at it. That's how things work here." Asch glared at the steering wheel. "TAKE US TO AVA'S HOME!" There was a pause, then growing embarrassment as anything failed to happen.

"Ha!" Rhys laughed out happily. "See?! Yelling does not prompt things to happen all the time. Allow me to inspect." He roamed his eyes over the interior, stopping when he saw the pedals. "Look Asch: there seems to be steps for you to place your hands on. Perhaps meant for royalty."

"As to be expected," the Daemos prince bragged.

"Place your feet on them. See if anything happens."

He complied, growling when nothing happened. "Nothing. We're wasting our time!"

"Keep your feet on them. Perhaps applying more force will make this thing move." Rhys continued studying the vehicle. He saw the key in the ignition and leaned in. "There seems to be a small pressure plate next to the - "

The car roared to life as he turned it, bringing out panicked screams from the Daemos... and quiet laughter from Emerald. "Turn key make vroomy go," she giggled, sitting up a little.

"We've angered it!" Leif screeched in fear.

Rhys placed his hand on the gear shift. "Perhaps if we pull this, we - "

The car lurched into gear, peeling out of the parking space and quickly picking up speed as Daemos cried out in terror. However, it was short-lived as they crashed into a fountain, breaking through the side. They all sat stunned as water rushed onto the ground.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Leif shrieked as he looked around.

Asch was shaken as well. "W-what did we do?!"

"Aww, little car is broken." Emerald sounded genuinely sad.

"We seem to have drawn attention," Pierce interrupted, noticing the crowd gathering outside the vehicle. He quickly checked the veteran for any injuries: while they as Daemos could withstand much harder blows, it was his experience humans were much more fragile.

She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch as he checked her head. "So nice... "

"Resort to Daemos methods of transport!" Rhys ordered, panicked.

Leif stared at him. "BUT YOU SAID - "

"Now!"

The former assassin didn't need to be told twice, phasing away instantly.

Pierce helped Emerald exit the car, handing her off to Rhys before reaching back in to retrieve the bags. The spectacled Daemos quickly lifted the veteran bridal-style in his arms, holding her tightly to his chest. "This may be a bit uncomfortable," he warned her under his breath.

She frowned at him a little, but then snuggled into his arms and tucked her head up under his chin.

Pierce and Asch quickly appeared next to him, the former carrying the hard-won grocery bags. They gave each other a quick nod, then leapt into the air and flew back to the apartment, oblivious to the shocked stares of the people below.

Back in the apartment, Mrs. Oates was busying herself in the kitchen. She had expected Emmy and the boys to be back almost an hour ago, but supposed they were taking their time because the woman wasn't feeling well.

Turning around, she was shocked to see all of them standing in the kitchen. A knowing smile crept onto her face when she saw Rhys carrying Emmy aloft in his arms. "Oh! I didn't even hear you come in."

"We were quiet," Rhys rushed out, laughing nervously and hoping Emerald wouldn't say anything to blow their cover.

"Oh, how considerate," Mrs. Oates cooed. "But you don't have to be quiet anymore: Ava's awake."

"She is?!" All the Daemos exclaimed in shocked unison.

"Mmm-hmm. But she's still sick, so trust me: the ingredients you got me were not in vain." She motioned for Pierce to put the bags on the counter. "I figured Emmy might be getting worse, so I went ahead and started cooking with a few things I already had in my home." The old woman set her sights on Rhys. "Do you think you can help me?"

"Me?" He was a bit taken aback, and not just because Mrs. Oates had singled him out. He could hear Emerald murmuring under her breath, and she'd just whispered something about "swooshy time through the sky."

"Yes. You seem to be the smartest, and the most handsome, in my opinion." She gave a knowing glance to the veteran in his arms. "Emmy seems to think so too, given how comfortable she looks right now."

"Do as needed, Rhys," Asch commanded languidly. "I'm going to go check on Princess Ava."

"Myself as well." Pierce followed after the Daemos prince.

Leif also took the opportunity to bail. "What they said."

"But - " Rhys cut himself off, sighing. "Fine. I see this as an opportunity to learn more."

"Perfect! But before we do that... " Mrs. Oates approached him, placing her hand against Emerald's forehead. She frowned as she felt the woman's temperature. "Oh, that's not good. Her fever's definitely worse than it was before you all left. Let's get her to bed, then we can focus on the soup."

Rhys followed her down the hallway to Emerald's room, casting nervous glances down at the human in his arms. Her eyes were barely open as she leaned against his chest, her lips moving but no sound coming out. 'Did we make a mistake allowing her to come along?' he thought worriedly.

Mrs. Oates interrupted his musings. "Go ahead and get Emmy tucked in. I'm going to get a fresh cloth for her head." She headed off towards the bathroom.

He nodded, bringing Emerald over to her bed and gently setting her down on the mattress. As he covered her with the sheet, she weakly tried to grab his wrist as it came up. "Where's... ice boy...?" she murmured softly, searching his face.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't - " He cut himself off as Mrs. Oates came up next to him, placing a cold cloth on the veteran's forehead. "She has been acting odd ever since we left the 'mall.' Is she in danger?"

The old woman placed a thermometer in Emerald's mouth, then gently held her wrist. She stared off into the distance for a few moments, then removed the thermometer when it beeped. She looked at it before giving him a reassuring smile. "Her temperature is a little higher than Ava's was, but it's not too serious." She tapped him gently on the shoulder. "We'll let her rest for now."

Rhys followed her towards the door. "She has been asking me where 'ice boy' is. Do you know what she could mean?"

Mrs. Oates gave him a curious look. "Was one of the other boys holding her?"

He nodded. "Pierce, the tall one, was supporting her earlier. She kept grabbing his arm and... snuggling it."

The elder woman laughed. "Sounds to me Emmy really likes that one. We'll have him come in later." As they exited the room, she closed the door softly behind them. "Come now: let's finish the soup."

Meanwhile, Asch and the other Daemos burst into Ava's room in a rush. They were greeted by the sight of her sitting up in bed, propped up by pillows and sweating. Johnny Cat was sleeping at her side, Noi standing watch close by. "Prisoner!" the Daemos prince roared in lieu of greeting.

"God, so you guys weren't just a fever dream," she muttered tiredly.

"Nope!" Noi chirped out happily. "We're real!" He turned to whisper to Asch. "I keep telling her that... "

Pierce seemed relieved she was able to speak again. "What happened to you?"

"I got overheated in your hot tub. Guess I ended up getting sick because of it." She let out a weak laugh. "Just like Em warned me, come to think of it."

"Why didn't you recover after one sunset?" Leif interrupted.

Another weak laugh. "Humans take longer to recover. Wait... " She looked around again. "Where is Em?"

"She has fallen ill as well," Pierce confessed, feeling oddly guilty. "She has been unwell all day, but insisted on leading us through the grocery store. Now it seems she is just as sick as you were this morning."

Ava sighed. "Mrs. Oates tried to stop her, huh?"

"Yes."

"Well, at least she's still here to make sure Em gets some rest." She looked around at each Daemos in turn. "Have... you guys been taking care of me?"

Noi let out a happy chuckle. "Yes!"

"Kill and take care of," Leif grinned.

Pierce nodded. "Yes."

Ava laughed softly. "Thank you," she said sincerely.

"Don't flatter yourself, human. You know why we need you. Don't think of it as anything - " Asch was cut off as she suddenly coughed, his eyes going wide with concern. "Are you all right?!" He slowly became aware of the other Daemos giving him looks. "What?! I-I need her not to die... yet... "

"I'm fine," Ava muttered, leaning back into her pillow. "I'm feeling much better now that I've had rest. It'll take me a day or two, but I'll be back to normal if you guys keep taking care of me." She closed her eyes. "I... still need... rest... "

"Ava!" Noi cried out in alarm.

Asch stared at her in panic. "What happened?!"

Out in the kitchen, the soup was finally coming together. "There." Mrs. Oates spooned some into a bowl, turning to Rhys.

"What does it do?" He was intrigued to see what they had made.

She held the bowl out for him to take. "Taste it."

He carefully slurped from the side, his eyes flying open with excitement once the soup hit his tongue. "T-This is... the best potion I've ever tasted!"

Mrs. Oates frowned at him. "I forget: you boys are from overseas." She sighed. "I suppose when you look as good as you boys do, you don't really need a lot of smarts." She winked at him. "Especially when you - "

From Ava's room, Noi's voice suddenly rang out. "I won't let you die, Ava!"

"Not agaaaaain!" Asch screeched out.

"Oh, looks like they're back at it already." Mrs. Oates gave a knowing laugh. "Come on: let's get this soup to Ava."

Rhys sighed in resignation, following her with the bowl. Just before he entered Ava's room, he glanced down the hallway towards Emerald's closed door. 'We were so focused on making Princess Ava better, we pushed her too hard.' he thought guiltily. 'We should take the time to properly care for her once Princess Ava has been settled.'

About half an hour later, Ava had eaten and was resting comfortably in her bed. Mrs. Oates went back to the kitchen, ladling some more soup into a second bowl. As she turned back, she was only a little surprised to see most of the boys standing there waiting: only the one in the leather jacket was missing.

"Ah, I see you boys want to check on Emmy with me," she smiled. "Why don't you all go on ahead: I'll be along in a bit with the soup."

The four Daemos knights made their way down the hall, pausing outside Emerald's door. "Do you think she will be angry with us?" Pierce asked, turning to face the others.

Leif laughed. "I don't think she even knows what realm she's in right now, let alone able to remember what happened earlier."

"Leif, this is serious," Rhys reprimanded. "You saw how long it is taking Princess Ava to recover, and she had the advantage of a full day of rest in her bed. We allowed Dame Emerald to travel unrestricted, even rushing her along at times, and now she is even more ill than she was this morning."

Noi looked between the three of them, wringing his hands with worry. "Do you think she'll be okay?"

"I think as long as she gets some of the soup Mrs. Oates made and a good night of rest, Dame Emerald will be better by tomorrow." Rhys reached past Pierce and opened the door, leading the way inside Emerald's room.

The veteran was still lying on her bed in the same position he and Mrs. Oates had left her earlier, although the cloth was no longer on her forehead. As he approached, Rhys could see the sheets were disheveled, as if she'd been moving around in her sleep. "Dame Emerald," he whispered softly, gently laying one hand on her shoulder.

To his relief, she blearily opened her eyes. "Oh, hey," she muttered, giving him a weak smile.

"How are you feeling?" Pierce came up next to the bed, Noi peering out from behind him.

"Hot. Tired." Emerald swallowed thickly. "Thirsty."

"Oh, I know what to do!" the smallest Daemos called out with pride. He carefully nudged his way closer. "Pierce, can you help her sit up? Then I can stack some pillows behind her."

"Okay." The Daemos general lifted her easily, holding her aloft while Noi ducked in and adjusted everything. Once he had finished, Pierce set her back down. As he moved to let go, Emerald suddenly clung to his arm. He looked at her in confusion.

"Please, don't go... " Emerald's face was flushed, but she didn't break eye contact. "Sit with me?"

"Okay." Pierce carefully settled himself at her side, unable to hide a small smile when she leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He could almost swear he heard her making the same sound the Johnny Cat spirit made when he was being pet.

"Oh, it looks like someone's comfortable," Mrs. Oates giggled from the doorway, carrying the fresh bowl of soup.

"Eh, she was a lot more fun before," Leif grumped. Now that Emerald was recovering, she wasn't as entertaining to the former assassin as she'd been earlier. "I'm gonna go check on Ava again." He turned on his heel and stalked out, not looking back.

"I can help her with the soup, Mrs. Oates." Rhys reached out to take the bowl.

She gave him a knowing look as she handed it over. "Oh, I believe you can," she smiled, giving him a wink. "Just let me check on her first, and I'll leave you to it." The elder woman approached the bed, grinning at the sight of Emerald snuggled into Pierce's side. "Emmy," she cooed, placing her hand against the woman's forehead.

The veteran opened her eyes, meeting Mrs. Oates's gaze. "Hi," she muttered tiredly.

"You think you can eat something?"

Emerald nodded carefully. "Yeah, I think so."

"Well, that's good at least." Her face sobered a little. "Your fever still hasn't broken yet, but you feel a little cooler than you did earlier." She straightened up, removing her hand. "Try to eat as much as you can, then I want you to go right to sleep. Okay?"

"Yeah." Emerald pulled herself somewhat upright, although she was still leaning noticeably on Pierce.

Mrs. Oates turned to Noi. "Noi, why don't you come help me clean up in the kitchen?"

"Oh! Um... " The small Daemos looked between the other two. "I mean, I'd like to stay here and make sure Emerald is okay, but - "

"You should go with her." Pierce's tone of voice was not one that invited challenge.

"Okay... " Reluctantly, he followed the elder woman out the door.

"You guys don't have to stay, you know." Emerald met Rhys's gaze. "I can manage it on my own."

"Forgive me, but I must disagree." He sat at the edge of her bed, stirring the soup carefully with the spoon. "I'm afraid we all took advantage of you today, and now you are feeling even worse. The least we can do is help you recover now."

Pierce nodded. "Agreed. Your dedication to duty is admirable, but you must remember to take care of yourself as well."

Emerald opened her mouth to argue, but swiftly closed it with a sigh. "I can't... argue with that." She gave them a tired smile. "Okay, then. I guess you two are joining me for dinner?"

To her credit, Emerald managed to finish almost the entire bowl. There were only a few bites left when she stopped, leaning heavily against Pierce's side. Over the course of her meal, he'd adjusted his arm around her back to help her sit up.

"No more?" Rhys held out the spoon, but she shook her head. He nodded back, standing up to take the bowl out to the kitchen. He looked at Pierce. "Could you stay with her for a moment? I'll be right back."

Pierce nodded, careful not to disturb the veteran by his side. This was the calmest she'd been all day and he didn't want to ruin it. He found himself smiling as she rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, letting out a contented sigh. "Are you feeling any better?"

"A little bit." She tilted her head slightly to look up at him. "Sorry for being - "

"Stop." The Daemos general gently covered her mouth with his hand, removing it after a few seconds. "You have done nothing wrong." He stared at her, daring her to argue. When it was obvious she wouldn't, he gently stroked the top of her head with his hand. "Sleep now. We will take care of both of you while you rest."

Emerald yawned, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back against his arm. He had not used any magic this time, yet she seemed to already be asleep. He didn't know if it was due to how exhausted she was, or if it was because she was finally beginning to trust them.

With a gentleness not to be expected from someone of his stature, Pierce laid her down and covered her up again. He placed his hand on her forehead, frowning slightly at her temperature. 'She still feels hot. We should ask Mrs. Oates to check on her again soon.'

"Oh, she's asleep." Rhys came up next to him, looking Emerald over.

"On her own this time, too." He straightened up, removing his hand.

"Good." He looked at the Daemos general. "Come: Mrs. Oates is preparing to depart, but she wanted to talk to us first."