Hey all, so...as you can tell, this is Deltora Quest. I really like the series, both the anime and the books. the characters and plot are amazing, even if its more for younger kids. And of course I had to do a sickfic for it, and I had to throw in a father figure. So what better to do than Jasmine and Doom? I had originally wanted to do Doom getting sick, but I didn't really know how to do it. So this was born. I hope you enjoy!
Jasmine woke up and knew something wasn't right. At first she couldn't figure out what was wrong. She didn't think she had heard anything in the castle to wake her up.
In fact, all she heard was a ringing in her ears. It pierced her ears and went straight to her brain, where it pounded steadily.
She tried to focus and think, but found that she couldn't get through the fog in her mind. She looked to her left, and saw that the sun was already up, and she should have been too.
She tried to stand up, but couldn't move her legs. Sitting up made her dizzy, but she could see that her blankets were all twisted around her legs. Jasmine huffed out a breath in annoyance, but it got caught in her throat, and she started coughing.
Once her coughing fit was under control, she reached over and tugged her blankets off her legs. She twisted her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, standing still as she waited for the room to stop spinning.
She didn't see Filli or Kree anywhere, but she figured they must have gone to get something to eat since she had still been asleep. Standing up had cleared her head some, and now she could think clearer and feel the heartbeat which seemed to be pressing in on her.
She felt so hot, and yet the floor under her bare feet was like ice. She looked over to the balcony that hung off her room, facing the garden. Lief had given her this room so that she could always go outside whenever she wanted, which she did now.
Jasmine walked over to the doors, threw them open, and stepped onto the balcony. She breathed in deeply as a breeze blew by, but the deep breath again became a cough.
She reached up a hand and shielded her eyes, because the sun increased her headache. Jasmine looked over to her right when she was facing out, and saw the tree that she could use to get down. She walked over to the railing and climbed up, but noticed that her balance wasn't as good as it should have been. She shivered as she stood there, and then leaped to the tree, grabbing a branch, slid to a down to a lower one, and then dropped do the ground.
She clenched her jaw at the impact, but stood up shakily and looked back up to her balcony, which was on the second floor. The branch she had dropped from was too high for her to reach, and she didn't think she could jump and pull herself up like she normally would have.
Looking up made her dizzy, and so she looked back down to the ground, which was covered in a rich green grass, and covered with many flower beds and bushes. She was near to the castle wall now, and she staggered over to it, feeling the strength in her legs failing.
She didn't know what was wrong with her. She hadn't gotten sick very much when she had been in the forest or on the road, since she had had a good immune system. So now she didn't have enough experience to realize she was sick, or know what to do.
She reached the wall, and leaned against it, relishing the shade and the cool stone at her side. She thought about what she was going to do. She would normally have gone down to the kitchens to get breakfast, but she hadn't felt hungry and she had really wanted to get outside. Now that she was outside, she still wasn't hungry. However, her stomach did feel weird. It felt like her insides were turning around and around.
Jasmine staggered a few steps, and then dropped to her knees, sweating and panting. Her arms started shaking, and the weird feeling in her stomach increased, until she instinctively bent over and started throwing up into the grass.
Her stomach expelled all its contents, and she just knelt there, shaking and panting. She heard someone coming around the corner of the castle, but couldn't find the energy to lift her head, or to care about someone seeing her like this. Really, all she wanted right now was to feel better, and the thought brought tears to her eyes.
"Jasmine," she heard someone say her name, and the voice sounded familiar. The voice reminded her of comfort, and a soothing hand when she wasn't feeling well. She started to hope that they could help, and that hope gave her the energy to raise her head.
She saw someone walking towards her, but her vision was swimming again, and there were tears in her eyes, which made it hard for her to recognize him at first. But eventually she recognized her father, Jarred, once knows as Doom.
"Daddy!" She called, choking on her tears, as he knelt next to her.
"Hey, Jasmine, what's wrong?" Jarred asked sympathetically, and worriedly. He put his hand on her shoulder, which was still shaking, and looked at the mess on the ground. She didn't answer, too busy with crying and shivering. "Jasmine, why are you outside if you're sick?"
Jasmine just shook her head and hiccupped from crying so much. "Oh, honey, it's okay. We'll get you inside, into bed, and you can sleep. Okay?"
Jasmine was shaking, and she had closed her eyes against the tears and the pain, but she nodded her head as she tried to stop crying.
Jarred lifted her up by sliding his arms under her knees and back, and holding her to his chest as he stood up slowly but steadily. Jasmine laid her head on her father's shoulder and closed her eyes, content to let him carry her.
Normally Jasmine would have been much more independent, but she truly felt awful, and was willing to get help in any way she could.
Jarred carried Jasmine through the garden and to the castle entrance. He looked down and saw her eyes closed, and her breathing was deep and even. He smiled softly at his daughter, relishing the opportunity to take care of her. He knew she was independent, and would not normally be this quiet and gentle.
Of course Jarred was upset to see her so miserable, in fact, he had never seen her this sick. She had had the occasional illness since living in the palace after the quest, but she tried not to let anyone know when she was sick, and it took someone who knew her well to tell when she wasn't feeling well. He wasn't entirely sure if she knew when she was sick. She had never mentioned it. He could just tell from the way that she had looked.
Jarred walked past the guards at the gate and through the castle halls, ignoring the looks the stationed guards were giving him. If Jasmine had been awake, she would have insisted on walking herself. As it was, she had no idea that people were giving strange looks to the wild girl being carried through the castle, asleep.
When Jarred reached his daughter's bedroom, he hoisted her up farther to free one hand so he could open her door. She was extremely light, and he was not weak either, so he had no problem in opening the door and getting her in bed.
Jarred was almost reluctant to let go of her, enjoying holding his little girl. But he knew that she would be more comfortable and get better sooner if she was in bed, so Jarred placed her down gently on the unmade bed, untangled the wad of blankets, and draped them over her slight form.
Jarred looked down at her, sleeping so peacefully, with only the occasional grimace to show that she was in pain. The other signs that she was sick were her pale skin, sweaty forehead, and flushed cheeks.
She rolled over, snapping Jarred out of his daze. He laid a hand on her forehead, noted the high temperature, and left the room, promising softly to come back.
He kept that promise, and was back ten minutes later with two buckets, one containing water and a cloth, and the other one empty. He was carrying both buckets in one hand, with the empty one hanging on two of his fingers. His other hand held some pills that would help his daughter, cupped in his palm, and a glass of water cradled in his fingers. He had left the door slightly ajar, and so it only took a push of his foot to open it.
He walked over to where Jasmine lay, and put the items down on the bedside table. Jasmine stirred in her sleep as the items clanged against each other.
Jarred placed the empty bucket on the floor by her bed, accessible if Jasmine needed to throw up again. He pulled a chair over to her bedside and sat down, prepared to help his daughter with whatever she needed, and wanting to make amends for the years that she had been left on her own to take care of herself. He was ready to be the father she deserved, no matter how much it took.
And as he was thinking this, Jasmine turned her head towards him, and he could see the relaxed look on her face, making Jarred relax and smile at his daughter.
He was so happy that he he could be here for her. And he promised silently that he always would be.