Ya'll, your reviews are so sweet. Makes me smile and want to write more with the little time ive got left to. Thank you for reading this garbage and i hope you enjoy this chapter x
FORTY-TWO - The Broken Prince of Clarines
13 Days Until The Wedding
"Mitsuhide, get some sparkling water- now!"
As demanding as ever, Kiki instructed for her fellow aid to fetch said drink in urgency. There she was, in the Prince's bedroom, beside the bed where the young Prince was bedridden. The white-haired boy had his torso a little off the bed so he could aim towards the bucket on the ground Kiki had placed behind him. In it, the contents of his stomach that refused to stay inside.
The entire room had smelled like putrid, destroying the entirety of its royal elegance according to Kingdom standard. Zen's lips felt as though they were on fire, chapped and stinging from the contents leaving his stomach and pouring into the blue bucket before him. He used one hand to keep hold of the color of his white night attire, refusing to get any sort of vomit on the valuable material. But regardless of that fact, he had a maid work very hard to make it and he did not want it to go to waste like this.
"Zen, I need to open the windows to let the scent out," Kiki insisted as another belch rang through and had the Prince hurling out some more. But he kept shaking his head no, the sun shining upon the cool sweat of his forehead and temples.
"N-no, I'm c-cold," Zen huffed, breathing heavily like his lungs were soon to give out. Kiki looked at the Prince in dismay, seeing how the color of his skin had left and only a chalky paleness remained. His eyes were surrounded by an ill pink, both from his new sickness and sleepless night.
"Just keep the blanket over you," the blonde insisted as she stood up and hurried over to the windows to pull them open. Before Zen could even utter any defiance, a few chunks entered his throat and he found his head back into the bucket. Kiki faltered from listening to her Prince suffer this sickness, but what could be done?
Last night, Zen had bawled his eyes out. His own azure orbs were drowning in the sea of his broken heart. Kiki had never seen how a mind can crush a mans bones and strength to keep himself up and composed. And Zen had always been a strong, young man. Susceptible to emotions, surely, but never one to express it so strongly. He had always held himself up and high. And now, somehow, Zen was tearing apart from a broken heart.
The morning that came after, Kiki and Mitsuhide were immediately informed that the Prince had been crying their names out in desire of them to be around. They hadn't even put on their uniforms yet, as they couldn't be bothered to waste a single second. And there the aids were, still in their night attires to attend to the Prince they care about so dearly.
"D-damn it all!" Zen hissed through his gritted teeth before dropping himself back on his bed, his back feeling like gravity was pulling him harshly down against the mattress. Kiki looked back at him as her hands pushed open the doors of his balcony. Fresh air had given her a refreshing slap in the face, but her dark blue eyes couldn't help but dim at the sight of her friend suffering in his bed.
"Zen…" Kiki slowly walked over to him, as he had been staring up at his ceiling. His hands were down on the bed, fingers digging and curling around the sheets of his bed. The smooth silk of it didn't even do a thing to soothe him as sweat trickled down his head and strained neck. He was breathing faster, heavier, in anxiety and pain.
"It hurts, Kiki!" Zen yelped, removing his right hand to slam it harshly down on his slightly exposed chest. He had unbuttoned it due to his random wave of heat that came only a few minutes before his chill. "In my head… in my heart… in my chest! Everywhere!"
"Zen, I need you to relax, please!" Kiki urged. She had already been panicking last night after she and Mitsuhide tried to calm him down and get him from his office to his bedroom. Of course, he left a trail of salty tears that even had the guards feeling his pain and woe. He did pass out very quickly, as crying exhausted people with ease. But once he woke up, his emotions were going another round and the two aids had been panicked once more.
"I can't- it hurts!" Zen began digging his nails into his chest.
"What is it- what do you feel?" Kiki swiftly guided herself onto the bed beside Zen, sitting up with her hand on his where his chest was.
"Th-this burning feeling," Zen uttered, his voice breaking and barely full. "Like a fireplace with crackling wood. B-but then at the same time-" he used the both of his hands to rub his arms. They were ornate with mountains of goosebumps. "-I'm so, so cold."
"M-maybe it's a fever," Kiki began quietly as she stared at the sweaty Zen before her. It has to be that, right?
"N-no," Zen murmured, something caught in his throat as he swallowed harshly. "This isn't… any fever. You know what this is, don't try to… sugarcoat it…"
Kiki found herself overly frustrated with herself, like for the first time in a long while- she's powerless. No sword could help her combat Zen's feelings nor her amazing agility can outrun the truth of everything. Zen was suffering a strong case of the broken heart and nobody that knows can deny that about him. She gave him a good look, seeing as his azure eyes met up with her own.
They both knew what needed to happen.
"Kiki, I've got the water!" Mitsuhide came bursting in, with his night attire dunce hat and elephant slippers still on. He panted as if he was in a hurry, when the kitchen was literally one flight of stairs down. Kiki stood from Zen's bed and met with Mitsuhide's hazel eyes, knowing what she must do.
"Mitsuhide," Kiki began sternly. "Get all the royal court herbalist and pharmacists here, now. All of them."
"Shirayuki! Shirayuki!"
The sudden loud shrieks behind Shirayuki's door had the redhead awake. Her eyelids flew up, with her emerald eyes slowly gaining focus as she stared up at her egg-white ceiling. Letting out a long yawn, she widened her eyes a little more in realization that her mattress was breathing right under her. Wait, a breathing mattress? There's no such-
"Haahh…"
Shirayuki was quick to sit up, her hands cupping her mouth to look down at the 'mattress' she had been asleep on. It was Obi, his warm body heaving gentle breaths with his arms sprawled about. Shirayuki was sure she was asleep on his shoulder/upper arm as it was the nicest arc to snuggle into. She couldn't help but flush as Obi's long yawn finally left him. His cat-like eyes were slowly being revealed to her, but only a squint was to be seen.
"G'morning, Miss," Obi muttered, quickly sitting up to scratch the back of his head. Shirayuki gave him a warm smile, though knowing for a fact that she was all red with a racing heart from the fact that she was practically on top of him as they slept. But that fact quickly left her when she heard her name being yelled again.
"Shirayuki-!"
"Yes?" Shirayuki felt rushed, as she found herself hopping out of bed and attending the door. She hadn't cared for the way she looked, considering the bedhead and the probable dried up drool by her lips. Opening the door, she found a maid with 2 guards accompanying her, everyone looking frantic. "Is everything all ri-"
"The Prince has fallen ill!"
To call the situation serious was to be an understatement.
There, in the Prince's corridor, was filled with worried guards, maids, and butlers that care so dearly about their Prince. They were all pale, exchanging whispers of 'will the Prince be alright?' and 'is he to die?' It gave the guards a little stir as well, knowing that the only person who believes in them the most might not make it before evening arrives. Zen has never fallen this ill before unintentionally, and for that reason, everyone of his staff was on edge.
Through the double dark oak doors, locked and highly guarded, was everyone called for this sudden misfortune. -Except for Shirayuki.
"Where is she?" Zen, barely whispering, eyed Garak up and down. Garak, Ryu, Yatsufusa and Higata had been there in the Prince's quarters, already attending to him. Garak was busy feeling his forehead and neck, checking if he's got any sort of fever or related illnesses that were simple to treat.
"People were already sent to go fetch her," Ryu informed indefinitely. The aqua eyed boy was too busy flicking through his book of illnesses and treatments while pacing about the room. He was just woken up as well, with his large sweater extremely wrinkled and hair messier than usual. His bad breath made his own nose wrinkle as his eyes dragged along the written sentences.
"Why aren't they going fast enough?" Zen growled, throwing his head back upon his cotton pillow. His neck was straining, veins popping from it as he panted with high velocity. Garak was quick to retrieve her hands during this moment of his, watching as more and more sweat emitted from his pores and hydrated his skin.
"I'm sure they're doing as much as they can right now, Your Highness!" Garak urged, a strike of paranoia finally hitting her as she pulled back her loose locks of sandy hair. She could feel beads of sweat forming upon her forehead and all about her body under her teal blue nightgown. "Just please relax, Your Highness."
"I can't!" Zen seethes. He forced his head to turn over to see Kiki to his right, Mitsuhide right behind her. "Tell her that I can't- you know I can't!"
Kiki rushes over onto the bed, right by his side, as she hurriedly grabs his hand. Zen's hand is rough and clammy, but she manages to feel him squeeze. Hard. She could feel the mountains of callouses dig into her skin, all the old scars and deep dents of wounds prominent to her sense of feeling. "Zen, please," Kiki breathes, choosing to be much more hush to be more soothing for him. "You have to calm down. If not for us, but for her. She's on her way, okay?"
Zen's eyes widen, those azure eyes gleaming immediately when hearing the mentioning of Shirayuki.
Garak seized the opportunity to sate her curiosity as she placed her cool hand upon the Prince's chest where his heart is. Her violet eyes widen slightly, as she felt his heartbeat go from racing to a very calm beating. Those purple orbs suddenly went dim as she removed her hand. She frowned gently, confused at why the Prince is still seemingly infatuated with his ex-lover when he now has a fiance he's to marry in less than 2 weeks.
Wait, Garak thought. Could this all be... -
"No," Garak breathed, feeling her words fail in her head as she glanced back at the double doors, waiting for the catalyst to arrive into the scene. Ryu turned to look at the door as well, just as curious as Garak was.
"Excuse me!" Shirayuki's lungs practically shivered from how loud Shirayuki made herself.
The small woman tried her very best to get noticed, even when she'd rather be ignored every other time. Obi found amusement in it, though right now was not a laughing matter. The maidens and guards looked behind to see the two, still evidently exhausted and in their night attire. But the eyes widened once they saw the red hair and they were quick to start pushing one another out of the way.
"Shirayuki is here!"
"Move out of the way for the court herbalist!"
"Our Prince needs her right now- move!"
Obi led the way through the people, his hand out behind him to hold Shirayuki's. He could tell that she was pretty off right now, considering she had to yet again treat the Prince. Although she's with Obi, he understands that Shirayuki might still be a bit traumatized by everything that occurred with the Prince. Her emerald eyes quickly got clouded and her lips have remained a tough straight line since she heard the news. There was nothing but frustration and worry in her face and Obi knew not to step on any boundaries while she's like this.
"Do not touch Mistress- just get out of the way, please," Obi growled, holding Shirayuki's hand tightly as he guided her through the crowd. For this, she was extremely thankful since Obi's touch tended to be her calming point when she's near a panic attack. Especially now that he wasn't wearing gloves due to the rush and also because he was no longer fearful of touching Shirayuki.
He was quick to get to the door and bash on it. But Obi faltered when he quickly realized it was locked. "Master, it's Obi and Shirayuki- unlock the door!" Not even a second later, the doors open and Obi swiftly grabbed Shirayuki inside.
The atmosphere changed drastically as the doors came to a close and a 'clink' sound signaled that they were locked once more. The loudness of the crowd the two had experienced moments ago was now gone and changed into this stressful silence. The Prince's bedroom was lit up, all windows open, allowing cooling swirls of wind to enter and leave as they choose. Obi had been looking around, with his Mistress still behind him and holding his hand very tightly.
To his left were Yatsufusa and Higata, sitting by the Prince's small sitting table. There were cases full of herbs, vials, and all the tools the pharmacists potentially were to use in case they needed to create a remedy for the Prince. The two had been sat there, eyes towards the floor respectively without a word to be exchanged. Right before him was Kiki, who looked passed Obi and had a stressed expression towards Shirayuki. She was quick to be joined by Mitsuhide, who walked from the doors and ended up behind her to place his strong hands upon her petite shoulders. Obi tried getting Kiki to watch him, but Kiki was quick to leave Shirayuki to go to her right. When Obi turned to it, he noticed in his periphery that Shirayuki had been watching as well.
There Zen was, lying on his bed with a wet towel on his forehead and his hands strongly gripped on his mattress. But as soon as Shirayuki had entered, his grip had softened and his hands now lie flat. The putrid, pungent smell of vomit finally hit the lovers as they crinkled their noses in disgust. But the pairs of amber and emerald eyes couldn't help but widen at the sight of Zen when he sat up and looked at them.
He was incredibly pale- almost of a ghost or someone who has seen one. His eyes were somewhat agitated with a pink tint surrounding them from lack of sleep. His nose was just as pink as well, probably from crinkling so much due to the horrid scent in the room that didn't escape no matter how many windows were open. His lips were chapped and grayish, with the bottom quivering from what could be from feeling quite cold. And, somehow, his white wisps of hair was a mess, almost like a lion.
Zen was staring at the two with such focus. But it brewed his blood to look at Obi for so long that it shifted solely towards Shirayuki. And wow, did she look gorgeous. This was Shirayuki without trying, without needing to attend to her practice, without needing to interact with anyone. Zen would give anything to be able to wake up with that beauty every day and admire her for as long as the morning would last for them. But then his periphery led him down to see her hand in Obi's, fingers weaved together and tightly woven to never be torn apart.
Zen's right eye twitched.
"Thank goodness you've come, Shirayuki," Garak broke the silence quietly, having Shirayuki nod gently. She reluctantly let go of Obi's hand and strolled towards Garak to stand by the bed beside her. Zen looked up at Shirayuki, azure eyes twinkling as Shirayuki looked distantly down to the ground.
"What's the analysis?"
There was her voice, as clear and gold as ever. Zen suddenly found his head calming down, with the bothersome growling and shifting of his stomach coming to an immediate end. He didn't feel cold nor hot- he actually felt just fine in the rather cool room. The exhaustion that dawned him oozed away, and his nose had clean airways. The throb in his head and his chest dissolved in thin air. Zen felt perfect again, with an addition of content due to Shirayuki's presence. That's not good, but he didn't give a single damn in the world.
"Small headache, small fever, nothing too serious." Garak glanced down at the Prince and was surprised yet again to see how much life came back to him. Even Kiki was astonished to find that the cure to whatever Zen was suffering was Shirayuki, and she didn't appreciate that one bit. Especially when it was his choice to let her go and choose a Princess that obviously isn't suited for him. "We've already grinded up the herbs and given him the medicine with the proper dosage."
"Eh?" Shirayuki hummed in confusion. "Th-then…" She turned to look at Zen. "Do you need anything further than that, Your Highness? It seems like you feel all better now."
Zen merely nodded before looking back at everyone else. He directly looked at Obi though, his azure eyes locking onto the amber ones. Obi felt this weird challenging aura emit from those blue orbs, one with the intent to either vex or scare him. But Obi's pupils suddenly thinned, and the Prince just barely faltered from it. Obi smirked to himself before recognizing Zen's plans.
"Everyone get out." Everyone remained still. "Now."
"You heard him." Garak was quick to respond as she eyed all of the pharmacists she could see. She, Yatsufusa and Higata were quick to stand, stare towards the Prince, and began to bow respectfully. Shirayuki was prepared to bow until Zen halted her with his hand.
"Not you, Shirayuki," Zen said firmly. "I want you to stay back."
This bothered Obi as he glared over at his master. He wanted Shirayuki no where near that man, and it frustrated Obi more that he couldn't do so. His job was to protect his Mistress after all. But he was solely to take orders from Zen when request and that's when he suddenly became helpless. So he just stood there, his face stone cold upon the Prince as he allowed Kiki and Mitsuhide to bow and exit before him.
"Kiki, Mitsuhide," Zen hummed at them, having them halt quickly at the door as the 3 herbalist filed out through the double doors. "Be sure that nobody disturbs us, yes?"
"Of course, Your Majesty." The two obliged in sync before Mitsuhide let himself out. Kiki, though, looked over at Obi, knowing for a fact that he was fuming. So, she quickly took it upon herself to walk to him and grab his wrist. He flinched, and wanted to retaliate, but knew it was Kiki and wouldn't dare disrespect her like that.
"Pardon us," Kiki hummed quietly as she dragged Obi out of the room. As she did, all Obi could do was meet Shirayuki's eyes in weakness. Those green eyes pleaded for help, anything to get her out of the situation she was suddenly put it. But she knew those sad amber eyes couldn't do a thing even if they wanted to as the raven-haired boy suddenly disappeared from view and a loud shutting of the double doors followed it.
The last thing Shirayuki could hear was her own gulp before she heard Zen utter, "we need to talk."
Right outside the door, the crowd went frantic again, spewing all sorts of questions in regards of the Prince's state.
"He's much better now," Garak roared. "But he'll need a lot of quiet to rest, so if you will please!"
The crowd was quick to listen. The loudness immediately turned to more hush whispers as they stared at the herbalist to satisfy the obvious questions everyone was asking. But they just stared at them blankly, unsure what more to say other than the well-being of their Prince. Kiki couldn't help but lean against the locked doors in stress, Mitsuhide noticing immediately.
"Hey, are you alright?" Mitsuhide cooed quietly to the aid beside him. "D'you want some sparkling water?" He lifted up the bubble bottle of water and Kiki simply shook her head. He pouts. "You look even more stressed than before the Prince had been treated. What's wrong?"
"She's not supposed to be in there, alone, with him," Kiki spoke softly. "It's no good for him, and it's extremely unfair to Shirayuki. This is an extremely inappropriate situation for the both of them and Zen knows that."
"I know what you mean but you shouldn't-" Before Mitsuhide could finish, another voice suddenly interrupted the corridor.
"Where's Shirayuki?" A guard near the back spoke out, having Kiki let out a stressful sigh as the crowd stirred again in curiosity. Obi even found himself going bitter, knowing that rumors are now going to dance around poor Shirayuki. She had already made the two public, and now she's stuck in the Prince's room without a choice and no way to defend herself. And Garak knew all of this and knew she had to protect her own even if it's none of her business.
"She is doing an extra analysis test to ensure that the Prince shall be well for the rest of his days," Garak began. "As one of her supervisors, it is my job to test her every so few opportunities to make sure she's still on track to being the best pharmacist and herbalist she can be. So please don't allow your minds to be creative and conjure some very ugly ideas of the girl who has saved most of your and your people's lives more than a few times."
The crowd calmed down some again, which had Obi's heart also being soothed. He looked back to give Garak an expression of gratitude. His eyes then continued to look at the other pharmacists, who were carrying all their herbs in fatigue and probably wanted nothing more than to go back to their quarters. All the pharmacists and herbalists came to tend to Master, Obi thought. But as he looked at them and thought harder, he realized a very important detail.
"Hey," Obi turned around to look at Kiki, wide eyes and worried. "Where's Ryu?"