Bloom - Gran 761
It was amazing how easy it was to lose someone in Castle Belhalla. Even with how large it was, there were only so many rooms one could hide in. Yet, Lady Alicia was still nowhere to be found, despite my helping Arvis search for her for the past hour, and him searching for a good hour before that. You would think that a healer would know to not be out and about while ill. Though, then again, she wasn't exactly 'out and about' when I finally found her.
On a whim, I'd decided to check the crypts and despite being certain it was a pointless effort, that's exactly where I found her. She was half-sprawled on the stone coffin that held her husband's body, for all appearances fast asleep. However, when I approached, she briefly raised her head to look at me with surprisingly dull eyes. I was used to those of house Velthomer having a fire in their eyes, from Arvis's blatant to Azel's quiet. But there was no fire in her eyes. Only embers, at best.
"We were worried when no one could find you, Lady Alicia," I began, bowing slightly. She deserved my respect, being Arvis's younger sister. "You have a fever."
"I'm fine," she mumbled, laying back down. I supposed it was the closest she could get to her husband now. I couldn't imagine the pain she was in. I only knew that I didn't want to experience it myself. "The stone is cool. It's like a compress."
"Still, I'm not sure the incense is-"
"I'm fine." From anyone else, I would've called the words 'clipped'. From her, they were just too tired, no thanks to how faint her voice was. It was like she was a ghost, a comparison not helped by the mourning black she wore. The dark colors only emphasized how pale and sickly she looked. "I'll be up later."
Unable to think of a reply, I simply bowed again and headed up the stairs to return to the castle proper. I really had no idea what else to do, after all. It wasn't like I'd known her or anything before this. Like most, I hadn't known she existed until about a year ago. And just what did you say to a recent widow anyway? I never had to deal with that before. His Majesty would be better suited to such things, knowing the pain of both losing a spouse and child, but his own illness kept him abed. And, unlike Lady Alicia, he actually stayed in bed.
Sighing and feeling out of sorts, I made it out of the crypts and walked down the hall, lost in thought. However, to my luck, I saw Arvis up ahead, still searching frantically for his younger sister. "Ah, Arvis!" I called. At my voice, he immediately stopped and smiled when I caught up to him. "Lady Alicia is below, in the crypts."
"I see," he whispered, looking down. I wished I could find some words to reassure him, but I knew none. To protect the people, and avenge his father-in-law, he had dealt with the traitors just as the law demanded. Yet, in doing so, he grievously harmed his own younger sister. It was a choice I wasn't sure I could make, and I hoped I never did. Tailtiu had disappeared in the chaos, but so long as she was happy and safe, I was fine. And I wouldn't have to decide between duty and family. "I'm not sure she should be down in such a cold place."
"She says it's good for her fever."
"...She never used to get sick. Anemia, at worst." Arvis clenched his fists, and all I could do was squeeze his shoulder. No, I didn't know if I could make such a choice. "I suppose… we can check on her later."
"Perhaps she just needs a little more time to say goodbye." After all, it had only been a few weeks since the traitors were dealt with… and only a few weeks since Duke Chulainn's funeral. "I'm sure she'll be fine. You Velthomer lot have always been a resilience sort."
"We'll see." He smiled thinly, clearly not believing the words. "We'll see."
"Oh, Bloom, there you are!" We were saved from awkward silence by Princess Diadora, though it quickly became clear just why she was running towards us. After all, she was carrying a wailing Ishtar. "I'm so sorry…" she mumbled, passing her to me. Automatically, I tried to bounce her a bit, since that normally did the trick, but no such luck this time. "I'm not sure what I did, but no one can get her to calm down!"
"Have you checked her diaper?" Arvis asked. He made a few funny faces to try and distract her, but Ishtar continued wailing. "Is she hungry?"
"I've checked both. No pain from teething, songs and cuddling do nothing…" With each word, Princess Diadora grew a little more frantic. "Gave her blankets, opened the windows… checked if there was an eyelash stuck in her eye, changed her clothes in case they were itchy…" And each reason made me worry more. Was she sick? Was there something wrong? Ishtar never suffered from colic before, so I didn't think it was that…
"Needs help going to sleep? Azel would take a while." Still, I saw the worry in Arvis's eyes. Which nearly sent me panicking. What was wrong with my baby girl? "So, maybe it's frustration because she's sleepy and-"
"You're panicking too much." Small, cold hands took Ishtar from me and in the time it took me to turn to Lady Alicia, she had calmed Ishtar. "Children can sense those things, and it makes them think something is wrong, even beyond what started their tears," she chided, holding Ishtar with practiced ease. I vaguely remembered hearing she was a mother herself, a mother of twins. "Arvis, you should know that."
"Azel was a quiet baby?" Arvis sheepishly protested. Diadora giggled and I just held up my hands in surrender. I didn't have much to do with Tailtiu or Ethnia when they were babies, and I was the first of us three to have a child. "You figured it out quickly."
"The children would cry a lot during the Civil War in Silesse. Conall especially was sensitive to the changing moods." She laughed hollowly, clutching Ishtar a little. If I remembered correctly, her twins… were just a month or two older than Ishtar. At most. "Then you had Larcei, who would get upset over anything from the blanket being wrinkled to Lester stealing her toy." She tucked Ishtar under her chin, tickling her to get a little gurgle-laugh. Felt like a damn miracle to me, really. "If I had to guess, she likely started crying due to overstimulation. We had that happen a lot too, you see. Children are still getting used to people and commotions."She bounced Ishtar a couple of times before passing her back to me. "My apologies. With my fever, I shouldn't have held her."
"No, it's fine, but I'll have her checked," I reassured. She smiled wanly, and I noted it was similar to the smile Arvis wore earlier. "What brought you up?"
"I heard crying." She shrugged. "I'll head to my room now, though."
"Here, I'll walk you. It's on the way to the infirmary anyway."
"Very well." She headed down the hall without another word, as pale and quiet as a ghost. I bowed to Arvis and Diadora before following. I knew, without looking, that Arvis had flinched and Diadora was trying to reassure him. After all, if I had been in his place, I knew I would've had the same reaction.
I really did wish I knew what I could do for them all, but I didn't. I truly didn't. All I could do was give what support I could… and pray I never had to go through this either.
Author's note: Funny how an errant thought sparks things, huh? In this case it was "huh. You know, since Alicia had a soft spot for Ishtar, she had to have interactions with Bloom. I wonder how those went." And so, here we are? Whoops. (Since this is 761, Bloom and Hilda are still 'happily married'. It's only later that Hilda dropped the act.)