Chapter 2: Sickness

The remainder of the night passed agonizingly. Lucius's room was next door to the room where Florina was resting after her hasty procedure. The muffled sounds, the hum of Serra's Mend staff, Fiora and Lyn's comforting words, Florina's labored, pained breathing and the occasional wretched sound of her vomiting had forced Lucius awake throughout the night. As much as he could close his eyes, as exhausted he felt by the journey thus far, he could not slip into the blissful realm of slumber.

As the sun began to rise, the group of warriors within the inn begun to stir. Lucius, tired and depressed from the sleepless night decided to get up out of bed, his eyes heavy and his blonde hair ruffled and unkempt. As the wisps of hair intruded in front his eyes and face, he wearily approached the mirror and grabbed the brush, organising his unruly hair back into place. The night had been unkind to him and his mind was set on Florina, with only her pained voice from the night before lingering in his memory. He silently wished that she would recover from her illness.

He decided to go and see her.

Throwing his robes about him, he left his room and took the short, yet somewhat tense steps towards Florina's door. It had been left slightly open for an unknown reason; a small glimpse of the mirror and table could be seen through the crack.

As he was about to knock on the door, he noticed a presence behind him. Before he could turn to address it, it spoke.

"What are you doing, Lucius?" it asked. Lucius quickly spun around to see Raven, all dressed and ready to move, standing in front of him.

"Oh…Lord Raymond…" Lucius said quietly.

"…You look terrible" Raven noted. "You ill or something?"

"No…" Lucius confirmed. "I was kept awake by…well, you know what happened last night"

"You mean Florina?" Raven asked. "Yeah, it was pretty gruesome. I heard they operated on her in the night; that means you must have been in the room next door or something?"

"Yes, that's correct" Lucius confirmed, a little annoyed at Raven's coolness. How could he talk about someone who almost died so easily? Quickly scattering his mind from his irritation, he focused on more pressing matters. "Does Lord Eliwood still wish to leave early?"

"Yep" Raven answered. "I overheard a conversation between him and Lyn about today's proceedings. Lord Eliwood was troubled by what happened, but he still insists that we continue as soon as we can"

"He must really be determined to reach Ostia so quickly…" Lucius said. "Thank you for the information. I'll prepare my equipment soon"

Raven gave Lucius a nod before continuing his way down the corridor and turning the corner, out of Lucius's sight. With Raven now absent, Lucius turned around and looked at the door once again. There was no sound from within the room; complete silence. Taking a breath, Lucius quietly opened the door and peeked in.

There was nobody in the room except Florina herself, who seemed to be in a feverish state. She was asleep, but only barely, her head gleaming with sweat and her expression and complexion pale. Her breathing was quiet but labored and occasionally she was fitful. Lucius slowly walked into the room, not bothering to close the door behind him. Looking upon the sorry state in front of him, he walked to the side of the bed.

He examined Florina a little closer. She was hidden beneath a thick duvet, but Lucius could tell it was the same bed she had been operated on by the specks of blood visible beneath the new mattress spread. It was certainly a nasty sight to see.

"Lucius?"

Lucius quickly looked up to see none other than Eliwood himself walk into the room, looking slightly better than the previous night.

"Oh, Lord Eliwood, how are you feeling today?" he asked, taking a step towards him.

Eliwood cast his gaze down towards Florina.

"I'm feeling a lot better" he said quietly.

"I'm awfully sorry for what's happened to you" Lucius explained. He shook his head sorrowfully to signal the previous night's dread. "And this…I should have gone with her and protected her from this"

"Nobody is to blame" Eliwood cut across quickly. "It's terrible that this has happened to Florina…I only wish we had the time to allow her to rest"

"I understand we must leave, if I'm correct?" Lucius asked.

"Yes" Eliwood answered, sighing. His face showed clear distress at the situation. "You must think that I'm being rather selfish by making this decision, but I…"

"Oh no, Lord Eliwood, you mustn't worry about that!" Lucius pleaded quickly. "The command is yours, and considering the past few days we all know the tragedy that's befallen you. Never cut yourself down, the decisions you make are for the greater good…"

"Thank you Lucius" Eliwood thanked, smiling a little. "It eases my soul to know that what I'm doing is right. But we can't leave Florina here like this…"

"I agree" Lucius agreed. "What shall we do?"

"Oswin and Hector are talking to Fiora about it" Eliwood explained. "I think they plan to mount Florina on her pegasus and let her rest whilst the pegasus carries her, but they need Fiora's consent on everything before we can go ahead with it"

"And is she consenting?" Lucius asked. Eliwood nodded in response.

"She's very brave to allow us to do this, but she knows just as well as everybody else that our situation is grim" Eliwood explained. "We know if we fall under any attack, we're to guard her with our lives. Nobody gets left behind"

At that moment, Lucius noticed a head leaning in through the door, with blue hair and a stern face. It was Hector, who slowly opened the door and walked in.

"Hector, I thought you were…" Eliwood said quickly.

"We've decided to go with the plan" Hector explained. "Her horse carries her whilst we protect her. That way we can continue travelling to Ostia without leaving anyone behind. So we're all waiting on you to give the command to move out"

"That's good" Eliwood sighed. "Thank you Hector. I'll be down in a minute, get Oswin and Dorcas ready to carry Florina, okay?"

Hector nodded to Eliwood and quickly gave Lucius a thumbs up before walking out of the room, leaving the two alone again.

"I suppose I'd better get myself ready as well" Eliwood said, making his way for the door.

"Very well, I'll see you in a moment Lord Eliwood" Lucius said. The two gave each other a quick wave before Lucius was alone. He turned back to Florina, who seemed not to stir whatsoever. Lucius felt a sadness creep up on him as he examined the broken, diseased body in front of her.

"…May St Elimine grant you a swift recovery, Florina…" he said quietly before walking out of the room.