Somewhere in midst of my thoughts I had fallen asleep, it wasn't until I heard the servants moving around in the hallway that I had realized I'd been passed out.

For a brief moment I was confused as to where I was. On quick examination of my surroundings I realized I was in my charge's bedroom. She was asleep in her extravagant canape bed with her purple opaque curtains drawn around the mattress. It's like noon, I didn't think you'd be the type to sleep in? I pulled the curtain back to view my ward rolled up in several layers of thick heavy blankets. Can she even breathe like that? "Princess," I called out to her. No reply. "Princess?" I called again but there was still no answer

I was anxious now as I unbundled her, taking the layers of comforters off of her petite body. It wasn't until I had peeled the very last sheet off that I could finally view the sickly woman. She was gasping and covered in sweat, as if she had just trained for a marathon. "Bella," her pale body was motionless and still not waking.

I shook her violently until I finally got a response. "I don't feel well," she murmured.

"What's wrong?" I sat down on the side of the bed, examining her as she curled up with her knees touching her chest. I placed my large hand on her back that was facing me and she cringed as if a bolt of lightening had just struck her. The temperature of her skin was inhumanly warm, if I had to guess she was beyond 110, but I wasn't a doctor and I sincerely hoped my estimate was misguided.

Her white silk night gown rode up her legs exposing herself completely to me. She hadn't noticed as she was too riddled with sickness and confusion to heed her clothing arrangements. I pulled it down for her to keep her modesty in check. I didn't want to take advantage of the young woman... in this state anyway.

She rolled over and laid her head on my thigh. "Madara, please don't leave."

I watched her bemused by the ironic fear, "I'm not."

"I think I'm going to throw up," she said clenching her fist full of sheets as a wave of nausea hit her.

Not on me. I moved her head off and grabbed a garbage can out of her adjoining bathroom and put it at the end of the bed. I sat back down on the lush mattress and rolled her on her side to face it.

I never imagined in my sickest of nightmares that a Princess as small as her could throw up so much. I handed her a tissue from the nightstand so she could clean her face with it but she was paralyzed with lethargy. You're going to make me do it, aren't you? I held the tissue out for her a bit longer but she appeared to not even notice its presence. I didn't sign up to be your God damn mother. I reluctantly cleaned off her face with the tissue, pushing our intimacy boundary to the max. I should have felt uncomfortable, but for some reason... it just felt natural.

She moved her head back on to my thigh and whispered, "I'm going to stay in bed today. I'm sorry."

I combed my fingers through her hair, removing loose strands from her ashy face. "Don't apologize."

She had fallen back asleep and was cuddled up against me- her face lying on my lap and pressed into my abdomen. It was an ideal pose, one that I would have enjoyed if it weren't for her worrisome panting and profuse sweating. I watched her for what felt like ages, although I probably should have been looking for a doctor. But, there was something oddly entertaining about her sleep-talking. "Please don't take my books away!" She moaned and thrashed about the sheets. "No, he's vulgar and putrid!"

Better not be talking about me. She hadn't spoken for several minutes and I decided it was due time that I found her father. As gently as possible, I adjusted her head off my thigh, hoping she didn't wake up while I was out. I didn't want her running off somewhere and her father thinking I was an imbecile for leaving her alone.

My first guess to his location was correct. He was in his study diligently working on several different documents. I cleared my throat to get his attention and he glanced at me for a second and went back to his papers, "Good morning, Madara, you two missed breakfast." Can't say I'm sorry... I have my own family drama I don't need yours too.

"Bella is sick, I thought you might want to send a doctor."

I had his full attention now. He put down his pen and pushed his documents out of his way. "What's wrong with her, what are her symptoms?"

"Pale, hot, sweaty, nauseous," relief swept over his face. "Oh, that's all? She gets like that now and again-it'll pass in a day or two."

I furrowed my brow, "If she gets like this frequently, shouldn't she have been checked out?"

He shrugged, "Many doctors have already come to see her. My wife told me they think it's because she has her period."

Still… "I don't think that's the only reason she's ill, she looks heat sick." What kind of doctors have you been sending?

He shook his head in denial. "Are you a doctor?"

"No I am not." He's going to play that card? I should stick my foot up your God damn ass.

"Then don't diagnose my daughter," he snapped. I felt rage bubble up from the pit of my stomach. "she's fine." He assured smoothly. "My wife has made sure that the best doctors were chosen to diagnose her, if they say-."

His wife, you've got to be kidding me? "Oh?" I interrupted him mid-sentence. "Now it's making sense."

"What?" Is he really that daft?

"You allowed your wife to stick her hands in Bella's medical screenings?" I leaned my back against the door frame and looked down at him crushingly.

The Daimyo glared up from his seat, "you don't actually think my wife has anything to do with this do you?"I raised a brow to him, but said nothing. The Daimyo scoffed, "You haven't lived in this house long enough to know my wife- or her intentions." He was trying to litigate against my charges, but by the way his voice shook- it appeared his side of the argument was falling down on top of him.

I couldn't hold back the annoyance from breaching my face. I rolled my eyes, "I've been here long enough to see her promote bullying and abuse towards your daughter. I also know the story behind her conception." The Daimyo dropped his contest and grinded his teeth silently in his chair as I put him in his place. "Do I think your wife would say she had your daughter looked at, but didn't to keep her ill- or perhaps kill her? I'm keeping my options open…"

The color flushed out of his face, "you don't think my wife would actually…" He repeated, but answered the question on his own. He stood up from his desk weakly, it appeared he had aged 10 years in our 10 minute conversation. "Are these symptoms that worrisome?"

I thought you told me not to diagonse your fucking daughter. Now you will recognize my experience? "I'm not an expert when it comes to women's health, but she is not this sick due to her cycle. She may have a habit of trying to stay bundled up because of her period, but with all these blankets in reach for her- she's killing herself." Really don't want to be talking about her period... I never thought this mission would call for me to become a gynecologist. "I've lost several men due to symptoms identical to hers. Usually heat sickness comes from working in hot weather with no water, but she could easily reproduce that same environment by suffocating herself with heavy layers of blankets throughout the night. By incubating herself in high temperatures she's causing herself to dehydrate. Honestly, I'm surprised she hasn't had a heat stroke after all these years."

He flinched at the idea. "I need to see my daughter."

Bella was wrapped inside the covers again when her father and I walked in the door. "No, no, no, " I scolded her and tore the blankets from her.

"Give'm back, it's cold." she whined.

"You're asphyxiating yourself. "

Her father stood inanimately as he saw his nearly lifeless daughter. Her pale clammy skin was exposed to him and he now knew what his negligence had caused.

"No," she said simply and pulled back weakly on the covers. "I need them."

I peeled her grip off and walked over to the window. She watched but didn't attempt to stop me from throwing the heavy comforters out the window. "No!" she screamed.

"Bell," her father called. "Did Carla ever bring you a doctor?"

Bella shook her head in between sobs, "N-no-o" she hyperventilated.

He didn't have to even ask her to know the truth, but the answer appeared to have shocked him like a power line down in a body of water. "Years and I never actually considered my wife was lying." He hung his head mortified, "Forgive me, sweetheart. I didn't have the time to call the doctor in myself. I should have never of trusted her with your health, I wasn't thinking…"

Bella started to throw up into the garbage can that I had placed at her bedside earlier and her father jumped back in surprise, but made no effort to comfort her. I shook my head at the worthless man and sat down beside the child as she lost what little she had stored inside her small frame. I held her hair back from her face and put it in a ponytail that was on her end table. "I'll be sure to keep her away from blankets while she sleeps."

"…my wife," he scowled angrily at the repercussions of what she had caused. "She's the one who choose those thick heavy blankets for her. I thought she got them for Bella because she was warming up to her maternally."

"No dice," I mumbled. How could he just let his wife meddle with his daughter's medicals? Am I the only person who actually can take care of the girl?

"I will speak with her," he growled and left the room closing the door behind him.

Bella rolled side to side in agony, tear slipped down her cheeks as she moaned. "M-My blankets."

I rolled my eyes, "Stop acting like a Princess," I ironically ridiculed her.

"I-I-I" she stuttered, "am-m a Princess."

I couldn't help but laugh at her babyish wailing, "You're what?" I teased.

She put her head in my lap again and rubbed her cloudy eyes on my pants, "a P-Princess." Every time I sat down on the bed- she came to me like a magnet. Even though she was delirious, I could tell she did it because she trusted me to make her feel better.

I combed through her silky hair again and smiled down at her teary face, "Calm down, you're sick and confused." Confused….the only reason she'd ever seek me for support. "Why do you have to sleep cocooned in hot blankets?"

"Helps cramps," she said simply.

Cramps+heat+suffocation= pain free? God women are weird- or is she alone on this?

I opened my eyes to light shinning down on my face from my bedroom window. I was warm, but I had no covers on me. What I had instead was a man's arm wrapped tightly around my waist- pulling me into a hard muscular chest.

I remembered only fragments of waking up the first time. Madara giving me a trash can, my father apologizing for something, and Madara making fun of me for crying. He must have passed out while watching over me when I was sick.

I crept out of his arms and scooted off the bed to clean myself up. My night gown was stained from sweat and I could only imagine how fierce my breath was. I'm bleeding everywhere too, I really hope I still have some supplies left from my last bloody escapade. I mourned over the thought discreetly behind the bathroom door. My mood swings are on full blast too, I was actually crying in front of Madara. I felt a wave of embarrassment waft over as I realized that I had exposed myself to someone like that.

After being refreshed I exited the bathroom dressed in an evening gown, ready to finish up the rest of my day right. The man in my bed took up nearly the whole king with his large spread out body. His hair sprawled out over the pillows like a black flame engulfing my bed. My presence didn't alert him, nor did my actions. He must be asleep exhausted. I wanted him to get some sleep, it's the very least he deserved after having to deal with my annoying girl stuff.

I left the room in search for breakfast, I was on a mission to make this morning up to him in the best way I knew how. Food!

"You lied to me!" I heard my father shout. He was inside his office down the hallway, but I could hear him as though he were next to me. The door was wide open and his wife stood defensively in front of his desk. Her arms were crossed and she turned her face away from him in disregard over his anger.

I stealthily inched closer to the door, "so, I didn't see the point in bringing in a doctor to see her over something so minor."

He snarled, "She wakes up heat sick because of you!"

"She wakes up heat sick because she drowns herself in blankets." She waved off his charge.

"Blankets you gave her! You knew damn well that if she had those in her bed she'd overheat! You're an adult, you know better- she's a child and she doesn't. You actually took the time to see how you could use her vice's to harm her! You saw she was hurting herself by wrapping herself in blankets- so you gave her more!" She was silent, she knew she was caught. "I know you dislike her, but it is not her fault she was brought into the world. It was my fault, if you must hate someone hate me." It wasn't guilt that clouded his eyes, but pain over the memories of my birth. He was hurt by something that he had long forgotten up until now. Guilt... it definitely wasn't guilt of his affair on his mind.

"I do hate you," she hissed. "and I will despise that rotten impudent brat till she is executed."

My father threw something down making a threatening cracking noise, executed? What is she talking about? "My daughter will live a long and happy life. She will be married by her birthday, so there is no reason for you to threaten such things!"

A laugh escaped from her cold iron lips, "that child will never marry. I told you to get rid of the brat by her birthday or I'd execute her- just to see you squirm. You're just making this whole situation more entertaining by trying to marry her off. She'll never marry! She's just like your mistress was, loose and an unchained strumpet."

My father told me I had to get married because he couldn't take care of me anymore...He lied?

"Don't you dare speak about my daughter in that manner. and how dare you threaten her life! I knew you were neglectful- at times abusive. But I never thought you were trying to actually kill her!" My father's unattractive tendency of grinding his teeth was on full blast, "I should have left you a long time ago."

She laughed, "too late now." and walked out of the door happy as could be with herself.

I was frozen against the wall as she walked past me. Initially she looked startled to see that I was listening, but gracefully changed her tone to elation. "Morning dear." She mused.

"Go to hell," I spat. She let it slip right through her and walked off floating on cloud nine. I ran into my fathers office, holding back tears and fear from showing on my face. My father was sitting in his leather upholstered chair, leaned back with his eyes closed in surrender to his wife's demands.

"Daddy," I whimpered. He shot forward and scanned the room for what sounded like his four year old Bella waking up from a terrible nightmare. Tears streamed down his face as he saw 17 year old Bella stuck inside of one. "Is she going to hurt me?"

He ran to me and held me in his arms, "not if you get married." He cooed and pet my hair.

"I loved your mother, your birth mother." He whispered, this was only the second time he had mentioned her in my life.

He let go of me and held my shoulders, looking straight into my eyes like they had the answers to all the questions he had ever asked in life. "She was my passion and my fantasy, if she hadn't of died I can accurately assume I'd be with her now… But that is not the case." A brief vision of a happy family rolled around in my head, but fell into the dark place of my mind. "You are all I have left of her and I can't let you be destroyed. I promised your birth mother I'd give you everything- that I'd see to it you would always be taken care of." He cried. "You need to marry the prince who's to come next week. I've spoken to him already and he's very interested in meeting you. He's the eldest son of the Wind Daimyo, he's to be King, Bell!"

"N-no," I stuttered under his jubilant dream. "I don't even want to be a Princess, I couldn't be a Queen!" I had never admitted that to anyone other than Madara before, it was terrifying yet relieving all at the same time.

My words hit my father like a slap to the face, "you can tell me all these things that you don't like or want- but you can't tell me what would make you happy! Tell me who the Prince of your dreams is and I'll find him!"

"I need time," I confessed. "I just need more time to think about all of this. You only gave me a month to absorb and realize what's happening!"

"Because I too only had a month!" He snapped. "Carla told me her ultimatum last week! I wish I could give you an eternity to find happiness in a man- and trust me if it were up to me I'd never marry you off. You're my baby girl, the only innocent daughter I have!"

My three sisters danced in my thoughts, Beniko was as insane as her mother and the twins were already tainted by the same blood lust. They were only thirteen yet they wanted my head too.

Madara's words fished along side my eccentric thoughts, "I don't want to taint you." He said last night. Everyone appeared to be convinced I was a sheltered innocent little girl, an unfortunately true fact.

"She threatens to expose you to the public if I do not rid you from this household by your birthday." My father admitted.

"Why did she even bother waiting this long to expose me, why didn't she do it when she first found out?"

My father stood in front of me tiredly, he let go of my shoulders and paced the room, "you cannot execute a child by law. If she exposed you too soon you would have only been imprisoned- she's out for blood."

My breath was caught in my throat. "She's trying to kill me…" I concluded. I wanted Madara now, I wanted my bodyguard behind me now. I wouldn't feel safe until he was here, and even after I hated to admit- I still wouldn't be safe.

My father guided me to the door and kissed me lovingly on my brow. "Please just get married darling, and nothing bad can happen to you. The Prince will be here next week, and regardless of who and how he is- you need to think of your safety before all else."

The short walk to my bedroom was one of the most intimidating moments of my life. I looked from wall to wall and all around me in fear that an executioner would grab me and take me to the firing squad. I was paranoid and irrational, too much had happened in the brief time I had been awake.

Relief overwhelmed my nerves as I saw my warden slumbering on my mattress. I carelessly slammed the door behind me and locked it causing Madara to jump feet above the bed. He immediately postulated his composure and stared off wide eyed as adrenaline circulated.

He scanned the room with anxiety but calmed as he saw I wasn't far. "What happened," he demanded as I slowly lost my mind.

I was shaking and gasping for air, I reached out for my dresser and braced myself for all the emotions that charged my structure. "Today's been a long day." I've been awake for only twenty minutes too.

"Where were you, why didn't you wake me up!?" He screamed at me. He got off the bed and adjusted his ninja tool belt and clothes. "I can't believe this, I'm in charge of protecting you and you just let me sleep! What if you were killed?" He clenched his hands tightly, his face turned red- I had never seen him so mad before.

My eyes softened as I mulled over his possessiveness, his yelling made me feel safe for some reason. He was upset with me because he couldn't protect me for the short 20 minutes I let him sleep, and regardless of the fact that it was his job to care- it was one of the best feelings I had ever felt.

I let go of the dresser and wrapped my arms around him, holding him tightly to me. He stiffened at my touch and stood solid like a statue, "What are you doing?"

"I have no idea," I nuzzled my face into him. "I'm just really emotional from my period. Just hug me and shut up."

He relaxed, breathing more calmly now. He hesitated but eventually gave into the hug, wrapping his arms around me in return. "If my clan elders saw me right now I'd be castigated unmercifully."

"Do you care?"

I let go of him and stepped back- feeling rejected. He grabbed me and forced me back into the hug. "Not really."