When Jem awoke at Aislynn's bedside, all he saw was the white coverlet splattered with blood and Aislynn's thin frame convulsing harshly.
It was nearing the end of the eighth day of Aislynn clinging to life and Jem was struggling to stay awake. His eyes had grown heavy and his head started to bob before he slumped forwards and fell asleep, soft snores escaping him. Will walked into the room to check on his parabatai, only to see him sleeping with Aislynn's hand clutched tightly between his. Will slowly backed out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
When Jem awoke at Aislynn's bedside, all he saw was the white coverlet splattered with blood and Aislynn's thin frame convulsing harshly. Harsh coughs escaped her and she desperately gasped for air. Blood flew and Jem hopped to his feet, regretting falling asleep. He tried to hold Aislynn steady, but she waved him off and continued to cough.
"Aislynn. Aislynn when did this start?"
"A. . . while. . . ago." She continued to cough until she was completely out of breath, that's when she went limp, again. Jem slowly removed her covers and replaced them with some clean ones. Despite the thin blankets, Aislynn started to sweat, her hair sticking to her temples with it.
Will was in his room, studying the knife that Jem had given him as a symbol of their friendship, before the thought crossed his mind. What if Jem no longer cared about him? Will though to himself before placing the tip of the knife on his chest. Just before he could drive it in, the door knob turned. Sophie walked in before Will could remove the blade from its place on his chest and she gasped.
"Master Will, you mustn't!" She slowly eased the blade away from his heart and took it from his limp hand. He was lost in thought, thought about Aislynn and Jem, thought about how he and Jem had been parabatai forever. He cursed in Welsh and stood, walking out of the room and to the infirmary. Once he arrived there, he saw Jem removing Aislynn's blood-splattered coverlet and stifled a gasped when he saw Jem's hands shaking and him placing a new blanket over a sweating Aislynn. once he finished with that, Jem looked at where Will was standing and hid his shaking hands behind his back. He gave Will a cold look, but Will ignored it and bowed his head in shame.
"What do you want William?" Jem asked, his voice filled with the venom that he had been using every time he bumped into Will.
"Now its William? Really James?"
"What do you want?" Jem repeated, pocketing his shaking hands.
"I want to apologize for my behavior about a week ago. It was cruel and inconsiderate. You should've known about Aislynn the moment I knew."
"Don't apologize, it's clear that this," He paused to point as his bared parabatai rune before continuing, "Doesn't mean anything anymore." He finished his sentence before turning to face Aislynn's unconscious body once again.
"James! Could you stop being obsessed over her for one minute and listen to what I have to say?!" Jem gasped at Will's tone of voice and choice of words.
"Fine, what do you want Will?" He stepped forward so he was only an arms-length away from Will and folded his arms.
"The night Aislynn got poisoned, she had gone out, trying to forget. What she wanted to forget, I didn't know. But when she didn't come back within three hours, I grew worried, so I walked down to where she said she'd be and found her lying, unconscious, in a puddle of rainwater mixed with blood. When I rolled her onto her side and saw the bites, I knew that she had been poisoned because of the color of her skin around them. I decided not to tell you because I knew you would worry and thought it would be over soon. It clearly wasn't and now I see that she means a lot to you and I regret not telling you sooner, it could've changed both of your lives."
"It wouldn't have changed her life, William, but it would've changed mine. I'm glad you told me now, but the only thing you left out is the amount of bites she had."
"It was about six."
"By the heavenly Angel!" Jem shouted and turned to check on Aislynn.
"Thank you for telling me, brother, it means a lot." Jem said, hugging Will.