Stubborn and Sick (Open/Aria)

[Lucinda Noru]

Lunch time in the castle was usually a pleasant affair, but for the past few days (or maybe a week, she wasn't really sure anymore), Lucinda had been holed up in her room bereft of the delicious food and company usually associated with mealtimes. She was started to wonder how much longer it would take anyone to notice they hadn't seen her but at the same time, she was glad no one had wandered in. The princess would feel bad if she infected anyone with this illness and she already felt bad enough as it were. 

Lucinda's head was pounding so the curtains were drawn and the only light in the room came from two low burning candles. A tray on her bedside contained the remains of an herbal tea and soup. Periodic sneezes and coughing could be heard through her door. The princess herself was snuggled into bed, dressed in an unseasonably warm flannel set of sleep clothes due to the fever that kept her feeling as if she were freezing. She hurt all over, spent most of her time sleeping, and had been through many handkerchiefs. Despite her obvious misery, the princess refused to go to the infirmary and was insisting on suffering through whatever this was in her own room. 

Ally, the cat sized house dragon that served Lucinda, worried over her mistress's obvious discomfort. She knew this had gone on a few days at least already and the princess had only gotten slowly worse. Ally still lacked proper communication skills, she was too young, but she knew where to find the one person in the castle that she could speak to and that could help Lucinda. Quietly, the house dragon slipped from the room and went to find Aria. Her trainer would know what to do this situation. 

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…….She blinked, staring down at the little purple being in front of her, which currently was jabbering on at a speed which was incapable of human comprehension. The little dragon certainly did grow slow, but she supposed dragons were longer lived then drakes. Noky was already almost at her shoulders, she could probably start saddle training him. She shook her head and turned her attention back to the dragon which by now realized she wasn’t listening in the least and was getting annoyed. After some major concentration she finally made sense of what on earth the young dragon was blabbering on about. ”Oh….if that’s the case. One moment, I’ll be right back”, there was a poof of flames and Aria was gone.

Now Ally happen to have found Aria on the outskirts of the Royal Garden, she happen to be coming back up from the beach. Ally didn’t have to wait long before Aria showed back up with another poof of flame when a box in her hand. She motioned for Ally to lead the way and fallowed the dragon back up to Lucinda’s chambers. On her way she made sure to pick up a kettle of water from the kitchen. When she got to the door she didn’t bother knocking, but went right in with the dragon in tow.

Aria’s hair was soaked and dripping; after all she had been coming back from the beach. Her clothes were also wet; as she hadn’t bothered changing from her bathing suit. A golden rod colored breast band, a dark green wrap around, and dark green pants that hugged her hips but billowed out around the legs before tightening around her calves. She wore straw sandals that padded silently across the floor. Though she was leaving a nice wet trail where ever she went. ”Luuuucccyyy, let me take a look at ya. Ally came to fetch me”

Aria walked up to the girl curled up on the bed; placing the tea kettle and box she brought on the table. She placed her hand on Lucinda’s forehead to check her fever. What Aria did do was go to the curtains and throw open the windows. Fresh air was needed; they room was much to stuffy.

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda heard the door to her chamber open and rolled over with groan, dragging a pillow over her head as Aria came squishing into the room. When she mentioned that Ally had come to get her, the blonde poked her head out to shoot the house dragon a dirty, betrayed look. As Aria approached the bed to check her fever though, Lucinda had the good grace to hold still. "Thank you for coming to see me and I'm sorry that Ally bothered you. You look like you were busy. The Beach?" she said. Her voice was quieter than usual and raspy. The effort of speaking after not having done so for hours immediately threw her into a coughing fit.

The princess dragged herself into a sitting position as she coughed, covering her mouth with both hands. When Aria drew the curtains, she shook her head in protest and quickly reached for a cup of water. The coughing subsided and she collapsed back into the covers, shielding her eyes with one hand. "I feel awful. I suppose I really should have gone to the infirmary but the idea itself was exhausting," she said meekly and sounding as tired as she looked.

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”Not at all; she caught me just as I was coming up to go give Garrett or Noku a big sloppy wet hug;…..though I’m sure Noku would have been more pissed….Kinda curious to what his reaction would have been. So Ally here probably saved me from getting into some trouble” She smiled down at the girl; but then frowned as Lucinda went into a coughing fit. Aria immediately flipped open the box she had brought; they were the medical herbs Diamond had given to her when she was ill. They would be put to good use on Lucinda. Aria started making the tea, and heating the water as she did so with her magic. Since she gotten the box, Aria had added a jar of honey to the contents. After all what good was tea without honey; and honey did wonders for a sore throat.

”Yes you should have; and they would have told you shutting yourself in a boiling room when you have a fever will only make you feel worse.” It was a few minutes before Aria finished preparing the tea. She took a tea cup from the box out and poured the girl a glass. Waving her hands over the cup the hot tea instantly cooled to a crisp chill. The girl needed to bring her temperature down from what she felt. ”Here drink; this should reduce any fever you may have as well as help your throat.” She pat Ally on the head; the dragon had done good in bringing her here. ”Luckily Ally your awesome house dragon, brought the infirmary to you….Once you’ve drank that tea we should get you into some clean pajamas. I’ll go fetch some clean linen for your bed as well….when exactly did you start having these symptoms?”

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda laughed and coughed at Aria's explanation, wrapping her arms around her chest. "Oh, please don't make me laugh," she said, smiling. "It sounds like Ally did you a favor though. I don't know about Garrett, but I doubt my dear cousin would have appreciated the gesture," she added, sighing as she caught her breath.

The princess gave Aria a sheepish grin, a very pale blush gracing her cheeks; though it was more than half reduced from her normal coloring. "I'll remember that next time. I just didn't want to bother anyone with what at first seemed like perhaps just some allergies," she explained. She watched Aria making up the tea with some interest, sniffing the air and then looking disappointed when she remembered she couldn't smell anything.

Lucinda accepted the tea from the helpful red head. She cradled it between her delicate hands, gave her friend a grateful look and took a sip, sighing as the honey and herbs soothed her sore throat. The coolness of the liquid was refreshing and she made another little 'mmmm' of appreciation. "This is wonderful. I'd imagine it would be bitter from the herbs if I could taste it better? I'm all getting at the moment is the honey. It's very soothing, though she said, continuing to sip the tea.

Aria continued with taking charge of her care and Lucinda nodded as the red head insisted on a change of clothing and bedding. When Aria mentioned Ally's part in this, Lucinda smiled fondly at the little dragon. "Thank you, Ally. It would seem you have a dunce for a mistress. I'm lucky to have you," she said, before turning her attention to Aria's question. "Umm... I'm not really sure. I've lost track of time being shut up in here. A few days ago? No more than a week, I know. It started a day or two after my blossom festival date with Adrain," she said, thinking and biting her bottom lip. She finished the tea and offered the cup back to Aria. "My pajamas are in that dresser," she pointed and then moved to try and get out of bed.

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Aria thought about it….more that she did the more she wanted to see the reaction out of Noku. ”…..I kinda really want to do it now.” She gave Lucinda a very stern look as she told Aria she had brushed off her cold. ”Even allergies can be helped” Aria shook her head at the silly girl. ”You can thank Diamond for the tea, he was the one who got it for me when I was sick, I decided just to pass the gift along.” It was good tea; and it would help Lucinda feel a lot better once she drank it. She was glad Ally had come and fetched her. What kind of duchess would she be if she didn’t take care of the princess who gave her the position. As Lucinda drank Aria cleaned up the things she used to make the tea. Chuckling when Lucinda told Ally she had a dunce for a mistress ”That she does” Was it wrong to agree?

Aria happily hummed her herself as she went over to the dresser where Lucinda kept some clean pajamas. She picked out a simple powdered blue sleeveless night gown perfect for the summer heat; along with some clean undergarments. She handed them to Lucinda as she got out of bed and shooed her to go get changed. ”You’ll have to tell me how that went when I get back with your bed sheets.” Aria stripped the dirty sheets and wrapped them up and took them out of the room while Ally helped Lucinda get changed. Aria then deposited the sheets with a maid, and went to go collect a clean set before returning. Once back she began to make the bed. ”Have you had anything to eat yet? Would you like me to go get you some soup or something?”

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda just shook her head as Aria said she'd like to try that, smiling a little, then blushing again as Aria chastised her. "I didn't think about that," she murmured. She nodded as Aria told her Diamond had been the one to get the tea. "I'll have to send him something as a thank you," she said thoughtfully. Lucinda laughed as Aria tagged her two cents on to the comment for Ally, nodding. She didn't mind, considering she was the one that said it first.

The blonde princess watched as Aria hummed and cleaned before digging around in Lucinda's dresser. Lucinda smiled, having finally managed to crawl out of bed. She stood unsteady on her feet and stretched before losing her balance and falling back to sit on the mattress for a moment. She took the clean clothes Aria brought her, holding them in her lap for a moment as the red head mentioned that she wanted to hear about the date after she fetched clean sheets. Lucinda just nodded and proceeded to make her way to the bathroom, with Ally close behind.

It took her a few minutes to get changed, even with Ally's help. After she'd changed her clothes, she carefully brushed her teeth and then worked the tangles out of her shoulder length tresses. Her color was slightly better and she could breath a bit easier with the medicinal herbs working through her system. She went back into the bedroom to find that Aria had already returned with the clean sheets.

Lucinda considered Aria's questions as she watched the red head make her bed. She was leaning against the door frame for support. "I haven't had anything to eat today, no. Soup sounds wonderful but I don't want to trouble you. In fact, I'd like to thank you for helping me," she insisted, though she looked as if she clearly had no idea how she was going to do that.

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”No thanks necessary; family takes care of family yes? I’m happy to help. Plus who else won’t listen to you when you say you don’t need help” She smiled and finished making the bed. ”Now get back in bed and I’ll go tell the servants to bring up something to eat.” Aria went back to the door to Lucinda’s room and found someone to go down to the kitchens to ask them to cook something up. She also asked if they could bring up some sweets, pastry of some sorts. She was a bit peckish herself. Aria then turned to Ally. ”Do you mind running back to my island and fetching me some dry clothes? My room is on the upper floor, large blue green doors.” Aria was still dripping wet; so while she was waiting for Ally to return Aria took off the large blue green wrap and hung it out the window to dry. Leaving her in just the breast band part of the bathing suit and pants. Leaving her very toned middle completely exposed. She also quickly braided her hair, and slung it over her shoulder; revealing the two chakrams tattoos along her back; though she had reduced their size so they only took up a shoulder blade now. Such a useful little spell.

Aria pulled up a servants wooden chair, without cushions, she didn’t want to get everything soaked. She had learned the hard way that salt water after a while smelled kinda funky if it got on things that didn’t dry quickly. She sat down and crossed her legs. ”So while we wait for food, tell me how your blossom festival went? How are things going between you and Adrain”

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Diamond had been taking his rounds around the castle, the white haired knight had spotted a small dragon running about. This raised his eyebrow slightly but it seemed that most of the staff within the castle was not paying any mind. But then saw a red head also known as Aria following the dragon back after a few minutes later. Seeing that he was not doing anything at this moment he followed the duo to a room where Lady Lucinda was staying at. There had been something flying around that she was ill and had pondered on getting some of the medical herbs he had. As he was about to leave he could smell a faint smell of several herbs and knew that Aria was using some of the medicines that were left over. Diamond mulled over something and was not sure if he did what he was doing. Was not him sucking up to the royals, but at the same time though he could gain a bit more favor? He shook his head and would just do this as Champion of Mylee and there would not be any doubt. Diamond took a few more minutes on how he should do some kind of thing to improve the lady's health.



He did not have any herbs but there were crystals in his pouch he could use. As some had used crystals for healing and was not sure if he could do that? Well he would give it a shot and walked up to the door and knocked on it "Excuse me ladies I hope you don't mind me barging in" he said and walks in and gives a bow before Lucinda. "I heard you were not feeling good Lady Lucinda, well perhaps I can help your recovery a bit more swiftly. Since I am Mylee's champion" he said.

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda laughed again, this time a little less raspy, as Aria responded. "You're right. No one else in going to ignore a princess when she says no. You're just stubborn enough," she said, smiling. "You're like a sister to me, you know," she added fondly.

She climbed obediently back into bed as Aria finished making it, sighing as she sunk into the clean sheets. "I could eat a little something," she said quietly as Aria mentioned sending someone for food. Now that the tea was working, Lucinda found she had a bit of appetite for the first time in the last couple of days. She nodded as Ally scampered off but turned her attention back to Aria. "You're welcome to anything of mine, of course. I've a wide variety of clothing options in the closet or sleep clothes in that dresser, if you want," Lucinda offered. It was the least she could do.

A light blush graced her cheeks as Aria asked her about her blossom date and how things were going with Adrain. "We got transported to the middle of Willow's Meadow. There were all these catapults set up with plates of fruit and really nice bows with quivers full of arrows. Targets were set out at various distances around the area as well. It was a pretty nice set up, really. I found out that Adrain has never really shot a bow. He managed to miss the target and shoot a bird in the forest, but he was cheating, I think," she explained, laughing at the memory of it. "I guess things are going pretty well. I haven't seen much of him lately. I think he's been really busy and of course I've been sick," she answered the second part of the question, biting on her lip.

Being lost in what was obviously worried thought, Lucinda jumped a little when the knock on the door echoed in the quiet chamber. Diamond stepped, apologizing for his intrusion. The princess looked at him in surprise. His was an unexpected presence indeed, considering they didn't know each other all that well. The news that he had heard she was ill was also surprising but she smiled after a moment and nodded. "Please come in, Diamond. It's no trouble at all, especially when you come with such good intentions. I've been ill a few days now at least, so any help is most appreciated," she said by way of greeting. "Oh! that reminds me. Thank you for this medicinal tea. I know you gave it to Aria initially but she's giving it to me. It's helping. I feel a little better already," Lucinda added, smiling again and gesturing at one of the empty chairs.

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Aria smiled as Lucinda said she was like her sister; thankfully she felt that way. Otherwise, her stubbornness might piss her off like it did Noku. Who didn’t appreciate her form of stubborn family affection. ”I’m good with waiting for Ally to come back, after all she already left to go fetch some, but thank you” If Ally hadn’t already scampered off she would have taken Lucinda up on the offer. But she didn’t want to waste the effort Ally was putting in for her. Aria made herself comfortable as Lucinda went on to talk about the blossom festival. Listening with a smile on her face; and absent mindedly fiddling with a small black opal ring on her ring finger. A pretty little ring she had gotten on her blossom festival date. She let out a loud laugh when Lucinda said Adrain hit a bird. “Least he didn’t try to glue it to a card after.”

”Sounds like you two had fun” She was glad that Lucinda and Adrain had some fun together. Though she felt bad for the bird….”I hope you at least ate the bird after….seems like such a waste if you didn’t” She nodded when Lucinda said she hadn’t seen him in a while; Adrain always did like to stay busy. ”Well, I’m sure once he finds out your ill you’ll see him sooner rather than later. I will pop into the academy to give him your hello’s if you wish, that and to plop a dead bird in one of his shoes.” Now that she knew that tid bit, it was something the boy wouldn’t live down.

Aria looked over at Diamond as he poked his head in and waved. “Hello, how are you lately Daimond?”