forum The Strangers in the Palace (Closed)(Fantasy)

Started October 31, 2021 by @LovelyRose

tune

“You have slept in many uncomfortable places, and you have spent quite some time traveling. You deserve to have a nice place to sleep, if only for a little while.”

He grimaced at a sudden flare up of pain in his head. It felt like someone had gripped his skull in a vice. Determined not to let the weakness show, he pulled the nearest blanket over himself, then lowered his body until he was flat on the floor. The cold weather had made it almost unbearably chilly, but he refused to move.

“A couple of nights on the floor will not hurt me,” he said through gritted teeth, sounding as if he was trying to persuade himself as well as Rin, “I am not that fragile. Now please do get some rest.”

Rin sighed, leaning down and hoisting Arquis up, then setting him down on the bed again. "No. Sleep on your bed, Arquis. You are ill, and you need rest, and warmth, on a comfortable bed. I am not sick, and I can sleep perfectly fine on the floor." they said, shaking their head a little bit.

Arquis’s eyes glittered in the flickering candlelight. His cheeks were flushed from both the fever and his awful delight at being picked up so easily. He shamed himself mentally for his thoughts, physically shaking his head as if that could get rid of them.

“Rinlos, please,” he groaned, “I will not sleep a wink unless you are comfortable. It would be terribly cruel of me to let you sleep down there after a nightmare.” An idea rushed to the forefront of his mind. “Perhaps we could share the bed. Not in an, ah, crude way, of course, but like before. You can have one side, and I can take the other. We would not even have to look at one another, if that would help.”

Rin thought about that for a moment, then nodded. "That works." he replied, getting up onto the bed and lying down on the opposite side from Arquis. "Thank you, Arquis." he added after a moment. "For the…sympathy." even if it had been awkward, it had still been nice.

Arquis did not answer; he was already fast asleep, his eyes closed and his breathing a steady, raspy rhythm. He was not dreaming this time. Everything about him had gone deathly still, and if it wasn’t for the breathing he would almost resemble a corpse.

The candle that he had lit burnt out after a couple minutes, leaving the room in a thick darkness.

[Day Four]

A little after dawn, Arquis awoke to the hot touch of light on his skin. When he opened his eyes, however, he realized that his curtains were closed. His fever had increased over the span of the night, and he was absolutely drenched in sweat. He uselessly dabbed his forehead with his sleeve before pushing himself up on his elbows, then nudged his legs until they hung over the bed.

The beginnings of a plan started to come together in his hazy mind. He would have a quick bath, then dress, force down a piece of peppermint bark just to settle his stomach, and take his medicine with water. Then, he would get to work, writing a couple of cordial letters to other estates and talking to the gardeners about clearing walkways through the snow.

He shoved himself off the bed, ready to set the plan in motion, and immediately knew something was wrong. His legs crumpled in a weird, almost boneless way. The next thing he knew, he was on his knees, bent over with his palms pressed flat on the floor. He tried to stand up again, but his legs wouldn’t respond.

It wasn’t just that they wouldn’t respond, he realized. He couldn’t feel them at all.

He brought a trembling hand down to his calf and gave it a poke. Nothing. Hit his knee at full force, hard enough to bruise. Nothing. He prodded his chest all the way to his hip and found that while his upper body still had sensation, the lower half was numb.

“Rin?” he asked, near hysterical, hoping that he could wake them. “Rin, are you awake?”

Rin grunted when Arquis fell, the noise disturbing him a bit, but it wasn't until Arquis called out that he was truly awoken. "Hm?" They sat up sleepily, pushing off the blankets as they realized Arquis was no longer on the bed. He got off of it and came around it until he saw Arquis crumpled on the floor. "Shit, Arquis." He breathed. They bent down, scooping up the nobleman and setting him down on the bed. "What's wrong?" They asked, studying him.

Arquis desperately latched onto their arm, his breathing growing shallow and quick. All of the blood had drained from his skin. His pupils were dilated to such an extent that they almost completely swallowed his irises.

“My legs, I can’t-“ He swung his fist down onto his left thigh, then did it again, then again. His lips parted to let out a strangled sob. “I- I can’t feel my legs.”

His grip on Rin’s arm grew tighter as panic set in, and he ended up wrenching his hand away to avoid hurting them. He kept hammering away, now at his knee, as if it would make any difference. There was no sensation at all. No pins and needles, no dull pain from the hitting, not even a weak ache from his fever.

"Ssh, hey, don't hit yourself." Rin said, quickly taking Arquis's hands in his to stop the nobleman from hitting himself again. "It's going to be alright." he whispered. "Can I poke my head out and ring for the doctor, or are you going to try and hurt yourself again if I let your arms go?" they kept their voice soft and quiet, even as they worried that this could be permanent.

Arquis gasped and fought to wrest his gloved hands from his hold, though he was too fatigued to actually succeed. A defeated whimper escaped him. He slumped forward, letting his head drop onto his wrist, and groaned.

“I do not know if- I am not sure it matters. Doctor or not, I- I am- I do not know if this can be fixed.” His shoulders trembled for half a second before he lifted his head. “Rin, am I- am I dying? I f- feel like I’m dying.”

Rin kept his gaze on Arquis. "You are not dying. I will not let that happen." they said, keeping their voice calm and controlled and even. "I'm going to get the doctor, okay? Please don't hurt yourself again." they slowly released Arquis's hands, moving over to the door and opening it, trying to see if anyone was nearby.

Two maids in fluffy flats stopped gossiping when they saw the door open. The younger of the two, a girl wearing pink lipgloss and her hair in a bun, gawked obviously. She not-so-secretly jabbed her friend in the stomach, and the taller girl giggled before turning to Rinlos. The giggles stopped when she saw his expression.

“Is something the matter?” she asked. The younger maid peeked around her arm in an eager attempt to get in on the drama. “Would you like me to fetch something for you?”

“Yes, what’s going on?” her friend squeaked. It was clear that she wasn’t taking it very seriously; her eyes were sparkling with glee, and she was fidgeting excitedly with her ankle length skirt.

Rin made his face go as flat and expressionless as possible; no reason to give them any more to gossip about. "Would one of you fetch a doctor? As soon as possible, please." they kept their voice flat and calm. Obviously his presence in Arquis's bedroom was already causing gossip. He didn't know where this would go, and they weren't sure what would happen.

“A doctor? But why would you need a doctor?” the taller one asked, brows rocketing upwards. She bent to let the younger one whisper something in her ear and came up smirking. “Oh, I see. I’ll go on ahead. You two can wait here.”

She turned and left, her skirt ballooning out around her. Meanwhile, the young girl—the one with stars in her eyes, who looked like she was having the best day ever—bounced on the balls of her feet. There were a collection of gaudy rings on her pinky fingers that sparkled whenever she moved.

“So, you and Sir de Vey! I don’t wanna be a gossip, but I heard a rumor about the two of you. I, of course, didn’t think it was true, and I said as much to the boy who told me. Now I wonder if he might’ve been right.” She grinned. “I didn’t think that he was into anyone, you know? Haven’t seen him bring people up here before. What was he like? I’m sure you understand my curiosity, being a bard yourself and all.”

Rin finally allowed an expression to take his face, arching an eyebrow down at the girl. He was not sure what the proper response was here. Was it better to say that Arquis was sick, or to let the rumors continue? They didn't know. They took a deep breath, and finally settling on neither confirming nor denying. "Is that any way to speak of your employer?" He responded. "To inquire into their personal, romantic, and sexual life?" They narrowed their gaze down at her, feeling a little bad for giving her such a stink eye but at the same time, not wanting to smear Arquis's reputation by mistake. "You have no business in asking for such a thing from me. I may be a bard but that does not mean I intend to gossip about someone else."

Her jaw actually dropped, and she got a little misty-eyed. She lowered her head to give him an embarrassed nod before stepping down the hallway, her lip quivering too much to give a sound response. The heels of her flats clicked as she hurried away.

The older girl came barreling from the opposite way. Syeda was following; her lips were pinched with worry. The maid looked around, expecting to see her friend, and departed with a shrug when she saw that she was alone.

Syeda stepped inside the bedroom. She had a suitcase in each hand and a pouch strung at her hip. They jingled as she spread them all out on the bed. The suitcases opened smoothly, revealing top and bottom compartments, and she took out her stethoscope.

“Alright, what happened? More asthma?”

Arquis inhaled shakily. “I can’t feel m- my legs.”

“Your legs?” A hint of shock came into her voice, but she flattened it, putting on a mask of calm. “Alright, let me see.”

She came around to his side with a quill, kneeled, and rolled up the leg of one of his pants. He put one hand over his eyes. She brushed the feather from heel to calf in a swift movement.

“Feel anything?”

“No.”

She did it with the other leg and asked the same question. The answer was the same. She flipped the quill over. On the other side was a sharp point that she pressed into his ankle. He didn’t react. She tried the other ankle, then went up to his thighs. Nothing.

“Do you still have sensation in your-“

“W- waist up.”

“Alright. Alright, calm down. You’re about to hyperventilate, take some deep breaths.” She cut a glance at Rinlos. Her expression was blank. She waited for Arquis to settle a bit before going on. “If this is what I think it is—if your infection is what I believe it to be—then it is curable. But…”

Rin had followed into the bedroom, closing the door behind them. They still felt a bit bad for upsetting the maid, but it also was none of her business. Even though nothing had happened. At Syeda's paused, they arched their brows. "But what?" He asked, shifting forward. "Is there a way I can help fix this? Or…" He trailed off, hoping that they could help in some way, no matter how small.

Syeda swallowed and looked at Arquis. “Well, if it is what I believe it to be,” she started lightly, “then it will present with a rash. The rash should start on the outer extremities and move inwards if not treated with medication. And because there is no rash on your feet or ankles, that would mean that I would have to check your hands.”

“No,” Arquis said instantly, squeezing his eyes shut. He forced his hands behind his back. “No, you can’t. I won’t let you. Find another way.”

“There isn’t another way. If it isn’t the infection I’m thinking of, then I’ll need to start treating for other conditions. This is an easy test. All I would have to do is remove your gloves.”

“I don’t care what you do, but you can’t t- take them off.”

She got up and turned towards the bard. “I am going to need you to help me take them off, alright? Whether he wants us to or not. This is necessary, and,” her eyes were soft with compassion, “he is not thinking straight.”

Rin's gaze flickered to Arquis, remembering their conversations about the gloves. "Does it have to be his hands?" they asked slowly, even though they already knew the answer. He came closer, sitting down beside Arquis. "I'm sorry, Arquis." he said in a soft, gentle tone, gently taking the nobleman's hands in his own, and then moving his grip to Arquis's wrists so Syeda could remove the gloves. "I'm sorry."

Arquis struggled for a good minute, fiercely tugging his arms left and right. He collapsed against Rinlos when it became clear that he wasn’t getting his way. In a quiet, desperate tone, he began to recite pleas, and they only grew in volume when Syeda approached.

The gloves he was wearing were thin, cream-colored gloves. She had to pinch the index finger of the first to pull it off. The second it was removed, she went oddly still.

His hand was absolutely covered in scars. Some were old, thin, and silver enough that they barely showed up against his skin. Most were in the middle of the spectrum; they were pink and ridged, but they weren’t fresh. The ones that were new, like the one across his middle and ring fingers, were an angry red. They had just barely begun to heal.

Syeda took off the other glove as gently as possible, then examined both hands together. Her shoulders sagged in relief as she pointed out a rash just visible through the scarring.

“This is good news, at least. It means the medicine will be delivered at an early stage. The damage to your legs will not be permanent.” She stood, went to her pouch, and pulled out a powder in a small container. She also retrieved a different kind of pills and took the old kind from his bedside table. Before she brought them over, she paused at her suitcase.

“Sir, if this is… if the state of your hands was self-inflicted, then I will need to do a mental evaluation upon your recovery. If not, then I will make a report to the necessary body to get the perpetrator arrested.”

“Neither,” he croaked, “I am pr- prone to accidents.”

Rin inhaled softly when he saw the scarring to Arquis's hands. He wasn't disgusted by it, or angry at Arquis, or anything like that. "Oh." he said faintly, then frowned just a little at Arquis's explanation. "Are you… are you sure?" they asked in a soft tone. "Because I… that's a lot of scars for just accidents." when he was with Lysander, he would turn up with bruises and marks that he would explain away as "accidents"; "oh I'm just clumsy" "I fell down the stairs, it's fine". He didn't want something like that to be happening to Arquis.

Arquis nodded rapidly. His chest was heaving with huge, fast breaths, and he was mortified to find that his eyes were wet. When he tried to speak, a terrible, raw sob clawed its way from his throat. He covered his mouth with his sleeve, inhaled, and nodded again.

“J- just accidents, I pr- pr-“ he swore and tried again. “I promise.”

Syeda silently administered his medicine with a cup of water. While he was swallowing down the powder, she attempted to take his right hand to treat with a gel. He jerked his hand away and held it against his chest, unable to look at her.

“I am going to check up on you in about three hours, but for now I would advise that you take it easy. The medicine should start working within thirty minutes. Come directly to me if any other major symptoms appear.” She went about packing up her supplies efficiently, not stopping until she was at the door. Only then did she look back at Arquis. “And if you decide you would like to talk about the… um, accidents, then know that you can confide in me as a professional.”

She went swiftly through the door, leaving Arquis and Rinlos alone in the room.

Rin had released Arquis's hands as soon as they could, not wanting to take the young man's autonomy for any more time than was necessary. "I'm sorry." he said in a quiet tone, once Syeda was gone. "I am so sorry, Arquis." they looked over at the nobleman. "I can…do you need space? Or…anything?" they bit their lip again, scooting to the side a bit to give Arquis space to think and breathe.