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Katie was sick. She had started showing symptoms a few days earlier, at her sleepover with 4C, Shan and Mae. It had begun with drowsiness and a mild cough, but she didn’t concern herself with it. Everyone got sick every once in a while, and she just had the misfortune of it happening at a sleepover. Her friends urged her to rest, insisting she could get sicker if she didn’t, but she refused. The whole point of a sleepover was to stay up until the sun rose!
Katie didn’t want to admit that she regretted not resting more, but her cough had quickly evolved into a sore throat, making it hard to swallow, with tiredness seeping further into her skin.
But she was Katie the Brave, and she wouldn’t let a measly sickness defeat her.
For days, she spent hours on end by the water, determined to fulfill Kitty’s task to fish the most. Once she bored of reeling in fish, she would return to the red kingdom, not to rest, but to play farkle. She would roll dice until hues of pink and orange could be seen on the horizon.
By the time she went to sleep, it was hours past nightfall. At most she got one to two hours of rest, but even those were disrupted by the itch in her throat and pain in her lungs.
To say the least, her condition was not improving, but she put all her dwindling strength into hiding how weak she had become.
One morning, about a week after she had become sick, she was awoken from her restless sleep by a knock on her door. She shot out of bed, only to be assaulted by a series of hacking coughs that she muffled with the edge of her red blanket.
“KATIE?” a voice screamed from outside her door, “ARE YOU AWAKE?”
Katie heaved herself out of bed, her limbs feeling as if they were full of obsidian.
When she opened her door, she was met with 4C’s grin. She didn’t know how he had gotten into the knights barracks undetected. She quickly ran her hands through her hair in a halfhearted attempt to look presentable.
“Hi 4C!” Katie said, putting on her most lively smile, “What do you need?”
“Good morning Katie! I was wondering if you wanted to go to Blue and pull some more pranks with me and Mae?” 4C asked, bouncing in excitement.
Katie thought it over for a second. It sounded like a great way to distract herself from her sickness, but the thought of walking all the way to Blue sounded like torture.
“Sure!” she finally responded, “Let me go change, and I’ll meet you outside!”
She shut the door, dropping the smile she had been wearily maintaining. She really did want to go out with her friends. She refused to let a sickness stop her, even if she felt like dying.
Slowly, she pulled on her armor, fastening her sword at her waist. The heaps of metal only added to the weight in her limbs, but she didn’t feel safe going out unprotected. Especially not while going to the other kingdom, where some people were… not so agreeable.
She met 4C outside, where the slime was still full of excitement. Katie wished she could muster up the energy he had.
As the pair walked out of the Red Kingdom, 4C informed Katie that to get into Blue, they would have to climb the mountains that surrounded the kingdom. Due to the fancy new gate, Katie could no longer simply waltz right in.
“So we have to be sneaky?” Katie exclaimed with all the excitement she had.
“You have to be sneaky,” 4C replied, “I’m a rouge. Sneaky is practically my middle name.”
His remark caused Katie to giggle, agitating her lungs. She held in her cough, leaving a tightness in her chest.
“So, what type of prank should we do?” 4C questioned as they made their way up the mountain. “Me and Mae had a few ideas, we really want to prank Owain again.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you guys want to do is fine with me.” Katie wheezed. They were more than halfway up the mountain, but it had taken a toll on her ailing lungs, and she was beginning to feel lightheaded. Still, she pushed through like the brave knight she was, looking forward to going downhill.
Eventually, the two of them made it into Blue. Katie drew her sword, unbelievably heavy in her weak hands.
Mae ran up to the two of them, clearly awaiting their arrival.
“4C! You got Katie into the plan!” the other rouge yelped, attempting to hug Katie.
The knight stepped back. She didn’t think she could handle being barreled into by her friend at the moment.
Mae stared at her with a look of betrayal, before returning to her excitement and grabbing 4C’s hand.
“Come on! I have an idea for a prank we could do on Owain! He’s not here right now, it’s the perfect time!”
Mae ran off, dragging 4C behind her. Katie walked behind them at a considerably slower pace.
She was almost to where Mae and 4C had stopped when she heard her name being called.
“Katie?” Someone said from behind her in a thick accent.
Katie turned around, meeting the sight of black and red armor and a face she knew all too well.
It was Nom, her brother. She had hoped she could avoid him, but she had apparently failed.
“So you’ve defected back to blue?” her brother taunted.
Katie’s face twisted into a scowl..
“I have not defected. I am loyal to Red and Red only, Nom.” She hissed her brother’s name.
“Okay Katie” he smirked, dragging out the words, “when did you get so feisty?”
“Well maybe it was—-“ she started, only to be cut off by a series of coughs that she couldn’t contain.
She quickly recovered, stalking towards her brother. Why did he feel the need to talk to her now? Every time she had come to Blue prior he had left her alone.
Katie intended to continue retorting his cruel remarks as she got closer to him, until her legs turned to jelly and gave in underneath her. She was about to land face flat onto the pavement, when a pair of cold, armored hands caught her.
Katie shoved her brother away, standing up.
The other knight looked at her, furrowing his brow.
“Katie, are you okay?” He asked, “you look like you haven’t slept in days.”
“I am,” she said, pausing to catch her breath, “perfectly fine.”
Nom did not look convinced. Katie was aware she looked like a mess, the dark circles under her eyes and unusual paleness of her already light skin gave it away, but she had hoped no one would bat an eye.
“Why do you even care?” She remarked, “how I’m doing stopped being your business years ago.”
Nom looked at Katie dumbfounded as he absorbed her words. She hoped they had hurt.
Katie turned around to leave. She hadn’t come here to talk to her brother, and she didn’t want to continue wasting her time.
The last time the two of them had spoken was after she learned about his oath break. Katie had made multiple attempts to communicate with him since then, all of which were ignored.
And now he had the nerve to spark up a conversation, all while bullying her at the same time?
White spots were beginning to fill her vision. Katie assumed they were from the rage at her brother. She continued to walk away, limbs still feeling like liquid. Her hand was beginning to feel sore from angrily clutching the hilt of her sword. She tried to breathe, though her ribs were constricting her lungs.
Through her angry haze, she heard Nom speak up behind her. “Katie, are you sure you’re—”
That was all she heard before she was consumed by darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Katie awoke sluggishly, her head feeling like it was full of lead. She felt like she was burning up from the inside out. Maybe it was because of the humidity of wherever she was. Through her clogged nose, she could faintly smell an earthy scent.
Slowly, she forced her eyes open. Above her, the ceiling was red, looking as if it was made of the tops of mushrooms.
Grunting, she pushed herself up off the mattress she was lying on. Looking around her, she was in a small bedroom, with a simple wooden desk and a few bookshelves. She was in a bed draped in clean white sheets, perfectly tucked into the corner.
Where was she?
Katie threw off the covers and stood up. Just as quickly as she stood, blood rushed to her head and a wave of dizziness washed over her, sending her to the floor with a thud.
Katie only sat on the ground for a second before she heard footsteps, soon accompanied by a face peeking past the doorframe.
“Katie! You’re awake!”
Why was Nom here?
Their conversation from earlier came back to her. She remembered walking away from her brother, anger boiling in her veins. But what had happened after? How had she ended up here?
“Nom?” Katie squeaked, voice raw, “Where are we?”
Nom looked at her with a quizzical expression. “My… house?” he responded, “You know? The well well well?”
Katie furrowed her brow. “I thought you were joking when you said you lived in a well.”
“Well, I do, but that’s not important. You need to get back in bed.” he ordered.
“What! You can’t just keep me here!” Katie croaked.
Nom handed her a glass of water that had been resting on the night table. Begrudgingly, she took a sip, clearing her throat.
“I’m not a… a prisoner! I’m leaving!” Katie put down the water glass, pushing herself off the ground.
Nom caught her as her weak legs betrayed her yet again.
“Katie, you can’t be serious. You can’t even stand,” He said as he placed her back on the bed, “You literally collapsed in the middle of the kingdom.”
Oh. So that's where the gaps in her memory came from. Looking back, she faintly remembered feeling lightheaded as she walked away from her brother. He must have brought her to his house when she fainted.
“Well, I’m conscious now! I’ve survived for more than a week, I’ll be fine now!” Katie retorted weakly.
Nom’s eyes grew wide. “You’ve been this sick for a week?” He exclaimed, “Have you been resting?”
“I don’t need to rest! I’m a brave knight!” she argued, “Besides, it’s not like you're any better!”
“That’s a horrible excuse! You can’t just run yourself dry because you’re a knight!” her brother exclaimed.
“You once went days without sleeping while you did the dungeon all alone!” Katie retorted.
Nom looked shocked. “How did you know about that?”
“I was there with 4C. When you came I hid.” Katie mumbled angrily.
“Well, either way, you shouldn’t do that! You’re going to kill yourself, Katie!” Her brother said
“It’s not like you care!” Katie yelled, sending her into a series of sputtering coughs. She covered her mouth with her elbow. As she drew her sleeve away from her face, she realized there were spots of red on the green fabric.
Nom clearly noticed, looking at her with concern. “Look, Katie. This is not the time for us to resolve our conflicts, but I do care about you. I promise. And because I care about you, I’m making you rest. Look at you! You are literally coughing up blood, you are not okay. So you are going to rest.”
Katie was taken aback by his ultimatum. After all these weeks of being ignored, it was odd for her brother to express such care.
Though she wanted to fight, the weakness throughout her body and the feeling that she would fall apart at any moment stopped her.
Nom stared at her, as if expecting a response.
“O… okay.” She muttered, shrinking in on herself.
“Well then, let's get on with it.” Nom walked across the room, taking something out of a chest.
He placed it at the end of the bed. “Put these on. Call for me when you’re done, or if you need help.”
He left the room, giving Katie privacy. Katie picked up the clothes he had left her. It was a simple loose black top and pants, not dissimilar to what Nom was wearing now that he’d removed his armor.
Thinking about it made Katie realize how small she felt without her armor. It was her main source of confidence, making her feel safe, strong. Without it she just felt like a weak, sick girl.
Looking around, she realized her armor, along with her boots and sword were on the floor, at the foot of the bed.
She pulled off her green top and skirt, pulling on the clothes Nom had given her. They were incredibly soft, likely from years of wear. She threw her own clothes on top of her armor, not knowing where to put it.
When she was done, she yelled for Nom, though it was closer to a whisper.
Her brother came into the room holding a bowl and spoon in one hand and a bottle full of pinkish-red liquid in the other.
He placed both on the nightstand, next to Katie’s empty glass.
“When was the last time you even ate?” He asked.
Katie thought back. It surely hadn’t been today– she had left with 4C before eating. She hadn’t eaten before she went to bed yesterday, or in the afternoon…
“Um… like yesterday morning? Maybe?” She responded.
Nom sighed. “You really haven’t been taking care of yourself, have you? Well, I brought you soup. Eat it slowly.”
Nom put his hand to her forehead.
“You're running a fever,” he concluded, “When you’re done eating, drink the healing potion.” He said, pointing to the bottle of colored liquid.
Katie took the soup with shaky hands, careful not to spill in on herself. It was a simple broth, with a few vegetables mixed in.
She took a sip slowly. Despite its mediocre looks, it was delicious, and reminded her stomach how she had starved it.
Still, she took Nom’s advice and sipped it slowly, relishing every drop.
When she was done, she uncorked the bottle and took a sip. It tasted like berries and flowers.
“What is this? This is the best medicine I’ve tasted… ever.” Katie queried.
Nom chuckled. “It’s just a healing potion. Scott made it.”
“Well I think Cam could learn something from Scott. All his medicines taste horrible.” Katie commented, finishing off the bottle.
“You know, I forgot you had a healer on your side. Why didn’t he help you?” her brother asked.
“Well…I wasn’t really around him… or anyone really.” Katie stared down into her empty soup bowl.
“So you’ve been refusing to rest, and isolating yourself from anyone who could help you. Great.” Nom sighed again. Katie felt that was going to become increasingly common.
“I… um… also climbed a mountain…” Katie said guiltily.
“What am I going to do with you?” Nom exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air.
Katie didn’t respond.
Moving on, Nom pressed his hand to her head again. “You don’t feel so hot anymore. The potion works fast.”
He was right. What had previously felt like her insides boiling was now a dull heat.
“Is there anything else you need?” He asked.
Katie shook her head. “No, but… thank you for helping me.”
“Well, you clearly weren’t going to do it yourself, and I can't have you dying on me.” Nom remarked.
“Oh!” Katie gasped, “Could you maybe tell 4C and Mae where I am? Send them a pigeon or something? They might be worried that I just… disappeared.”
“Of course,” her brother smiled softly. He hadn’t smiled at her like that for a while. “Now, get some rest. Please.”
He picked up the discarded bowl and bottle and left, closing the door behind him with a creak.
Katie lay down, body sinking into the bed. She closed her eyes and let the darkness consume her, not violently like when she had fainted, but softly and willingly.
Things still weren’t okay with her and Nom, and who knew if they ever would be. But he cared about her, and that was what really mattered to her.
She would sleep peacefully now, she thought, as drowsiness took over, and she finally let herself rest.