A Storm of Flames and Deceit

48. Storm Inside

"Good morning," I smile, tracing the dots on his skin.

"Morning," he replies. Fuck, his morning voice gets me every time. I lick my lips. Eris had mentioned one time in his ramblings about his research that a woman's cycle spikes her sexual desire. Of course, he hadn't said it as anything other than a passing fact, but now, all my brain can think about is how his skin feels against mine. "Are you feeling any better?"

Surprised, I nod. "I guess I am," I answer. "Not nearly as bad as last night."

He snorts. "You mean two nights ago?"

I blink. "I've been asleep that long?"

He nods. "I tried to wake you up to eat, but the storm got worse," he explains. "I figured I'd let you ride out the pain for another night before I disturbed you."

I shake my head. "You laid with me for two days?"

He looks down at our tangled forms, his hips against mine. "I can think of worse places to be," is all he says. "And don't look at me like that's crazy. I got up to use the bathroom a few times."

"You could've been a nurse in another life, you know?"

He raises brow, looking me over. "I think you'll find that my bedside manner varies from patient to patient," he smirks. "But you do tend to get the best of it."

I roll my eyes, sitting up. "Why don't you go take a bath while I fetch us some breakfast, huh?" He asks, sitting up with me.

I nod. "I like that idea," I smile, turning to test my legs out. They're a bit weak, but nothing I can't handle, slow steps to the bathroom as the rain trickles down our windows.

As I draw the bath, I start to undress, my body feeling a bit weak... especially from the lack of food and water in me. My body has certainly functioned off of less though. Still, I'll be glad to have breakfast.

My nightgown pools at my feet, surprisingly un stained. I suppose Eris had been vigilant in keeping my padding fresh.

What I didn't expect, however, was that my padding would too be unstained. In fact, I looked bled dry. I freeze, putting on my bathrobe, walking from the bathroom.

"Eris?" I call, concerned.

He's beside me before I can even blink, holding my elbow. "What's wrong?"

I shake my head. "It's nothing serious- just," I hesitate. "I've stopped bleeding... but four days... that's a really short cycle."

He breathes a sigh of relief before a frown pulls at his lips. "It is," he agrees skeptically. "That's certainly shorter than most of the medical journals I read, but it's not unheard of."

I frown. I can hardly recall my first cycle nearly two centuries ago, but I believe it endured well into a week and a half. "Do you know what it means?"

He hesitates, and I can tell then that he might have a few theories. "I'm not a physician," he says instead. "We can go see one later today, but I don't want to tell you something and risk being wrong."

I swallow. "But I'm fine, right?"

"You're fine," he confirms, a nervous chuckle. "I would look a good bit more panicked right now if I thought you weren't."

I laugh too, because I trust that. "Okay," I breathe out.

"Go get in the tub," he kisses my cheek. "I'll be there soon."

...

Eris takes me to a Physician late that afternoon, a woman who was notably human and young. I had never seen her before, but Eris told me she specialized in matters of femininity: pregnancy, cycles, etc. She had asked me questions about my cycle, but Eris had ended up answering most of them... as I had been knocked out for the past few days.

"And the degree of pain you experienced...?" She hedges. This is something I can answer.

"Excruciating," I reply. Eris shifts.

The Physician, Myra, bites her lip, looking between us. My only comfort is the fact that I know for certain I'm not pregnant, seeing as Eris and I are both still on the poultice. "It isn't... unnatural given what you have told me about your... imprisonment," she says. "When a woman lacks nutrients, her cycle ceases. And thus, her fertility is stunted."

I frown. "That doesn't make any sense," my brow furrows. "My parents- as awful as they are- would never want to stunt my fertility. That was one of my selling points."

Eris flinches again.

Myra shakes her head. "People on the isle... they seldom believe in the sciences. They think it too human," she explains. "But even creatures of magic are still governed by the laws of nature. The body needs nutrients to complete basic functions, certainly to complete complex ones like bearing a child."

"So I'm... infertile?" I manage. Eris takes my hand quietly, rubbing my knuckles.

Myra hesitates. "Your body is in recovery still," she says carefully. "Don't confuse a lapse in your fertility with you being baron. Already, from what I can tell, your body has made great progress."

"What else can we do?" Eris asks, still gripping my hand.

Myra shakes her head. "Beyond making sure she eats and drinks and stays active- which she seems to be doing," she says. "You can only wait. And in time, your next cycles should become more and more regular as your body is restored."

Eris nods. "Thank you, Myra- we appreciate you letting us come on such short notice."

Myra nods, smiling quietly. "Send for me if she experiences any changes in her health," she says. "She should be feeling better now after this past week, though."

Eris squeezes my hand before winnowing us back to the treehouse.

AN:
Listen I don't even know how my period works, so yeah I def don't know how a fae period works. Al I thought was maybe they had some sort of padding they could replace with magic. That'd be ideal lol. But yes popular demand: overbearing, doting Eris, the grumpy nurse. I liked writing him like this and I def wrote this on my period wishing I had an wrist to bring me chocolate