The Companions of Time

chapter 22

I felt like something was watching me.

Ben felt so betrayed by his brother, and hadn't seen a thing of his ring.
Ben also was very upset about Hazel, he felt that it was his brother's fault, but I knew that it was mine, because I made her go back out there.

I wanted to go out and find Lucas, and beat him to a pulp, but I also would never leave Hazel alone, especially since she was like this.

I paced in front of Hazel's door, waiting for the doctor.
A must of sweat clung to my brow, as the doctor examined her behind the closed door.
Finally the door opened, and the doctor came out quietly, with his bag, and a concerned look on his weathered face.
"So what is it?" I asked concerned.

"It is no doubt a bad fever, but it was offset by the," he coughed "embarrassing night. The stress somehow caused a way for her to catch it, it is such a strange occurrence indeed."

Of course he had heard about it, the whole town was there, at the ball that terrible evening.

"Will she be alright?" I asked worried.

He looked down sadly "if she doesn't start eating and drinking more, she will succumb to the fever. I've seen this many times. If you can't get her to eat she won't be strong enough to fight it. Her body is so very weak, and I believe she may also have another ailment along with her crippling fever. It could wear out her heart."

I looked down sadly, a churning in my gut began, my lips trembling.
That was my best friend laying there. And she would die if I didn't do something.
I had to be able to help her.
I thanked the doctor, and started towards her door.

"Sir, what of propriety?" The doctor asked behind me.

"To hell with propriety! My best friend is dying, and I am going to do something about it. She won't eat from the nurses, and maids, I'm the only one she has talked to, I'm the only one she will listen to. Thank you sir for your diagnostic, and I apologize for my language, but I need to save my friend."

He had a shocked look on his face, but nodded in understanding.
With that, I went into her room, and after putting another blanket over her form, sat next to a sleeping Hazel.

I took the book next to her bed, and started reading it aloud, and I reached forward and held her cold hand.

"And so this is where the story begins," I read in a trembling voice "of the brave warrior princess and her valiant adventures across the world saving the weak, and defeating the evil....."

I read aloud for a while, every few minutes refreshing the cloth on her sweat drenched brow. I tried so hard to be strong, I knew I had to be strong for her.

My lip trembled the whole time I was reading, it seemed as if it was never going to stop.

I set down the book, and made my way downstairs to eat something quickly, before returning to sick Hazel. It panged me to leave her side, but I was to be sick if I didn't eat anything.

I was in the kitchen, sitting on a stool at the large wooden table in the middle of the room, raking my hands through my dark hair.

I was about to get up and look for something to eat in the cabinets, when the click-clack of shoes interrupted my thoughts.

"Sir, would you like me to make you something?"

It was the voice of a maid.

"I think I will be alright, I just have to find something small to eat."

"I will make you something, I insist, please be at ease you are doing what you can to help her," she said as she started making something.

Poor Hazel, she was so stressed and embarrassed, it allowed her to get sick. She could die, and if I hadn't made her go back out to the ball, she wouldn't be like this.

I stretched a few times to relieve the stiffness in my back and neck from sitting for so long, while the maid fixed up a small meal, she insisted I would need if I was to take care of Hazel, and a small nibble of something would not help me much in keeping my strength up, so I would not catch the fever as well.

It sounded all very wrong that eating would keep me strong too, but I agreed.

After quickly finishing the small meal that was made, I went back to Hazel's side.
She looked so deathly pale, her breathing shallow. The fever was beating up her body, her frail sick body.
I held her hand, tears building in my eyes.

A sticky sweat covered her body, yet she shivered from time to time. However, she was in a deep sleep and hadn't shivered in a while.

She was so helpless, so still. She was the best thing that had ever happened to me. She brought me in as a friend, she treated me like family.
She was so kind, and I couldn't bear to loose her.

My god, if I lost her I wouldn't know what to do.

I took her hand, and kissed her knuckles once more, my lips trembling, as I placed a warm kiss on her cold, pale hand.

Feelings I hadn't known panged my heart.
Feelings that I didn't know I could feel. If she was gone I would have nothing, because I....

I loved her.