“BROOK!!!” Lily wailed, clinging onto Brook’s lifeless figure under the sheets. “Please don’t die! Don’t go away! Wake up, Brook, wake-”
“Lily,” Lucy hissed angrily, dragging the sobbing girl out of the room by the collar for Nathan and Brook to be alone. Lucy closed the door gently behind her. “Lily, you need get a hold of yourself!”
“But Brook-”
“-needs to be left alone,” Lucy said gently, brushing away Lily’ tears. “And don’t worry, Brook isn’t going to die.”
“How come Nathan gets to be next to her?”
“Well, because he and Brook are the same,” Lucy explained patiently, guiding Lily down the hall. “On the other hand, you’re still healthy, and on top of that, you’re a young indenture. If you’re not careful, you’ll catch their cold.”
“What’s a cold?” Lily sniffed.
“It’s what happens WHEN YOU FALL ASLEEP,” Lucy said, raising her voice loud enough for Nathan to hear, “COMPLETELY SHIRTLESS!”
Nathan ignored this biting remark and the sound of fading footsteps, turning over to watch pale, unconscious Brook intently as if she would die any second.
This was the impression he had of the situation when he first woke up to find Brook in some sort of coma, running a fever of 101. He didn’t even notice that his condition was much worse than hers until he tried to get up. He pulled the covers closer to his shivering body and propped his head up on an elbow.
“Why are you indentures so fragile?” he muttered under his breath.
“Says the guy who caught the same illness as me,” Brook croaked, opening her eyes and smirking.
“Oh, sorry, did I wake you up?” Nathan asked, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
“Just a little. Shouldn’t you be sleeping too?”
“I’ll be alright in no time,” he replied dismissively.
“What are you talking about? You’re running at 103.8 degrees!”
“I’m a royal.”
“I’m still better off than you.”
“More importantly,” Nathan said incredulously. “I can’t believe you took a cold shower and didn’t even dry your hair. If you have the guts to do that, don’t get sick!”
“Oh shut up,” Brook grumbled, turning over so all he could see was her back.
“Well,” Nathan chuckled, reaching out and wrapping his arms around her, “when I get better, I’ll spoil you like a little kid, okay honey?”
Brook slapped his hands off, blushing furiously and pulling the covers over her head. “What’s gotten into you?! Do you ALWAYS act drunk when you’re sick?”
Nathan smiled. “It’s nothing. I just noticed you’re extremely fun to tease.”
He winced as an angry foot rammed into his shin.
***
The sun shone brilliantly in the cloudless blue sky as leaves and birds danced in the air. Horses lazily grazed under the shade of leafy trees, enjoying the peace Brook longed to savor.
She angrily clacked down the hall, hair tied in a loose bun and hem of her soft lavender dress billowing about her legs.
“‘I’ll spoil you like a little kid’, he says,” Brook scoffed, carrying a tray of hot chicken broth with one hand and furiously studying a book on Kenepal politics. “And what’s with the ‘I’m a royal so I heal faster than you’ attitude?! Seriously, Nathan’s such a- OOPS!”
Brook tripped on her pin heels Veronica instructed her to wear regularly and fell forward. When she opened her eyes again, Will was holding her by the waist and balancing the tray, not a single drop spilled, on one finger.
“Well, isn’t the little princess busy today?” he purred, laughing when she ripped herself away from him only to trip again and fall to the floor.
“What do you want?” Brook glared reproachfully from the floor. She ignored his hand and carefully stood up by herself. Ever since the incident six days ago, Brook was on red alert when it came to this man.
“Easy there, you little sea urchin!” Will smirked. “What’s wrong with wanting to see my favorite little sister?”
“Many, MANY, THINGS,” Brook spat.
“Ouch,” he snickered.
Brook huffed and angrily took the tray from Will. She brushed right past him and clacked off as quickly as she could, but Will kept up easily.
“Going to go nurse your darling dearest?”
“Leave me alone.”
“Bet you wish I’d go back to the old me. Go back to being your precious little prince charming to sweep you off your feet.”
“If it means shutting you up, by all means, go ahead.”
“I wonder how you can stand Nathan when he’s so paradox to your type.”
“I think you’re mistaken,” Brook said curtly, stopping to glare at him. “I don’t have interest in those kinds of people anymore. You’d think I was still a naive little girl Nathan found that auction night!”
Brook walked off, and this time, she didn’t hear Will didn’t follow. However, when she got to the stairs leading to Nathan’s room, Will’s arm blocked the way.
“So,” he said with a sickly interested raise of the eyebrow, “I guess it’s safe to assume that the sudden change in your type was due to the fact that you witnessed a new favorite kind of person?”
“I don’t know what-”
“I’m asking you,” Will smirked, “if you’ve actually gone and fallen head over heels in love with that idiot brother of mine.”
Brook’s eyebrows flew up so high that Will had to fight the urge to double up in laughter. Face scarlet red, she opened her mouth a good number of times, but all that came out was a strangled, high pitched cry.
Will grinned evilly at his soon-to-be sister like a cat eyeing a frantic mouse. He ruffled her hair, leaned down, and whispered something into her ear before walking off.
Dazed, Brook somehow managed to get upstairs and open the bedroom door to see that Nathan was still sleeping.
“Hey,” she murmured as she set the tray down. Brook gently shook Nathan awake. He rolled over and rubbed his eyes.
“What time is it?” he muttered as he heaved himself into a sitting position, hacking and coughing as he straightened up.
“Time to eat lunch.”
Silence. Brook looked up from the tray to see Nathan staring at her intently.
“Wh-what?” Brook asked, wondering if there was something on her face.
“No,” Nathan said slowly, “it’s just that there are three of you…”
Brook put her fingers onto his forehead. Scorching hot, definitely worse than this morning.
“This is what you get for not bothering to act like a sick person,” she sighed with exasperation. “You should’ve laid in bed with me instead of running around doing business and going to meetings.”
Nathan laughed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, honey,” he grinned, winking at her in a way that made her want to giggle.
Brook pressed her lips into a tight line, composing herself and looking at the situation seriously. That narcissistic, flirty attitude again… the fever was definitely worse. “Just eat your lunch.”
“I’m not hungry,” Nathan said dismissively, curling up under the sheets again.
It took a solid twenty minutes to coax the bowl into her uncharacteristically childish and somewhat flirty fiancé, but Brook finally did the deed.
“Alright, I’m leaving now,” Brook said as she tucked him in bed.
“You know, I like you better like this.”
“Like what?”
“Gentle, patient, smiling, feeding me,” Nathan snickered.
“Don’t hold your breath,” she retorted, trying to fight back a smile. Brook took a step towards the door when Nathan grabbed the hem of her shirt.
She turned to see Nathan wordlessly looking at her, his eyes silently begging her to stay. Brook gently took a seat on the edge of the bed, wrapping her hands around his.
“What’s wrong?” she asked quietly.
“Nothing,” Nathan said in a matter-of-fact tone, looking the other way. “Just… can you stay with me until I fall asleep?”
Nathan felt Brook’s hand gently patting his head and turned around to see a tender smile. He slowly closed his eyes to the rhythmic brushing of her fingers. Right before he fell asleep, Nathan said it.
“I love you.”
Brook froze. “What did you just say?”
Too late; he was asleep. She stared at Nathan’s sleeping, peaceful face for a while. Will’s words hammered in her head until she couldn’t take it anymore and fled the room, forgetting to close the door in her dead sprint.
Brook slid down the banister and kept running, tripping occasionally in her pin heels. She didn’t know where to go, but all she wanted was an escape; because the longer Brook stayed in this strange mansion, the more Will’s words sent her reeling.
“You’d best be careful; he might just feel the same way about you.”