~Entry from Greyson's Journal~
After being embarrassed like that, Hazel went to her room after crying in my arms for an hour or so.
She had been in her room for four or five days, without eating a full meal, she only picked and ate a bit from the food that was brought her and only drinking water.
I felt so helpless when she was crying in my arms, when she was shut up in her room, when they told me she was sick.
I felt like a helpless child once more.
The maids said she had caught a fever, and was trembling with chills. They called some nurses to help her, but she would not listen to them.
I hadn't been allowed in her room, because the maids said she was sick, deathly sick. And they feared I would catch it as well.
She was running a very high fever and stared at the ceiling for hours. After the second day Hazel refused to eat anything that wasn't sliced apples.
The maids also said she hadn't spoken a word, and slept for most of the day, except for the few hours where she would stare at the ceiling and refuse food.
They said that this was one of the worst cases they had seen, that she was lucky she wasn't dead yet.
The doctor was going to come.
If he didn't come fast enough, the maids tending to her, were sure she would die.
I waited outside her door almost the whole time, even though they would not let me see her.
A maid came out of Hazel's room, a concerned look on her face. She had a rag she was wringing nervously in her hands.
"Anything?" I asked standing, form the small bench in the hallway, that stood in front of the door.
"Her fever has gotten worse, and she has broken out in a sweat. She is shivering so horribly," the woman said still wringing the rag.
"Is that all?"
"She called your name, before she fell asleep."
My eyebrows shot up "can I go in there?"
"If you want to get sick, but she asked for you," said the maid with a sad look "that's the first thing she has said. This is your choice sir, but she did just fall asleep."
The maid then scurried away.
I took off the suit jacket I was wearing, revealing a soft cotton shirt, and softly opened the door.
Hazel was there sleeping, looking very pale, and shaking a bit.
I pulled up a chair, and removed the rag off her head, and dipped it in the cool water in the bowl next to her bed. I placed it back on her forehead, and she woke a little.
"Grey?" She asked softly opening her eyes a bit.
"Hey, I'm here," I said grabbing her hand.
"They wouldn't let you in!" She whined weakly "you always know what to do when I'm sick!"
She seemed so drained, just uttering out those few words.
Her eyes started to slide closed, but I could see that she was fighting it. She let out a whimpering noise.
"P-please tell them what they need to do," she said softly "you always know."
"Shhh shh," I said easing her, rubbing my thumb across the knuckles of her hand. Her eyes slid the rest of the way closed, and she fell asleep.
I waited by her side until the doctor came, and I was asked to step outside.
Ben and I hadn't seen Lucas since the ball. He had just disappeared, and people from town said that Elizabeth had disappeared as well. Everyone suspected that they ran away together, but I felt there was more going on.
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.