RE: VILLAGE Lady Dimitrescu Edition

Struck With Sickness (L.A.D)

(Warnings: mentions of needles, reader suffers from a common cold. Tooth rottingly sweet Alcina.)

A lenient, miserable groan leaves your lips as you climb yourself out of bed, the mere ache of your headache a reminder that this day was to be as worse as they come.

The last sunset, you had treated yourself with a small escapade to the gardens just west of the estate. You'd given attention to it a few times during your stay, hearing of its beautiful blooms of hellebores and snowdrops as well as an assortment of others.

Which went nicely for about thirty minutes before the cold began to affect you; even though you assumed you were dressed correctly, you couldn't feel a majority of your limbs when you returned to the castle.

And hence why you've woken with a pounding headache and stuffed nose at midday.

By now, on a typical day, you would be up and assisting in whatever needed to be done, be that you were usually alongside Lady Dimitrescu for the full day, aiding in whatever occurred.

Regardless, today, even as you try to stand from the bed, you know that you'd be if little aid to her, having already missed most of the day in sleep — as if summoned from the mere thought, a knock chimes just at the door, the sound loud enough to trigger an ache to develop in your temple, following the curious voice of Lady Dimitrescu.

"May I enter, dear?"

She inquires, genuine concern laced in her voice as her hand already hovers just over the handle.

"You...may."

You reply weakly, grasping at your head in an attempt to soothe the ache.

The door creeks as she pushes it open; her crouched figure soon comes into view as golden pools of ember lock onto you. You need not look at her to see the confusion on her face. You've never stayed in bed this late into the day, so immediately, she assumes something to be wrong.

"Oh my..." She mutters, moving forward as to crouch down before you. Her gloves fingers caress over your chin and guide your head left to right, noticing the red tint to your nose and pained expression if the light flickered into your eyes.

Without uttering another word, she effortlessly slipped the glove from her hand and placed her palm to your forehead; the unnatural chill of her skin an odd comfort to the scolding heat that overwhelms your head.

Your eyes close, slipping into the haze of exhaustion as you lean forward into Alcina, finding it challenging to keep yourself upright, even if for a few moments.

You attempt to grasp her shoulders so that you may allow her the personal space you know she held dearly, but instead of pushing you away, you feel her arms wrap around you, keeping you in place as she returns the mistaken embrace.

She sighs, "You told me you didn't get too cold the other day..."

You couldn't shake off the laced concern in her voice, finding it a little endearing for how much she's fretting over you.

"I should've known by the way you were shivering —oh, you foolish woman!"

She takes a moment to compose herself, closing her eyes, breathing in through her nose, and exhaling hastily from her mouth in a frustrated sigh.

Moving from her close vicinity to you, she grasps the sides of your face and takes you in for all she could. The swell of regret blooming in her chest as she realizes she's raised her voice to you.

"My apologies, that was not as I wished it to come out..."

You offer her a weak smile, finding it increasingly troublesome to keep sitting upright, but you push through for Alcina, trying to convince her you weren't as sick as she assumed.