21. Catch A Cold

93 6 65
                                    

Kate's lips curled downwards into a deep frown as she rubbed Emma's back soothingly. The younger girl let out yet another hacking cough, fingers pressed to her aching forehead as she did so. Kate made a calming noise, then said, "Emma, I know you keep saying that you're alright, but this has been going on for two days now, and I'm getting worried."

Emma groaned. "'M okay. Everything is just sore, that's all. Well, there is the cough, and the chills. But other than that, I'm fine!"

"It's okay to ask for help, you know," Kate said tiredly. "We can go talk to Miss B and see if she has any potion or tonic that can ease whatever symptoms you had - yes, Emma, symptoms, because loathe as you are to admit it, you're ill."

Emma looked ready to protest, but another cough racked her body, sending dull pain throbbing through  her muscles. Her desire to fight quickly dissipated. She found herself nodding. "Okay."

"Good choice, there we go," Kate murmured, helping the twelve year old to her (unusually) unsteady feet. The blonde kept a firm grip around her younger sister's torso as she gently guided her towards the stairs and the belfry. It was slow going, because Kate did not want to risk Emma falling, and because Emma's usual confident stride turned into more of a stagger, pain building and burning with each tug of her muscle fibers.

"Miss B," Kate called as she helped Emma off the ladder and onto the belfry floor. "I hate to bother you, but Emma's feeling sick, and I was wondering if there's anything you can do for her."

Henrietta immediately stood up from her desk and stepped away from her ledgers. "You're not a bother at all, neither of you are. Emma, can you tell me your symptoms so that I know what I'm dealing with here? I need to figure out first how best to treat you, and second if this is contagious. While I make no guarantees, as I am only proficient at healing magic, I will do my best."

Emma took a deep breath, reluctantly leaning on Kate for support. "My muscles are sore and they ache when I move. I'm fatigued and coughing a lot, and sometimes I have chills or feel nauseous."

"Okay, all of that sounds quite standard for a common cold," Henrietta noted primly. "Is there anything else that I should know about?"

Emma frowned. "Well, um, there is one thing. I was coughing earlier, and I went outside for some fresh air, and then I coughed out this weird mucus. It was blue colored."

Henrietta's face changed from calm to alarmed. "Blue? Are you certain?"

"It came outta my mouth, didn't it?" Emma scoffed.

Henrietta ignored her rudeness. "Emma, when you were last out and about around town, did you see any one selling blue bulbous plants, potentially with a black sap trickling from them?"

"Yeah," Emma answered, "one a' those new vendors at the market was selling juice made from those plants that looked like that."

"What do you mean, a new vendor was selling this juice?" Henrietta said intently.

With some effort, Emma shrugged. "I mean it wasn't someone I had seen before, that's all. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure he was on the edge of that alley we aren't supposed to go in anymore, since that new Imp gang started lurking about there. But I wasn't paying attention at the time, I was just looking at the juice."

"You drank some, didn't you?" Kate questioned, dread pooling in her gut, first at the mention of the imps, then out of worry for her younger sister. 

Emma replied, "sure, I bought a glass. It was real hot and I was thirsty and it smelled sweet, so I figured I'd give it a try. I'm guessing now that it ain't as simple as it seemed."

Waiting For Sunrise - The Books Of Beginning AUWhere stories live. Discover now