Farryn

Chapter 4- Part 4

Farryn fell in and out of sleep, her fever worsening in waves. Iris came to the door and begged to check on her, but Farryn somehow managed to barricade the door with the dresser so no one could come in. No one was allowed in. She wouldn't allow it this time.

She'd made the mistake before. As she fell in and out of restless sleep, she remembered. She'd let Rin sneak into her room even though her mother had forbidden her, pressing sweets and sugar cubes into Farryn's palm. She would stand at the door when her mother was around and wave through the little window. You shouldn't have let her in, her mind taunted every time she came up for air, drenched in sweat, in a different spot from where she was when she had dozed off.

One time she'd woken on the bed, blankets piled on top of her, Iris standing above her.They'd somehow managed to open the door. She was talking to someone else in the room. "It's not Sireglow..."

Farryn fell unconscious again before she could fully process it. Sireglow had taken her cousin and her mother. It had taken her father. It had taken everyone she'd ever loved.

Sireglow had come creeping into Jurel from the east. Jurel was an island kingdom, so it was mostly free from outbreaks like that. But those with Sireglow wouldn't know they had it for a while. By the time they figured it out, half their family would have it too.

It had come into their home with her father, when he'd returned from one of his trips. He died before the family knew what was happening, before the sickness had spread across the kingdom and doctors had closed up, locking patients in their practices and then burning the buildings to the ground.

Another time she woke up, Claud stood by the door, with Luli. "Farryn? Can we come in?" She wanted to scream for Luli to stay away, but sleep stole her before she could even open her mouth.

It had spread so fast. The Queen had ordered that anyone with the illness sacrifice themselves for the greater good. There was no cure, no medicine. One could only hope to wait it out; wait for the mysterious poison to leech out of your bloodstream, for the blood dripping from your lips to run red again, instead of gold. But by then, everyone around you would be infected. There was no survival rate. You were meant to die.

So selfish. Farryn should have died, should have joined the Parade of Death marching to the pyres they'd built in Isev. But she hadn't. She'd let her mother smuggle her to Serval's. They weren't burning people alive there yet. Her mother had been so sure they could wait it out. 

"You'll be safe," she'd whispered, pasting Farryn with cool makeup to hide her blooming Sireglow spots. "We'll stay with Aunty and wait it out. The sea air will do you good." Farryn had believed her. So stupid.

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When Farryn was fully conscious and aware again, it felt like years had passed. Her dress felt heavy with sweat, and her head swam when she tried to sit up.

"Hello?" she called out, frightened by the silence. No answer. She tried to bite back the panic, but found she was too weak.

"Everyone is dead," she muttered to herself, staring at the ceiling. How would she get out of here? So selfish. Should she just rid the world of herself? She'd done so much damage. She'd brought-

"You're awake!" Iris appeared in the doorway, and Farryn stared at her with muted shock. "Sit up. I'll get you some food." 

"Stay aw-"

"Now stop telling me that. You've scared all of us."

Iris pressed a cold hand to Farryn's forehead. "Your fever has broken. You'll be fine. I'll get you something to eat."