The Unseen World

Chapter 13: Jackie

Chapter 13: Jackie

"Princess! Jackie, wake up!" I opened my eyes to see Ariella standing over me shaking my shoulders frantically. "Hurry, you gotta come! Jared won't wake up!" She said, tears streaming down her face. My chest tightened and I hurried out of the room after her.

My hair was still in its braid, but from sleeping on it, it had become messy and loose. I was in my nightgown, and people scurrying about the Chamber Hall averted their eyes, but I didn't care. I followed Ariella to the room and when I got in, there were two nurses by Jared's bedside.

Each nurse was taking turns dipping a wet rag into water and dabbing at Jared's face with it. I slowly walked over to his bedside, shocked.

"W-what happened?" I croaked, my throat dry. I licked my lips to wet them and looked expectantly at one of the nurses.

"We don't know. He has a fever and he's sweating a river." The nurse to my right sighed and continued to dab at his face.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked, looking at her.

"I-I don't know. We don't see stuff like this often." She admitted. Suddenly, Jared's breathing increased and his eyes shot open. He looked around frantically and shot straight up, the covers dropping to expose his bare chest.

"Jared," I breathed, slightly relieved that he was awake. "Lay down. You need to rest." I cooed soothingly. I gently pushed on his shoulders to get him to lay down, but he grabbed my elbows and looked me in the eyes, his blue eyes more dull than I'd ever seen them.

"Jackie, Jackie. The snake. The snake, it killed my mother. The snake." He muttered, his pupils small and seemingly unable to focus on anything. He was scaring me.

"There are no snakes in here, Jared." I said firmly, squeezing his shoulders firmly.

"Don't let it get her. Don't let it get Ariella." He said, his eyes finally focusing on mine.

"Shh, there are no snakes." I whispered as he let me push him back onto his pillow. Suddenly, I noticed a small bite mark on his neck. "What is this?" I asked, gently running my finger over it. Jared flinched and shivered.

"Oh no, there's a snake in the castle." One of the nurses gasped.

"Let me see." Ariella insisted and hurried over to Jared's bedside. When she saw it, she slapped her hand over her mouth and sobbed. "It was one of the poisonous snakes that killed my mother."

"What can one bite do?" I asked, my chest tightening. I thought I was going to throw up.

"Not much. One bite can only make you sick for a day or two. But more than one is deadly." One of the nurses said. "Princess, Ariella, I need to ask you both to leave so we can check him for more bites. If you will, please go tell a knight to get out the snake hunters." I nodded and placed my hand on Ariella's shoulder.

"Come on, Ariella. Let's go tell a knight what happened."  I said gently. She grabbed my hand and held it tight. I squeezed her hand soothingly and led her out of the room, shutting the door behind us. "It's okay, Ariella. He's gonna be okay."

"No, you don't understand." She sobbed. "That's how Mommy died. She got bit five times. She died within two days. I don't want Jared to die the same way." I stopped and knelt down to look Ariella in the eyes. I wiped away her tears.

"Ariella, I will not let a snake take your brother. I won't allow it. No one deserves to lose two family members the same way." I said firmly.

"What would you know about losing family?" She sniffled.