reminder to stay home and look after yourself if you're sick! the rain will come and make pretty music on your window for you (/U3U)/
I'll never become tired of waking up on the rising and falling chest of Muriel. Somehow we ended up in a 'T' shape with him as my pillow, but I'm not complaining. My eyes feel puffy as I slowly open them to the room covered in linens and silks. It startles me before I realise we stayed at the palace. I shuffle and bury my nose into Muri's neck as my eyes meet the window. The curtains are flowing in the icy winter breeze from outside. "Oh no!" I sit up and hurry to shut it, suddenly feeling the cold and a splitting headache. The sensations hit me so hard I stumble backwards only to be caught instinctively by Muriel's hand. "Mm... why you falling..." he grumbles and wipes his eye.
"I'm-" I stop at my unbelievably raspy voice and cough, "I was-" The cough doesn't help. I've lost my voice.
Muriel gives a confused look and pulls me back into bed, "you..?"
I whisper, "I've lost my voice!!"
"Oh no!" He lifts his head and holds my cheek.
"and my head hurts.."
"hangover?"
"I had 1 glass of wine..?"
"you're tiny though." he smiles a little.
"I'm sick! sick and tiny." I sigh, sniffling.
"I'll look after you today then."
"But the garden?"
"Y/n is priority." He pats my head and lies back.
Nadia overreacts to my illness and sends far too many servants to tend to me. Muriel for some reason highly supports this and strokes my hair as they check me. "I guess they're just worried because of what happened last time you got sick."
"Oh yeah,," I chuckle nervously. "Better not tell asra."
"I may have too... we need some medicine and he's got all the ingredients." He says nervously as my temperature is checked.
"Oh... well maybe he'll be more confident?"
Almost on cue Asra busts through the door with ingredients bottles tied across his body. "Y/n I have everything you need I'll throw together a few things to keep you-"
I cough rather hard and accidentally interrupt him as Muriel frowns.
"Please allow yourself to rest..."
"Do I have to?" I sigh and try my hardest to speak loud in a whisper, "There's so much work to do around here."
"Well I'll-" He's interrupted again by Portia.
"Milady needs you to control some magical plants in the garden! Y/n was supposed to but obviously can't... hope you're okay by the way." She flashes me a smile and then stares pleadingly at Asra.
"Uhh... okay Muriel..." He rummages in his bag and pulls out a book, slamming it down on the table, "Page 47 recipes 3 and 6. Call for me if you need help."
"Sure..."
Asra and Portia hurry out of the room and before long the servants are gone too.
"Nurse Muriel is my tea ready!" I say politely, batting my eyelashes. He mumbles to himself for a few moments and then mixes something up, "Almost..."
"I need you for something..."
"What?" He turns around, concerned.
"Kisses!!" I hold out my arms out and pout. He sighs and smiles, plodding over to crouch beside me. "What kind of kisses?"
"... Muri kisses?"
"Where dummy."
"Oh!! anywhere you like!" I pull him closer and squeeze.
"...anywhere?"
"Yeep."
He leans forward almost immediately and kisses me softly, slowly. Before I lose myself he pulls away and kisses my cheek. "One more."
I nod.
He leans down and kisses my chest, in the same spot the charm of a necklace would go. I hold his cheeks as he lifts his head, feeling so drawn to him. "I need to finish the tea." He says quietly, staring into my eyes.
"Oh yeah..." I blush, he too. The tea making resumes and we stay in a comfortable silence, sometimes interrupted by a cough or sneeze. Eventually he finishes and proudly approaches me with the little clay cup. "It's probably not that great but maybe try it."
The herby, gingery smell fills my lungs. "It smells amazing." I can almost speak.
"thank goodness.."
I take a sip and immediately feel like healing properties move down my throat. "It's perfect."
He smiles and leans on my shoulder as I continue to drink it. As I'm gulping the last bit I pat the side of the bed. "Need a hot mountain man to keep me warm."
"i'm not hot..." He grumbles and blushes.
"I have a set of eyes that says otherwise."
"keep drinking." He lifts the cup to my lips again and I take a few more sips.
"Done!" I plop the cup onto the bedside table and curl up in the sheets again.
"there's a mush thing you have to eat too." Muriel says quietly with his nose in the book.
"Mush?"
"Here." He hands me a mushy ball with a similar texture to a mochi and I pluck it from it's box.
"Mush..." I stare down at it before hesitantly chucking it into my mouth. It tastes an awful lot like moss and mint.
"Are you better yet?"
I gulp and sniff, still sounding very much sick.
"Can you speak without whispering at least?"
"Hello." A squeaky, croaking voice barely pushes out the word. Muriel sighs and sits by me, sadness in his eyes. "Please get better."
"I don't control it, im sorry."
"...nurse muri prescribes mountain hug." the sentence brings a bright crimson to his cheeks as he pulls me up into a tight hug. As he holds me I pull the covers over the two of us and pull him down. "Hot water bottle."
"Shhh... rest..." He smiles and holds my face.
