Work Text:
Winter was coming.
Cold had started to seep into houses, held off only by feeble fires. Snow had started to take rain’s place and the lazy clouds were swiftly replaced with vicious ones. The world was descending into sleep but sleep was the last thing on Princess Linh’s mind as she rushes through the corroded streets. She pushed past scantily dressed peasants on their way home from a long day of work and freezing temperatures and turned into a back alley. She confidently stepped through a familiar side door that was once a semi-vibrant green but was now no more colorful than the furious clouds above.
“Marella,” she called out as she went through the hallway to the kitchen at the end, “I’ve missed yo-“
Linh stops suddenly. Marella is lying on the kitchen floor, shivering violently. Unconscious.
“Marella!” Linh rushes to her side, “Marella!”
Marella’s eyes don’t open.
Linh scoops up Marella’s body and brings her to the falling-apart couch and lays her there. Linh put her hand against Marella’s forehead and felt sickening heat that almost made her weep. But she had to take care of Marella first. She quickly sheds layers to cover her with and quickly realizes how bad the cold has gotten. Once Linh wrapped Marella in many layers she rushed to the kitchen and tried to boil some water.
After three minutes of nothing happening, she hears Marella weakly state, “I couldn’t pay the electricity bill. It won’t work.”
Linh quickly turns and races to Marella’s side. This was the girl she had spent her hours with. This was the girl she had secretly sneaked away from the castle to hang out with. This was the girl who accepted her for who she was. This was the girl she loved. And her lips were frighteningly blue.
“Marella.. are you ok? Im sorry I didn’t come quicker. I’m sorry-“
Marella cuts her off by softly pressing her lips to Linh’s, “It’s ok. You’re here now and this is just a cold. I’ll get through it.”
Lies. Both her and Marella knew this was not a simple cold and she didn’t know how much time Marella had.
“I need to get a doct-“
“No.” Marella said it so firmly that Linh was shocked. “No,” Marella continues, “please stay.”
And so Linh did.
She stayed until Marella was no longer too warm.
She stayed until Marella was too cool.
And then,
only then,
did she leave.