forum The Strangers in the Palace (Closed)(Fantasy)

Started October 31, 2021 by Deleted user

tune

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“I know that you do not wish to, but you need to get your strength up, love. Sleep alone will not heal you.” He sighed and brushed a hand over his eyes. “I will not lie. You might get sick again. I do not know. But eating is still worth a try.”

He fondly tousled their hair and went to tidy the bathroom. This included rinsing out the tub, putting the used towels into a stack by the door, and, perhaps his least favorite task, cleaning the wastebasket that he’d been ill into. It was all menial labor that, if he’d been at the Palace, would normally have been done by maids or butlers. And yet it felt comforting to do some hands-on work.

Speaking of hands-on, he hadn’t worn his gloves in quite some time. The realization shocked him. He’d never gone for very long without them before, even when he would spend an entire day in his room. He hadn’t even panicked when Lovey had asked about the scars. Was that a sign of growth? Or was it just another sign that he was getting lazy, too careless for his own good? Serenity had seen the scars and assumed that Rin had been abusive. Would other inn goers think the same? What would it mean for his reputation if they recognized him? Rumors were one thing, but he knew he couldn’t risk the truth getting out.

That was why he pulled on a fresh pair of gloves when he reentered the bedroom. Rin was likely too sick to notice or care, he reasoned. He gave them a sympathetic look as he walked to the door.

“Something small, I promise. If soup was too much, then perhaps just a plain broth. No flavoring, no other ingredients. Unsalted crackers?”

There was an odd, leaden feeling in his stomach. If Rin couldn’t keep anything down, then things really had taken a turn for the worse. They’d rapidly lose energy. And what if they could not manage the medicine that Ari was bringing? He shuddered and wrapped his fingers around the door handle.

Rin just watched him through exhausted eyes, shaking their head faintly. "I don't want to eat anything." he mumbled, closing their eyes again. "I feel gross, Arquis." it wasn't going to be easy to get food into Rin's system, that seemed sure now. Rin wasn't going to be willing to eat much, not with how sick he was feeling.

Arquis sighed. His hand dropped from the handle and he stepped closer to cup their chin. The fabric of his glove was slightly scratchy; it was one of his lower quality pairs from the very start of his glove-buying days. He hoped they didn’t mind.

“Well, broth is more a drink than a meal,” he said. There was something both desperate and humorous about his tone, similar to hysteric laughter. His thumb skimmed the length of their jaw, and he tried for a smile. It looked brittle. “Just a little bit. Please. If you cannot do it for yourself, then please do it for me. I…”

He retracted his hand, wincing as if he’d been burned. What had he been close to saying? That he was worried for them? Rin already knew that. That he couldn’t bear to watch them waste away? How hypocritical.

He leaned into Arquis's hand, eyes flickering shut. "I…" he shrugged his shoulders faintly. "I-I guess so." they let out a faint sound. "But you've gotta eat too." their voice was quiet, eyes still closed even when Arquis pulled away. "Please. We had a deal."

Arquis had known that this was coming. He stifled a groan and stared at the ground. Could they not have been selfish, just for once? Could they not have forgotten the promise in their exhaustion? It wasn’t in their nature to let others suffer, he knew, but he wished that his partner could let it be. Just until they were feeling better, he told himself. Not forever. But even as he thought that, he knew it was a lie. If Rin had forgotten about it entirely, he would’ve been thrilled.

“If it will get you to eat,” he said stiffly, dissatisfaction bleeding into every word, “then I suppose I must.”

It was cruel of him to act this way. They had enough to think about; he should’ve quietly done as they’d asked. But it felt in a weird way like he’d been blackmailed. He almost felt betrayed, though logically he knew they were only trying to help.

Rin nodded faintly, snuggling back down into the covers. "Thank you, Arquis." he said in a soft tone, running a hand through his hair, and opening his eyes to peek up at Arquis tiredly. "I know you don't want to." but neither did Rin, though for very different reasons than Arquis.

(this one’s a bit long sorry! mostly just kinda filler)

All of the pettiness left Arquis at once. They really didn’t look well, and it wasn’t a good sign that he was sleeping so much. Bards weren’t meant to be so still, so quiet. Not that Rin was exactly the stereotypical bard, but still. It was unsettling.

“Be back in a moment, love,” he murmured, then departed.

At this point, he had the way to the kitchen memorized. He could’ve walked it with his eyes closed, but he didn’t for multiple reasons. When he arrived, two friendly cooks greeted him. One of them was the chef that’d given him the ice cream for Honey and let him help make Rin’s hot chocolate. The other looked vaguely familiar, though he wasn’t sure when he’d run into them. They were wearing a maid’s dress and dicing onions like a pro.

“Oh, hello again!” the other chef chirped. She sprinkled some salt into a pot and gave it a stir. “Come for more hot cocoa? Or would Honey like more ice cream?”

“Ah, neither. I was hoping I could get my hands on some broth? I have a lover that is feeling a bit under the weather,” which was a massive understatement, but he didn’t need to tell her that, “and I thought I would fetch him something easy on the stomach.”

“We can do that!” She turned to ask the person in the maid outfit to prep some plain chicken broth, then looked back at Arquis. “Anything else? Does he need some water, too?”

“Oh, yes, that would be wonderful. And, ah… a bowl of ice chips? If you have any of those?”

“I can break up some ice for you, sure.”

“Thank you.” He bowed his head slightly, feeling overwhelmed with gratitude. She put a hand on his shoulder after wiping it on her apron.

“Of course. Now, let’s see about getting you something.”

His chest tightened, as did his smile. “Excuse me?”

“Well, last time you were here you got ice cream for Honey and hot chocolate, which I’m guessing went to your lover. This time, you only got stuff for the latter. Never anything for yourself.” Her expression was nervous yet sympathetic. “And I hope you don’t mind me saying, but you’re looking a bit, well, gaunt. I say you pick something out just for you.”

Arquis settled, after a long moment of blinking back tears, on some buns stuffed with vegetables. The chef took a couple fresh from the oven and piled them onto a plate. He held it as he waited for the broth to finish. Once it and the ice chips were done, he brought them back to the room, still quite choked up.

(it's fine!)

Rin had dozed off again while Arquis was gone. It was only a light sleep, but he had still dozed off. They were just so tired, and they just wanted to rest. Not do anything else with their time. They didn't have the energy for anything else to begin with, in any case.

Arquis opened the door and stepped inside. He set the plate of vegetable buns, the bowl of broth, and the cups of water and ice chips down on the bedside table. Then, he turned to look at them. His expression softened. Tenderly, he placed his hand on their forehead, feeling his heated skin. He traced his fingers down to their cheek, cupping it.

“Sorry, love,” he whispered, sounding genuinely regretful. If he could avoid it, he wouldn’t be waking them up. But the broth would go cold before too long. He kissed their brow. “Do you need help eating?”

His eyes flickered open eventually, and they shook their head. "Uhm…no." he said, pushing himself up into a sitting position. He could eat by themself. It would be fine. At least, they hoped it would. They weren't very sure. They reached out to take the broth.

Arquis very slowly settled onto the bed beside him. His eyes flickered over their face several times more before he looked away.

“Alright.” It was softer than a whisper. He could feel his heart pounding. They weren’t sick enough not to eat at all, at least. But he worried that it was getting close. He was still concerned about the amount of rest they needed.

He took the plate of the buns and absently poked at one, lost in thought. A little waft of steam came out from an opening in the side. It smelled of vegetables and several different spices. He wished he had an appetite, but he couldn’t stop worrying about everything that was to come. Rin getting worse, Ari arriving, and Honey’s situation. Plus, they still weren’t guaranteed to be safe; any moment, someone could discover their identity and send word to the Palace. To Muria. Having distance from his home had made him forget how dangerous the circumstance truly was. Muria had tried to murder him.

He sipped at the broth, watching Arquis quietly. "Are you going to eat?" he asked, voice soft and a little bit worried. He knew that Arquis hadn't been eating much, and they had made that deal…they just wanted him to eat and be healthy. He kept sipping at his broth, though it was tiring and he didn't really want to.

“Do not worry about me,” Arquis responded, startling from his thoughts. There was something firm but not unkind about his tone. He gently admonished them with a kiss to his temple, checking in the process to see how much they’d eaten. A decent amount, he thought, but he couldn’t really tell. He’d been a bit too upset coming back from the kitchen to take note of the state of the food.

He passed the cup of ice chips over to them. “I used to have these when I would fall ill as a child. You are already taking in quite a bit of liquid, but it might help to suck on these. It is meant to prevent nausea and ensure hydration.”

Rin nodded faintly, going back to sipping at his broth. He set it aside after a moment, unable to drink any more of it. He did take an ice chip, though, sucking at it faintly. At least he was keeping hydrated, to some degree. That was good, anyway, even if they had not drunk all of the broth.

Arquis finally took one of the vegetable buns from the plate. He stared at it for a long moment, saying nothing, then raised it to his lips. The bite he took was small, but a variety of flavors instantly coated his tongue. Salty sauce covering steamed vegetables wrapped in fluffy bread. It was wonderful. He let out a soft groan and took a much larger bite. His stomach growled from hunger, and he wondered why he’d put off eating for so long.

And then he remembered. He hesitated, staring at the indents his teeth had left in the bread. Wisps of steam curled out around his gloved fingers as a drop of sauce fell to the plate below. He felt disgusted with himself. First the late waking, now the lack of control. Did he have no self-restraint? He set the bun onto the plate, unable to hide the shake in his hand.

Half. He’d eaten half. Someone his age and size should’ve eaten two or more, but he couldn’t even finish what he’d started. He wanted to do something dramatic. He wanted to slam his fist into the wall, smash the plate on the bedpost, crush the broken shards of it under his feet. But he didn’t do any of that. Instead, he wiped his hand on a napkin that’d come with the plate, then hesitantly placed it over Rin’s heart.

“How are you feeling now?” he asked weakly.

Rin shrugged a little bit. "Uhm, okay, I guess." they replied softly. "Please finish your food." their gaze had flicked to where the bun sat steaming on the plate, then back up to Arquis. Worry and exhaustion shone in his tired eyes. He just wanted to sleep. He didn't want to do anything else.

Arquis sighed, his fingers bunching very slightly in the fabric of their shirt. He eventually released them, moved his hand to their shoulder, and guided him further into the pillow. His other hand went to stroke their hair from his forehead. The gestures made him have to twist slightly at the waist; he sighed again, irritated at the plate on his lap. It’d be so much easier to move if it wasn’t there.

“Rin, please do not worry about that,” he insisted once more. “I am not the one who is ill, my dear. I am just fine.” As if to reaffirm this, he gave their shoulder a gentle squeeze. “But you are not. Get some rest. Here, I will take this for you.”

He took the cup of ice and set it onto the nightstand. Beads of condensation rolled off of it onto the floor. He wished they’d had more of the ice, but he figured they had to be somewhat hydrated from the broth. At least, dehydration wasn’t as imminent a concern as before.

Rin frowned faintly, lying back on the bed and snuggling down into their blankets. "We had a deal." they pointed out in a tired tone. "You said that you would eat." they yawned softly, eyes flickering shut for a moment. "Please, darling." he was so tired, but he was still worried about Arquis. Arquis needed to eat too; he couldn't continue on like this, not eating and insisting that he would be fine.

“We can worry about the deal later,” Arquis said stiffly. He withdrew his hand from where it was curled in their hair and slumped in on himself. “I am not going to debate it with you right now. You are too weary, and it would be a waste for you to burn your energy on trying to change my mind. We will have plenty of time to talk about it another day, once you are better.”

He hated that he was this way. His issues took up too much space and time. Was he so selfish that he could not suffer through one meal for them? They’d carried him up the mountain, stayed with him during his own bout of illness, fought for him in the carriage, stood up for him when they’d first met Honey. The list went on and on. Could he not do this one thing in return?

As quietly as possible, he lifted the bun again and very, very slowly picked his way through the rest of it. By the time he was done, there were actual tears streaming down his face. He hoped that Rin was asleep so that they wouldn’t have to see it. In case they weren’t, he turned his head towards the door.

He sighed very faintly, eyes staying shut. He did eventually fall asleep, and did not see Arquis's tears. If they had, they would have felt guilty and upset about driving Arquis to tears, even if it had been by accident. They were so tired that sleep claimed him quite easily, curled beneath the blankets.

(wait do you wanna do a time skip or is Rin gonna wake up and be sick again?)

Arquis’s tears eventually ceased. Half of him was a little hurt that Rin hadn’t noticed, but the other half immediately rebuked that thought. They weren’t supposed to notice. He’d told them to rest, and truthfully he was very glad that they’d taken his advice. That didn’t mean he wasn’t torn up inside, though. He felt hollowed out. He felt full to bursting. His mind was a battlefield of guilt and self-loathing. One word kept bouncing around in it: pathetic. It was pathetic that he had body image issues at his age, pathetic that he couldn’t finish a meal without breaking down, pathetic that every single day had to be about him. His partner deserved better.

He shifted cautiously in the bed so that his arms encircled them. They felt oddly small in his embrace. Sure, they were shorter than him, but not by that much. He tugged them closer and buried his red eyes in his hair.

(idc, which do you think would be better?)

Rin let out a faint breath when Arquis's arms encircled him, and pressed closer to the other man, letting out a tired, slightly pained sound as he continued to sleep. They were still warm, though perhaps a bit cooler than they had been earlier, which was a good thing. Maybe the fever wouldn't go back up again.

(unless you’ve got an idea in mind then I suppose we could skip to a little before Ari gets there? which would still give Rin the opportunity to be even more sick if that’s what you’d like but also introduce a change to keep things moving forward)

Arquis felt a stab of fondness when they cuddled closer. It hurt in that it made him feel even more guilty, but the sting faded briefly after. Goodness, he was enamored with them. He remembered the way he’d sung on the stage at the Palace, the smooth, enchanting quality of their voice. For the world to lose that—to lose Rin, who was strong, talented, and genuinely caring—would be a sin. He hoped desperately that it wouldn’t come to that. He’d suffer through a thousand vegetable buns in one sitting if it meant his lover would be alright.

(alright!)

Ari arrived the next morning; the trip had taken a bit longer than he had expected it would, but he was here now. He checked in at the front desk, and was taken to his room. It was smaller than Arquis's and Rin's, since he was alone. The bed was still nice and big, though. Perfect for bringing someone else to, after all. Ari pulled out his envelope, and wrote a quick note.

Arquis,
I'm here. What's your room number?
Ari

Then he waited for a response. While he waited, he took a very quick bath (more of a rinse-off than anything else) and changed into fresh clothes. He combed his hair lightly, and got out the medicines and other supplies that he had brought, putting them into a basket so that once he had the room number, he could bring it straight to Arquis and Rin. He was worried still.

[Day Eleven]

Arquis had been awake for several hours by the time that Ari arrived. He’d spent half of the time watching over his partner and the other half getting ready. His hair was neatly brushed, his face was shaven, and he was wearing the finest suit he’d packed. It was an indigo and black number that smelled faintly of lavender; a small comfort from a home he didn’t miss. The gloves he chose to wear were plain yet soft. He felt a little overdressed, but he really wanted to make a good impression. Of course, there was no hiding the shadows under his eyes, though he didn’t think that would matter.

He saw the letter appear in the envelope and wrote a simple response that included the room number. For someone that was so nervous, he managed to write rather legibly. He slipped his reply back from where it’d come. While he was waiting for him to arrive, he gently lowered himself onto the bed and combed his fingers through Rin’s hair.

“Good morning, love,” he whispered. “Ari will be arriving shortly. I thought I might wake you so that you could greet him.”

Rin had awoken for a few minutes every now and again, but usually ended up dozing again. He awoke when Arquis sat beside them, blinking sleepily up at the nobleman. "Oh. Good morning." he whispered back. They pushed themself up, leaning on their pillows, and reached out to get some water. He sipped at the glass for a moment, then set it aside. "My head hurts." he said softly. "Everything hurts." he frowned, closing his eyes for a moment to try and alleviate the headache.

Ari grabbed the basket and headed for Arquis and Rin's room. He made his way through the halls, and knocked on the door, waiting for Arquis to answer. He assumed Rin wouldn't answer.

Arquis felt his heart tighten when he heard their voice. They didn’t sound well at all. He’d really been hoping that plenty of rest would help, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Hopefully Ari had brought medicine like he’d said he would. He let his hand rest lightly atop his partner’s forehead until he heard the knock on the door.

An icy blast of panic coursed through his veins. Ari was there, standing right outside the door. What would he think of Arquis? He suddenly became very worried that he’d think him a snob for dressing nicely when Rin was so sick. Should he have worn something simpler? Was slobbish better than snobbish? Goodness, now he was sweating. It was a good thing he’d worn black. Was black too gloomy? He could feel his breathing grow slightly shallow. No. No, he would not have an episode, not when Rin was depending on him. He forced himself to stand and went quietly to the door.

First impressions. He was awful at first impressions. He came off as overly polite; awkward; anxious; stiff; distant. None of those qualities were wanted in a partner. His palms grew damp in his gloves, and it took him two tries to turn the handle.

“Ah, hello,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady.

Ari greeted him with a quick smile. The young man was not overly tall, standing at 5'8", with a mostly rectangular form, though he had the slightest curve to his hips that most guys tended not to have. He had warm brown skin, grey eyes, and dark brown hair that hung in short, tight curls down to his shoulders. The top half was currently tied back to keep it out of his face. He looked tired from traveling, but still in a good mood. "Hello." his accent was stronger than Rin's was, but still understandable. "You are Arquis?" he asked, raising his eyebrows slightly. "I am Ari, Rin's friend."