Birthright Ch. 2

~Fervent Wishes~

I awoke with a start, feeling a chill wind blowing against my still damp hair. It had stopped raining a short while ago judging by the grass. Just how long have we been out here?

Carefully moving my shoulder from under Eliwood, I stand up, stretching out my sore muscles. I notice my clothing is still damp, but I really don’t mind. It actually feels somewhat refreshing.

Deciding to let Eliwood rest a little longer, I sit down to admire the view I wanted to last night. It really is breathtaking. The stars seem to add to the mysterious beauty of this place. Wait a minute…stars?

We’ve been here longer than I thought. Better head back before the others get worried, if they weren’t already. Walking over towards Eliwood, I shake him lightly, hoping to jostle him from his sleep.

He moans slightly, but still doesn’t wake up. It’s then I notice that his face is flushed, and that beads of sweat are collecting along his temples and cheeks.

Resting my hand against his forehead, I discover he has a fever. No, he’s burning up. But how did this happen so fast? Why wasn’t I sick as well?

Of course…He was out in the rain longer than I was, and he’s always been more susceptible to the cold than me. Plus it didn’t help that he wasn’t exactly in the greatest of conditions last night.

Well, I’ve really got no choice other than to get him back to camp. Surely one of the healers will know what to do. Slipping my arms under his neck and knees, I carefully lift him off the ground. As I cradle him against my chest, I hear him moan again, and he begins to shiver violently. The sooner I get him back, the better…

~*~

“Lord Pent, are you sure this is all we can do for him?” I nervously play with the bottle he has handed me.

“Yes. Give him the tonic, and keep him comfortable. That’s all any of us can do until Marcus returns with a restore staff.”

“So…you mean this tonic won’t help him?”

“It will reduce the fever for a while, but that’s about it I’m afraid.” He sounded almost apologetic, probably feeling that he should be able to do more.

“Thank you.” Slumping my shoulders in defeat, a discomforting silence fills the tent. Hearing Pent shuffling out of the room, I chose to ignore him, my thoughts elsewhere.

This is all my fault. I should’ve brought Eliwood back as soon as I found him, or at least gotten him out of the rain. He would be okay right now, if I had only used my head.

But there is no point in kicking myself right now. I have more important things to worry about. Mainly, Eliwood. Looking down at him, I realize that he’s gotten worse. He has lost even more of his color, and he’s sweating heavily.

Propping his head up with my arm, I manage to get him to drink the tonic. Judging by his expression, it doesn’t taste very good. It would actually be pretty funny if he wasn’t so ill.

Feeling his forehead, I notice that his fever has gone up since last time. Not wanting Eliwood to overheat more than he already has, I slip his shirt off, careful not to disturb him. My eyes glance over his torso, and I’m amazed at what I see…

I was right when I said that Eliwood wasn’t well built and didn’t have much to him, but I didn’t plan on it being muscle. He actually had a fair amount of muscle to him, yet he was still lean in appearance.

Taking the cloth out of the water laden bowl, I wring it out and place it on his forehead. The muscles in his face constrict has he whimpers lightly. The fever must be worse than I thought.

“Hey, how is he?” I watch as Lyn quickly works her way over to Eliwood. It’s easy to she she’s worried about him, he has been unconscious for awhile now.

“He’s gotten worse.” Lyn joins me on the ground, and we just sit in silence.

“Hector, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Well, I know it’s a little off topic, but you and Eliwood have always seemed so close. It just got me wondering how the two of you met.”

~*~

I hate it when the Lycian Council meets. While they’re all busy talking, I get stuck playing ‘host’ with the other kids. I couldn’t stand any of them, especially Erik.

Erik was a snake. He would try to befriend those that provided the most benefits. Unfortunately, having hailed from Ostia, I was at the top of his list.

“Hector! There you are!”

Crap. And so it begins.

“What is it, Erik?”

“Have you seen Zephiel?” Figures, he’s after Bern now. Maybe I should lie for Zephiel’s sake.

“No, I haven’t.” I watch as he scampers off, reminding me of a rat looking for scraps of food.

Well, it would seem that everyone’s here, and maybe for once I’ll luck out and not have to do anything. Everyone seems to be preoccupied, talking with another they found interesting.

Kimiko was busy talking about girly things with Nami, while a group of guys were joking around about anything they could think of. The others simply conversed, and I was pleased to be able to relax.

As I slip past Christopher, I notice one of the kids sitting quietly in the corner. I had never seen him before. He must be new, for I could never miss that unruly flame red hair.

I found myself intrigued by him. He appeared small and timid, but his eyes held such a determined look that I had never seen in anyone. I walk towards him, trying to decide what to say.

“Hi! You must be new here. I’m Hector.” I stick my hand out, and he graciously accepts.

“I’m Eliwood.” I take a seat beside him, which is followed by an awkward silence.

“So, Eliwood, where are you from?” I ask, hoping to strike up some sort of a conversation.

“I’m from Pherae.”

“Really? So you’re Marquess Pherae’s son?”

“Yes. What about yourself?”

“I’m from Ostia.” Smirking, I can’t help but feel sorry for him. He’s obviously led a sheltered life.

“Really?” So this is your place then?” I watch as he nervously plays with his hands.

“Yep. So Eliwood, tell me, why are you sitting  here on your own?”

“Well, to be honest, I find these types of things to be boring.”

“Same here, can’t stand them. I actually planned on leaving a little early to go have some fun. You wanna come?”

“Won’t we get in trouble for leaving though?”

“They’ll never notice, so let’s go!” Grabbing his arm, I drag him behind me, leaving the room.

~*~

“Wow! So you two have been friends for a long time.”

“Yep. Twelve years, I think.” Suddenly, a small scream is heard from outside.

“Well, I guess I’d better save Florina from Sain.” She began heading out, but stopped just before the exit. “Oh, and Hector. Get some rest, you look horrible.” Before I could reply, she left.

Had it really been twelve years? When did brotherly love cross the line, blossoming into more? Deciding not to worry about that right now, I figure I should follow Lyn’s advice and get some rest. There’s nothing more I can do for Eliwood right now, and I have to wait until Marcus returns anyway.

~*~

Hearing a noise beside me, I force myself awake. Kneeling in front of Eliwood is Lucius, and he appears to be holding a staff…must be the restore.

Flinging myself out of the bedroll, I quickly join Lucius.

“Oh, Lord Hector. Did I awake you?” He looks me directly in the eye, apparently ashamed of what he’s done.

“No. Don’t worry about it. Did Marcus just get back?”

“Yes. He rode all night, and is resting now.” I impatiently wait for Lucius to cast the spell onto Eliwood. Watching as he holds the staff out, I listen to him chant the words that have long been lost with time.

“Savocs nulram, jirae.” The staff begins to glow, and a soft, piercing green aura encircles Eliwood.

“Did it work?”

“I’m hoping so. We’ll have to give it some time though, until we can be sure.” Lucius leaves the tent, and once again I am forced to wait alone. But I really don’t care, I just want to know for sure if he’s going to be alright.

I remain seated, and for two hours I watch his chest slowly rise and fall. The staff seems to have worked, for much of his color has returned, and the fever seems to be breaking.

Hearing Eliwood moan, I focus all my attention on him. He’s waking up.

“…Hector? Where are we? What happened?”

“We’re in camp. You fell ill, and have been unconscious for some time now. But anyway, how are you feeling?”

“…I feel fine.”

“Don’t lie to me. You’re still burning hot, you’re shivering, and judging by your reaction to my voice, you’ve got one hell of a headache.

“But-“

“Just get some rest.” He really must be feeling like crap, he didn’t try to argue with me. I remain by his side as he drifts to sleep, and I plan on being here when he wakes up.