ㅤQuilliene didn't finish the dream before she awoke, her eyes still closed and her body enveloped by a sea of sheets. Then she opened her beautiful brown gaze, turning until she was on her back, staring forward into the familiar high ceiling while the sunlight glistened across the walls. Her hand went to her head, fingers coming in contact with something soft, like a cloud. She touched her cheek, feeling a bandage. Pressing down on it, pain shot through her face and she recoiled, coming to see why the bandage was there.
ㅤㅤ"Am I home already?" She muttered.
ㅤㅤ"You're awake!"
ㅤㅤA tiny voice sounded to her right, and it took her a moment to find the source. When she did, she found out it was Daileth, the small pixie that Neo had befriended when saving it from Kyrana's hungry cat with Raemith. His hair stuck up in spikes across his tiny head, and he wore a miniature version of a hoodie and sweatpants. He was sitting on the bedside table, giving a toothy grin in her direction. Then, he pointed off to the other side of the room.
ㅤㅤ"He hasn't left your side," He said solemnly.
ㅤㅤDaileth was motioning towards the fiery red haired individual, sprawled out on the couch with his legs propped up on one arm of said couch, his head laying on the other. His face as pale as always, his eyes closed and moving beneath the lids, as if dreaming. Of what, it seemed it was relatively peaceful at least.
ㅤㅤ"Of course he hasn't," She mused, her lips curling into a smile. "Gods, this week has been… so much. He may not admit it openly to anyone else, but he's been worried, I can tell." She took a hesitant breath. "Don't mention it to him, but I wasn't asleep the entire ride home… the way he held me… I was laying in the back seat, and he had his lap under my head…"
ㅤㅤShe spoke softly, glancing off as she sat up, then flushed as she saw the sly smirk on the pixie's face. "N-Not to say… there was nothing wrong with it, just…" She sighed, changing the subject. "Did he tell you what happened? Christopher mentioned some-thing was wrong, but that he couldn't place what."
ㅤㅤDaileth's smile faded. "The head nurse hasn't been able to place it, either. I noticed his eye. I've never seen anything like that before - it's so peculiar, and kinda freaky. The servants and guards have been looking at him strangely, too. As if they sense something I cannot."
ㅤㅤ"His eye?" Quilliene inquired, frowning. "I haven't gotten the chance to see his eye. Perhaps if I… took the time to investigate it myself, I would find something. However, I will have to wait until my recovery is over."
ㅤㅤShe sighed. "I've never felt so exhausted in my life. Judging by the fact he's sleeping for once, I would reckon Neo feels the same." She put her knees against her chest, wrapping her arms around them loosely and leaning her head on them sideways to look at him. "I do hope he is okay, though. Last night is still such a blur."
ㅤㅤ"Neo told me all about it!" The pixie stated with his head held high. "About how he killed, like, ten demons and imps before Christopher showed up and helped him murder the big bad. Then he shot the kidnapper off the edge."
ㅤㅤHe paused, narrowing his eyebrows as he looked down. "But after that, he started asking weird questions. Such as, how long I've been in the castle, if I knew your parents, if I had ever been in either of their offices… or yours and Christopher's." He peered curiously at her. "Do you know why he was asking all that?"
ㅤㅤShe frowned. "I'm not quite sure. Though apparently something had gone wrong that made Christopher want to investigate. He says that our family has… secrets. Secrets that somehow the shapeshifter must have known. But that's something neither me nor my brother know about, and it troubles me not to know. My parents were different behind closed doors than they were in public, so secrets are a possibility."
ㅤㅤ"I see," Daileth muttered, frowning before giving her a hopeful look. "Well, at least-"
ㅤㅤThe rest of his sentence was lost as the door burst open and someone came charging in. She was panting, dishevelled, her hat in the crook of her arm as she smiled wildly when her blue eyes set on Quilliene. Her hair was in a low and long ponytail, and her ivory skin was tanned from the sun. It was Kyrana, the guard captain who secretly had feelings for Quilliene, though had not acted on them since their accidental kiss.
ㅤㅤ"Your majesty, you're awake!" She said excitedly. "One of the servants said they heard you talking - a doctor is coming, but I came as quickly as I could."
ㅤㅤ"Kyra," Quilliene set her legs crossed, smiling. "You don't have to be so formal with me. It's nice to see you again…"
ㅤㅤKyrana hesitated to speak, watching the queen for a moment before footsteps followed in behind her, making her turn hers and Quilliene's attention to the door. Next inside was Raemith, who panted as he bent at the waist, placing his hands on his knees. He had bright orange hair and signs of stubble across his face - his skin also tanned.
ㅤㅤ"Why do ya run so fast?" He gasped in his Scottish accent, standing up fully.
ㅤㅤIt was Raemith's entrance that stirred Neo, who groaned and sat up quickly. "I'm not asleep," He mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he looked over at Quilliene. "Oh, shit… you're awake."
ㅤㅤQuilliene looked between all of them, chuckling daintily. "You goofs. Of course you three are to charm my morning." Her joking smile turned to that of a gentle one. "Alas, you will all have to wait outside when the doctor comes, so do get the stares out of the way."
ㅤㅤHowever, the queen should have spoken for herself. She noticed Neo's right eye - black, with a grey iris and darker pupil, matte with no shine at all. However, she did not allow herself to falter. She had so much to say and so much to worry about for its appearance. It disturbed her. If it was something magick related, then she had to find out answers, and soon.
ㅤㅤNeo was giving Quilliene a lingering glance, mouth slightly open, before he looked away. As if he was about to say something but changed his mind. Raemith rolled his eyes at Neo's previous comment on not being asleep, seemingly about to shoot a come-back at him before he was silenced by a glare from Kyrana. She turned back to the queen, smiling sweetly.
ㅤㅤ"Apologies for the intrusion, ma'am." She said with a loose bow of her head. "We will leave - we just wished to see that you were well." With that, she grabbed Raemith's arm, dragging him out of the room and shutting the door behind them.
ㅤㅤQuilliene stifled a laugh at the sight, then turned her attention towards Neo. "You look like you were sleeping well." She paused. "I was out most of the night and Daileth mentioned that everyone has been a tad busy."
ㅤㅤ"Well, yeah," He turned so his feet were on the floor, new boots covering them, since his previous pair were slightly ruined. "Their queen has returned." As he said it, he avoided looking at her, leaning forward with elbows on his knees.
ㅤㅤ"Are… you alright?" Quilliene asked carefully.
ㅤㅤ"I'm fine," Neo reassured her, but still didn't raise his eyes. "Aside from your brother being upset that I carried you, and not having slept in four days, everything is just dandy."
ㅤㅤ"Are you going to look at me, then?" She inquired, a bit irritated. All he ever did was look at her - not once did he avoid her gaze. "I promise I won't turn you to stone. Haven't figured out how to do that yet."
ㅤㅤNeo chuckled lightly at that, hanging his head for a moment as he didn't answer. Then, he raised his gaze again, settling his mismatched eyes on her own. She met it steadily, watching, but it felt… different. As if the same person who had saved her from the shapeshifter, who swore to be her bodyguard, wasn't really there. He didn't have the same humour in his gaze, and he wasn't as hidden. Like the past he had been struggling so hard to keep down was being forced to show itself.
ㅤㅤ"There he is," Quilliene raised her chin.
ㅤㅤThe other eye of his looked feverish, but it still seemed a part of him in some strange, morbid way. Inside she could tell that there was someone, or something, vulnerable. Especially with the way he looked at her. She felt as if she stared at him any longer, she would burst into a million pieces - but she stared at him anyway.
ㅤㅤ"You look worried," Quilliene mused.
ㅤㅤHe scoffed, running his gloved fingers through his hair. "Is that all I look?" He responded, leaning back into the couch. "I feel like I should look as about half dead as you probably feel right now."
ㅤㅤ"Well, you look many things," She said. "Tired being one of them."
ㅤㅤ"Of course I do," Neo shrugged, stretching his arms across the back of the couch. "Like I said, I haven't slept in four days - two of those days were spent working through ridiculous puzzles, and yesterday I fought a demon horde. After all that, I took a power nap." He grinned, tilting his head at her. "At least you got a decent sleep, I hope."
ㅤㅤ"You could have slept while I did," She frowned, situating herself to fully face him - as she did, it became apparent that Daileth had left them to their private affairs. "Why didn't you? Did you have… nightmares?"
ㅤㅤ"I… don't know?" He sounded confused. "It wasn't a traditional dream. It was just… dormant."
ㅤㅤThat was when their conversation was interrupted by the doctor entering the room. "We'll talk later," She assured Neo.
ㅤㅤHe smiled lightly in understanding, then took his leave. When he was gone, she found herself missing his presence already. Just before she had been taken, Neo and her had managed to get a little bit closer, and she wanted to build more on that relationship with him. Perhaps become friends in some way instead of just bodyguard and queen.
ㅤㅤHowever, her attention was soon directed towards the doctor, who was examining her by magickal and demonic means. He concluded nothing was wrong with her physically, stating she had a few wounds that still needed a couple of days of rest - she healed faster than normal people - but that was it. However, when he looked over her magickal abilities, he seemed to grow nervous. He said it was all scattered, that the data wasn't adding up. When he took his leave, she was left with more questions than answers.
ㅤㅤWhat was wrong with her? Why were her abilities acting out? Even more, what did he mean by scattered?