Diagnosis: Trouble

[Kender Bard]

Angel checked the basket in her hand again to make sure it was laden with herbs and other medicines. Satisfied she had everything she could possibly need, she set out at a brisk walk for Shadow's room.

[Northen Light36]

The King is lying on his bed, his nightshirt soaked with sweat as he tosses and turns in a feaverish sleep, waving his hands around in a desperate attempt to fight off a foe that exists only in his nightmares.

Sombra's in the room as well, relaxing in a plush chair and working on some embrodery. Every so often she glances at Shadow, visibly without any concern or sympathy for her cousin. It's a far cry from the fawning affection and gratitude she'd showered Shadow with before his illness.

[Kender Bard]

Angel narrowed her eyes very slightly at Sombra as she approaches Shadow's bedside, taking out a clean, soft cloth from her basket and dabbing the sweat from his face, neck, and chest. "It's okay, your Majesty," she whispered, giving him a slight shake to see if he would wake.

[Northen Light36]

Shadow simply moans in his sleep, a frightened, exhusted and painful sound. "He won't wake," Sombra remarks, suddenly seeming sad, but resigned. "I suppose he needs his rest... Assuming those nightmares let him get any." She sighes. "My poor cousin. He never was strong, not even as a boy. Takes after my aunt really, and she wasn't strong enough to survive Shadow's birth."

[Kender Bard]

"You do not know him well enough to make that judgment," Angel declared in a short, clipped, business voice. "Our King is an extraordinarily strong man. Tell me, now, how long has he lay ill?" As she spoke, Angel began to pull out an assortment of things from her basket, first of which was a small container of powder, which Angel sprinkled liberally all around Shadow's form. The scent of sandalwood abruptly filled the room.

[Northen Light36]

Sombra raises an eleogantly plucked and shaped eyebrow. "I think I know him quite well enough, dear," she replies, her tone patonising. "We are cousins, after all." Sombra glances at Angel and adds dismissively, "You need not worry, child. I have already arranged for the finest Storm healer I know to come tend to my dear cousin."

[Kender Bard]

"Blood does not mean an automatic understanding to the people who share it," Angel stated as she next opened a vial and the floating smell of flowers filled the room. "And signs do not determine who is more skilled at a task than another person. I am the royal healer and until the Queen says otherwise, I will do my duties as I have sworn to." She cast Sombra a dark look. "Besides, given your choice of husband, I don't think you're a great judge of character at any rate."

Turning back to the King, she daubed his face with the Ylang Ylang oil. "Now answer my question."

[Northen Light36]

Sombra sighes. "He has been ill for a quarter moon," she answers, then comments, apparantly upset and insulted by Angel's words, "My husband was not my choice, girl. Not all of us had my Lord Cousin's freedom to run around fathering fire bastards or marry who he choses."

[Kender Bard]

Angel cut her eyes at Sombra at those words, frowning. After a moment, she went back to her work, administering small, smooth round mineral balls - one in each of Shadow's hands. "Why did you move to Ekaitz?" she asked.

[Northen Light36]

"A lady follows her husband or father where ever he wishes to live," Sombra replies stiffly. "And a wise lady makes no complaints, nor attempts to break a marriage contract." Sombra smiles grimly at that and adds, "It is a woman's place to manage her husbard's household and bear him many strong, healthy sons, not to have any thoughts or wishes of her own."

[Kender Bard]

Angel snorted again, softly, and then simply stood and brushed back Shadow's damp hair in a moment of fondness. "If you had stayed here, that would not have been the case. This is a new world our King and Queen are building."

Gathering up her remaining things and putting them back in her basket, she informed Sombra, "I will be back twice daily to refresh his medicines while I try to figure out a longer term solution. If he doesn't seem to be getting better in a couple days, I'll take more drastic measures. Good day to you, Lady Sombra."