Illness

Janice groaned as she came awake.

She glanced to her side and watched Jules curl into a fetal position.

He tossed about on the bed, twisted and groaned. Janice wondered if he was having a nightmare as she watched him with a frown.

Her hands went to tap his shoulder and she grimaced whilst retracting it.

"Shit!" She mumbled glancing at him. She realized he wasn't having a nightmare, rather he was shivering.

"You are burning up." She muttered.

He sneezed and groaned out her name. "Janice."

Janice barely heard his weak voice mention her name.

"I warned you last night, but you were so hard-headed to listen."

After he made love to her last night, a storm had descended without warning.

Janice had warned him from going in. But, being the hard-headed man he was, he didn't listen.

More so, Janice had let him be since he had told her he was helping the villagers whose houses had been uprooted due to the lack of a solid foundation.

Jules had found a shelter for them inside the walls of the castle. But, he had taken the brunt of it all.

Sighing, she climbed down from the huge mahogany bed, her legs collided with the cool ground before she slipped it into the fuzzy slippers next to her.

She tugged the cashmere robe that she hung on the chair in front of the vanity, slipped it on, then tightened the belt around her.

Janice walked to the adjoining room which housed all the first aid supplies in the castle. She picked the box, then let out a cough as some dust wafted into her nostrils.

Janice wondered how long it had been since anyone came into the storeroom. It was dusty and cobwebs were around the walls and ceiling.

She opened it with a hand whilst using the other to secure her nostrils.

She gagged as the smell of antiseptic drifted into her nostrils.

She snatched the packet of Advil and closed the box.

Janice lifted the torch she had placed near the wall and walked back to her room.

She stepped to the foot of the bed, helped Jules into a sitting position, and propped the pillow at his back.

"Open up." She mumbled, tapping his lips.

Slowing he did, and she slipped two pills into his mouth.

She handed him the water she had fetched in the pot from before.

Jules grimaced, then gagged.

Janice rubbed his back, she realised the fever had spiked higher as she placed the thermometer under his armpit.

She walked to the bathroom, placed some water into a bowl before stepping back into the room.

She placed the cool towel on his forehead and a slight moan slipped out of his mouth.

For a minute he was quiet, and Janice let out a sign as she realized he had slept off.

She let her gaze raked his body. This was the first time she would see her husband in a vulnerable state.

Signing, she rested her head on the pillow. Before she drifted off, Jules tugged her to his body.

Despite the state he was in, Janice noticed how possessive he was of her.

Also, his hand grazed her belly lightly and his hot breath fanned her neck as she snored.

Jules mumbled slightly in his sleep. Janice didn't understand what he was saying, but she knew it was because of the fever.

★★★★

The next morning, Janice woke up to see Jules passed out in the toilet.

She had scampered out in fright to call the Queen as she noticed he had thrown up all over the beautiful rug she adored as well.

"It's the flu." The family doctor, Theodore Alfredo said. He had been called an hour ago to come as soon as possible to check up on him.

He had been the doctor of the royal family even before the king ascended the throne. Moreover, he knew Jules hardly got Ill because of how strong his immune system was.

However, seeing him in this weakened state was a surprise to the doctor.

"Your highness." He bowed as the Queen stepped inside the room.

"He'll be fine. He just needs to rest." He said with a smile.

The queen sighed whilst gazing at her son before it latched on Janice.

Her eyes were bleary, and dark circles covered each eye.

"Go freshen up, Janice. You look worse for wear and a Queen shouldn't be seen like this." The dowager queen tutted as Janice began to protest.

"Jules will be okay. If he had actually listened and thought twice before going into that storm, he should be fine by now." The Queen pointed out.

Janice nodded her head, then gaze at Jules. She caressed his face and moved the hair that was at the side of his forehead away.

Colours were beginning to seep into his taut cheeks and also the fever he had earlier had disappeared.

Janice shivered as she thought about the way she had seen him in the bathroom. She hadn't thought of checking his pulse and she assumed he was dead because he wasn't breathing plus the way he was sprawled on the floor.

She didn't believe she would behave irrationally since she had often been in control of her emotions.

However, it was different with Jules. Or maybe it was what had been happening since the past week that was beginning to get to her.

Janice knew it was not true because no matter what she was feeling, she was always in control. Maybe it was the pregnancy emotions. Her hormones had skyrocketed and she often wondered if that was how all pregnant women were.

Still, she knew it wasn't. The only explanation she was trying desperately to avoid, she was in love with her husband.

She was freaking in love with him!