“Yes it has.” Rose replied with a laugh as she was released and tried to catch her breath. “I thought only Madame Stella and Sir Viren were coming, though they are late.”
“Oh, I passed them on the way here, one of the clan is expecting soon and so they decided to wait. And I’m sorry for not giving notice but the Queen needed a message delivered to Madame Angelene and Sir Dylan, and she wished it not to be told to any other and to not be written either.” Rose just nodded and turned to start down the hall.
“Well the masters aren’t here right now, they should be back in a week or two, you’re welcome to stay, we just cleaned a guest room today, and it’d be great to spend some time with you.”
Alec stood in the library, he heard the girls talking, but couldn’t hear what they were saying. He heard his stomach grumble and realized he still hadn’t eaten. He then heard footsteps coming down the hall, and turned to see who was coming.
The two girls walked into the library holding hands, he realized the new one was also about his age, or maybe a year younger. She was pretty, with very pale skin. He just stood awkwardly not knowing what to say. “Since it’s Aqua it’s not a big deal, but you are to bow and welcome any guest who enters the mansion. You are also to memorize every ones names. This is Aqua Marine.” Rose said as she looked to Aqua. Alec bowed awkwardly and greeted her.
“Roooooose,”Aqua wined tauntingly. “You didn’t tell me you got a boy working here with you.” She teased. Rose blushed a little, and Alec just glared, already hating this new girl. “Sooooo you two-“ Aqua started before Rose started walking away.
“It’s lunch time, come on I’ll make you something too.” Rose said as she strode to the kitchen, Alec and Aqua following behind. Rose finished making sandwiches, though she only ate a piece of toast before cleaning up the kitchen while the other two ate.
“So you two want help finishing up today?” Aqua asked.
“No, we’re done today, do you have any clothes?” Rose asked as she finished cleaning the kitchen.
“Yeah, backpack see?” Aqua responded holding up a black back pack. The purple haired girl looked at the pack like she was stunned that she hadn’t noticed it before, but quickly smiled.
“Good, well you’ll be in room 23.” Rose and Aqua started down the hall, when they got to the end Aqua continued on her own, knowing quite well how to get to the room.
“I’m ganna go for a swim after I put my things down, I’ll see you tonight?” Aqua called back over her shoulder. Rose laughed as she turned to walk back to the kitchen.
Rose walked back into the kitchen where Alec still sat. She went to put the dishes away, not looking at him. “Well you have the rest of the day off; you can go and rest if you want.” She said as she started putting the dishes into cabinets.
“Well there isn’t much to do, and I don’t feel like just lying in bed for 5 hours until diner.” He said lazily as he leaned back in his chair while he looked to the opposite wall zoning out. Suddenly he heard a crash which shocked him back out of his thoughts. He looked to where Rose stood, a shattered plate lay at her feet. She looked blankly down at it for a moment before crouching down and picking up the broken shards of glass. As she focused on this she saw his hand picking up glass as well. She looked up at him, though he kept his eyes focused on the floor.
“Didn’t think you’d help, figured you’d just make a joke about me being a clumsy girl.” She said as she went back to picking up the pieces. He didn’t respond, but stood and put his handful into the trash barrel then grab a broom and dust pan that he just noticed in the corner and started sweeping. She moved out of his way so that he could finish cleaning up her mess. When he finished he threw out the shards, then turned back to look at Rose who was leaning on the counter as if it was hard for her to stand.
“Rose, if you’re sick then you should take a few days to just rest.” He said walking over to her, her head snapped up and she moved from the counter as if to prove she was ok.
“I’m fine, really, just a little tired.” She said quickly. He held her gaze, obviously not believing her.
“I think it’s more than that, it’s not just today, it’s been this whole week, you’ve been dropping things and sleeping late and working slower than usual, something’s wrong.” He moved closer to her, and went to feel her forehead but she moved away.
“Really Alec, I’m-I’m fine.” She said moving to the other side of the table. “I just need some sleep, that’s all.” She went to turn to leave the kitchen but as she got to the door way she leaned heavily on the frame.
She put her hand to her face, and her legs seemed to buckle under her. Alec rushed over to her, but as he got near she collapsed, him just barely catching her as she fell backwards. He gently lowered her to the floor, looking at her face. Seeing her so close up he could tell she was very pale, a light sweat was forming on her face. He put his hand to her forehead, and noticed she had a high fever. Her breathing was shallow but slightly labored. He knew she was very sick, but she was also unconscious, and he didn’t know what to do.
