[Takes place before Simone’s death]

Lewis was going on an extended job or so he said. She listened to his instructions carefully. She was allowed to go to the library, the baths, and to get food. He trusted her to go to and from without getting too distracted. Jack was insufferable once he realized that the assassin had indeed left her to fend for herself for a few days.

She managed to avoid him while keeping track of everything Lewis got through messages. She had started feeling a bit burnt out before he left but she didn’t say anything. She figured the constant strain on what they were was finally getting to her. Ever since her door had been busted down she was sleeping in his room. They still had their days where they got into it but for the most part their communication was a lot better.

On day two she found herself sweating more and she was a bit dizzy. She felt under the weather but she thought it was just a cold. It had been a long time since she had gotten sick. Halfway through the second day Simone collapsed on the floor and didn’t move from that spot. Her fever had spiked a lot more.

The floor was cool and it felt nice against her but also her limbs hurt now. She would open her eyes briefly but was too weak to move from her spot. The floor being cold ended up not helping her as she pulled the blanket just enough to drape over her. Hopefully, Lewis would be home soon… She should have seen a healer but… She thought it was just a cold.

This was one of the longest jobs he had gone on since taking Simone in. A rather wealthy family seemed to think that owning an entire island was their birthright. That within itself was not a problem, but when their belief system started to enslave the islanders, it started to get worrisome. Still, most wouldn’t move for just that. No, it had to get political before it became someone else’s problem. On a hunch, Lewis wanted to investigate.

In the end, it was a cheap excuse. The King had mentioned off hand about securing new trade routes. A little ‘misinterpretation’ on Lewis’ account, and the whole family was summarily executed. Then, an ‘anonymous’ tip to the locals for a little rebellion. It wasn’t exactly by the book, but when it came to results…well, the ends justifies the means.

Lewis wasn’t as tired as he usually was, and a portal opened up into his room. It was usually time for Simone to be reading on the windowsill. She loved to do that. It was strange, though. She wasn’t where she usually was. Perhaps she knew he was coming back, and was out procuring something to eat from the kitchen. He wandered down the spiral staircase and into the common area.

“Simone?” It took him a moment to notice the lump on the floor, but when he did he immediately felt his heart jump into his throat. “Simone!?” He rushed to her side, and immediately looked her over. She had passed out, and was covered in sweat. Her breaths were short pants, as if she were struggling to get enough air.

“Damn it,” he picked her up, and brought her into her old room, putting her on the bed. It was the closest one available. “You’re burning up,” he said, frowning as he checked her temperature with his hand. “Damn it…” He walked out of the room, and came back moments later with a pitcher of ice water and some herbs.

“I’m not the best when it comes to this, but…” He was remembering when the kids at the Guild used to get fevers. They stole some herbs from the witch down the back alley, and crushed them. It was that, rest, and lots of water for a fever. “All right…”

She heard him come in but she was so tired her voice couldn’t find its way out. Her eyes fluttered just a bit before she closed them again going back into a short sleep before he noticed her. “L-ew?” It left her lips barely audible. She shouldn’t have hidden it. She should have gotten it checked out… She couldn’t remember the last time she was this sick… If she had been at all.

Mone leaned into him as he picked her eyes. Her eyes were half-open as she looked at him and made a few mumbles. She let out a soft noise as she put her forehead into his neck and closed her eyes as he carried her up into her old room.

He helped her get water which was the first she had. Simone choked on it as she drank it almost too fast the first time. “Wel– Om-” She was trying to welcome him back as she gave a half-smile before closing her eyes again. She was opening her mouth again but closed it. She couldn’t really say she was okay, she clearly wasn’t.

Simone nearly choked on the water, which gave Lewis a minor heart attack, though to anyone looking on, it was nearly impossible to tell. “Shut up and just drink,” he said as she tried to welcome him home. He checked her head again, and let out a hiss. It was still way too hot.

The assassin took the herbs and started to grind them up with a borrowed mortar and pestle. “Now mix them with the water…” He muttered to himself as he stirred the concoction. “Here…drink this. Slowly. Just…stay quiet and don’t get up. I’ll be right back.” He wandered off again, and the sounds of the main tower door being opened and closed echoed through the chamber.

In about ten minutes, the door opened again and two sets of footsteps came over. Lewis had a small pot of something that smelled delicious, and following him was…Jack?

“Well? Can you make a potion?” Lewis asked impatiently.

“Hold on,” Jack said as he walked in. “I haven’t even looked at her yet.” The boy grumbled. “Don’t know why you wouldn’t just go to a healer…”

“Because you’re apprenticing under the potion master…so it makes sense,” Lewis said. “Besides..I can’t…” He couldn’t let Simone’s ‘secret’ out. The healers might notice. Jack knew about potions, but was shit when it came to everything else magic related. There was no way he could know about her magic reset button.

The mixture tasted awful, at least what could taste of it. Simone didn’t have the energy to make a face but she did grumble a bit afterward. It was most likely the fever making her miserable. It was funny he told her not to move because Mone had long forgotten she even had limbs until he mentioned it. Closing her eyes she waited for him.

This was the first time Jack had ever seen her room. He was looking around at all the piles of books and whatnot. Jack came over to Simone who shivered at his touch as he felt her forehead. “She’s got the illness that was going around really bad. She must have gotten it from one of the others. How long has she been like this?” It took Jack a moment to realize that Lewis wouldn’t have known.

“Shit.” The boy cursed under his breath. “I haven’t seen her since yesterday morning. She looked tired.” After checking a few more things Jack excused himself and brought back a potion. “Here, this was leftover from the last batch we made for the healers. She’s gonna be sick a while, the others didn’t have it nearly as bad as this.”

Looking over her, “I would take her to a healer Lewis. She’ll die if you aren’t careful. They lost a few people in the village below already from it. Just a suggestion,” he held up his hands showing he wasn’t going to fight Lewis over it. “I don’t know the first thing about the foods she needs to be eating right now and she probably hasn’t eaten since yesterday morning.”

Mone made a noise and rolled over on her side away from them. At least she tried to. “If you need another potion let me know. I might be able to get more of the next batch. If she gets any worse not even our healers will be able to do anything. You would need a miracle.”

Lewis listened to everything that Jack had to say. It wasn;t often that he gave his full attention to someone like him, but in this instance it was a necessary evil to heal Simone. After the explanation, Lewis nodded and sighed. The food that he had brought her was a basic bone broth with some herbs mixed in. It wasn’t anything grand, but her stomach should have been able to handle it.

The assassin looked over to Jack as he poured a small cup of the broth for Simone. “….thanks,” he said after a moment. “I…appreciate your help.”

Jack stared at Lewis for a moment. “Did you just…”

“I’d leave before you overstay your welcome.” Lewis was looking back over at the apprentice, his eyes practically glowing with anger.

“Ah, there it is,” Jack said with an eyeroll. He stood up and started to walk out. “…Lewis. If you really do care for her…”

“I know,” Lewis replied with a snap. “I’ll take her to a healer…if she needs it.”

“As long as you’re aware,” Jack replied.

Lewis carefully blew on the small cup of broth. “Simone. You need to eat.” He knew she probably wasn’t hungry, but this was good for her. “Let me help…”

Mone sipped on it and grumbled more but she sounded all stuffed up and still just as miserable. Though the potion and stuff wouldn’t kick in immediately. Matter of fact, the potion didn’t even manage to break the fever. Whether or not the potion was strong enough to fight against what she had was another story.

Jack came back a few hours later with a stronger potion. “Here, had the master brew this. It should help but… There’s no guarantee.”

Mone was a bit more alert now as her eyes fluttered open a bit. “You are awake! That is good.”

She grumped a bit and closed her eyes. Jack had a chuckle before holding it out to him. “Like I said, I don’t know if it… will…” His eyes were glued to Lewis’s finger. “Lewis, what the hell is that?”

There was a red knot on his finger and it started to tug him as it pulled him off the seat. “What the fuck?!”

It banged Lewis against the floor once and a portal opened. “Quickly Lewis, I don’t have all day now.” The voice called in and Angela could be seen shuffling between a medicinal table and a mortar and pestle. “Honestly.” She was in a lab coat of sorts with her hair pulled back. If the goddess ever looked serious now would be it.

“When did you…” Jack’s eyes were big. “I’m going to leave now. I didn’t see a damn thing.” Jack had looked back to see the goddess drilling her eyes into his. Almost a warning not to mention her sudden appearance. "Yeah, a miracle." It left his lips as he almost ran out the door.

"Throw out that trash please." She kicked a waste bucket over near the portal.

Lewis’ first reaction to seeing the red string tied around his finger was simple. Fuck. The timing was bad. Jack was here, and Simone was half dead. But, it was fairly evident that having the Goddess here might not be the worst thing in the world. And technically she wasn’t actually in Lord Raith’s realm. Only her portal was.

Lady Angela’s subtle threat was a welcome one. It got Jack to leave, and rather quickly. It was only once the door was closed that Lewis really acknowledged the Goddess entirely. She kicked a trash can over to him, calling Jack’s potion trash. He tossed it in with a half smirk, and crossed his arms.

“Didn’t realize you were so invested, Lady Angela.” Lewis carefully picked up Simone, who cuddled in close and whimpered, and carried her through the portal, carefully putting her down. “Didn’t think a goddess cared all that much when a girl got a cold…”

Angela was working on her own concoction. She was weighing herbs and tossing it into a cauldron she had. “I like Simone. She is a sweet girl.” She spoke calmly even though her actions seemed a bit rash. “That and if they think those potions had anything to do with healing people… If I could burn down whatever academy they think they went to I would. Such a hard time finding a quality healer these days.” She held up a potion to the light so she could see the color.

“They use the wrong in-season herbs, they don’t grow their own, they don’t even wait for the herbs to be at their peak. It’s disgusting. All they care about is making as much of the potion as they can to try and curb a disease they barely understand. It’s called a fucking education. Which they have sorely missed out on.”

The goddess was harsh about other healers and especially potion kids. “That kid has zero talent. He needs an actual teacher. I would break him in two hours.” Not everyone could be the legendary healer of Canelux. She banged the pestle to get the last of the dust off and poured it in.

“She has a variant of the disease that is going through Apoy. One of the travelers must have had it. Mutation. Evolution. All living things go through it and this is a living thing. Maybe in a different sense of the word but mortals often don’t think about these things. They get scared of it. They condemn healers like me in some countries and burn them. Then they offer their sick to me and they get the same treatment they would have gotten from the healer they killed. Fear of the unknown my dear Lewis.”

She shuffled, “Raine, go to my garden and get me six sprigs of Ashwagandha please.” Once the pink-haired one came back with what Angela needed she grounded it up and brewed it into a tea.

“Drink this Lewis. You are stressed. She’s going to be fine. I’ve been treating this variant with my medical forces lately so it was easy to see what one was it. She’s probably more prone to this than the one in Apoy. It makes sense considering where Simone is from. You can wipe out an entire flower colony with a foreign disease,” she looked over at Lewis. “And you can kill an entire population of people just by introducing a disease their bodies don’t know how to handle.”

Lewis watched as the Goddess went off on a rant about potions and the wrong type of herbs, all of which was a little more complicated of an explanation than Lewis bargained for. He mostly mixed his own poisons, which weren’t too picky about being ‘in season’. The fact that Lady Angela was ripping into Jack’s skill was a bonus, though, and that got a smirk out of the assassin, putting him a little more at ease with the whole situation.

“Is it deadly?” Lewis asked. That was a stupid question. Of course it was deadly. Simone was suffering. But, she couldn’t die… That meant she was safe. Right? “I don’t want her to suffer.” The reality. A mixed bag of complex emotions. He could kill her right now and she would come back just fine. But he didn’t want to…

Raine went out for the sprigs that Angela requested, and came back. Moments later, a tea was thrust at Lewis.

“Oh,” he said as the Goddess explained that she was going to be fine. He took a sip of the tea, and let out a sigh of relief. Since when did he care so much? Tense was not usually a feeling that he had. The cool, calm, and collected assassin…that was what he was known for.

“…so what happens next? Does she need more medicine?” He wondered what it would take to get her better, and how long.