The social was a welcome break from what was becoming an incredibly busy schedule. Preparing for Spring was already a massive workload in itself, as the world seemed to reawaken for the warmer months with fervor and they needed the necessary preparations. Although Nilo wasn’t doing it by himself this time around, he was still overly busy, as he had both wedding plans to help make and was trying to teach Gennadius about her future role as a royal. The man felt bad in all honesty, as he didn’t have much time to teach her and the wedding was to happen soon. Too soon for her for her to be properly prepared.

So, with that hanging on his shoulders, the man was trying to find time to spend with her throughout it all, which mostly meant one of them going to the others room at night for one of there rather teenage-esque sleepovers when they weren’t too exhausted or hadn’t found time for each other during the day. It was another thing that made him look forward to the wedding. They not only got to go on a honeymoon and get away from everything for a while, but they would have more time together post her integration into high society.

Although, Nilo did worry about her assuming the rank of princess. Not because he didn’t see her fit, but because deep down, the man knew it was a sacrifice in her eyes. She had been extremely positive and dedicated to learning all she could, but he feared for her mental health. There was always the chance she would absolutely hate it. He didn’t like to think about that. All the man had ever wanted was for her to be happy, but he would be lying if he didn’t have his secret worries.

But at the moment, he was fine, talking animatedly with a group of nobles in a rather chipper conversation. Everything was going well and last he’d checked, Gennadius had been happily chatting with Sir Donovan, who had always been a kind soul who seemed to be a little larger than life. So, Nilo was at ease speaking to the members of his noble court, while Theodore and Damien mingled elsewhere. His father had not arrived, for the two were still avoiding each other rather blatantly, but Nilo didn’t let it get to him. Today he was taking a well-deserved break and could hopefully spend some time with his intended following the event, given the fact his schedule was cleared for the day.

“NILO!”

Gennadius?

The prince turned in her direction as the groups seemed to part, all eyes on Gennadius who was acting… rather ridiculous on all accounts. He blinked confusedly before his pale eyes widened. Not only was she beelining towards him, but she was dragging a noble behind her who seemed rather shocked himself. What… what the hell was going on? Nilo took a few steps forward to meet her, looking at her weirdly. What was she doing? Gods the man could already feel the judgmental looks and the room had fallen silent.

Dear? Since when did she call him that? Fleeing fauna? Wait no… they were poached? His face was beyond puzzled and briefly, his eyes flickered to the glass, but the man was rather dismissive of the fact she had over-consumed alcohol. She hated the liquid anyways. Except, his eyes briefly caught Theodore’s, who was near the refreshment table, who seemed to try and be telling him something. He would later discover that the man had caught the tail end of the scene at the table, but by then it would be too late.

Gennadius only continued to confuse him with her rather uncoordinated, random story that seemed to have no true message. Magic? Did she really just… yes… yes she did. Everything happened so quickly the man couldn’t even process, but as she swayed, Nilo reached out a hand to stabilize her, brow furrowing. She was acting like she was, in fact, intoxicated. As she attempted to take another sip the glass tilted dangerously and he took that chance to take it, discreetly sniffing at the contents.

Crap.

It was that and a dozen other expletives in his brain as the man struggled to find a way out of this new, incredibly sticky situation they were now in. Not to mention saving her reputation in the process. His eyes searched her for several moments evidently concerned, before Theodore appeared at his side. “Perhaps her fevers back, your highness?” He asked innocently, cocking his head. His sweet tones said one thing, but his eyes said to get the hell out. So, Nilo took the opportunity, handing the man the glass, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead, just to sell the lie. If they believed him, they could be saved.

“You’re right,” Nilo spoke, though his voice was dangerously high in pitch, though one could pass it off as worry for his fiance, “She’s burning up, I’ll take her down to the infirmary. Hopefully, I’ll be back.” Them judging her for being sick was much better than for being drunk. Hopefully, Donovan would keep his mouth shut or else their whole scheme would crumble. “Come, darling, let's get you out of here,” Nilo offered, leading her towards the doors, also hoping Theodore would spread the idea she was sickly. His arms looped around her waist, plastering firmly to his side so he could lead her away. Nilo dipped his head, whispering low enough so only she could hear him, “If you’re quiet until we leave, I’ll give you access to all my shirts. Just please don't make a scene.”

It was with that the prince led her out of the ballroom, praying to the Gods he wouldn’t have to carry her like a sack if she got difficult, which was entirely possible. As far as he was concerned, she had never been drunk before and this was bound to be a rather eventful afternoon. It was far from the break he had been expecting. Nilo could only deduce that she hadn’t been aware of what she was drinking because it certainly wasn’t in her nature to be overly intoxicated at a gathering, let alone intoxicated at all. Hopefully, it would wear off quickly… or else the man was in for a not so fun day.

The journey to his room was a quick one and the man was greeted by his overexcited dog, who’s presence had to be glazed over for now. “Alright darling,” Nilo eased her onto the edge of the bed, “Are you feeling sick at all?” He questioned, brushing some stray strands of hair from her face, “You need to tell me if you do,” He told her, not looking to dye his white sheets a new shade. His hands came up to cup her face, thumbs running over her skin, “I need to tell them I won’t be returning and give Damien and Theo some directions, alright? Will you stay here if I leave and watch Flower for me?” Nilo questioned, hoping if he gave her something to focus on, she would behave while he was away.

Truth was, in that moment, Gennadius was rather hurt that he had not said anything about the story, about open her mouth at the mention of a fever though it felt shut again as Nilo pressed his hand to her forehead. She leaned back as if to try and escape it, but he still managed it. “Deer Nilo... we are talking about the deer and society!” she tried to remind him, eyes frantically searching for Donovan as if to try and get him to help try and push her point across, though the poor noble was just trying to nod at Nilo’s exclamation about her having a fever.

Unfortunately, she heard it too and her head tilted at a rather ridiculous angle, “I feel fiiinnnnne Nilo. Fiinnnee....” Her blue gaze darted and found Theodore holding her glass, to which she reached out to try and take it, hand flailing for a moment before she found herself turned around and plastered to her side before she could even get close, though for a split second she had thought the scribe had been pulling away. Ha! Theodore wouldn’t do that...

Though her mind barely had time to mull over that garbled train of thought when Nilo began to whisper and her head turned rather sharply, nearly knocking into his nose. She was just in the process of opening her mouth when the content of what he had to say hit her. “Really?!” It started as a shriek but almost immediately lowered her voice remembering the first part of the whole thing. She had to be quiet... though she was practically bouncing on her toes the rest of the way out, barely even taking note that they were in fact leaving.

She did not struggle or argue the rest of the way there, but the closer they got, the more distracted she became, at times starting to sway towards the wall where a certain mark in the wall caught her attention. But she stayed quiet because shirts! ALL OF THEM. She never did get to observe any said marks on the wall though, because every time she tried, she was pulled back to his side as he seemed rather hurried. But that was fine with her. SHIRTS.

The moment they were inside his room, her eyes lit up at Flower, though she was steered away and to the bed. “Hey Flower!” she called out to the dog, immediately reaching down to scrub at the animal's ears, laughing while ignoring Nilo until she got the question to which she only grinned wider. “I feel greattt Nilo! GREAT!” She pressed her face into his hands, continuing to smile like a maniac and wiggling like she was some kind of dog. She reached up to poke him on the nose as she pulled back with another laugh. “And of courssse I can watch Floowwwer! Isn’t that right girl!”

With that she slid from the bed to her rump on the floor to embrace the beast, not even noticing when Nilo left. Though after about a minute of animatedly telling the dog the entire story, as she remembered it, she popped back to her feet, swayed a few steps before grabbing the bed frame looking around. “Nilo? Nilloooo?” How on earth could an entire man disappear? Wide blue eyes gazed around the room before resting to the wardrobe, to which she practically lurched forward, catching herself on the handles before throwing the doors open with an excited flourish.

Shirts! And coats! Were they always so stunning! She grabbed the closest one, throwing it over her shoulders before pulling it off and tossing it down, finding a different one she liked better No... no the other one! And off came that one until she had tried on all the coats, discarding them behind her and to the side before the poor man’s clothes were strewn everywhere. Not that the destruction lasted longer than a minute at most before she suddenly looked at his nightstand, grinning wildly again.

It was a mad dash there as she had one thing in her head. It wasn’t even a thought, just the blurry mental image of a crown and she practically ripped the drawer out before rummaging and claiming it. “FLOWER!” The dog came bounding over, excited because Gennadius was. But the moment she was within arm's reach, the woman’s rump hit the floor again and she snagged the animal’s collar. “C’mere girlll! C’mere!” The crown was almost immediately plopped on the dogs head before blue eyes brightened again and she practically scrambled on all fours to claim a random jacket, returning to the dog laughing at her idea. Oh Nilo would love it!

The dog was claimed yet again as Gennadius grabbed a front leg, shoving it through the coat’s arm and going to do the same with the other. But the rather uncoordinated woman had gotten it backwards and Flower was submitted to multiple tries, even to the point of being rolled on her back while the woman tried to figure it out, which by some miracle she did, and the dog was uncomfortable clad in Nilo’s coat and the crown was plopped back on her head. And the intoxicated female became bored with that endeavor completed, her hands thumping against the floor as she looked around.

And then came the mad, unbalanced scramble to her feet as she saw the lute and immediately claimed it, leaving Flower to sit in the same position stiffly, not sure what to do. But that was not the case for Gennadius who thought she had found gold, clutching the instrument as she staggered to the couch. She plopped down so forcefully, that the whole thing tipped back with her still in it, causing gleeful laughter as she was paralyzed with it, taking her a good minute to get her breath back before looking back at the lute.

And that was when she began to randomly and excitedly strum it, back to the ground, though still on the couch, and her feet draped upwards. There was no tune, and the notes were horrendous, but she thought it sounded amazing... and she liked it so much that she knew it just hhaaaadddd to have lyrics.

“OH OUT ON THE SWAMPY RIVER
THE ANIMALS GO WILD
MY TRUE LOVE HAS COME TO ME
THE SUN GOES TO THE SKY
OOOOOHHHH OOOOOOHHHH
MORNING STARS LEAVES AND FLOWERS!”

A pause, “Sing with mmmeee Floowweerr!” The only response was a whimper as the dog still didn’t or maybe couldn’t move.

“OH BURNING SUN OH MORNING GLOOOWWWW
DON’T BURN SO HOT!!
OOOHHHHHHHH OOOOOOHHHHH
MINSTERELLLLSSS AND EVERYOOONE
SING WITH MEEEEEE SIING SINNGGGG
OOOOHHH OOOHHHH
TO BE A SOLDIER
TO SEE THE SKKKYYYYY
OH MY TRUE LOVE HAS COME TO MEEEE
OUT ON THE SWAMPY RIVVVEEERRRR”

Nilo could not have reached the ballroom faster, not wanting to leave Gennadius alone for very long. The man nearly ran through the halls towards the event he had left. Except, not everything went smoothly, In fact, the situation grew much worse as the stressed prince barreled into his father. The giant man stumbled back with a grunt and Nilo began to splutter an apology, hands raised in surrender. It was clear he was flustered, given the fact he wasn’t giving his father the silent treatment as he had been. “Da… I’m sorry… I was just headed back to the ballroom and I didn’t see-”

Leonel cut him off with a wave of his hand. “Nevermind that,” He dismissed, “What is this I hear of Gennadius having a fever? I was unaware she was sick. Theodore fetched me to have me take over the event.” The king cocked a brow, crossing his arms over his chest.

Nilo wanted to bash his head into a wall. Now he had to lie to his father too? Why did Theodore have to get him? The man sighed, knowing it was for the best. It would look better if a royal was there to continue the procession. “Yes, Gennadius is ill, but she’s fine. I’m only going back to give our court directions and go stay with her. She’s…” He trailed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “delirious. I have her contained in my room since it’s farther away from here. If she finds enough energy to leave, hopefully, she won’t make it here.” A sigh escaped him and he led his father towards the ballroom to be damage control.

He would have rather not left her alone, but he was trying to save her name. Hopefully, she wouldn’t remember what happened after she fell asleep. That would be for the best and if all went well, she wouldn’t be reminded because the court would have believed she was ill. As they arrived Damien and Theodore were waiting outside. The group came together, standing in a circle near the doors, but out of view of the nobility.

“Okay, the social is to go on for another couple hours. Things are going as planned and we run with the story. Insert it wherever you can without being suspicious. As far as everyone is concerned she is sick. It’s still winter right? Sickness is a thing” Nilo was antsy, glancing back down the hall he returned from. Only the heavens knew if she had thrown up on his bed or had gotten herself into something stupid. The woman wasn’t even aware she had been drinking liquor.

“Just go highness, we can handle things here,” Theodore interjected, sensing his friend’s unease.

The prince shook his head. “No, I have to speak. Her reputation is on the line.” He hissed, running a hand through his hair, “The point needs to be driven home. We get married in a couple of months and she’s already nervous about her new position. The last thing she needs is this.” He sighed, and shook his head, stepping back into the ballroom with a remarkably charming grin as if nothing had happened. “Hello everyone, I hope you are all enjoying your afternoon thus far,” The man announced, pausing at the center of the room, “Unfortunately, as my betrothed is suffering from another bout of illness this season, she will not be joining us again today, nor will I.” He spoke with animated gestures and even the frown he produced had its own charisma.

“I will be with the colonel in the infirmary. I hope you can all understand and it is my sincerest apologies for leaving you. My father has arrived in my stead to see the event through. My lovely court is also here to serve you all today. Farewell for now and I look forward to seeing many of you at my wedding.” And it was with that Nilo exited entering a jog, boots giving an echoing click against the tile that went along with his haste. Except… as he neared, Nilo heard yelling and rather awful yelling at that.

Nilo’s gait turned into a sprint and his concern rose with a newfound fear. He was aware she was drunk and probably dramatic, but she was yelling and that was cause for alarm. The man burst in with a sound equivalent to thunder as the door slammed against the wall, Flower whimpering from where she sat near the wardrobe… covered in his clothing. His clothes were strewn everywhere and anywhere, a shirt even was thrown over the top of his four-poster bed. And Gennadius… well… she was singing.

He sighed and rubbed at his temples, though the man would not lose his patience. She hadn’t done anything wrong… besides getting drunk at a social, but that wasn’t the point. It was an accident as far as he was concerned. He shut the door behind him, locked it, and approached Flower, removing the crown from her head and for the moment placing it on his own. “You know Gennadius… when I said “watch Flower”, I didn’t mean dress up.” A soft chuckle escaped him, though the woman just had to choose the white coat from the ball to put on the dog. It was covered in slobber. Gingerly, he pulled the coat off of her, which earned him an appreciative lick before he stored the crown safely in his nightstand.

Nilo got to his feet and approached her, cocking a brow at the utter disarray she had managed to cause in a matter of minutes. She squatted near her head, given the fact she had tipped over the couch, fingers reaching out to brush the stray hair away from her forehead. As stressful as the situation might have been, the man wasn’t even mad. No, he watched her rather fondly. “Gennadius, darling, you sound amazing, but you’re scaring the dog. She has a rather poor taste in music, you see, and her ears are sensitive. Would you mind being quiet for her?” He questioned, a finger reaching out to thump her playfully across the nose.

“And you shouldn’t be upside down like that. It’ll make you sick.” Nilo told her, giving a soft laugh, though he knew he would have to clean up his room later. “You should drink some water too, so your head doesn’t hurt later. Then maybe we just lay down and snuggle? Does that sound good? You can even invite your new best friend, Flower.” Nilo suggested, trying to get the woman to wind down in hopes he would save himself some strife in the end, though he knew there wasn’t really any forcing a drunk person to collaborate. He would know.

Bright eyes peered over the couch when the door slammed, one hand lifting to flail through the air in greeting while the other continued and even more horrendous strumming. That and she was still belting out her random song she was making up as she went. She fell back to her spot, staring up at the ceiling while wiggling ‘in time’ with her song. Her eyes closed as she really started belting it out, not seeing what the prince was doing.

When the clicking got closer, she opened her eyes again, grinning as his face got closer to hers. “HEEELLLOOOO FELLLOW TRAVELLEERRRR,” she sang out with flourish, as he brushed the hair from her face, continuing with a new pattern of lyrics though she slowly trailed off. Not that still wasn’t smiling. Oh she most definitely was, as it seemed he had enjoyed it and that filled her with inexplicable joy and her leg began to wiggle in her happiness. “Oh... oh sure! She’s a good dog y’know... she listened to my whole story! Just sat there and listened... I think she’s real smart. Maybe she even answered back, I’m not sure... but maybe!”

Another happy laugh escaped her and she twisted her head to see Flower, brows furrowing as she interrupted him to point to the dog. “She is SMART too! You see her? LOOK at her Nilo! Look at her! She took your coat and crown off! That is AMAZING!” The woman hadn’t realized Nilo had undressed his dog and she swung her legs back down and sat up, her face totally in awe. “You see this Nilo? Do you? I knew she was smart!”

Using his shoulder, she pushed herself to her feet before swaying off to the side and using the upturned couch to keep herself upright, still amazed by the dog. And then she reeled back some, a look of surprise. “Nilo! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ROOM??” She spun in a wobbly circle, taking in the mess that she had made, not registering that she had done it all. Dark orbs seemed to open wider before she turned to face him. “You really need to keep this place cleeann...” she huffed. Again, she did not take in account that she had... she had been singing after all. And she would never blame Flower! The only other capable being was Nilo.

But her look became faraway as she stared at him, her lips lifting back into a smile, meeting his gaze. “You have beautiful eyes...” she whispered in what could only be described as adoring awe. She moved over to him, staggering into him as her arms wrapped around his neck and she leaned against him. “They’re so icy... I like that... I really like themmm... NO! Like a pale bluish moon! That’s what they are...” A fit of laughter followed, “You have two STUNNING moons in your eyes... or they are your eyes.. You know what I mean!” More laughter.

And that was followed by sudden silence as her head tilted, still studying his eyes deeply before she suddenly smashed her lips into his. A giggle escaped her as she pulled back, spinning out of his arms as she lifted her hands in the air. “I am a lucky woman indeed!” came the elated exclamation as she stepped away from him, doing another spin but not paying attention to where she was going, which left her bumping into the couch and flipping over it. And that lead to plenty more laughter as her head popped up. “I’m okayyy!”

She staggering back up to her feet... well started to anyway before losing her footing and plopping onto her rump. “And since when did you get a moving floor! Goodness sakes Nilloooooo!!! You’ve got to tell me these things!” Her reprimand, even in her drunken state was said in jest. Well the reprimand part.... not the moving floor part. Though this time a look of determination crossed her face and she made a second attempt, managing this time, though she swayed, reaching for a bedpost.

There was a moment where she was silent, as if she had calmed. That was right before she found Nilo’s gaze with the most helpless and pathetic looks. And over she bent, expelling her unfortunate intake of alcohol onto the floor at the foot of his bed. Her body heaved before she started to straighten with a moan before starting all over again in a rather pathetic and miserable looking display before it was finally clear that for the moment, she was done and she was shivering slightly, clearly understanding enough that what had happened was bad as she started to blink, tears starting to well up in her eyes like a child who felt sorry for both themselves and the trouble they might get into for doing something.

Nilo’s smile couldn’t help but grow wider as the woman went on a tirade about how intelligent Flower was, even going so far as to say the dog had removed the crown bestowed upon her and coat, which had left her rather uncomfortable. Though it seemed she was not being too difficult, she had ignored his gentle reminders. Not to mention she seemed to have taken it upon herself to be a drunken acrobat, which worried him further. It wouldn’t be long before she hurled and he highly doubted she would just agree to stay in the bathroom. She didn’t understand she was drunk, nor did she know what it was like to be drunk.

He got to his feet as she did, flinching in unison with Flower at her exclamation that echoed. Instinctively, the dog came over to him, fuzzy side leaning against his legs as Gennadius had already forgotten she’d put his room in disarray. “My sincerest apologies. I’ll be sure to be cleaner with my wardrobe when changing next time. I’ll clean it immediately.” Another soft chuckle escaped him at her uneven gait and one-eighty in her usual personality, though the man watched her carefully. She would be fine as long as he supervised her. Even so, it wouldn’t hurt to try and convince her to lay down.

Nilo grunted and took a step back as she careened into him, arms flying around his neck as his own found her waist, stabilizing them both. The man couldn’t help his blush at the sudden compliment, blinking at her in a stunned manner. He listened as she went on about his eyes, though it was probably much more forward and gregarious than she would usually put it. “I was unaware you felt so strongly about the-mmph,” The man was cut off as her lips crashed against his in an abrupt display, his brow furrowing.

The prince watched her twirl away from him with a look of fondness, for although she was loud, uncoordinated, and unpredictable, Nilo was still head over heels in love with her and found her childish displays rather adorable. He reached out as she took a sudden tumble, but his fingertips only grazed her skin before she hit the floor. “Gennadius!” He called, but the blonde head that popped back up informed him the tumble had not been a great one, but she did fall again, claiming his floor was moving. That never meant anything good. “You really shouldn’t be this active, just come sit with me, please.” He tried to beg, lest she lose consciousness standing up and hurt herself on the tile.

It was the moment when she finally fell quiet that he opened his mouth to speak, but the look she gave him filled the man with dread. Then she vomited. All over the floor. Nilo’s head instinctively turned away and the man hissed, waiting until it was over. Once it did she was evidently distressed, with her throat no doubt burning and stomach still churning. Nilo made his way over to her, disgusted, but still rather collected. “It’s okay darling, you’re okay.” He reassured, gentle fingers again pushing her hair out of her face as it was nearly freed from its tie. “Come here, let’s go to the bathroom in case it happens again, alright? No worries Gennadius, no worries.” He cooed, voice tender and delicate.

The man interlaced their fingers and gently guided her towards the bathroom. “Just step around it...” Nilo instructed, as it had begun to ooze all over his floor, “there you go. Almost there darling.” though the shirts she had brown helped stem the flow. As he moved her past, the man noticed that all she had was alcohol in her system. The poor thing… The man got her to the bathroom and to the toilet, which would offer them some sort of safety net now. The man waited for her to sit down for a moment before continuing. “Here,” Nilo spoke as he reached for her hair, taking out the tie, “let me redo it for you to keep your hair out of your face.” He explained, pulling it back as delicately as possible, not wanting to irritate her. “I tried to tell you to slow down…” The man trailed, though his words held no contempt for what she had done.

As he finished securing her hair, he grabbed a cloth and gingerly wiped her mouth off. “You should drink some water. It’ll help with your stomach and reduce the headache you’ll have later,” Nilo explained, though he wasn’t sure if she had heard him or not. But he did procure her the water and handed her the glass. “Drink.” He told her firmly, “Trust me on this, I’m the expert, remember? You need to hydrate. If you throw up again, it’ll be better than dry heaving.” Nilo explained, squatting down in front of her.

The woman knew that she had done something wrong, but even the throwing-up hadn’t really done much to sober her up, just distress her. Her throat was burning and she was feeling quite miserable, gaze falling away from Nilo’s as she was uncertain what to do, any previous joy vanished, leaving her confused. The gentle voice that came did bring some comfort to the muddled mind and she dared a very pathetic and sad look at the man as her hair was moved from her face.

For once, Gennadius did as instructed, allowing the man to lead her around the mess and to the bathroom, shivering as she went and unsteady, but going nonetheless. It didn’t take long once they were actually there for her to sink down to her rump in front of the toilet, sorrowful eyes gazing at it as she began to rock slightly. “I’m... I’m sorry Nilo.. I’m sorry...” she apologized softly as he did her hair for her and brought up his earlier cautions that had passed right through her ears unheeded. “I’m really sorry... I’m sorry Nilo.”

She repeated the apology over multiple more times, each time feeling more regret and getting more distressed until the glass was handed her. Drink. She could understand that. But the moment she went to, she felt her body revolt and she held it away before dry heaving rather violently over the toilet, which was unnecessary considering. But she did anyway, and by the time she pulled back she was shaking and nearly sloshing the water, though she did manage a few cautious sips. The water did feel good on her agonizingly burning throat, but she was slow with drinking, afraid to start up again.

To say she felt like crap now was an understatement. She drank what she could of the water before handing it back or setting it down... she wasn’t sure. For a while, at least it felt like a while, Gennadius sat staring emptily at the toilet, her stomach rolling now and again, though it didn’t try to expel the little liquid she had just consumed. And the water had brought temporary relief to her throat, but it was back to burning and overall, she was a shaking miserable mess who knew she wasn’t feeling well but didn’t have the faintest understanding of why.

“Nilo...” came the soft whimper when she didn’t feel like she could stand it anymore, and the distressed gaze landed back on the prince. “I... I don’t feel so good...” The world was starting to spin again and she reached out for him, eyes closing to try and stop it, though the sensation was still painfully there. She dared to briefly open her eyes again, simply to assess where exactly the man was. But the world was still spinning and they were shut again as she practically crawled into his arm, shivering against him and tucking her face into his chest.

“I’m sorry...” Another apology though she had no idea what she was apologizing for. She just was. And that came with her suddenly sobbing against him. Why? Because... because... Gennadius didn’t really know. She was just terribly upset and felt as though she must have done something terribly wrong. Not to mention the general sick feeling she had and her misery. “I’m sorry!” A hiccupped sob followed and she desperately clung to him, arms tightening as she felt the world rock around her. Everything was moving, even with closed eyes she could feel it and the man was her only support.

Her sobbing continued for an unknown amount of time and it was during this period that even awake, she had little recollection or understanding of what was going on. Whether she was moved or not was near impossible to tell since it now felt like everything was spinning and trembling. Not to mention the brief moments where everything was dark and fine before she jolted to it all crumbling again, arms searching to grasp as whatever or whoever she could to stop her “fall” and offer comfort. Whether she said anything, and if she did, what it was did not register. Just near panic before it all settled and she was out cold.

Nilo took the water as her hand extended, feeling a little apprehensive she hadn’t taken more, but what could he do? It wasn’t as if the man could force her, all he could do was give gentle guidance in hopes her headache wouldn’t be too bad in the morning. As she reached for him, the man's instinct was to recoil, given the fact she just claimed she was sick and was not looking to be the next target for when she expelled her insides… but she was hurting. Granted, she was drunk and delirious, but she was still upset and in a state of discomfort.

So gently, the man grabbed the hand that reached for him and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I know darling, it never feels good.” Nilo tried to reassure, but she crawled towards him and the man fell back onto his rump as she found a spot in his lap, curling up against him as if he could take away the sick feelings. “You don’t have to apologize, Gennadius, it’s okay. You’ve done nothing wrong.” He comforted, one of his hands rubbing her back in a comforting manner as the other wrapped loosely around her, not wanting to put unnecessary pressure on her torso.

But his words had fallen on deaf ears as she suddenly began to sob, clinging to him like he was her only savior, despite the fact she wasn’t in danger. It was all rather shocking to the man and he felt as if he should be alarmed, but he reminded himself that she was drunk. Everything was impaired and at that point, she couldn’t handle it. “I’m sorry darling,” Nilo murmured, resting his cheek on the top of her head as she burrowed deeper into him, “You’re okay, you’re okay.” The man repeated and he did so as she continued to cry, tears staining the fabric of his clothes while he stroked her back.

It took a while for her to completely fall asleep and once she did, Nilo deemed it safe to move her. He got to his feet with her in his arms, carrying her carefully into the destroyed bedroom and into the room next to his through the adjoining door. The man pulled off the sheet that covered the bed from dust and laid her down on the one below it. The bed was completely bare except for the single remaining sheet over the mattress. It would come in handy in case she decided to throw up again, not to mention it would keep her cooler.

With gentle hands, he rolled her from her back to her side before walking back to his room, which was ruined. Nilo had thought about calling the maids in to clean it all, but the brightly colored vomit would be enough to tell anyone that Gennadius had been intoxicated. His goal throughout the process was to lessen the blow and make the woman less embarrassed when she came to. A bunch of servants seeing the disarray would not help that. Taking Flower with him to make sure she didn’t suddenly decide to drink the vomit, Nilo left his room to collect all the necessary supplies to clean the unfortunate mess.

When Nilo explained what he needed to the servants they insisted on helping, but he politely declined. After going back and forth for a bit the man was given his own servants cart, which would have been rather humorous if the situation wasn’t an unfortunate one. The man also stopped at the kitchens, picking up a couple of rolls and a pitcher of water, knowing he would have to try and get her to eat and drink to settle her stomach. Nothing too heavy, hence the rolls, but light to try and get her back towards normalcy.

Upon returning, the man had his work cut out for him, so he shed his coat and vest, rolled up his sleeves, and began to clean up. It was by far the nastiest thing the man had ever had to deal with thus far, but he took it in stride. He poked his head into the other room occasionally and even left a glass of water on the nightstand for her, as well as a bucket just in case. For the most part, the man was mopping up vomit and putting things back where they belonged. The man had truly underestimated the spread of the liquid that coated his tile, which had thankfully been stopped by several of his clothes, but still managed to disgustingly coat a much larger surface area than expected.

There were a lot of expletives spoken, though he tried to stay quiet for her sake. He had to wipe off his boots multiple times and any clothing item that came in contact with it was thrown into another bucket to be thrown away. It was a painstaking process that took hours to complete. From rehanging clothes, picking up his sofa, and moping a good portion of his floor, Nilo was left rather tired. When he was finally done he rolled the cart near the door to take out later and he nearly collapsed on the dusty sheet that covered the couch in the next room, wanting to keep an eye on Gennadius, though he did begin to doze.

Her head was splitting the moment she started coming to and her hands instinctively moved to her forehead. Groaning her eyes began to blink open, the room a comfortable level of dark for them as she tried to get her bearings. As best as one could when their head felt as though it were almost audibly roaring. Had that been all, she might have actually been alright in the general sense, but her throat also felt like a desert and she was near painfully nauseous.

Her tired dull gaze landed on the glass of water placed next to the bed and she reached for it, mind a tad foggy but she was thinking clearly enough. She paused long enough to sit up, which only caused her hand to fall away as she bent forward, clutching the sides of her head as she groaned in pain. “What the hell happened?” came hoarse tired words, though she was not yet aware of Nilo’s presence, more talking to herself. Though, she winced, hearing her own voice which seemed to echo in her brain.

Recovering some ability, she made her second reach for the water, this time managing to claim it with a shaking hand. Slowly it was brought back to her lips, and for a moment, she had some relief. The liquid felt good on her throat, soothing her aching and irritated esophagus. But it didn’t last long before her stomach turned, clearly upset about something though for the life of her she had no idea what. Not that she had much time to try and figure it out.

There was only a split moment of her recognizing what room she was in and seeing the open door to Nilo’s. She knew where his bathroom was and made a sudden mad scramble out of the bed, flying through and making it to the toilet in time to hurl a painful mix of acid and water. Those moments had been so focused on getting there fast enough that she hadn’t noticed the bucket. Nor the force in which her head was pounding now, even more provoked by her heaving and run. But her focus shifted again when she started dry heaving a few more times before she was simply left empty and feeling sick in general.

Plopping onto her rump, she sat back against the wall for a few minutes, just feeling miserable, but in control of her mental faculties. “I’m fine...” she said rather weakly, by now having noted Nilo’s hovering presence. Her body was shivering from the unfortunate effort as she finally managed to shakily get to her feet, moving to splash some water on her face. For a moment, she heavily leaned against the sink to get her bearings again. Tentatively, she decided to drink some of the tap water, unsure if her stomach would revolt again and not wanting to stray from the toilet in case. But it seemed to sit better this time.

Slowly she reemerged from the bathroom, smiling weakly despite smiling being the last thing she felt like doing. But she knew it would be good for the man to see. Truth was, she was just ready to crawl back onto the bed, preferably with a thick blanket so she could curl under it and just suffer. “Did I pick up a bug or something?” she groaned, moving over to him just to lean as she tried to remember what had happened. Unfortunately, the last thing she could recall was being at social with the nobles. From there it was a black hole with very vague recollections of being brought to the room and passing out somewhere along the line. She didn’t think she ate anything...

“I want a blanket and sleep,” Gennadius managed to both groan and grumble at the same time, her palm pressing to her forehead again. Gods her head was killing her.

Nilo’s eyes opened at the sound of a groan and he blinked, having fallen into a rather unsteady sleep. Although, the man immediately remembered what had happened for it was the reason he couldn’t fall into a deeper sleep. Gennadius had gotten intoxicated at the social and well… none of the events that followed could be considered fun. For Nilo at least. Though her delirious comments and wobbly steps had been rather humorous, the mess and fruity vomit had not. He had always been a rather tame drunk, though typically he just overly drank to disassociate, and had forgotten how unpredictable intoxicated people could be.

But the man wasn’t angry with her, not in any way whatsoever. No, as he watched her lurch into a sitting position, all the man felt was sympathy. He was pleased to see her go for the water, but just as he was about to announce his presence and explain what happened, she took off across the floor and Nilo followed, though his pace was slower. The man flinched as he heard her vomit and moved to lean against the doorway in case he was needed in any way, though it seemed she was fine. Well, she wasn’t fine, but she was handling it as well as she could. Which wasn’t very well either.

Nilo snorted as she claimed she was fine, though it wasn’t in laughter, but in disbelief. “I find that highly unlikely,” He spoke quietly so as to not upset her head, “nobody ever is. Especially when they haven’t eaten and are probably dehydrated.” He commented, noting that she seemed to be sober or at least sober enough to sound normal. The second time she drank he expected another round of vomiting, though her stomach seemed to have settled somewhat. That was a good sign, but he wasn’t sure if her head would be feeling better anytime soon.

He had thought about offering the liquid painkiller he always kept around, but with her stomach empty, it would only revolt and make her sicker. Hopefully, if her headache wasn’t gone by morning, he could convince her to eat and could give her some then. As he used his body for support, a gentle hand came up to stroke her back. “You drank too much of that fruit beverage at the social. It was alcoholic,” Nilo explained, deciding not to hide that aspect from her, “but everything's alright. We told everyone you were running a fever and it seemed to work.” The man felt the need to reassure so that she wouldn’t stress. She just needed to relax.

“So no, you didn’t pick up a bug, as bad as this feels,” His voice was a delicate murmur, just loud enough for her to hear. The pair looked rather haphazard, with her still in her formal social clothes yet looking rather tore back from her liquor experience. Nilo, on the other hand, had his shirt half-untucked and partially unbuttoned, with one sleeve rolled up and one sleeve down. Not to mention his slacks were bunched up around his boots. The man looked like he had been to war and perhaps he had.

As she grumbled her demand for rest at him, the man chuckled softly. “Someone's grumpy,” He mused good-humoredly, though he knew she would not share his same view at that moment. So, he led her over to his bed, pulling back the covers so she could lay down. “Lay on your side for me darling, in case you throw up again, alright?” He asked before pulling the blanket over her and fetching the bucket from the other room. He set it near her head before the man kicked off his boots and sat against the headboard beside her, palm resting on her back for a moment, “You’ll be okay in a while, I know it’s bad.” He reassured, hand reaching out so his knuckled could brush across her cheek before he left her alone.

Her steps had faltered when Nilo revealed what had happened. Or rather, what had caused this, and not much else. Though for the moment, she didn’t want to know what else. Instead, she did not comment, only allowing Nilo to lead her to his bed, trying to put two and two together, but the infernal headache, no, migraine wasn’t making it easy and she gave up the whole endeavor. She was too tired and felt too sick to try and get it all arranged right in her head.

His mention of her being grumpy did not help her overall mood, though she continued in silence laying down on the spot opened for her. The bed felt glorious, a small comfort in an ocean of discomfort and hurt. Gennadius did not need any more instruction from the man on how to lay, having decided her side was the preferred position anyway, particularly in the fetal position. She noted the bucket by her head for his sake before letting her eyes close, just trying to deal with her pounding head.

The first moment the hand touched her back, her reaction was to pull away some, not for anything more than the fact that she wasn’t feeling well and wasn’t exactly expecting the touch. She didn’t complain though and ended up leaning slightly back into the gentle pressure, which she found was actually relieving some though it moved so he could brush his knuckles against her cheek. Alcohol... the thought came back as she tried to just suffer silently through the unpleasant feelings, waves of nauseousness coming and going. The word seemed to pound through her brain with the throbbing and she couldn’t help her groan. Just trying to untangle it all again was making it all feel so much worse.

“I’m fine,” she re-muttered, though this was more for herself before she tucked her head under the blanket. The extra bit of darkness that added was soothing and she could care less if it was hot at this point. For a while, she just focused on trying not to focus on how terrible she felt. She was grateful for Nilo’s presence though, despite not saying it, or anything at all. She was also thankful that he had chosen not to talk, simply because the idea sounded utterly horrendous to her at the moment. She really did want to face it all in silence.

Gennadius struggled for a while, not throwing up again, but fighting the nausea and the migraine that would dull one second and start roaring the next. But eventually, she did manage to start to drift off, and from there she fought with a fitful sleep. That lasted a couple of hours before she settled down into a more peaceful sleep, everything having calmed down.

…..

Blue eyes blinked wearily at the light starting to come into the room and she rolled onto her back, somewhere along the timeline of the night having popped her head out from under the blanket. For a little bit, things were alright. She was tired, and feeling just under-the-weather with a dull ache in her head. The nausea was gone and she was thirsty again and even a bit hungry. The hunger part made her a bit nervous considering she vividly remembered how sick she had been and preferred not to go another round of throwing up or even provoking her stomach.

A hand reached to brush a few strands of stray hair from her face, though it was still pretty much in a ponytail, still securely held where Nilo had place it. Sitting up, she turned to see the man had fallen asleep, not doubt exhausted from his night vigil. Her fingers gently came out to brush against his cheek, realizing how concerned he must have been considering that while he was laying down, he still seemed slightly propped up as if to keep an eye on her.

Gennadius didn’t want to disturb him too much, and her gaze landed on a fresh set of clothes that had been left for her. Ah Nilo... ever thoughtful. She smiled warmly and eased off the bed slowly, making sure she had her feet under her before grabbing the pile. He had chosen one of her more comfortable sets which she was grateful for, especially considering she was just noticing how stiff the clothes she was wearing felt. Which was to be expected.

Moving towards the bathroom to change and hopefully return to the bed to rest, she paused to look around the room. Blinking, she stepped into the bathroom and closed the door to change. And that was where it all went downhill. The memories rolled in like a slideshow, vivid images growing fuzzier as they got closer to the very moment she was in. She had managed to get changed without anything, but she was clutching the counter rather tightly as she was staring in the mirror when she remembered the social. Surely... surely she had not made a scene there... not really... right?

Taking a breath, she shook her head, pulling her hair out of the ponytail and running her fingers through the blond strands. She opened the door to step out but as she pulled her fingers free from her head, she remembered leaning over the toilet hurling before Nilo had tied it up. That... that wasn’t so bad. She bent down to lay her old clothes folded by the door... and that memory hit painfully hard. Clothes... she had thrown them everywhere. That one she knew for a fact that she did and her face passed every shade of crimson as she glanced at the bed.

What else had she done? She didn’t really want to know the answer to it as she was already trying to digest what she had figured out. Gennadius had made her way out of the bathroom rather sheepishly, looking around the room as she could see the chaos she had caused in her mind’s eye. And Flower laid in the corner, wagging her tail, which caused the woman to smile some. Until THAT memory hit and she practically shriveled away from the animal that was already all the way across the room.

Her face was beyond flushed at the waves of memories, Gennadius piecing it together as she stood in the center of the room, hoping the floor would open up and eat her. Blue eyes flashed towards Nilo and the very idea of facing him with the knowledge she had killed her. And that wasn’t even including the fact that she had yet to remember the singing, the kiss, throwing up all over his floor, and sobbing hysterically in his arms. But what knowledge she had so far was enough to drive her out of the room, hungry and royally embarrassed, trying to discreetly make her way through the halls.

One servant caught sight of her who greeted her rather animatedly asking about her health. The only response was a clearing of the throat, a heated face, and some mumbling of she was doing well. And she could not have gotten into her room fast enough where she slid inside, locked and bolted the door, before sinking onto her bed, falling back onto her back with a groan. She was hungry... she was thirsty... she had a lingering headache... but more importantly, she wanted to stay in the room and never come out. EVER.

With another groan, she took hold of her blanket and rolled under it, shoving her face in the pillow and just praying the world would spin on without her. “Noooo.... the hell is wrong with me?!” came a muffled groan and exclamation as she had the unfortunate flashback of the singing now coming to mind. Surely someone must have heard it. And that wasn’t to mention what the nobles had seen. And worse of all, Nilo had been in the dead center of it. Gods... how could this have happened?! She HATED alcohol! Of all the people... why her?