“By how many centimetres have you taken her dresses in?”

Just under 5, sir.

“She will be bed bound until I deem her fit. Any from of exertion will not be tolerated.”

“I cannot command her to stay in bed all day. She will not allow it,” Étienne spoke up, looking over to the doctor examining Aurélie. It had been several hours since Aurélie had collapsed on the ground, sending the chateau into shambles. It took little effort for Étienne to place his companion onto the bed, calling upon Amelie and his father to find someone that could help Aurélie. He had stayed by her side until a physician had arrived. While adult vampires rarely required help from a doctor, they often required them in their childhood and during the time of their change. Étienne was glad that Hubert, the physician that had looked after him many times as he was growing up, was still practicing nearby. The old vampire had made his way promptly over the chateau, his bag of medical tools and writing implements scattered across Aurélie’s bed. 

“While I understand that your companion might not like my orders, her heart will not be able to take any strenuous forms of exercise. Until we can get her weight back up, she will have to rest in bed. I will mix together a medicine that should settle her stomach. Call me again in the next few days if she does not improve, otherwise I will visit at the end of the week,” Hubert ordered, standing to his full height and placing the wooden stethoscope into his bag. He straightened out his dark coat and ran his hands through his silver-speckled hair. The round glasses had slipped down his nose, and he quickly pushed them back up before picking up the scattered papers and instruments. 

Duke Saint-Clair nodded, thanking the physician. A few words were exchanged between the men as they started walking out of the room, leaving Étienne with Amelie and Aurélie. 

Are you alright?

Étienne merely nodded, looking down at his pale companion. Her chest rose and fell slowly, a pale blue hue beginning to wash over her lips. 

“I should have looked after her better.”

It is not your fault. 

“I fed off her, Amelie. What if I did something wrong?”

Amelie sighed, walking over to Étienne and placing a hand on his shoulder. Humans get sick all the time. They do not heal as fast as we do. She is in good hands. 

Étienne smiled weakly at the maid, his eyes still fixated on Aurélie. 

“I hope you are right.” 

***

“I need to go outside!”

“You heard the doctor. Strict bedrest.”

“I feel fine.”

“And I am the queen of Sheba.”

The look Aurélie gave Étienne was one that held a thousand daggers. It was late in the afternoon, the sun slowly sinking into the horizon. It had been four days since the physician had visited the chateau. In that time Aurélie had managed to keep down small amounts of soups and broths, dishes meticulously crafted by Pierre. The cook himself had stayed and made note of which dishes Aurélie was able to keep down and which ones were sent straight back up. 

The companion felt awful. While her cheeks were showing faint hues of pink once more, her energy levels were still low and she spent majority of her time sleeping. Multiple times did she try to get out of bed, only to be met with Étienne and Amelie ordering her to go back. She felt helpless and humiliated, not even allowed to bathe or go to the bathroom by herself. Étienne spent majority of his evenings in her room, having taken over her desk with his letters and books. Whenever she needed to go up to the bathroom he carried her to the small ensuite, staying never more than a couple of steps away from the room in case his companion collapsed once more. 

Everyone fussing around her caused Aurélie to lose her temper more than once, the young woman not bothering to hide the way she was feeling. She had a job to do, hating the fact that she was being looked after and not the other way around. Even Oliver himself had spared several hours of his mourning period to visit her, making the companion feeling guiltier than ever. Cups of tea and biscuits were scattered throughout the room, the evidence of people coming and going to look after her growing more and more with each passing day. 

“Well can you just carry me outside then?” Aurélie tried to protest, sinking down into the pillows that had been propped up for her. 

Étienne sighed and sat down at the edge of her bed, the mattress sinking slightly. “Perhaps once the sun sets a little more.”

Aurélie’s face broke out into a smile and the companion let out a small shout of glee in triumph. 

“Thank you,” she whispered, pulling the blankets back up to her chin. While Summer had come to come to an end, it was still warm outside during the day. Despite this, Aurélie felt unbearably cold. Once comfortable, she picked up one of the many books that Étienne had brought her from the library, skimming through the pages enthusiastically.  

By the time that the sun had fully set and Étienne felt fully awake, Aurélie had fallen asleep again. The book she was reading lay open in her lap, her hand resting heavily on the page she had fallen asleep on. The young vampire sighed gently and placed the book onto the nightstand, placing Aurélie’s hands under the cover and tucking her in tightly. He wiped away several loose strands that were strewn across her face. 

“You worry me, mon ange,” he whispered, standing back up to his full height and walking over to the armchair in front of the fireplace. He picked it up and gently set it down on the ground next to Aurélie’s bed, picking out one of the many books he had brought her, flipping through the pages and beginning to softly read out loud.

*** 

When Aurélie finally woke up again, morning light began to spill into the room. She felt heavy as she straightened her arms and legs, her muscles beginning to relax. A nightmare she had began to fade from her memory, flames and the yell of her name faintly lingering behind. She looked around the room, her eyes falling onto Étienne. He was sitting in her navy armchair, legs curled up into the seat and his head resting on one of the armrests. A book lay in his lap, long abandoned. A streak of light was mere inches away from the chair. 

Aurélie quickly sat up and moved towards the edge of her bed, slowly placing her feet on the ground. She stood up, standing for a while with her hands outstretched. For once, she did not feel dizzy or nauseous. Triumphantly the companion began to slowly make her way to the open curtains. She did not remember them being so heavy once she began pulling them across the window. The noise of the fabric sliding across the rod did not wake up Étienne, and Aurélie let out a sigh of relief. 

With her hands on her hips, Aurélie looked around the room. Amelie must have come in sometime during the night and cleaned up the mess that was starting to accumulate. The floors were clean and the furniture dusted. A pleasant rose and vanilla scent wafted through the room from various scented candles that were beginning to extinguish. 

Aurélie missed the outside. It had been months since she last took a stroll in the gardens, their sudden arrival at the chateau and her illness preventing her from visiting the outside world. Seeing the little rays of sunshine that spilt into her room only grew her yearning to leave the constraints of her room. 

The companion thought for a while, testing her strength as she slowly began stepping side to side on the spot. She still felt unusually strong. Whatever Pierre had put in her soups seemed to be working. Quietly walking over to Étienne, Aurélie knelt down beside him. She shook his shoulders gently, in an attempt to wake him up. 

“Hey, Étienne?”

She was given a mere hum as an answer. 

“I am going to go outside to the gardens for a little while.”

Nothing. 

Aurélie knew it was pointless in trying to wake him up now. With the sun starting to creep up along the sky, the vampire world was slowly falling into a deep slumber. She had not realised how bad mornings were, until she had shared a room with him during their travels. Whenever the travelling group arrived late at an inn or safehouse and it was morning already, it took all of her strength to drag Étienne into bed. A trait that he had from his mother, according to the Duke. 

Not wanting to waste her energy trying to wake him up, Aurélie slowly walked over to the bathroom and wrapped herself in a light cardigan. She quietly made her way outside of the room, after giving Étienne a quick kiss on the cheek. Aurélie felt guilty for him staying in her room almost every day, most likely losing more sleep than she realised. 

The chateau was quiet. Rays of sunlight were spilling into the hallways, the large windows never fully covered by curtains. According to Amelie, the Duke had ordered for the curtains to be pulled back during the day after Aurélie’s arrival at the chateau for the first time. It allowed her to freely walk around while enjoying the sunlight that the others could not. Aurélie always wondered if he did so because of Eleanor, knowing that her former headmistress was always strict in making sure she got enough sunlight. 

By the time she got to the bottom of the stairs, Aurélie felt exhausted. She silently cursed to herself, wondering if the little excursion she had set out for herself was more than she had bargained for. Gritting her teeth and trying to ignore the heavy exhaustion, she continued on. 

 The young companion had managed to make it to the maze after taking twice as long as usual, finding refuge on a little bench just past the beginning of the entrance to the tall hedges. Aurélie watched the birds around her, their melodies resting her racing heart. The walk to the gardens had exhausted her, an unbearable headache beginning to form behind her right eye. She decided to ignore the pain, focusing on her surroundings instead. As always the gardens were tended to meticulously, not a strand of grass or leaf out of place. 

Aurélie let out a sigh as she closed her eyes and leaned her back into the stone bench. It felt good to finally be out of her dark room. She had longed for a scenery different to the navy blue that surrounded her at all times. While she was grateful for everything that Étienne and Amelie were doing for her, she wanted time to herself. Whatever this illness that plagued her was, she just wanted to get over it and return back to her normal life. She missed her work, wasting her life away in the constraints of her bedroom. What good was she to Étienne and the chateau if all she did was sleep and be sick? 

As the sun continued to wash over her, a sharp pain suddenly appeared in Aurélie’s ears. The companion gritted her teeth, attempting to ease the sudden pressure. Her skin was starting to burn, phantom needles continuously dancing across her exposed arms and face. Quickly getting up and nausea washing over her, Aurélie began making her way out of the maze and towards the chateau. She tried to ignore the pain spreading down to her jaw and neck. With steps heavy and her vision spinning, Aurélie managed to sink herself into the soft grass underneath a tree before darkness washed over her once more.