Alena opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling that greeted her when she woke up. She wondered where she was for a moment but soon realized she was back in their room. The sunlight peered through the window, the day had just begun. To think she was still in bed, she would have been out in the field by now, she thought. Wishing to get out of bed she found herself too weak to get up and move her body. Struggling to move her legs, she found herself incredibly sluggish and eventually resigned herself to the bed. Despite having her senses dulled, she was alerted to the creaking of the floor, she turned her head only to find Alek asleep beside her.
“...To think you were here the whole time.” She whispered to herself. “Thank you for looking after me.” Gently stroking his hair.
His eyes fluttered open. “Mm, Alena?” Alek woke up from his nap. “You’re awake… you’re awake! Are you okay? How are you feeling?!”
“I’m alright.” She reassured him. “Could you help me up?”
“Y-Yeah, of course.” Helping her off the bed, she stumbled and struggled to keep herself standing. “Easy there, I got you.” Alek helped prop her up. “I think you should get some more rest.”
“I’ll be fine… I can’t stay in bed all day.”
“Alena… you can’t leave. You should just stay and rest.”
“If you’re worried about my cold, I’ll be fine, really. I feel much better now that I’ve had some rest and thanks to the tea you made me I can finally breathe. And you’re free to keep an eye on me since you promised to help me out.”
“About that…”
“No ‘but’s’, let’s get dressed and ready to leave-”
“They’ve quarantined our district.”
“...Huh? They did what? No, no they can’t just cut us off like that. They can’t do that!”
“They have guards surrounding the district and have increased the amount of people patrolling the streets to make sure no one leaves and no one gets in. As for your flower arrangements… I’m sorry. I couldn’t do anything…!” Alek clenched his fists.
“My flowers… But why-” It wasn’t long before she recalled the events of yesterday. “Oh gods, this is all my fault…”
“What- No! It’s not your fault at all-!”
“But it is. A man came to buy flowers the other day, a noble. I angered him, and he punished me. If I hadn’t been such a fool and taken my health seriously, this all wouldn’t have happened. And now everything I’ve worked for is all gone…”
“Well, not exactly. I managed to find this.” Alek showed her a blackened flower basket. “It was the only thing I could recover before the guards came to clean up the mess. I think it’s still usable.”
“To think it didn’t burn up with the rest… Hah.” She laughed, before hugging the basket, a tear rolling down her cheek.
“I’m sorry this was all I could find, the rest had all been turned to ash.”
“No… I’m happy you looked at all, thank you. It was just some flowers, at least with this we can always start again.”
“Y-Yeah, you’re right! I’ll put in twice- no, three times the amount of effort in picking flowers and the sort-” Then the reality of their situation dawned on him. “Oh but… we can’t just leave the city, how are we supposed to get through the winter now?” Seeing the downtrodden look on Alena’s face only made him realize how insensitive his words were. “Ah, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it like that-”
“No, you’re right. I’ll figure something out. Don’t you worry.” She smiled.
“Alena… Hey, I can help pitch in, I’ve got some money to help us get through the first month-”
“That will help, but it still might not be enough. We have no idea how long the quarantine is going to last, or even how long and cold this Winter might be.”
“Then… What's going to happen to us? If this isn’t enough I’ll do whatever I have to, any job I can find and if that’s not enough… I’m sure the shopkeepers in town won’t notice if one or two things go missing.”
“No!” Alena startled me, expressing a look of anger. “You can’t do that. I won’t let you resort to petty theft, you’re no criminal.”
“B-But then what am I supposed to do? You’re far too sick to do anything!”
“Alek. Listen to me.” She held my face with both hands. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll handle it. Your sister is gonna take care of everything.” The look in her eyes, she was determined and Alek couldn’t help but once again but be reassured by her words. “Ah, that’s odd… I feel a little… lightheaded.” Alena stumbled backwards onto the bed.
“Alena! You shouldn’t get yourself worked up like that…”
“I’m sorry, I just don’t want…” Her eyes began to flutter. “...you worry. I can’t seem to… Mm, my head… right now I just need some rest…” She went fast asleep. I held her hand in mine.
“I told you that you needed rest. Still, always doing everything by yourself… I’m here to help you know, I can’t let you work yourself this hard. I’ll find a way to make money. For us to live a better life, know I’ll always be by your side.” It wasn’t long before Alek’s eyes began to flutter as well. “Ah, I’ve been up all night. I barely had a lick of sleep before she woke up… just for a little bit, and then…” And soon, the siblings both fell just as the sun had scarcely begun to rise. Just for a little bit, they would have this moment of peace.
***
“If I could just find a way outside…” Alena mumbled, staring out the window.
“What’s that, everything alright?” Alek asked.
“Ah, I was just thinking I could do with some fresh air.”
“Alena, you’re still sick. You can’t just go outside, not while you’ve still got some congestion. Better that you rest until you’re fully recovered.”
“Y-yes, of course you’re right.”
A week had passed, and Alena had spent most of her time thinking of the blue flower she picked by the river that day. If she could gather enough of them then she wouldn’t have to worry about their expenses. However the problem was that she couldn’t leave, not just from the quarantine and guards stationed around the slums but from Alek as well. And though she knew he meant well, she was given no opportunity to leave the house. Alek had been busy watching and taking care of Alena every day. He felt it was up to him to take care of the chores in her place. Having to pick up and drop off the linen at the local washwoman, from sweeping the apartment and getting water from the local well to clean themselves. Food on the other hand was hard to acquire during the quarantine and their options for local goods were limited, unable to leave the quarantine they were dependent on charity and intervention from the city’s governing lord. An effort to feed the people was underway, small meals to be handed out from the guards. And it was during this time that Alek would leave their home to receive their daily rations, which would not only keep them fed but would give Alena the opportunity she needed to get out and explore her options.
“I’ll be back soon, not sure how long the lines will be today but I’ll try to come back home as fast as I can.”
“If you see Sir Jacek, be sure to greet him for me.”
“Sure, I better get going.”
“Stay safe!”
“Yeah!” Alek shut the door behind him.
Hearing his feet go down the stairs, she waited a moment to hear the sound of the door downstairs close. Alena got out of bed and walked to the window, watching Alek run along and disappear around the corner. With him out of the house, she could continue her observation on the guards. Alena had spent the past week tracking the guards and memorizing their patrol routes, but staring from the window didn’t give her much of an idea of where they patrolled. She wished to know when and where they would be throughout the district. There was no time to waste, who knows when Alek would get back.
“Right. Now then…” Alena went to get herself dressed and ready. Having finished putting on her clothes, she was eager to head on out.
Yet just as she was about to approach the door, It was then she heard footsteps come up the stairs. (That’s odd, Alek shouldn’t be back yet, did he forget something?) Alena thought to herself. She retreated to the bed in hopes of pretending to be resting should Alek come through the door yet she couldn’t shake this feeling of unease. The footsteps stopped in front of the door and the knob turned slowly to a halt, but the door was left locked. Alek had the key, he wouldn’t have turned the knob if he knew it was locked. Whoever was on the other side of the door was not her brother but at the very least they couldn’t get in. Alena got out of the bed and slowly began to move toward the washroom, there was a window that could let her out onto the roof. However, at that moment, a blast forced the door open, knocking it off its hinges. And there stood at the door was a man she recognized from the streets, the veil that covered his face was unmistakable.
“Hello my sweet butterfly. Are you happy to see me? No? A shame, I’ve come with a gift.” In his hand was a blue flower, seemingly offering it as a gesture. “I saw you picking flowers the other day, alas I couldn’t join you, at least not while that pesky guard kept watch at the gate. Instead I brought you this flower, I thought you might like to feed off its nectar, after all it's what a butterfly loves most, is it not?” He grinned. “Now then, won’t you come with me?”
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