Friction

The passionate, moonlit scene in the garden quickly turned into a matter of life and death. Elena gingerly lowered Axel to the ground and put his head on her lap. His dizziness had worsened and his body began to twitch uncontrollably, causing him to fade in and out of consciousness.

Only when Elena grabbed Axel's hand did he calm down slightly. His tight grip, however, hinted at how much pain he was in. Sweat ran down his face as his eyes scrunched up.

After a few minutes, Axel stabilized but fell completely unconscious. Elena rubbed his head gently, losing herself in her thoughts for a brief moment.

"Albert," Elena called out softly, in fear of waking Axel up. However, her voice had undergone a drastic change. Her demeanor and tone transformed to that of someone accustomed to authority.

"Yes, ma'am?" A voice rung out from the darkness. If one looked more closely, they could see that a shadow had been behind the large gazebo for who knows how long.

"Get the doctor to come back. We need to figure out this anomaly. I want answers. Now."

"Yes, ma'am. Understood."

As discretely as it appeared, the shadow disappeared. Slowly, the air around Elena reverted to its kind and gentle one. With a swish, Elena stood up. Showcasing strength belying her height and stature, she smoothly picked up Axel and carried him back to the antique bedroom with one of his arms slung around her shoulder. An onlooker would be be surprised at the ease in which she carried someone so much larger than herself.

The beautiful, moonlit gazebo, surrounded by dozens of rare and exotic flowers, was left in the background with Axel and Elena's figures quickly disappearing into the building.

Forgotten on the ground was the crushed blue iris that Axel had dropped during his short embrace with Elena.

Elena rushed back to the room. As she opened the door, she stopped abruptly. Blocking her way was a four and a half foot tall girl. When Rae looked up, her eyes squinted from the sudden burst of light coming from the door. Her eyes widened as she saw her brother unconscious on Rae's arm.

Rae quickly got out of the way as Elena lifted Axel up onto the bed. When she was done, Rae glared at her with wary eyes. Even if she enjoyed Elena's company and began to trust her on their way to the coalition, Rae was still fiercely protective over her brother.

"What happened? Why is he unconscious?" Rae asked. Although she attempted to sound threatening, her cute voice caused her to fail to do so. The sight brought a smile to Elena's solemn face.

"He got up and started walking around. I saw him and we started talking for a bit." Elena blushed slightly at the memory of the moment her and Axel shared. Luckily, the faint lighting prevented Rae from witnessing the sight.

"He was fine and then he fell unconscious again. But don't worry, he's fine and I'm getting the doctor to rush back as soon as he can."

Rae's face noticeably relaxed at Elena's words. However, her worries heightened when she saw her brother's condition worsening again. Noticing it, Elena quickly explained.

"The doctor might be coming any minute. Are you sure you don't wanna sleep? I can prepare another room for you. It's pretty late, right now."

"I'm fine," Rae huffed. "I'll stay here with Axel."

Elena just smiled back at her in response. They waited for a few minutes in relatively peaceful silence. Rae quickly forgot Elena in favor of shuffling around and ensuring that Axel was as comfortable as possible. It was a heart-warming sight to see Rae take care of her big brother.

They didn't have to wait long until a disheveled-looking doctor entered hurriedly. When he saw Elena, he briefly lowered his head in respect before focusing on Axel. In a flash, he was beside Axel and checking his condition. Rae attentively stepped aside to make sure that she didn't disturb the doctor.

The first time Rae had seen him, she questioned whether the doctor was truly qualified to treat her brother. However, she didn't say anything as she saw Axel quickly get better after a few moments of being treated by the sketchy-looking man. Rae cried for hours after she saw her brother sleep peacefully and didn't see the man again after that.

This time, however, Rae couldn't see the frown etched on his face. Elena refrained herself from asking him out of concern and waited patiently until he was done. Time flew by and only after a few hours of periodically noting Axel's condition and prescribing him various types of medicines did he finally step backwards. Rae and Elena held their breaths in anticipation.

"He's fine."

They heaved sighs of relief before the doctor continued slowly.

"But, he's in a sort of coma."

Both of their faces paled.

"But it's not too bad. He should be awake by tomorrow if nothing else happens."

They both visibly relaxed before Elena asked angrily.

"Can you just say everything at once and not give us a panic attack each time you pause?!"

The doctor became slightly flustered at Elena's furious look.

"Of course, ma - I mean, Miss Elena. I apologize." He took out a handkerchief and nervously dabbed the sweat on his forehead. When he glanced up from the ground, he saw Elena glaring at him once again.

"I'm sorry. I was finished, Miss Elena. I fixed up some medicine for him to take every four hours. If everything works out, he should be awake by tomorrow night."

After he finished explaining how to give Axel the medicine, the doctor left flustered. The rest of the night passed by in a blur as Rae and Elena both stayed awake the entire time.

When dawn came and light streamed into the room, Rae peeked at Elena. She had finally fallen asleep. What Axel didn't know was that Elena had stayed awake the entire time he was unconscious the day before. Taking care of Axel and handling the aftermath of skipping military procedures, her fatigue finally caught up to her. Rae, however, knew about what Elena had to accomplish in order to let them stay inside in relative peace.

It was only a few moments before Axel woke up when Rae was falling asleep. As her eyes slowly shut, she overheard Elena talk to the shadows and a deep voice surprisingly responded. Before she fully fell asleep, she learned that the coalition wasn't anywhere near as peaceful as they had believed and that Elena jeopardized her family's position in accepting the two siblings into her home.