Waking up with you

Kim startled awake, feeling the touch of someone on her hands and she pulled back ready to flee. But another grabbed her shoulder steady.

"Calm yourself, Kim." Liel spoke with authority and ease. She looked at him, startled for a moment as the handsome man was so close to her, her cheeks colouring quickly. His brow was furrowed in worry, his high cheekbones and perfect skin too close!

"My queen, let us help you." another voice urged and she looked over and saw a plague doctor at her sides. The Tengu demon with his mask and black robes was recognisable to her even if his profile did not have art. This was doctor Thaddeus. 

a doctor's bag of scary looking instruments at his side on the bed, and in his hand was some strange measuring device. She looked horrified at the instruments, face paling and suddenly she felt weak again as the room rumbled its discontent. 

The room literally shook like there was an earthquake, the two men startling.

"Kim, please. He's a doctor." Liel tried again and she finally let herself relax, her hands finding his on her shoulder and holding it.

"I- I'm sorry. Did I do that?" she asks and Liel looks confused.

"Of course? Your skill of "castle keeper" is quite impressive." he admits, turning to sit at her side. "But you are unwell. You fainted last night and the good doctor here is just trying to ascertain what's wrong." he explains and Kim looks over to the doctor.

"Doctor? Sorry I haven't seen a doctor in a long time." she tried to laugh it off. Hazy memories of sickness left untreated, of being turned away from hospitals flitter through her mind. 

"That is no good. Here, let me have your hand?" he asks and she lets go of Liel to hand it over. She feels Liel's hand squeezing her tightly in reassurance and scratches her nails over his gloves lightly with her free hand. 

She smiles at the doctor, his wings fluttering behind him with their ebony feathers and she cooes at them.

"So pretty!" she gushes and the pair look confused.

"You mean me?" Doctor Thaddeus asks and she nods happily.

"Your wings I mean. They're so pretty." she continues and the good doctor stammers his words.

"Well, thank you, your highness!" he seems flustered and holds her hand in his.

"Doctor Thaddeus?" Liel says in a cold tone and the doctor jumps and continues.

"Right, the patient. Well your pulse is weak but let me give you a thorough examination." he says before her skin starts to light up blue, a small magic circle with intricate designs hovers over her hand, the glyphs glowing a soft cyan blue.

When the magic ends the doctor lets go of her hand and steps back, his mask hides his expressions but she gets the feeling he's in shock for some reason.

"Your highness… When was the last time you ate? Or even… had a safe place to rest?" he asks and Liel frowns.

"What are you talking about?" he asks and doctor Thaddeus shakes his head.

"My lord- Liel, I have just used my skill "all seeing medical history" on our new queen." new queen? What did that mean? "And her body is on the verge of collapse, there are lingering effects of the health potion she drank but those will disappear soon. She is starved, malnourished and bruised, her body has the stench of death on it yet she lives?" he babbles now, looking more distressed and Liel stands abruptly, letting go of her shoulder to clench his hands into fists.

"Then fix her!" he shouts.

"I will! But it will take time!" Thaddeus shouts back and Kim raises her hands, pleading for them to calm down.

"I'm fine really. I've been like this for a while. I just need to rest." she tries and the pair look at her.

"Rest, food and medical intervention to make sure you recover well. That is the least we can do for our new queen." he says, his wings fluttering as he huffs.

Liel comes to sit next to her once more, leaning into her space, too close! He was too close and she avoided his glare.

"You will rest here for now. I will make sure of that." he says like it's a threat and Doctor Thaddeus huffs and goes to his bag. He pulls out an ornate bottle the size of his palm, its multicoloured crystal glitters in the light and inside is a strange rainbow coloured potion.

"Drink this. I fear we risk losing you if we wait any longer." he says, looking at Liel who nods.

"What is it?" she asks as she takes the bottle into her hands. It's beautiful and she admires it for a moment before Liel insists she drinks it with his hands.

"A cure all ailments potion. Any lingering diseases from where you came from and your weakness will disappear." Doctor Thaddeus assures her and she sips at the potion. It tastes of lychee and she drinks the whole thing easily. Her body glowing with white sparkles that last for a minute before dying down.

The pair looked at each other, Liel looked worried.

"What is it?" she asks. She hands the empty bottle back to doctor Thaddeus who puts it back in his doctor's bag.

"The duration of the glow… It correlates with how badly the potion needed to work." Liel explains and she blushes furiously, feeling gross and diseased as she hides in the blanket, pulling it up to her face.

"It was too expensive to see a doctor." she mumbles weakly and Liel pulls the blanket away from her burning face with a soft smile.

"The potion has worked though. I can see it in your face." he says, relief staining his voice.

"Quite. Now, bed rest and food for the queen." Doctor Thaddeus announces happily, clicking his bag closed. "I will be back periodically to check on your weight and blood pressure."

Kim is so confused now. Why do they keep calling her their queen? Is it just a nickname? 

She goes to speak but Liel stands and tucks her into the bed.

"Rest. I'll explain everything after you've had a good sleep and some food." he tells her and she can't help but feel it's an order more than anything.

The men both leave her alone, Liel looking at her one last time from the door, he smiles softly, something darker in his eyes before he closes the door. She shivers as the door clicks closed. Something about Liel was a little scary but more than anything he was just too handsome and kind to her!

Kim falls back on the pillows with a huff, something hard hitting her neck and she pulls it out from behind her.

It's a beautiful tome of a book? A bright cyan cover with a red jewel in the centre and gold bindings and spine. She doesn't recognize it till she opens it up.

"This is- this is my game guide!" She exclaims to no one but herself, reading through familiar passages that have been redone to look more fancy but all the information is the same, the art is still there and she quickly finds herself at the character profiles, finding doctor Thaddeus easily.

Name: Doctor Thaddeus 

Star sign: Born under the full moon, under the star signs of the lovers.

Birthday: 11th December

Race: Tengu demon

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Bio: The good doctor of the castle. He swore he would always cure what ails a patient, no matter the cost to others. He is kind to those that respect his work and his patients privacy but will become furious if you try to antagonise a patient!

He and his nurses take care of all the inhabitants of the castle. From the west wing infirmary.

His favourite food is bread with salted butter and rice.

Weakness: Tengu's are weak to fire damage and riddles.

Abilities: all seeing medical history, medicine skill 80, doctor's knowledge, arcane magic, flight, tengu's tricks.

Special items: Doctor's bag of holding, instruments of medicine.

She slumped back against the pillows after reading, holding the book to her chest.

She was in the world of Valen-lore… Somehow? It sounded like a fairy-tale, like a dream and she held back tears. Her memory was starting to fail her of her past, just bleary memories and the knowledge that where she had come from was not a good place. This was already so much better.

The bed is soft and comfortable, her body already feels more alive. Her ailments were gone and everything from her overgrown toenails to yellowed teeth had felt better.

Speaking off… She went against Liel's orders and got out of bed quietly, leaving the book on the bed as she padded her way to the large mirror.

She was startled by her reflection. Her skin wasn't so gaunt and pale anymore, even the acne scars she had had were gone? Her brown hair had grown to her waist and while still looking greasy wasn't as matted and knotted then it was before.

But the biggest change that scared her was her eyes. Gone from her normal brown they now shone amber with speckles of yellow and green. She went close to the mirror putting her hands to the glass. She examined her eyes, wondering if she had contacts in but she couldn't feel anything. She tried to touch her eyeball to check and just hurt herself.

"Ouch." she muttered to herself, one eye now closed as she looked around the room. It was large and regal, with a writing desk and bookshelves decorating the high walls.

She was in a castle that was for sure but who's bedroom had she commandeered?

She went to the large wardrobe and peeked inside, finding mens regal clothes and blushed as he closed the door. Was this Liel's room? Had she been sleeping in his bed? Her heart did flips as she rushed away from the wardrobe.

Next was the bathroom and she thanked god there was one here. She quickly relieved herself at the toilet, washing her hands and looking at her crooked and cracked nails. They looked healthier than they had before thanks to the potion but still…

She needed some self care pronto and if Liel didn't mind her in his room, perhaps he wouldn't mind if she bathed?

She looked at the large bathtub behind her, it sparkled and enticed her forward to turn the golden taps for fresh hot water.

She couldn't resist such temptation! Running a bath she felt nervous Liel would return furious at her. 

But she really needed a bath. When was the last time? She couldn't even remember which horrified her. Kim also looked through the cupboards and found some cleaning kits. Tending to herself as the bath runs. She used toothpaste on her teeth with a finger, cut her toenails that were sharp and her fingernails were cut down too so they could grow better.

She even found tweezers and fixed her awful eyebrows just a touch. She looked so much better and felt better as she looked in the mirror.

"Much better ma'am. But the maids would have helped you if you had asked?" a disembodied voice startled her. Looking around she saw no one till the mirror went foggy and a facsimile of a face appeared, its eyes slitted and its mouth wide.

This had not been in the book? 

"Sorry! I just really needed to clean up." she quickly apologised but the face shook and laughed.

"No need to apologise ma'am. What's in this castle is yours to use. Here." it says and the smoke left the mirror, a pair of hands floating past her to the bath and uncorking potions, pouring them generously into the bath till the water turned a rosy pink and smelt of fresh flowers and jasmine.

Kim awed at the bubbles, taking a step forward and sniffing.

"Thank you but won't Liel mind?" she asked and the fog went back to the mirror and laughed.

"He will not. Now, I will excuse myself but please, enjoy your bath your highness." it urged her before disappearing. There it was again? Calling her your highness and being so.. Respectful? She was just some stranger to them that had broken into their castle and picked a fight with their lord.

When Kim felt she was truly alone she stripped off the pink dress and white panties, leaving them in a pile on the floor as she slowly got into the bath. The water was hot and she had to get used to it for a moment before jumping in completely.

But when she did oh did it feel wonderful. The hot water enveloped her tiny frame and dampened her hair that floated all around her. She sighed loudly, enjoying the moment before she remembered that Liel might return any moment. With a blush colouring her cheeks, she quickly washed herself using a bar of lavender soap. Sniffing it copiously as she washed and just enjoying getting clean for the first time in years.

She found a glass bottle with viscous liquid and assumed it was shampoo and poured it onto her head, lathering it in and dragging it to the ends with slim fingers.

It all felt exquisite and she lost track of time as she washes herself and plays with her much longer hair.

The water was cooling off by the time she realised how long she had taken and she scrambles to get out, drying herself off with a large fluffy towel and redressing in the same clothes.

Once dressed the mirror fogged up again, the unseen servant making their appearance once more.

"Ma'am. Liel has returned with food. I told him to wait till you were ready." he said proudly and Kim felt her cheeks burn. How long had he been waiting?

She rubbed her hair as dry as she could with the towel before leaving the bathroom with a nervous air. Peeking out she saw him waiting for her at his desk, writing something down before his eyes caught hers.

"Welcome back." he teased, standing and approaching her with a grace that wouldn't look out of place on the red carpet or in some romance drama.

She almost hid behind the bathroom door again but he reached out and took her hand.

"I did say stay in bed but I suppose I can forgive this." he says softly like he was talking about the weather. He squeezed her hand, his gloved thumb rubbing over the back of her hand.

It made her burn and she squeezed the he of her dress with her free hand.

"I needed a bath… badly." she admits and he nods in understanding.

"Good. next time though, have the maids help you." he runs a hand through her hair, untangling the knots and tutting. The touch was so intimate it made her heart want to shriek and run away. But she let him touch her. It was so nice and even if she was embarrassed she was so touch-starved she felt like she would melt into such simple affection.

"Maids? Ah! Why does everyone keep saying such strange things to me? Calling me ma'am and- well, you keep calling me a queen?" she asks in confusion, looking up at Liel who just smiled like everything was fine.

"I will explain now. Come sit and eat first." he said, leading her to a small table set up with food and wine jugs.

She hadn't even noticed it but now that she did she couldn't help but salivate. So much food and she wanted it all. Her stomach gave a grumble that Liel chucked at, pulling out a chair for her to sit on.

She followed his lead, letting him take care of her as he joined her across the table.

"Please, eat your fill. Everything has been reinforced with potions to help you recover." he explained with a wave of his hand and she gave a nod before digging into the stew and bread and block of cheese already cut up into squares for her to munch on. There was even fruit she had never seen before and flowers in a vase that glowed a pale blue.

"Thank you so much!" she rushed out, realising how rude she was being as she ate in earnest. It tasted wonderful, meaty with thick root vegetables perfectly cooked and seasoned. 

Liel watched her eat, his hands laced under his chin and a soft smile on his face.

It was a little unnerving to be watched so closely and she slowed down her consumption, trying to be more polite.

"I should explain then." he starts, eyes downcast. "I did some research in the library while you slept and I believe I know what you are. My dear human." 

Kim watched him as she ate, eagerly anticipating his words.

"I believe, given the evidence that you died."

The words hit her like a truck, making her stop chewing and she swallowed hard, coughing a little as she tried to speak too quickly.

"Wh-what? Died?" she asks and he nods solemnly.

"A transmigrator can only move between realms once one body has ceased to live, given the state of you when you arrived here. I surmised that you died very recently and was transported into my- your castle." he explained and she tilted her head at his words. Confused was an understatement but something about the way he spoke threw her off more than the idea that she had died.

"My castle?" she asks and he smiles at her, something knowing and almost sinister there as he rested his chin on one hand.

"You, my dear. Are the new queen of this castle. Ruler of Valen-Lore and its lands, protector of its people and its demon lord."