Chapter 145 - Passing the Long Night

God damn it, she feels so nice. Hugging her was only so he could get her to calm down. Rhys initially planned to pull her away from him, once he knew things were okay between them. Rhys did not have the opportunity to ask her if things were okay or ask why she had been ignoring him. Rhys supposes that didn't matter now. This is the first time she voluntarily hugged him back.

It took Rhys quite a while to realize something was wrong. At least a good few minutes had passed without him noticing anything was amiss. That's because he was enjoying the feeling of the girl in his arms. But when he felt his body grow increasingly hot, Rhys frowned. It's not like he can get turned on by a hug. He looked down at the girl, Lyn's entire face was flushed red.

...

- Tent -

Rhys didn't bother alerting the other two. He wondered if he woke them up when he rushed over in a hurry. Most likely not, otherwise they would have rushed over here already. Or rather, 'that rain came at a bad time,' Rhys thought. No sooner had he realized that something was wrong; it started pouring it down.

…

He's grateful that Lyn wakes up in an hour. If she slept any longer, it would have worried him. It was roughly 4:15 am. Rhys didn't bother sleeping and just stared at her the whole time. Her fever was very high for a few seconds, then the next thing he knew her entire body was like ice. Some people would argue and say he was taking advantage of the situation. But medically speaking, another person's body warmth is the best medicine for these occasions. So Rhys stripped her down and removed his clothing too.

Rhys did nothing to her; he just focused on giving her enough warmth to get rid of her fever.

Before the girl could react, Rhys sighed and moved away from her, "I'll get your clothes," he muttered. He hung them outside to dry. His thoughts broke off when Lyn grabbed hold of his arm, "What's wrong?"

"Rhys, I had a nightmare."

And what is he supposed to do about that? Rhys looked at the girl with a troubled expression and sighed. If Kazuya were here, he would try to comfort her, right? But she's n.a.k.e.d under those covers.

"I'll come back, alright?"

The girl seemed hesitant but nodded, and Rhys exited the tent. The rain had let up no sooner after it started, and that's when he hung up the clothes. He reached over, 'Still a bit wet,' maybe he should get her new clothes. Rhys recalled something Beth said and paused, right there's those. He walked back into the tent and paused. Lyn had sat up and was staring blankly at the ceiling, her bare frame barely being covered by the small blanket.

Rhys shook his head and made his way back over to his bag on the side. He pulled something out and examined the clothing, 'This ought to be fine,' he thought. When he returned to the girl on the bed, he passed her the clothes, "Here."

"..."

Damn, why is she making things so difficult for him? Rhys deeply sighed and removed the blanket, "Raise your arms," Rhys instructed.

"Kay!"

Rhys said nothing to her cheerful reply and slowly slipped on the nightgown. It was a western-style cream-colored sleeveless gown with a black ribbon on the center. It was undoubtedly something Beth wouldn't wear, 'It must have been a gift,' Rhys thought.

"It's pretty," Lyn looked down at her clothes and beamed happily, "I look like a Princess."

"You are one."

However, Lyn wasn't listening.

"I feel hot though," Lyn tugged on the dress.

He quickly doused the towel with water again and placed it back on her forehead as he laid her back down. Rhys looked around his bag, which he brought over and found what he was looking for. He didn't want to use magic with those other two around. It's a good thing he carries these effective medical pills.

"Mom, I'm thirsty, can you feed me medicine?"

Ha? What's with her suddenly? She's acting different?

"I'm not your mom. When you have a fever, your personality completely changes," Rhys tosses the packet of medicines towards the girl, "Look here take them yourself."

The girl only looked at the box angrily and threw it back to him.

"No! To my mouth! Feed it to me."

If Rhys wasn't speechless before, he was now. Rhys placed his hand on his face, covering one eye. 'What is this, some kind of test?'

He glanced over at the girl and saw that she wasn't budging from the idea. It can't be helped, huh? Rhys does as she said, but as he did it, his gaze landed on the girl's expression. Just her opening her mouth like that is sensual. Who would have thought that a girl like her would start looking like a woman in his eyes. Once she swallowed it, she slumped back down - one of her hands had grabbed on to his arm to prevent him from going anywhere.

"Princess Lyn, what are you doing now?"

"Holding your hand," she seemed very pleased about this.

"..."

What is he supposed to do about this? He's never seen her with a fever before, at least one this bad. So Rhys had no idea that her personality would do a complete 360°c turn like this. This is bad; she's acting like a spoilt brat. But just now she asked for her mother, didn't she? As far as Rhys knew Queen Orthez never interacted with Lyn let alone feed her medicine. It must be her subconsciousness that asked for it.

"Rhys, will you tell me a story?"

"A story?"

"I can't sleep without one," Lyn said.

This Princess…. Rhys was a loss for words now, but he didn't dislike how the girl kept looking at him and holding him. Well, he supposes he could take advantage of this moment.

"Then I'll tell you about the girl I fell in love with."

"Love…," for a split moment it looked like Lyn had returned to normal. But only briefly, "No love stories."

His sweat fell, what the… Did she decide on that because he said it?

"Rhys, you know I told Kazuya before that I'm afraid of losing him."

"And what did he say?"

"He reassured me, but he didn't answer my question directly. Do you think Kazuya intends to leave me?"

'Even if he doesn't, he will tear you two apart,' Rhys refrained from saying so and kept it to himself. Lyn may know about the plan. But she only knows what Kazuya told her. Lyn doesn't know what the elders told him and not Kazuya. To think they've had that type of talk though.

Rhys shook his head and brought his lips to her face; he kisses her eyelids, forehead, nose, and cheeks before he could move towards her lips though.

"Rhys, what are you doing?"

"Giving you a kiss."

Lyn looked at him with a troubled look, "Kiss...is bad… Can we do that?"

Rhys lips curve to a smile, he hasn't seen her act this docile in a long time. She's usually so stubborn, well ever since he told her his feelings.

"I think we can," his lips brushed against her ear, "Were close enough."

"But I'm so sleepy; I want to sleep."

He has to wake up in an hour, but Lyn can still sleep in till 6. Rhys nodded and lightly brushed his lips on her forehead, "Let's go to sleep."

"Rhys," Lyn started, "Goodnight?"

"Night."