Time frame: three years after the end of DotW

There were a few things that were on Iola’s mind the moment she woke up.

First and foremost was this great upheaval in her stomach. Throwing away the bed cover haphazardly she ran toward the bathroom, barely making it to the chamber pot before she was retching.

The acid burned as she threw up what seemed like the entire content of her stomach, causing tears prickling at the edge of her eyes. After what seemed like hours her nausea finally subsided and she leant back on her palms, feeling sweaty and gross and raw.

The second thing that crossed her mind was how much she missed plumbing systems. It would be so easy to just flush away her vomit if she have a toilet, but instead she only have a chamber pot and made a mental note to apologize to the chambermaid that usually cleans her room.

The last and most important thing that plagued her mind was that Yixing was not there. If he was, he would’ve rub a comforting hand down her back to sooth her, leaving tiny kisses across her face to make her feel better.

Then again, as Iola glanced at the chamber pot, it was perhaps for the better that he wasn’t there. Because really, the sight of her heaving her stomach’s content into the pot was not something she would like for him to see, as vain as it seems.

Shakily she tried to stand up, making her way back into the bedroom and two warm presences were instantly at her side. It surprised her at first, before her mind caught up and she reminded herself that the drachensteins were always allowed in her room when Yixing was not spending the night there. Remus and Romulus must’ve woken up when she was in the bathroom and waited behind the door, whining and yelping once they saw her. She bent down a little to rub their horns, patting them down, though they still followed her as she walked groggily across the room.

A glance towards the open window told her that it would still be a few hours to dawn, and she threw herself back on the soft mattress, burrowing underneath the warm blanket. Her hand instinctively reached out to the right side of the bed, only to be met with empty air and Iola held back a sigh, closing her eyes instead.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dawn was breaking on the horizon when Iola glimpsed out the window on her race back to the bathroom. She repeated the whole vomiting process all over again, even though by now she was sure that there was nothing left in her stomach to be emptied out.

Once it was finished she took a few moments to calm her breath. Her whole body felt exhausted even though she just woke up and she contemplated taking a bath, but couldn’t summon up the energy for it. She just dragged herself to grab the small pitcher on the countertop, taking gulps of the cool water to rinse before stumbling out of the bathroom.

Makani was hovering inside the room, the usual grin on his face faded once he gave her a look over.

“Wow human girl, you look even uglier than you usually are.”

Iola just grunted in answer, too tired to even think of a reply. The drachensteins whined as she passed them by, but she barely gave them a pat before stumbling back into bed.

The spirit of wind floated closer, peering down at her in obvious concern. “Hey, you alright, human girl?”

She waved a hand in dismissal, pulling the blanket until it reached her chin. “I’m fine. Just give me some more time to sleep.”

The last thing she felt was a gentle breeze gently carding through her hair before passing out again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next moment she woke up the sun was already up in the sky. A feeling of lethargy was still creeping on her veins as Makani continued to give her concerned gazes from time to time, but Iola swallowed it down and began her morning ritual.

Luckily the bath seemed to fresh her up and her stomach didn’t rock turbulently like before. Once she donned clean clothes she convinced herself that she was feeling better, repeating it over and over again in her head. Makani didn’t seem convinced though, as he hovered besides her when she left the room, walking briskly down the familiar hallway.

“Are you sure you’re alright now, human girl? You still look a bit green on the edges.”

Iola nodded, chuckling slightly when Remus leaned up to her hand, the hum in her head buzzed comfortingly at the show of concern from her friends. “Yeah, I’m better now.”

Makani didn’t ask further once they’ve arrived at the dining hall, six out of the thirteen chairs surrounding the long table in the middle of the room already occupied.

“Good morning, Iola.”

Iola grinned back in greeting, walking to the empty seat besides Kyungsoo. The wide-eyed man stood up to pull out the chair for her and she nodded in thanks. Looking around the table she smiled wider at the sight of the Guardians, purposefully not looking at the empty chairs scattered around them.

“Good morning, guys.”

Joonmyun’s kind smile turned into a frown once he got a closer look at her. “Iola, are you alright? You look a bit pale.”

She nodded as she took a glance toward the array of food displayed on the table, ignoring the wave of nausea rocking her stomach the moment she inhaled the scent. “I am. I just had a restless night, that’s all.”

Baekhyun had a sly glint in his eyes that made Iola wary. “I wonder why that is?”

Chanyeol wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Perhaps because she miss a certain sleeping companion?”

“I mean, the bed is quite big for just one person.”

“And the nights are so cold nowadays.”

Iola groaned, shaking his head as the two Guardians just cackled loudly.  “Ha ha, very funny guys.”

Joonmyun looked on reproachfully towards his still laughing brothers, though Iola caught the small smile he tried to hide behind his hand. “Come on guys, leave Iola alone. We all miss the others, too.”

“Yeah, but probably none as much as Iola.” Jongin smirked, laughing loudly as Iola reached across the table to punch his arm.

Iola rolled her eyes. She couldn’t wait for the other Guardians to come back; even if only to alleviate the teasing she had to endure every day. But she couldn’t argue that she does miss the other half of the group, especially someone in particular. They’ve been gone for a little over a week and calculating the distance between Sagiv to the border and the amount of time needed for them to help the villagers, she hoped they would be back soon.

The mission they were on was something unplanned, put in motion when a messenger came earlier last week with news that a strange plague had been spreading in villages down south and people have sent request for the Guardians’ help.

At first she had wanted to go along with them in their mission, but Yixing, and not surprisingly Wufan, had strongly objected to it.

Wufan had said that the journey was long and since the villages that asked for help were located at the outskirt of the kingdom, he’d reckon there would be more prominent danger from neighboring countries, especially concerning her status as the Chosen Soul. She had tried in vain to argue that she wouldn’t exactly be in danger what with the Guardians around her and the spirits of nature itself at her protection, not to mention that for the last several years it had been a time of peace among all lands, but Wufan was adamant.

Next she had tried to plead with Yixing, but the normally gentle man was steadfast in his refusal. His point of argument was that since the mission involves a strange, unheard of plague, he wouldn’t want to risk her health by exposing her there, not until he figures out the disease and its cure first.

This point was immediately agreed on by the rest of the Guardians and the Elders, and preparation for the journey was quickly made, one that didn’t involve her. It was decided that Yixing and half of the Guardians would undergo the journey while the other half would stay in Sagiv to guard Iola, something she had highly resented.

On their last night together Yixing had laughed when she pouted and refused to look at him, before proceeding to tickling and teasing her with heated kisses and caressing touches until she succumbed and laid panting underneath him.

“I will be back soon,” he whispered softly into her ear once their passion had reduced to warm embers from the raging inferno it was before. “One, two weeks, and I’ll be by your side again.”

It had been a little over one week and Iola couldn’t wait until he is back again.

“….Iola? Iola?”

Iola snapped her head up to see a hand waved in front of her. “W-what? Sorry, just had something on my mind.”

Sehun grinned across her seat, eyes twinkling mischievously. “I bet I know what that something is….or someone.”

Iola flushed, feeling heat creeping up her cheeks. “Shut up,” she said weakly.

Kyungsoo had a small knowing smile himself even as he waved the younger Guardian away. “Alright, that’s enough. Now Iola, have some breakfast.”

Jongin put down some fresh bread on her plate while Chanyeol pushed the big bowl of stew closer to her place. The fragrant aroma wafted in the air and while normally Iola would’ve salivated by it, now she couldn’t help but scrunched her nose at the strong odor. Quickly she pushed the bowl away.

“Iola? What’s wrong?” Baekhyun looked at the stew before turning back to her in question. “I thought this was your favorite.”

Iola could only shake her head, her stomach lurching with every smell that entered her nostrils. Her eyes squeezed tight when she felt a wave of nausea hit her, jaw clenching as she tried to keep the contents of her stomach inside. It passed and faded into dizziness, and Iola swayed as a blanket of darkness began to wrap itself around her.

The next thing she knew she had almost slid down her chair, if not for Kyungsoo’s steady arm around her.

“Iola!”

“Are you alright?”

“Get her some water!”

Iola shook her head to clear the haze blurring her gaze. Bad move, since the motion made the nausea worse and she bit her lower lip hard enough for it to hurt, exhaling only when the sick feeling passes.

A glass was shoved in front of her and she took grateful gulps, sipping the water down slowly. Once the glass was empty she pushed it aside to see the anxious and worried faces surrounding her, the drachensteins whimpering as they lay down on her feet.

She gave them all a weak grin. “I’m alright now, guys.”

A scoff was heard above them and Iola closed her eyes in exasperation when a gust of wind blew through the room.

“No, you’re not.”

Sehun quickly looked up at the familiar voice. “Makani?”

“Hey, kid.” The spirit grinned at the young Guardian before pointing back at Iola. “Human girl here is definitely not well; she’s been throwing up since before dawn.”

“What??”

Iola flinched at the loud exclamation and shocked gasps ensued from the spirit’s words. She tried to sit up straighter on her seat, frowning when the shift in position caused her stomach to dip dangerously.

“I’m fine guys, Makani was just over exaggerating things.”

Baekhyun peered closer to her, a worried frown on his forehead. “You do look sick though, Iola.”

She waved the concern dismissively, patting Kyungsoo to let go of his grip around her. “I’m fine, just some stomachache, I guess.”

It took some more convincing but finally the Guardians relented, though they still looked her over with concern as she downed another glass of water.

“Don’t look so worried guys, I’m sure this’ll go away soon.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

By the third day it was apparent that whatever plagues Iola wasn’t going to go away. She had spent every morning woken up by her stomach’s contents churning torturously, before racing to the bathroom to throw up. It was mostly water and other stomach’s liquid by this time though, considering what little sustenance she could stomach down.

To the Guardians’ added worry, Iola refused to eat anything at all. Or to be exact, she couldn’t. They tried to cajole her to have some more food, asking the castle kitchen’s staffs to make her favorite meals but she couldn’t swallow down even a bite. Just the smell of the food was enough to make her nauseous and she’d run to the nearest bathroom to throw up again.

When the nausea lessens it would only be replaced by a wave of dizziness that sent her swaying on her feet. Needless to say the last few days had been hell for her.

Today the dizziness was so bad that she out during the council’s assembly, alarming the Elders greatly. She was only out for a few minutes but when she came to Joonmyun insisted that she return to her room to rest and she couldn’t find the energy to argue, internally rejoicing for a chance to lie down.

Even lying down her stomach