A Secret Admirer

[Rosemary McIntyre]

Rosemary had been getting little notes here and there for a few months now. It hadn't bothered her at first, although she was confused by them--who would have taken a fancy to the plainest and least social lady in court? She thought it was sweet, though, being told that her eyes were as verdant as the beginning of spring, or that her quiet graces were valued by someone with sense. She had liked it, even, until things started to get stranger...and more familiar. 

Her 'secret' admirer was no secret to her, although she kept it from anyone else. He gave himself away in subtle hints at first--calling her a 'goddess,' leaving the same kind of white roses that he had always purchased before. At first it was one rose...then a dozen...then perfectly white roses strewn across her bed when she returned from a party. She threw them all away, desperate to have them as far from her as possible. The next ones he left were dead roses. The sickly-sweet funeral smell had clung to her room for days.

After that her clothes had been strewn all over her room. The second time, a few of the dresses had been torn to shreds--the ones that Magnus had always said were too plain to be seen in public. Once again she cleaned up without a word to anyone. The note said that she shouldn't hide her beauty. She burned it.

So, when she returned to find a wrapped gift at her door, white paper with a blood red ribbon, she already knew it was going to be bad. The note read that she shouldn't give in to temptation, that her virtue must be stronger than the pressures of the world, along with a drawing of an apple. She didn't understand, but the box still seemed to torment her. She should have known better than to open it.

But she did it anyway, slowly removing the ribbon, and lifting the lid to peer inside. When the contents of the box writhed as she opened it, the normally quiet woman couldn't help the sharp scream that escaped her and echoed down the stone hallway as she instinctively dropped the box and took several steps backward.

A snake the length of her arm uncurled itself with a hiss, sliding with cruel grace out of the box and towards her feet. As it entered the light, she recognized the telltale zig-zag pattern that identified an adder, a poisonous snake. Not enough to kill her, but definitely enough to do harm. Despite her logical mind knowing she wouldn't die, that it couldn't kill her, her fear of snakes had kicked in at full force. Of course Magnus had known her worst fear: she'd told it to him herself.

Her heart raced and her breath hitched in her throat as she stumbled backward and fell hard on the floor. She hardly noticed the pain that vibrated up her spine. Awkwardly she scuttled backward again until her back hit the wall behind her as she reached the other side of the hallway. The snake reared up, opening its jaw wide as it hissed again. Panicked, she froze, unable to take her eyes off the creature.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

There had been gossip from the servants about a nobleman visiting the castle. That wasn't so unusual, but the fact he was seen around the princess's rooms and those of her ladies in waiting...that's when it became a concern. But there was little to be done when protocols were followed and nothing out of the usual was seen. So, more out of concern for his sister, Sebastian took to keeping an eye on that specific stretch of rooms when his patrol took him near.

He hadn't thought he would catch anything the first day. And he hadn't. But he had learned that one of the ladies in waiting had seemed more distressed than normal. So he narrowed his search. The screaming was like a needle in a hay stack. A very loud one.

Always taught to run toward screams and danger and not away, the warden was quickly on the scene, along with another nearby guardsman, Baird. The two came up short at the sight of the woman on the ground, backed against the hallway. Baird hesitated at the sight of the snake. Sebastian did not.

He stepped between the woman and the snake and drew his blade. He left the flames off for the moment(not something he could show off casually, after all, without Allerick plotting his disposal for carelessness). Snakes were not something he dealt with often and he could only assume it was poisonous rsther than not. But he wasn't about to just kill the thing. Bastian liked snakes.

He shifted around the creature, hoping to grab it by the tail with his free hand, but should it go for the girl, he was ready with his blade if necessary. Baird attempted to tug the girl out of her trance but he wasn't very forceful, himself entranced a little too much by the snake. Sebastian got the feeling the guy was not a fan.

[Rosemary McIntyre]

Rosemary heard footsteps, but somehow she couldn't force herself to do anything other than tremble as the pounding of her heart seemed to rattle her whole body. She hoped it was someone braver than herself.

Thankfully, it was--she recognized the captain of the guard, and her gaze shifted to him as the scrape of his blade against the sheath whispered through the hall. He walked behind the snake, closer to her bedroom door, and she couldn't understand what he was doing. Was he hoping the snake wouldn't notice him? Its tongue flickered out of its mouth as it tasted the air around it, and she held her breath as it turned to look at him. She was sure that the man wasn't afraid the way she was, but she didn't want him to get bitten, either. Still, she couldn't move, even as she silently prayed that he wouldn't be harmed.

It wasn't until the other guard touched her shoulder that she finally moved--surprise and a well-trained habit caused her to flinch violently away from him, startling him and the snake. He'd been talking to her, she realized, but she had been too out of it to hear him before. And now it was too late for him to get her out of the way--the snake was whipping its head around back towards her. The guard tried, none too effectively, to pull her to her feet with his hand around her upper arm, but she did her best to help him as she scrambled to her feet, pressing herself back against the wall as the guard tried to tug her farther away. The snake watched them, swaying slightly as its mouth fell open and its fangs swung into place, dripping with venom.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

The snake very definitely noticed him. But all the frantic movement in front of it from Rosemary and Baird had most of it's attention and after a casual scenting of the air with it's tongue, it focused back on the pair.

The more he looked at the snake, the more certain he was he should know the name. But his appreciation for the creatures was distant and casual. He had never had a pet and animals were not something he was encouraged to take interest in. The adder's attention flicked away from him, he reached for the snake's tail, gripping it firmly in his right hand before it could jerk away.

What he realized in retrospect was that he should have had two free hands. Or used his sheath to keep the thing's head away. But he under estimated exactly how flexible and quick the creature was. And how terrified and driven to bite. He held it at arm's length and dropped his sword to undo his belt and use the not so sharp sheath as a way to get distance, but as he brought that up, the snake twisted and struck at his left hand. Bastian pulled his arm away enough to take the snake's fangs on his forearm.

Baird yelped as if he was the one being bit.

The snake didn't let go and Bastian pressed his arm against the wall, sheath forgotten, tail released, so he could pry it's jaws from his arm and hold it by the head.

He then allowed himself a moment to breathe and let out a pained moan. It hurt. A lot. Not just from the teeth but he was pretty sure the snake had left him a parting gift. "Baird. Check her room." He gestured with a flick of his head. For any other surprises.

"Captain, you-"

"In a minute. Room first." From the scream, he doubted this was a pet. From the box in the hallway... "Who left this?" He turned his attention back to the girl now that the snake wasn't going anywhere. Bastian felt mildly dizzy already but at least for the moment, it just hurt. He was pretty sure he shouldn't move his arm.

[Rosemary McIntyre]

"O-oh!" she exclaimed as Captain Arcturis boldly picked up the snake by the other end, dangling it in the air like a very angry rope. She couldn't believe he'd just...grabbed it, and that was that. Only, that wasn't that. She saw the adder start to flex, and she squeaked wordlessly, unable to say anything in time. The snake sunk its fangs into the captain's arm with a vengeance, and she winced with her whole body as she imagined how much it must hurt.

And yet, after a brief groan, he was back to business, even if his jaw was a bit tighter than before as he spoke. Check her room? Her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to protest, but the other guard beat her to it. And still, he argued. She didn't think anyone or anything would be inside...except perhaps more dead roses. She pressed her lips into a thin line as she wracked her memory for how to treat an adder bite. She could put yarrow on the wound to soothe it, and she had some in her drawer, but--

Her thoughts were interrupted by his sharp question, and she tensed up immediately. She couldn't tell him--she was far more afraid of what Magnus might do if she tried to accuse him than she was of the captain being upset with her. It was possible that the guard might be able to help her, but it wasn't his responsibility to take care of her problems for her. She was the one who had gotten herself into this mess, anyway, by thinking that anyone sane could be interested in her. The guilt was surely written all over her face as she hesitated, but fear won out and she shook her head rapidly. "I can't tell. I...I'm sorry. I never thought that anyone else would get hurt because of this..." For a moment, she looked as if she might cry, but she swallowed the impulse.

Somehow the guilt of him being hurt actually managed to return a bit of her common sense, and she scooped up the box and its lid before approaching him. "Here...so you don't have to keep holding it."

She eyed the snake warily as she neared it, slipping the box up under its flickering tail and scooping more and more of the body inside. Despite still shaking slightly from her fear, she was far more capable of bravery when someone besides herself was in danger of harm. When she reached the captain's hand, she held the lid at the ready just an inch or two above. If he released the snake's head, she'd press the lid down fast and hold it so that the snake couldn't come back out at them. She'd then hold the box at arm's length away from her body, unsure what else to do with it.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

It was almost that easy. But as with most things in life, especially his life, it wasn't. Bastian was more or less used to it.

He didn't expect Baird would find anything in her room. But best not have any further surprises. Her tensing at the question made him more concerned. Clearly she was distressed beyond just the snake. His expression soften to something not quite apologetic, but similar. And then her apology, admitting to being complicit in what was very likely a stalker slipping in and out of the palace.

Baird returned from a brief survey of the room. "No break in. There are some very un-romantic-" he shut up and rephrased at Bastian's look. "There are dead flowers on the bed. Nothing else."

Current or ex-lover then, instead of a stalker. Or the same thing, perhaps. He studied the woman again. Rosemary. She had been seeing...he couldn't recall the man's name at the moment but he could recall the face. Bastian nodded. "Very well, milady," he said, though his tone clearly suggested he was disappointed at the lack of information. Her guilt meant little to him, even considering the snake and the bite.

Sebastian nodded as she got her nerve together. He kept his mixed humor and respect to himself as she collected the length of the snake into the box it seemed to have come from and he let go when she was ready. Which was a good idea because he didn't want to pass out and drop it.

"Baird, take that. To my room please. Tie the ribbon back," he gestured at the box and the guard nearly lost his shit but did as asked. "And get a medic. Or something." He took a deep breath, feeling a little out of focus. "What sort of snake is that?" He wasn't sure either of them would know. He wasn't sure if he should be more or less worried. He wasn't sure if he would feel like he was dying in a minute or if he was fine. Bastian shifted just enough so he could lean more directly on the wall.

[Rosemary McIntyre]

Rosemary visibly winced as the guard confirmed her suspicion that the bed was strewn with more dead roses. Just thinking about it made her nauseous, but she did her best to stay calm. There were bigger things to worry about. She was glad to have the box removed from her hands and wrapped her arms around herself with a shiver as she watched the guard take it and re-tie the ribbon.

At the word medic, though, her head snapped back towards the captain, noticing that he looked a bit pale and disoriented. She nearly swore, one of Lucas's favorite foul words lingering on her tongue, but instead she simply murmured "Oh dear."

"It was an adder. Fairly common, not usually fatal, but quite nasty." She answered in a voice that was tense but reasonably steady. So long as the captain needed her, she'd be able to hold herself together. The weight of the evening would catch up with her later, she knew, but for now, she didn't have time to give it her attention. She hurried to the captain's side, and without hesitation pulled his arm around her shoulder so that he could lean on her. If he let her, she'd help him away from the wall and into her room.

"Come now, you can sit on the bed. I have yarrow for the wound and...oh! Marigold. It's marigold for the venom." She looked to the other guard who was still lingering. "I have everything we'll need in my room, save for some hot water. Could you fetch a teapot full from the kitchen?"

As they entered the room, the cloying scent of the roses hit her full in the face and she actually gagged slightly but managed to regain her composure soon after. She didn't falter in her slow steps as she guided the captain to the bed, swept some of the sticky, damp roses out of the way with her arm, and gestured for him to sit.

"I really am sorry about this. That was meant for me, you know." She sighed as she went to a small case on the vanity and opened it, pulling out a few small jars of various herbs in various liquids. She only kept out one of the jars--a yarrow salve--and then pulled out a cloth bag of something that rustled and crunched. "At least I can help, a little. Plants are um...kind of a hobby of mine."

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Not usually fatal. Well that was less alarming. He made a sound of interest. Well, then maybe he would keep the snake. He figured he stood a good chance of being in the not fatal category thay he might be able to walk it off. Only he didn't want to move from the wall. At least until Rosemary stepped over and tugged his arm around her and he very nearly melted.

Sebastian caught himself on the second step. "Not sure I should be walking..." he slurred slightly. He felt nauseous from moving which wasn't much like him and then slightly more like him, he found it a bit more difficult to breath. After that poor fight years again, breathing always seemed to be his first problem. He winced at moving his arm. More than anything that hurt. He was pretty sure it was going to leave a mark.

She was saying words and he tried really hard to keep his focus on them. Sebastian fit the pieces together slowly, attention drawn to the sick floral scent around him. Dead roses. Cute. Better than the snake at least.

Baird was more inclined to listen to the lady in waiting considering his captain was clearly a little out of it and he was more worried about the man than the snake.

"You don't like snakes." Not a question. He felt like he was talking in a tunnel, or had earmuffs om or something. "Can I keep it? Think the boyfriend will mind?" The guy was a prick if he meant for the snake to bite her. All the more reason Bastian wanted to keep it. He shifted on the bed, made a quick pact with himself not to vomit on her floor since she didn't need that right now and instead felt the dizziness start to overwhelm him again.

"Hobby?" He gripped the edge of the bed with his good hand and considered his left hand in his lap. It was red and kinda swollen. Lovely. Bastian pushed the pain to the background and focused on her voice. "I might pass out," he informed her, still feeling like the world was shrinking in on him and his chest felt tight. "But please keep talking." He wasn't actually very used to random people taking an interest in his well-being. It was...nice.

[Rosemary McIntyre]

Rosemary's concern grew when she turned back to find the captain listing slightly to the side, although concern wasn't enough to stop her from flinching at the word 'boyfriend.' "No, I don't," she answered tersely as she put the other jars back where they belonged and closed up the case. "And he's not my boyfriend, so I'm not sure he has a right to mind...but he probably will."

"I don't see why you'd want a snake that already bit you," she muttered and squinted at him for a moment, wondering if he would even remember this by the next day. She'd almost slipped up and said that Magnus wasn't her fiancee anymore, and given away exactly who it was...but apparently the captain was on the right track on his own. She was a bit relieved he wasn't functioning at full capacity, or things might have gotten a little deeper than she was quite comfortable sharing at the moment.

His comment about passing out startled her, and she quickly returned to crouch next to him as she uncapped the yarrow salve, releasing a pleasantly spicy aroma akin to cinnamon or clove into the room. It was almost sweet, though, that he wanted her to keep talking, so she decided she would do her best. "I'll try," she answered with a gentle smile.


"This likely won't feel very nice at first, because I'm going to be handling the bite, but it will help the swelling go down." She explained as she scooped up some of the salve with the fingers of her right hand, and then took the hand of his injured arm with her left. As she gently massaged the herbal salve into the affected area, she decided to answer his previous question. Her fingers were long, with short nails, and hands a bit more calloused than the average noblewoman. She moved them with care as she worked, doing her best to make sure the salve would do its job without causing him any undue pain.

"But yes, plants are my hobby. I've always had a knack for gardening, so I grow all kinds of things--fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs for remedies like this...I even have a greenhouse so that I can keep things alive all year round. Right now my new roses are in bloom, and they're so red that they almost look like they couldn't be real." She relaxed a little more as she spoke, mentally walking the greenhouse. "I keep common things like mint, thyme, sage, and of course rosemary, all year, and then I grow other things depending on the season. This yarrow salve was made last summer, actually, but it keeps since it's mostly oil."

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Not her boyfriend. So more important than that. Or at one time more important than that. He reverted back to ex-lover. Since otherwise why was the guy going so drastic over a girl he already had? He must want her back. Or, bearing the snake in mind...no, actually he had no idea what the fuck the snake implied. Sebastian had never had a serious long term relationship and didn't understand love but he did deal with a lot of crazy in his other job(and in nobility) and this guy was definitely crazy.

"Damn right, he doesn't have a right mind. Right to mind." Abandoning a perfectly good snake like that. Bastian was entirely unaware some of that was said out loud. "I like snakes." Snacks. Snakes. At the very least he could eat it. But he did like snakes and a pet sounded rather exciting. And stupid. Hence why it was exciting. "Because it already bit me." Definitely functioning at full capacity. Enough.

The talking wasn't for him but for her. Mostly. At least, if he happened to pass out it was for her. He still felt like everything was muffled and it slowly dialed up. Bastian appreciated the warning, braced himself slightly. He hissed at the contact to his left arm, mouth working slightly but he kept his more colorful comments to himself. Not very nice. Nasty. Usually not fatal. Fine. It was fine. She massaged the area and he grit his teeth but didn't interrupt her.

Sebastian made it somewhere to the rosemary and herbs before he fainted.

Baird showed up as if on cue, minus a snake box and plus a very wide eyed servant girl with a hot teapot to handle anything else the lady in waiting needed. The guard caught his captain from falling forward. Baird seemed a bit less nervous sans snake. "Give 'im ten seconds," he mumbled to Rosemary. A lot less nervous. Almost blaise about the entire thing. "He wants to keep the snake, doesn't he? Dear lord..."

[Rosemary McIntyre]

Rosemary actually chuckled softly at his remark about Magnus not having a right mind--slip of the tongue or no, he wasn't wrong. What was frightening was that he was in such perfect control of his madness most of the time. She'd had no idea the extent of his delusions until it was too late, and she was so deep into things that she didn't know any better than to go along. She almost hadn't realized her life was in danger until it was too late--the knife had been literally at her throat.

She wasn't aware of Baird's return, considering how focused she was on the task at hand, but she found that she was profoundly grateful for it. She couldn't imagine how she'd have managed to catch the falling captain on her own. She looked at the guard with a bewildered expression, though, as he asked her to give the captain 'ten seconds.' He seemed so...calm. Did this happen often? She almost asked, but decided that wasn't any of her business. The remark about the snake caught her even more by surprise, and she actually gaped at him for a moment. "How did you know?"

A moment later she recovered enough to sputter, "W-well, regardless, why don't you lay him back on the bed? He'll be more comfortable that way anyhow." Ten seconds hardly seemed like enough to recover from something like this, and she had no intention of letting him go waltzing off unless he was actually well and able. I'll sleep elsewhere if it means that he'll take decent care of himself, she thought fiercely. She glanced up at the captain's face where he slumped against the other man's hold, looking rather younger and softer when his muscles had relaxed. How funny that she should feel so protective of someone who'd been busy saving her only a few minutes ago. She shook herself loose from her musings, and, leaving Baird to handle their patient, she stood quickly and hurried to the vanity where she'd left the cloth bag. From inside she removed a few bundles of dried flowers, some clearly marigolds, along with another bunch of small, white blooms.

She motioned over the servant girl and dropped the marigolds into the teapot first, then held up some of the white to Baird, just so he'd know she wasn't poisoning his superior officer. "Feverfew," she explained, "For nausea and dizziness...although it seems I'm a bit late for that."

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Baird didn't notice her initial confusion, busying himself would supporting the other man while he cleared more dead roses off the bed. The guardsman wasn't paid enough to understand that sort of crap but he was paid to know how it got here and he was pretty sure Sebastian wouldn't be letting the lady in waiting off the hook. But luckily, none of that was his job. "He's a mite crazy. He likes snakes," he answered woth a shrug. Bastian had asked him to take it to his quarters, after all.

The captain was often putting hinself on the front lines of any sort of conflict. The man didn't know when to sit down, according to most of his men. But it was also inspiring. Not to mention knowing the officer would always be there to back them up. Baird had only meant that he had seen the guy go down a few times and he never failed to get back up in a short amount of time. Seconds. No sooner had Baird settled the man properly against the pillows, one hand still on Bastian's chest, did the man himself startle awake, griping Baird's arm tightly ad clearly not entirely aware. Exactly as Baird figured he would be.

"Captain, you'd think you was havin' a nightmare and not just takin' a nap from adder venom. Sir," he teased, concerned. Bastian didn't understand most of the words, precisely why Baird could get away with the joke. He convinced Bastian to lie down and nodded at Rosemary as she presented the dried flowers and tea. Baird didn't have any reason not to trust the woman. "Still helpful."

Bastian tried to sit up only to be pressed back down, grumbling. Baird insisted. "Until you can tell me yer given name without slurrin' your words, you're gonna sit."

"Tell that to my boot up your-" Sebastian caught himself as he finally realized present company and where he was. Baird was unconcerned by the physical threat. It was the other kind that mattered.

The captain felt confused and unreasonably heavy and reasonably grumpy. He certainly remembered everything, he just really needed to lay down. Baird's demands were perfectly reasonable considering how dizzy and light headed he was. He just didn't like sitting down. While he stopped trying to stand up, the moment the other guard was gone he would. He glared at the other man for a moment and then back to the woman. He had a lot more questions for her. Concerned ones. In fact he was more distracted by her stalker than he was his arm. But Sebastian was aware they weren't alone and she had seemed nervous already.

[Rosemary McIntyre]

Rosemary was glad to be busy working on the tea so that neither man would see her barely contained laughter at their banter. (She had forgotten she was standing in front of a mirror, however, and if either one bothered to look, they'd know exactly what she thought of their antics.) It reminded her of her siblings, actually, the way they were poking at each other but it was clear they were close. Or, at least, they trusted each other. She guessed that must come of facing danger together. And, really, the captain could have sworn as much as she liked--she could almost guarantee that no matter what swear he chose, she'd heard it come out of her brother's mouth at least once. She glanced at the servant girl who looked positively scandalized and realized perhaps she ought to be acting more ladylike. She squelched her grin. Alright, she could be a proper lady. She'd only been trained to do it all her life.

With a sigh, she took a clean teacup from the tray that had been left for her earlier that day and never had a chance to be used. For once it was quite convenient that she'd asked the maids to stop cleaning her room unless she specifically asked. She could handle most tasks on her own, and it helped with not having to explain herself quite as much...although having three unexpected guests in her space immediately after Magnus had left one of his 'gifts' was quickly throwing that advantage out the window. She poured the new marigold-feverfew tea into a cup, pleased with the sunset-orange color that had resulted, and a fresh floral scent from the tea. She glanced over her shoulder at the men.

"Honey?" she queried, then realized that might not be clear. "In the tea, that is."

Whatever he answered, she'd follow, then bring the cup to him on a saucer. She was also determined to make sure he was actually able to hold it without his hands shaking, so she'd keep a close eye on him until she was satisfied that he wasn't in danger of spilling hot tea on himself in addition to the myriad problems he was already having. With that done, she smiled at the servant girl.

"I think we should be just fine now, thank you. Well, unless--" She paused to glance at the captain. "Do you need anything else? The tea should help quite a bit, once it takes effect. But really, you ought to rest..." She frowned at him. Based on how hard Baird had to work to make him stay on the bed even now, she wasn't sure how much resting the man would actually accomplish. There must be some way to convince him...

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Not usually fatal. And here he had passed out. Lucky him. While Baird could physically contain the captain for now, the moment Sebastian ordered him to do anything, he wouldn't be in the same position of power he was in now. Sebastian conveniently forgot, however, catching a brief glimpse of amusement fron Rosemary in the mirror. He frowned. He didn't see anything amusing from where he was sitting.

The two were close, but not that close. Bastian didn't do close. Facing danger together forged the personal bonds he generally failed to make. And Baird was a lot more affable and picked up the slack. Most people, especially the guardsmen, were aware Sebastian hadn't had a normal upbringing, being an orphan of some servant or royal guard or another.

Honey? For what? When Baird didn't answer, Sebastian realized she must be talking to him. A half second later intuition put the pieces together. Tea. She had mentioned marigolds. For the venom. "No, thank you." He didn't really drink tea, but if it was supposed to make him feel better he wasn't about to say no. Studying the intense color for a moment (mostly out of fascination, not that his expression gave anything away), the captain drank the offered cup slowly. The color was a lot more fascinating than the flavor, in his subjective opinion. He used his right and non-dominate hand to drink and that was steady enough.

Baird kept a cautionary hand on the man's chest but otherwise didn't interfere.

Sebastian watched her sent the serving girl away. Which just left one set of unnecessary ears. One that he could very easily get rid of with a single word. "I'm alright." If the herbalist said they would be fine, then that was enough for him. The words were as much for Rosemary's question as they were for Baird's questioning look.

The other guard pulled his hand away but didn't leave his set on the side of the bed. He gave Sebastian a dubious look.
"Once the tea takes effect, I'll be alright," Sebastian repeated the words. He wasn't sure what effect that was supposed to be exactly, but if it would enable him to think straight and stand up while the salve handled the pain in his arm, then he felt confident in the sentiment. Rest wasn't necessary.

"Baird. Wait outside." He finished the tea and pulled himself up a bit gingerly. Baird glanced at Rosemary but could only nod and leave the room. Being told to 'wait outside' clearly implied the captain wasn't planning to stay very long. If she was going to convince him, it would be on her own. Unless she ordered the guard back in.

[Rosemary McIntyre]

Well, that settled that--he wasn't going to stay in that bed even a half-second longer than there was someone around to make him. She almost sighed aloud at the thought but kept it to herself. Men! Always ready to go jumping into action when they ought to be resting. Well, no, perhaps that was just her brother. Well, wait, Cera was like that too, so it wasn't just men... Oh goodness, how did she attract these sorts of people? Didn't anyone know when to slow down? The man had been bitten by a venomous snake for heaven's sake, couldn't he just take a moment to breathe?

She conveniently forgot that she was likely to stay up half the night reading or working in her garden if someone didn't stop her and that she'd fainted not once but twice trying to convince an apple tree to bear fruit in the dead of winter.

Rosemary paled slightly when Captain Arcturis sent Baird from the room, and she met the other man's eye when he looked at her. Oh no, even he knew it was bad. Ooh, she was no good at lying, and she only really kept secrets when no one bothered to ask. Really, the only person who'd even tried to get the details out of her was Lucas, and that had been right afterward when she was too upset to put it into words in the first place. She pressed her lips into a thin line and stood a little straighter, doing her best to appear calm and steady, even if her insides were shaking already. 

"You should really stay there..." she told him, wishing she sounded more stern and less like she was pleading. "Whatever it is you want to ask, I'll answer, so long as you agree to rest." She'd blurted out the deal before thinking it through, and immediately regretted it. She was going to have to honor that, wasn't she? Now she really wanted to swear.