A Headache

The door to the meeting room burst open sending a loud bang echoing into the hall and startling the servants quietly waiting for their masters to finish their business. The one responsible for the disturbance was Casius carrying my half-conscious body in his arms. I was no longer aware of where I was or what was going on around me, I couldn't speak, I couldn't scream, I wasn't even able to muster a cry, the only sounds that escaped my lips were barely audible whimpers as pain racked my head. In the short time it had taken Casius to carry me from the room whatever ailment was afflicting me had worsened robbing me of my senses and reason as the pain reached a breaking point. My suffering had become unbearable, it felt like every fiber of my being, every neuron in my brain existed for the sole purpose of conveying misery. It felt like knives were being pushed into my eyes, like some great beast was raking its claws across my face, trying to gain entry to whatever lay behind, like the dead god Agamar himself had personally taken an interest in cracking my skull. I had lost the ability to think by this point, my world was nothing but the searing hot pain in my head, I was unable to hear the panicked voices around me over the incessant ringing in my ears.

"Lady Talissa!?" Olivia yelled, scrambling towards Casius and myself. "Lord Casius what happened? What's wrong with her?" Olivia was in a panic, she tried not to show it but the maid had taken care of me every day for my entire life and as a result had formed a deep attachment to me. I was like a daughter to her, she had heard me babble my first words, and take my first steps, but she had never seen my usually lively self reduced to such a state and it frightened her to her core.

"I don't know Olivia, she complained of a headache and seemed out of it then suddenly collapsed on the table." Casius moved toward Olivia and before she could say anything had pushed me into her arms and was already off, ruffling the clothes of the servants as he burst down the hallway at inhuman speeds and called out an order behind him. "Olivia take Tali to her room while I get Sylvia!" The nobles in the meeting room had heard the exchange through the still open door and had varying reactions, some wore worried expressions while others looked indifferent though none of them made any move to help. My family had similar yet different reactions compared to the nobles, Carina had started crying at the commotion and my Mother was doing her best to soothe her crying child, My Father was trying his best to remain stoic but fear was evident in the eyes of the usually unshakeable beast king, Calista had made a move to the leave the room and accompany me to my room before being stopped by Titus. Titus wasn't cruel or uncaring by any means but he was ruthlessly practical and knew no one in that room could help me, he thought their time and effort would be better spent on the details of the upcoming Barnett visit. Olivia didn't bother responding to Casius nor did she pay any attention to the occupants of the room behind her. She just obliged Casius' order and set off in the direction opposite he had left as fast as she could move while trying her hardest not to jostle me. Olivia had made a name for herself both as a mercenary then later a royal knight before being selected as my personal maid so she was more than accustomed to physical activity however the burden of trying to move as quickly as she could while keeping her movements smooth coupled with the mental stress of the entire situation was certainly not making her task any easier.

"Come on Tali you're okay, it's okay Tali I'm right here I'll take care of you, just be okay." Olivia tried to whisper calming words into my ear but failed to prevent the fear filling her body from seeping into her voice. I didn't notice her fear though, I couldn't, the ringing in my ears drowned out all other sounds. The pain had was so terrible my eyes had stopped doing their job, with my ears ringing and my eyes showing me nothing but black I was dead to the world, the only grounding point I had was the woman carrying me in her arms but that was meaningless to me as well, nothing had an influence on me but my suffering It hurts, It hurts, It hurts, It hurts, It hurts, It hurts, It hurts, It hurts, It hurts, It hurts, was all that filled my head, unable to form words I tried to give voice to this pain but produced nothing more than incoherent mumbling. Finally we had arrived at my room to which Olivia unceremoniously kicked the door open practically ripping it off its hinges, while I didn't hear the crash I felt the vibration from the force of the kick causing me to let out a small groan

"Don't worry Tali we're here, see it's your bed just hang on until a healer arrives." Olivia said as she gently laid me onto the familiar softness of my bed, what was usually my favorite sanctuary from all the small hardships in my life offered little respite when I truly needed it. Olivia began pacing at the foot of my bed quietly mumbling to herself. "Where are they? Can't they see how bad this is? Should I go look for them? no, Tali needs me here, argh but they're taking too long!" She said the final part with a shout, gripping her head in frustration. With the door to my room open anyone passing by could see Olivia's disorder state but she didn't care, at that moment the reputation she had spent years building as being a woman who stayed calm and collected through any trial was in danger of crumbling away but that was the furthest thing from her mind all she cared about was me being okay and her desire for Casius to move faster. Just as she resolved herself to track him down Casius came careening into the room with a frazzled Raccoon woman draped over his shoulder. Sylvia was overall an unremarkable woman, she was of average build and her appearance with black hair, dark eyes, and pale skin was nothing extraordinary. What was extraordinary about the woman was her skill with healing magic, Sylvia was the only beast man currently alive capable of using healing magic on another person and she was exceptionally talented at it which is why Casius had sought her out first after I collapsed. As Casius entered the room and skidded to a stop before he almost crashed into my wall Sylvia let out an undignified yelp before voicing her complaints.

"Prince Casius I really don't like it when people wake me up, only do it when there's an emergency." Sylvia said but before he could reply another voice sharply cut in.

"There is, help her!" Olivia yelled while pointing towards my bed, Sylvia redirected her attention from Casius towards where Olivia was pointing and finally noticed my form on the bed.

"Ah! oh crap Tali!" Sylvia cried while rushing to my bed side. She knelt down getting on eye level with me before continuing. "Tali, what's wrong? Where does it hurt?" I didn't reply to any of her questions. I was curled into the fetal position with both hands pressed to my forehead trying in vain to staunch the pain, with my small form, my ears pressed flat against my head, and my tail curled around my body I made for a pathetic sight but Sylvia was now too focused to comment instead shifting her attention back to the rooms other occupants.

"What happened? be quick." Sylvia asked.

"She complained of a headache then collapsed." Casius replied.

"Understood, anything else?"

"Shas been behaving erratically all day... and saying strange things." Olivia responded this time. "Can you help her?" Sylvia blew out a breath shifting the long hair dangling in her face.

"I can certainly try." Those were the last words spoken in the room before all hell broke loose. Whatever ailment was affecting me had reached its end goal and I could feel my mind begin to break under the strain as more information than my young mind could possibly process flooded into it. My back arched as I let out a blood curdling scream, it felt like my mind was being torn apart and all I wanted was for the pain to end. Olivia and Casius began to move towards my bed side before Sylvia stopped them with a raised hand and quickly set to work casting any healing magic she could muster, but unsure of the origin of my pain her magic was imprecise and unguided it offered little aid. Before Sylvia could continue her treatment however my desire was finally answered and I mercifully felt no more pain as I drifted into unconsciousness.