Hot. Hot. Too hot. My entire body felt too hot. Every intake of breath made my lungs burn. My throat was dry, as if I had been wandering the desert for weeks. My eyes felt especially hot, even though they were closed. The pounding in my skull was in sync with my pulse, making it all the more torturous. I really needed something to drink, something to cool me down.

I was drifting between being conscious and sleeping, fading in and out. My body was too uncomfortable to keep me asleep. The dryness of the air and the heat surrounding me was so unsettling. But soon, the figure next to me starting shifting around, bringing me into full consciousness.

Despite how heavy they were, I forced my eyelids open. Satan- Isaiah's face was the first thing in my view. In the back of my mind, I was going wild. Why was I in his bed?! How did I get there? But my body was too tired to think rationally. Instead, I was grateful he was there. No one had ever been there for me when I was. I always had to take care of myself. And yet, there he was, staring down at my flushed face with worry.

I tried to sit up as I said, "My head hurts." The headache wouldn't allow me to speak louder than a low tone, no matter how much I wanted to. I didn't even get halfway up before he pushed me back onto the bed, taking away all my progress. Did he not see how hard I had worked to get there?!

"I know," he said sympathetically. He brought a hand to the back of my neck and lifted my head a little, just enough for something cool to touch my lips. "Here, drink this." I didn't hesitate to start drinking the water, quenching my thirst some. Sadly, it wasn't long before my body told me no more water, so I turned my head away. I still felt hot, yet my throat didn't throb every time I swallowed. Satisfied, I closed my eyes again. I was going to try and go back to sleep, but when Isaiah started to get up to leave, I panicked. I thought he was going to leave me just as my family did.

I reached out, managing to snag something, successfully stopping him from moving away any further. I reopened my eyes, straining to find Isaiah. When I caught his gaze, I tried to frown at him to show my displeasure in his leaving. I wasn't sure if it came out right. My mind was still a bit fogged. Nonetheless, it must've been effective because next thing I knew, Isaiah was lifting my body from the bed. I did my best to help him, wrapping my legs and arms around him tightly. I didn't want him to leave me. That, and he was like a human-sized cooler. His skin cool and smooth, and compared to my hot and clammy skin, it felt like heaven.

We started moving, with me not paying attention to where we were going. It was only when bright lights were turned on did I flinch. They burned, and made the pounding of my head feel ten times stronger. Isaiah noticed my discomfort, and the lights dimmed significantly. Even so, I buried my face in his neck as he walked around.

I could feel him trying to get me to let go, but the coolness of his skin was too tempting, so I clung onto him for dear life. He let out a sigh before giving up. He was no longer supporting me with his arms, so my clinging to him was all that was keeping me up. It was getting hard to keep my grip, but I persevered. After some rummaging around, he nudged my head, causing me to look up at him blearily.

He was holding a spoon near my lips and telling me to drink, so without thinking, I accepted it. But regretted it immediately. Artificial grape and bitterness spread across my tongue, my face contorting to match my feelings. My trust in him was gone, so when he held up a tiny cup, I turned my head, avoiding it. He moved the cup, trying to get it in my mouth, but I whipped my head the other way, causing him to sigh again.

"Come on love. Don't you want your headache to go away?" He coaxed. My resolve weakened at the nickname, making me let out a whine. He was being unfair, not giving me a choice. Pouting, I opened my mouth, allowing him to give me the medicine. Despite my urge to spit it out, I swallowed it forcefully. I almost threw it back up, but I held it down. He stroked my hair, making me happy. I laid my head back on his shoulder, eyes closing as he put all the stuff away.

He walked us back out to the bedroom, but I didn't want to. He would make me let go.

Luckily, all he asked was, "Are you hungry Luci?"

To that, I shook my head. The thought of food was a big no. Just thinking of eating made my stomach lurch. I doubted I'd be able to keep anything down. Isaiah started moving again, thing time sitting down straight up so I could still be with him. Except he started moving my body around. He tried to turn me around fully, so that I was facing forward entire, but I didn't want to lose contact with him, so I get my right side firmly pressed against him.

He gave up on trying to fix my position, and instead took something into his hands. It was a bowl. My stomach churned, the thought of eating anything making me nauseous. But I didn't want to make life any harder for him, so I started accepting the tiny spoonfuls. Eating made me feel how empty my stomach was. I wasn't hungry, but I felt as though I need to eat in order to be comfortable. Yes, there was a difference.

My stomach soon felt full again after a few spoonfuls. He seemed disappointed that was all I ate, but I couldn't take anymore. I turned my head away from the spoon, avoiding another bite. He tried one more time, but I refused. Giving in, he put the spoon into the bowl, and put the bowl somewhere else.

While he was doing that, a knocking sound reached my ears. A pitched voice soon sounded after that. "Your Majesty, you have a visitor!" It was probably one of the maids. There were so many in his castle. So many...

"Tell him I'm busy right now!" Isaiah said, a bit too loudly to me. But I felt special when he said no. He was giving up valuable time just for me.

There was shuffling noises outside, making Isaiah stand up. I refused to give up my spot with him just because some idiot couldn't take no for an answer. I hugged his neck as I rewrapped my legs around his waist. I didn't have to support myself anymore because he held me up, so I relaxed.

The was slammed open. I didn't lift my head to see who it was. I just want them to go away.

"Yes?" Isaiah asked, and just by his tone, I could tell he was pissed.

A familiar voice spoke. "You said we would meet today, so we are." I search through my muddled mind, trying to pinpoint the voice. It was recent... the elf! Well, one of the elves. One of the ones I had stopped the day before.

Annoyance was my prime emotion as Isaiah said, "Alright then, take a seat." Isaiah also moved, and then I felt him sitting down. He didn't try to move me, and I kept my face buried in his chest. Partly because I was somewhat embarrassed not to have pants on, but also because I was tired. I slouched into Isaiah, beginning to zone out. By the vibrations coming from Isaiah's chest, he was talking, but my brain couldn't be bothered to listen. Too many words.

My mind began to wander as I drifted between consciousness and unconsciousness. My childhood filled my mind. I wondered what it would've been like if I hadn't been born with the tattoo. It would've been easier for sure. My parent flickered into my minds-eye. It had been so long that their features were lost, and I could only tell their emotions by their eyebrows. Then there was my brother...

Somehow, my train of thought came to a stop at movies. I hadn't been able to watch many movies, and any movie I did see was through my window and into the apartment across the street. Yes, creepy, but I was little, and had nothing for entertainment. I remembered a certain movie, about a baby deer, and he goes and finds friends... then he loses his mother...

Isaiah's moving made me stir from my nap. I yawned, still feeling tired even after all the sleeping I had been doing. A hand pressed onto my forehead, working wonders for my fever. Then the movie's name popped into my head. I wanted to watch it.

So, I decided to tell him. "Bambi," I said. He looked at me as if I was crazy. Was I speaking another language or something?

"Bambi?" He repeated, sounding confused. Did he not know what Bambi was? Shame on him.

"Bambi!" I insisted louder. In my mind, I was asking if we could watch the movie, and it appeared to me as if he was the crazy one.

A look of realization crossed his features. "Oh, you want to watch Bambi. Sorry babes, not until you get better. You need to sleep."

Unreasonable sadness filled my body at those words. No Bambi... "Bambiii!" I cried out, trying to tell him yes, we were going to watch it. We had to. Tears welled up in my eyes, spilling out and running down my cheeks. My sobs were making my face hotter and my headache started coming back, but I ignored it and kept cry. I had to watch Bambi...

"Alright, alright. We'll watch Bambi. So stop crying," Isaiah said as he hand cupped my cheek, and he tenderly brushed away the tears from my face. I sniffled, my tears coming to a stop as I got what I wanted. I looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to turn on a TV or whatever.

He walked out of the room carrying me, making me wonder where we were going. My fever made everything hazy, so I zoned out until I heard the familiar classical music from the Bambi intro. I turned my head away from Isaiah's chest, staring at the screen intently.

All the animals were rushing to meet the prince, even the grumpy owl. The excitement they gave off made me relax. I exhaled slowly, all tenseness leaving my body. My neck started hurting, but Isaiah fixed that when he laid down, letting my head rest on his chest.

I forced myself to watch the entire thing, even when the mother died. That part made me sad all over again. She was so beautiful, and kind, and sweet, and just an all-around great mother... but then she died! Leaving Bambi with his cold father.

Luckily, the ending of the movie made want to laugh. Through drooping eyelids, I watched as the three friends learned what "twitterpated" was. And they all got girlfriends! Bambi even fought another guy for the girl. The sound of the antler smashing together made my eyes shoot open a couple times, even though they'd droop immediately after.

Once the end screen showed, I allowed my heavy eyes to close. My breathing steadied, and I was almost completely asleep when I felt a hand running through my hair. The motions made me fall asleep even faster.