If It's Not a Death Bed
Fandom: Remarried Empress (Webtoon) Summary: Navier gets sick. Warnings: illness, mentions of cheating/concubines, and general bad behavior Chapters: 3 Ship(s): Canon Relationships
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A/N: So I modeled the chapter names after the vibes of Tarot cards, even though I didn't pick an actual major Arcana for each. I liked the sound of it and I felt like it described it well. I also wanted to break apart the chapters instead of just having this be a huge oneshot like my last Remarried Empress fic. I hope you all enjoy! Stay sissy and bitchy everyone <3
The sun shone through the windows down onto the intricately woven carpet underneath their feet. A gentle breeze flowed through the windows and caused the beautiful curtains to billow out towards them. The wind carried the smell of honeysuckle and peaches, as the trees in the palace orchard had just finished blooming. The room had a light and airy feel to it, the only sounds being carried on the reverse of the breeze and out to the people below were murmurs of conversation and the tinkling of china.
Navier felt as though the air coming through the window was stifling. Her cheeks were flushed red to imagined heat, as the other attendants in the room didn’t seem to be having any issues at all. It wasn’t as if there was a lot that they would have been able to do even if they had all been suffering from it anyway. “I think that we should be able to do that,” she nodded. She set the cup of tea that she had been sipping back down on the table, clearing her throat. She blinked a few times.
“Your Majesty? Are you alright?” the other noble occupant, Grand Duke Kaufman, asked as he saw her strange actions.
“My apologies,” she said. “I’m fine, I assure you.”
The longer that Navier tried to continue on with the meeting, however, the worse she was beginning to feel. Every so often her vision would fade in and out of focus and she began to notice strange static and black spots creeping up on the edge of her vision. Her hands felt clammy and her stomach had begun to roil with displeasure at the sight of the tea and snacks that had delighted her at the beginning of their meeting.
Eventually, she conceded that she was not fit to be talking about such heavy matters. “I apologize, Grand Duke Kaufman, but I believe that I need to cut our meeting short today,” she placed her hand out and one of her ladies-in-waiting, who had been patiently waiting to attend her a ways away in the room, rushed over to help her stand. Navier took their hand and stood up, though she swayed as soon as she did.
“Your Majesty!” Laura cried out nervously as she put her arm out to catch the Empress before she had a chance to completely collapse.
“I’m alright, I’m alright,” she whispered as she placed a hand to her forehead.
“I hope that you do not take offense to this, Your Majesty, but you are most certainly not alright,” Kaufman shook his head. “I apologize for not seeing this sooner and ending our meeting.”
“It’s just the heat of this room. I’m sure that I’ll be fine. I’m sorry for not being able to get more done today,” she said politely as she stood again. It was clear that everyone in the room was clearly worried for her, which only made her guilt about not being able to fulfill her duties even worse.
Laura stayed by her side as she carefully, elegantly, walked around the chairs in the sitting area of the room and out the door. Kaufman did not say anything to her, just gave her a polite bow as she left. When they got back to her rooms, Navier nearly collapsed down into her chair in front of her desk.
“Should I call for the royal doctor?” Countess Eliza asked politely as she walked over to her Empress.
“No, I do not believe that is necessary. I should be able to get some work done here as long as it does not involve food,” she shook her head. She pressed two fingers to her temple as the shooting pain increased there.
“Your Majesty,” Laura whispered. “I think it would be better if you at least let him come and check on you.”
“Alright, if it will stop you two from worrying then you may ask the doctor to come and examine me,” she smiled softly at them both. Laura gave her a quick, worried smile before darting out of the door to go and collect the aforementioned medic.
Navier turned back to the papers on her desk. She still had several petitions for child and marriage blessings, nothing that would be too difficult. A few of them required her to be able to come in person, so she got working on those first. She laid out the marriages in one pile and the pregnancies in another. She took down her calendar from where it had been hanging on the wall above her desk so that she would be able to make sure that she had traveling dates. If she didn’t, the people who were requesting the blessings would have to come to her if they wanted them. She clicked her tongue as she made a note to herself that she needed to schedule a court date where she could give blessings to the common people.
As she picked up the pen to be able to write it down in her calendar, the item wobbled in her fingers. A swelling nausea built inside of her as she tried to focus on creating her normal elegant scroll over the paper. She placed it down next to the calendar just as Laura and the physician returned.
“Your Majesty, I heard that you were not feeling well and that I needed to come at once,” he said as he briskly crossed the distance between them.
“I fear that my lady-in-waiting may have exaggerated a small bit. I am not feeling well, but you did not need to stop what you were doing to attend to me so quickly,” she said, giving him a tired smile.
His brows furrowed together as he carefully placed a hand on her forehead. He was one of the only people in the entire palace that was allowed to touch her without permission, the others being her husband and her ladies-in-waiting. “I think that they were right to be concerned. You have a very high fever. Would you mind describing the rest of your symptoms to me? Don’t be afraid to tell me everything. I won’t judge or doubt you.”
“Well, I have been feeling very hot lately. I thought that it was just the air and the fabric that I chose to wear today, but it is possible that it is being caused by the fever. My vision has been blurring in the sides and it has been hard to focus on anything,” she explained.
“I see,” he tutted. “I would advise that your ladies-in-waiting change you into something much less constricting and I will continue to attend to you then. I want to get this fever down as quickly as possible.”
She nodded and then turned to see that they were already waiting. The doctor stood and left the room to give her some privacy. Navier stood and swayed again, so Laura came to support her as Countess Eliza un
did the bindings on her back to remove the dress. The two women worked quickly to help their Empress undress and change into one of her looser summer nightgowns.
“I don’t know how you managed to have a meeting through a fever this high, Your Majesty,” Laura worried. “If I get even the smallest bit too hot I begin to feel faint and leave. You’re a very strong woman.”
“Either that or stupid,” she laughed a small bit.
“Nonsense,” Countess Eliza shook her head. "You're just dedicated to your role as the Empress and getting your work done. But now it is time for the rest of us to be able to do our role in taking care of your, Your Majesty."
She nodded and allowed them to lead her over to the bed. Laura dashed across the room to let the doctor in again while Eliza focused on getting the woman they were caring for down onto the bed. "I must admit, I do feel a bit better," Navier murmured as she laid down on the blissfully cool cotton of her bed.
"That is a good sign, Your Majesty. There's not much that we can do for a fever if we do not know what is causing it, but there are some things that are standard for helping to cool a fever," he explained as he walked over to her bedside.
"I would imagine so," Navier nodded.
"I also believe that is a good sign that you are able to respond to me so cohesively. If you were slurring your words I would have to worry that he fever had gotten too high. Now tell me, what are your other symptoms?" he asked as he sat down on the edge of her bed.
"I've been having chest tightness for a few days," she replied. "Feeling rather run down, and a slight cough. I assumed that it was Hay Fever."
He nodded solemnly and then grabbed a stethoscope out of the bag by his feet. He placed the device on her chest just underneath her collarbone and listened to a few of her deep breaths. "It sounds like you have somehow caught a late-season flu. I can return with the necessary medications in a moment. I suggest that someone stay with you at all times to help tend to your fever and assist you in your everyday tasks," he explained. "You shouldn't be working, and you should just focus on resting."
The Empress let out a small sigh and nodded her head softly. She wasn't very keen on the idea of not being able to work for a few days, but she knew that she had to rest like the doctor had told her lest her illness get any worse. "Alright, thank you for your time."
"Of course. It is my pleasure to be able to attend to the Imperial Family," he reminded her as he always did. He packed up some of his things and left the door to go and retrieve her medications.