Lysander's Illness

"Are you feeling any better, my Heart?" Dierdre fretted over her husband as he got back from the meeting. He'd been sleeping poorly since their arrival by the sea, but it was wearing him down more and more over time. 

"A little, I'm certain. I left the meeting a little early, but all I need is a nap." He tried to smile at her. Weariness was apparent in everything he did. It was difficult to overcome. 

"I'm not so certain," His wife responded, deeply troubled. "I'll be back soon. I'm going to consult with the doctors again." 

"Please don't bother them," Lysander pled with her. "It's only nightmares. I'll be all right once I get some decent sleep. Please go out and have some fun while I try to rest." 

"Nightmares about the Void. Someone needs to be told." She insisted. 

"Of course," He said, already seeming to drift off. 

Dierdre frowned. She was far more worried than she let on. He'd had bad dreams about his time trapped in the Darkness since his return, but nothing like this. It had gotten so much worse when they came to the sea. He often woke crying out. 

It sat ill with her. She knew that her daughter was off helping Mayra for the day, and headed in that direction. The Cetoan doctors had been no help; their sleeping medicines could keep him asleep but could not drive away the terrible dreams. 

She walked a little faster. Mayra had been working as Dr. Sherman's nursing assistant in Klain; perhaps Dierdre could beg a few moments of her time to check on Lysander. 

Dierdre found the young woman with papers spread all around her, the young soldier Peter by her side. A smile played at the corner of her mouth as she remembered Lysander as a young soldier wooing her. That was so long ago now. 

"Good Afternoon," She greeted, just as Peter had leaned closer to Mayra to point at something on a paper she held. The young couple jumped apart as if caught doing something naughty, which made Dierdre smile widely before settling back into her more serious mood. 

"Hello, Dierdre. Is everything all right? I thought you were helping Ashley." Mayra asked eagerly. 

"I stayed back to wait for Lysander. He's not well, I'm afraid." Dierdre responded. 

"I noticed him looking very tired recently," Mayra admitted. "Is he ill?"

"The Cetoan doctors aren't finding anything wrong, but he's kept awake by horrible nightmares. I was hoping you might be able to come by and check on him?" She asked hopefully. The young woman looked very busy and a bit ragged around the edges. 

It felt rude, and even a little mean, to put more on Mayra's plate, but Dierdre's love for her husband won out over her need to be polite. 

"Is it so serious?" Mayra blinked up at her. 

"I hope not, but I'm very worried," Dierdre admitted. 

"If it is, we should get Roland too. He trained under Dr. Sherman for years before I came along. He's a qualified doctor in his own right." Mayra suggested. 

"Another change in plans?" Peter asked beside her. 

"It's Ashley's father," Mayra narrowed her eyes at him. 

"Of course," The young man smiled. "Do you want me to get Roland and meet you there? Or will the meeting still be going, do you think?" 

"If you wouldn't mind fetching him, and Haf, that would be a huge favor for me. If the meeting's over I'll need to go with Haf after I help however I can with Lysander." Mayra closed her eyes, and Dierdre felt bad for the girl. 

She looked absolutely exhausted. 

"Don't run yourself ragged, dear," She offered.

"There's just too much to be done!" Mayra smiled. "I'm in great demand. I'm flattered, really. Better to be needed by everyone than no one at all." 

Peter glanced dubiously at her. "Remind me to make you go to bed early tonight." 

"Spoken like a true babysitter," Mayra said, causing him to give a slight chuckle and Dierdre's eyes to dart between them. 

"I'll meet you two over there," Peter said, as he collected the papers in front of him and handed them to Mayra. 

The younger woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath under the weight of the sheets before disappearing briefly into the building behind her. She returned with a more cheerful disposition that Dierdre was sure was all for show. 

"All right, let's go visit your husband and see what's going on." She smiled. She held in her hands a box that must be full of whatever healing herbs and tonics she'd brought from Klain. With the pace she was going at, Dierdre doubted the girl had had the chance to collect or brew anything since her arrival. 

Which was a shame, really. The Cetoans had a lot of different herbs in this climate with varying uses. Dierdre was sure someone clever like Mayra would be able to find all sorts of interesting things and put them to good work if she had the time. 

"You do look like you need to rest more," She observed quietly. 

"I'll be able to rest when everything's done," Mayra said, her voice dragging a little. 

"Everything will be done when you're dead, or when the world ends, and not before." Dierdre warned. She knew all too well that there were always more tasks in the world than there was time to do them all. 

"You're probably right. I'll rest when all the brides are married," She amended. Dierdre's eyebrows rose. She hadn't counted the Rhone women lately, but there were at least dozens of them still unmarried, if not more. With new arrivals periodically, the task seemed a never-ending one. 

"What about your other things? I can see you're doing much more than just that," Dierdre frowned. 

"What do you mean?" Mayra blinked at her. 

"I have eyes. I lived for years with a politician. I have a sense for when serious things are happening in the background." 

"Oh. Yes, well. That's not all on my shoulders. I'm just... assisting." Mayra seemed uncomfortable talking about it, so Dierdre decided to let the matter drop. 

"I just want to make sure you don't burn yourself out like a candle with too hot a flame," She soothed. 

"I won't. I can't." Mayra shook her head. 

"Can't is a strange word. Much more can happen than you think." Dierdre sighed. 

"I'll be alright," the younger woman assured with a smile. "Let's make sure Lysander's all right too." 

They reached the hut shortly, but Lysander had fallen asleep. He was thrashing and sweating. Mayra checked his vital signs anyway.

"His heart beat is fast for being asleep, but that seems like it could be caused by a nightmare. There's no fever; in fact, he's slightly clammy. Nothing I would worry about in the absence of the other symptoms, but noteworthy." Mayra spoke quietly and calmly. 

Dierdre knew the young woman could be passionate and outspoken, but this soothing, professional side was comforting to her. 

Mayra was just finishing her examination when a soft knock at the door brought in Haf, Peter, and Roland. The Commodore looked around with some concern. 

"I had no idea our visitor was in such poor shape. I regret I have not checked more closely on him sooner," He said to Dierdre by way of an apology. 

"At first he simply claimed to be tired by the journey, but he worsens day by day," She explained. 

Roland went to work quickly as Mayra moved out of the way. He checked the same signs the younger woman had and they quietly discussed their observations. Their whispers were too quiet to be easily heard, though Dierdre strained to make it out.

Lysander roused briefly during the discussion when Roland woke him, startled and scared. Roland pressed on various places on his stomach and asked a few soft questions. The former Provider drifted back to sleep, and the two medical practitioners resumed their professional discussion while the audience waited anxiously. 

Finally, Mayra nodded, and Roland turned toward Dierdre. 

"There's no obvious cause for his symptoms, as the Cetoan doctors have said. I have some suspicions, but nothing solid to base them on other than a gut feeling that something's not right." 

"What does that mean?" Dierdre's voice wavered. 

"It means that in the absence of natural causes, we must consider unnatural ones. Mayra's little friend in the woods said that her 'friend' would visit her in dreams. Perhaps the Void is also visiting Lysander." Roland's voice was grave.

"But why?" Peter asked when no one spoke. 

"He tried to betray the Void after being its loyal spy for years. He escaped and played a role in its banishment from this world. It has every reason to hate him and want him to suffer... so, that's why I can't rule out a magical origin for these nightmares that rob him of rest." Roland concluded.