The Triplets Pt. 05

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The Eldest of the Triplets.
3.2k words
4.83
8.9k
18

Part 5 of the 9 part series

Updated 06/07/2023
Created 04/18/2015
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Thanks to a_koozie for her editing. I hope the relative frequency of the uploaded chapters make up for the bad endings to each part... >_>;

However I appreciate all readers and comments on the story! Thanks for reading and favoriting!

*****

(Aiden)

He didn't think he'd seen anyone so sick before. Meredith coughed and gagged continuously as he held her steady. It looked like she had only had liquids in her stomach, but he had recognized the symptoms of a bad drug. Unfortunately, it seemed the drug had already filtered into her system, but at least some of it had been thrown back up.

He patted her back as she continued to cough. The little pearls on her dress dug into his hand as he held her about the waist. Even through the thick embroidery he could feel her stomach heaving with each cough.

Once she calmed a bit, Aiden drew out a clean handkerchief and wiped the perspiration from her face before cleaning her mouth. She moaned hoarsely and struggled to get upright. Aiden straightened her and let her body rest against his shoulder.

She stared at him, her eyes glassy and bloodshot. Her bottom lip trembled and her skin felt clammy and chilled. Aiden arranged her arms to loop around his neck before sweeping her up into his arms. Her dress was horrendously heavy, even for him. It must have been a third of her weight.

As quickly as he could, Aiden carried her back to the house, careful in the darkness. As he stepped into the house, two servants ran to him.

"Get a healer and water, quickly," he barked.

The two ran off again, hopefully not going for the same thing. Aiden was sincerely grateful that he had two meddling younger brothers who had forced him to come to this ridiculous party. Grey had tracked him down earlier that morning and dragged him out of the cave he had slept in that night. Not surprising that Grey had been the one to find him since he spent so much time in the wild himself.

What had shocked him partially out of his stupor was Kaleb's silence. Not a single barbed comment had come from him, which had been a bit disconcerting. Grey being Grey, had said nothing, only tossed him some clothes and made sure he came home. Then the two of them had left him alone for a few hours before bullying him into coming to this party.

Aiden followed another servant who was leading him through the Dane's house. He felt uneasy about putting Meredith in a red's guest bedroom, but he didn't plan on leaving her alone. To the red's credit, the house and its rooms were impeccable, if garishly extravagant. He hadn't fully realized how wealthy the other families were.

The servant held open a door to his right. Once Aiden had passed through, he hurried over to the bed and pulled back the covers. Aiden nodded his head in thanks and gently laid Meredith upon the sheets. Despite her sickly complexion, she was lovely against the cream colored sheets. Some of her dark hair had spilled free from its silver netting and pearl pins, spreading out elegantly upon the pillows. Her silver dress seemed to glow in the meager light.

Aiden drew the covers over her. Meredith's lips were still trembling, but she seemed to have slipped into unconsciousness while he had been carrying her. The sound of hurried steps drew his attention to the open door. A servant came towards him with a pitcher and empty glass. Aiden took both from him and pour the water himself.

He sat on the bed and pulled Meredith into a sitting position, trying to wake her enough to swallow the water. Her eyes flickered, but she didn't fully wake. He did manage to get her to swallow some water, most of it leaking out from the corners of her mouth. She coughed once and opened her eyes. Aiden placed his palm against her cheek as she met looked at him. Her eyes focused before widening in surprise.

"Didn't expect to see me so soon?" he asked jestingly.

She swallowed, her pale face coloring slightly. Aiden smiled thinly and pressed the glass to her lips. She drank quickly, wearily dropping back to the pillows once the glass was empty. Aiden pulled the covers up to her chin. Heavy footsteps came down the hall and stopped at the door.

Dane entered the room and came to the other side of the bed followed closely by a healer. Aiden let his hand fall from Meredith's cheek, but took hold of her hand instead. She turned slowly towards Dane, her head tilted back to look at his face.

"I heard you had collapsed, Esa Meredith."

"I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you, Es Dane," she whispered.

Aiden tightened his hand on Meredith's. She squeezed back weakly, almost as if she was the one reassuring him. He held his tongue until the healer stepped forward.

"She was drugged," Aiden said.

The healer gave him a dubious glance before he began to look over Meredith. He checked her eyes, her pulse, and even temperature. He made her spit into an empty cup before putting a white powder into it. The power turned a bright orange. The healer turned to Dane and confirmed she had been drugged.

Aiden restrained himself from smacking the man. The only useful thing the healer contributed was that he gave her some charcoal to swallow to absorb some of the toxins. Soon after the healer left, telling her to drink as much as she could and to rest.

"I believe you may leave now, Es Aiden. Esa Meredith will be looked after here until she is well enough to return home."

Aiden could almost hear the smugness in the man's voice.

"I think I'll stay and watch over her."

Dane's brows drew together for a brief moment before his expression smoothed once more.

"Not to trample upon your good intentions, but it would be inappropriate for Esa Meredith to be here alone with you."

"Not to besmirch the reputation of your house, Es Dane, but you'll have to forgive me if I'm a bit cautious of the guests in your house. It hasn't even been a few hours since she was drugged by someone invited to your families party. Forgive me if I'm a bit hesitant to leave."

Dane's face visibly tensed and took a threatening step in Aiden's direction. Aiden rose smoothly to his feet and stood his ground. Dane's eyes were tinged red around his iris which looked nearly white in the dim lighting. Aiden let his eyes color as well. He wouldn't give Dane the satisfaction of making him back down, even if he was in the man's house. A light tug on his hand, made him reluctantly break eye contact and look back at Meredith.

"If you don't mind, Es Dane, I'd rather have Aiden here with me," she said weakly.

For a moment, Dane stared at Meredith. Aiden felt her hand tremble slightly.

"As you wish," Dane said tersely. "I'll have a maid in here at all times."

Aiden sat back on the bed, dismissing Dane now that he had backed off. Dane walked out the room, barking orders just outside the door. A flustered maid entered and bowed to them before going to stand at the far wall.

"Can you drink some more water?" he asked Meredith.

"I don't want to, but I can."

Aiden helped her sit up once more and held the glass for her to drink from. Her eyes were still bloodshot and she was beginning to tremble in earnest.

"We should get you out of that dress."

Meredith nodded, but didn't move. Aiden sighed and stood again, turning his back as the maid came forward. He heard them struggle with the heavy gown for a long time before it fell to the floor, the pearls clicking dully on the stone floor. Once he saw the maid return to the far wall from the corner of his eye Aiden turn back around.

She'd been given a modest nightgown that buttoned all the way to the base of her throat. Aiden pulled the covers back up to her chin before sitting next to her hip. Her eyes drooped, but valiantly fluttered to stay open. Aiden smiled and grabbed her hand.

"Sleep, Meredith. I'll watch over you."

She sighed before her eyes closed and her breathing deepened. Aiden stroked his thumb over the back of her hand. The maid had taken the ornaments from her hair so that it was free to frame her face. Aiden looked over his shoulder at the maid. She was still standing in the corner, hands neatly clasped before her.

"Could you bring me a stool to sit on?"

The maid nodded and brought him a padded stool. Aiden slipped from the bed, careful to keep his hold on Meredith's hand undisturbed and sat, leaning his body over the bed.

"You can take a seat as well. No point in standing the entire time."

She smiled at him demurely, shaking her head. Aiden rolled his eyes.

"Take a seat woman. It makes me uncomfortable," he said mock seriously.

The maid bowed her head and pulled an armchair to her corner and sat. Aiden snorted softly and turned back to Meredith. There were dark shadows beneath her eyes and her skin was still slightly clammy.

He suddenly remembered his brothers. They probably thought he had run off again. Sighing, Aiden turned once more to the maid.

"You wouldn't happen to be able to get my brothers here? Or send someone for them."

She nodded and went to the door. A few moments later, Kaleb and Grey walked into the quiet room. Both gave him varying degrees of disapproving looks. Aiden smiled at them before gesturing them to come closer. He didn't want to raise his voice.

"She's been drugged. I got to her a bit late, but at least made her throw up what she had in her stomach."

Kaleb nodded and asked for the symptoms. Once Aiden had recited all that he knew, Kaleb nodded and started mumbling under his breath.

"Sounds like she reacted badly to one of the red's favorite play drugs. Its popular among the younger males. Gives a temporary elevated sensation of pleasure. Nasty side effects if you've not built up a resistance. Nausea, cold sweats, dizziness, confusion to say a few. It will get worse before it gets better."

"So, Esa Meredith was on the bad end of a prank," Grey said.

"Appears so. Not surprising since she was one of the few non-red woman this evening," Kaleb said.

"I don't suppose you would be inclined to come home tonight either, Aiden," Kaleb said.

Aiden shook his head.

"Prank or not, she could have died if I hadn't found her out wandering in the gardens."

"Lucky coincidence," Kaleb said slyly.

Aiden ignored him.

"Aiden," Grey said, grabbing his shoulder lightly. "What are you doing?"

"Look, its not as easy as it would seem."

Kaleb snorted derisively.

"You like her. Care for her enough to worry about her well-being. The only damn problem is that your too stubborn to give up on traveling in that damn boat," Kaleb said.

Aiden relaxed his grip on Meredith's hand least he crush it accidentally.

"She said no."

"What?" Kaleb looked at him in shock, then amusement, before clasping his hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter.

"What do you mean she said no?" Grey asked.

"Exactly that. I asked if she would be my mate and she said no."

Kaleb snorted loudly as he tried to stifle the noise.

"Get out if your going to be loud," Aiden said crossly.

Kaleb fled out the door, his laughter booming in the corridor. Aiden sighed and grinned in chagrin. He would probably have acted the same way if Kaleb had told him the same thing. Grey on the other hand, being reasonably sane, watched him soberly.

"Can I take it that you went about this recklessly?"

"Oh how well you know me, Grey."

Grey sighed and brought his hands up to rub his temples.

"I seriously question your self control, Aiden. We will talk about his later. I'll let mother know where you are."

Aiden thanked him as he walked away. Grey shook his head as he walked out the door. He heard his brothers exchange a quiet word before their footsteps faded down the hall. Aiden settled himself as comfortably as he could and prepared to keep watch.

(Meredith)

Meredith woke to the worst headache in her life. She groaned and clutched her head in agony, digging her thumbs deep into her temples. It didn't help much. She made the mistake of trying to sit up. A rush of blood pounded against her skull. Gingerly she tried to lower her head back to her pillow, the throbbing following her relentlessly.

Relief came in the form of a cool cloth over her forehead and eyes. She moaned in appreciation, breathing in quick shallow breaths to keep the pain at bay.

"Can you sit up a bit? I have something to help with the headache."

Aiden's voice brought back the memories of last night. He helped her up enough so that she could swallow down the bitter liquid. He laid her back down and re-wet the cloth over her head. A eternity of pain passed until the pounding in her head faded to a quiet throb.

"Better?"

"Uh huh."

Meredith moved the damp cloth to look at Aiden. His hair was appealingly disheveled and fell about his face in a soft halo. He had removed his jacket and loosened the collar of his shirt. His skin was dark against the white of his shirt.

He squeezed her hand lightly before letting go and stretching his back. He yawned and raked his hair back from his forehead. Meredith immediately missed the warmth and comfort his touch had given her.

"Did you stay up the entire night?"

"I had good company." He gestured to the dozing maid in the corner.

Meredith laughed quietly.

"What time is it?"

"The sun has yet to break. You should go back to sleep. I'm sure you still feel quite sick."

Abruptly, she realized that it must have been Aiden who had been there when she had cast up her stomach in the garden. Meredith used her hand to cover her face as a wave of embarrassment swept over her.

"I am so sorry that you had to see. . ."

"Meredith," he interrupted. "I'm only glad that I was the one who found you."

She smiled weakly. "Thank you. For . . . for everything."

He returned her smile and inclined his head.

"Anything for a lady," he said. "How does your stomach feel?"

"Better. Much better. I'm a little thirsty though."

Aiden picked up a pitcher from the side table and poured water into a glass before handing it to her. Meredith drank slowly, her dry mouth slowly accepting the moisture.

"Thank you."

They sat in silence, broken only be the sound of the maid snoring lightly in the corner. Meredith turned towards the window. The sky was just beginning to color as the sun began to rise. Then Aiden cleared his throat softly.

"Meredith, I know not much time has passed, but I want to. . ."

A loud knock at the door interrupted him. Aiden sighed and rose to answer the door. The maid jolted awake just before the door opened.

"Oh, you are awake. How is Esa Meredith?"

"Es Dane, what a surprise. She is fine."

Aiden moved out of the door way so that Es Dane could enter. He was fully dressed and looked like he'd already been awake for several hours.

"Es Dane, I am so sorry for inconveniencing you yesterday."

"Nothing to worry over, Esa Meredith. It was entirely not your fault."

"None the less. As soon as I've dressed, I plan on returning home."

"Nonsense, you'll stay for breakfast and rest," Es Dane tutted.

"Actually, Meredith has agreed to let me chaperon her to the healers," Aiden said, crossing his arms over his partially revealed chest.

"It can certainly wait until she's had something to eat."

"We wouldn't want to impose," Aiden said.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you are being inordinately stubborn, Es Aiden."

"Not stubborn, Dane. I just prefer to care about people."

"I do believe your concern is misplaced. I can see to Esa Meredith's health, if you are so concerned."

She saw Aiden's jaw clench before it relaxed and the corners of his eyes creased. Something about that expression made her uneasy.

"As a matter of fact, Esa Meredith has agreed to become my betrothed."

Meredith choked on a swift breath. Es Dane looked at her.

"I can tell you are lying by her reaction. Are you trying to place an unwanted claim?" Dane sneered.

Meredith coughed to draw their attention. They turned to her simultaneously; Aiden in concern and Dane with mild annoyance.

"I apologize, Es Dane. I was only surprised that Es Aiden would make such an announcement so soon."

Es Dane's brows drew together and his lips thinned. "I see. Well, let me be the first to . . . congratulate the two of you."

Aiden dipped his head in acceptance and returned to stand next to the bed. Es Dane glared at the two of them for a moment before he bowed mockingly and left.

As soon as she couldn't hear his footsteps, Meredith turned to Aiden.

"Of all the excuses you could say to him, that is the one you come up with!"

"Meredith, I really do wish you would say yes."

"I have no choice now! News of our betrothal will spread faster than wild fire."

Meredith shoved the covers off of her legs and tried to stand. Her knees wobbled precariously, but held once she steadied herself. The maid jumped to her aid before Aiden had even circled the bed.

"Meredith, would you listen to me?"

"No. Everything you say is ridiculous!"

"If you would only calm. . ."

"You want me to calm down!" Meredith took a beep breath and turned to Aiden.

"Leave."

He stared at her in shock, his hand partially held out towards her. She glared at his hand until it fell to his side.

"I only. . ."

"Out!"

He turned and left the room, closing the door behind him, but she didn't hear him walk away. Muttering angrily beneath her breath, Meredith stripped. The maid gave her a comfortable dress to put on and helped her comb and pin her hair. Meredith gave her one of the pearl pins in thanks. The maid smiled at her and buried the pin in her own slightly mussed bun, out of sight.

Aiden was leaning against the wall when she left the room. She ignored him and marched down the hall, despite not knowing where to go. By chance she was able to ask another servant directions, Aiden close behind her. The servant led her to the front door, asking her to wait as he went off to summon her carriage.

"I suppose you'll be wanting a ride as well."

"I would be ever so grateful, Esa Meredith."

Meredith felt the corners of her mouth quirk up at his attempt at humility. She sighed dramatically and turned away so that he wouldn't see. She wasn't finished being angry.

"You are impossible."

He laughed and didn't answer.

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4 Comments
FloribundaFloribundaover 8 years ago
I love Meredith and Aiden! There's nothing like a bit of stubborn and feisty attraction!!

TigersmanTigersmanover 8 years ago
Fantastic

This story draws a person in so deeply that they can't wait to see what happens next.

AnonymousAnonymousover 8 years ago
getting better and better

curious to see if they have to face any hurdles before they get married.

AnonymousAnonymousover 8 years ago
More pleaaaaasseeee...!

I love this story so much, I can't wait until the next chapter. Please continue the story as well as the quick updates. Your writing is very enthralling and the plot is so exciting!

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