Chapter Text
I should have known that my pounding heart was more than trepidation. I sank further beneath the covers as I slowly woke, as I realized just how intense the pain shooting through my head was- combined with the chill I couldn't seem to shake, I was certain.
I was sick.
Part of me couldn't believe it- after finding out I was no longer in my original body, I'd just assumed I wouldn't be able to fall ill anymore! After all, how would that even happen? I was pretty sure I was at least partially digital now, and I was just as sure there was no chance for me to have a... computer virus or anything, though I supposed Ben or Tatl could have given it to me, though fairy sicknesses... it wasn't like they programmed sicknesses for fairies into Zelda, right? Maybe they had, as a way of increasing immersion, and I-
My thoughts were becoming less and less coherent. I groaned, pulling my pillow over my face for a moment.
I couldn't tell Ben. If Ben found out, he might even see fit to get rid of me- who knew how long I'd be sick for? My use could be at its end. Being sick would make me easier than ever to dispose of. Tatl was my only option here, and if I didn't want to immediately be caught by Ben, I had to make sure my voice didn't sound weird when I called her- which was much easier said than done with the stuffy feeling in my throat.
I groaned quietly, forcing myself to roll over and reaching for the glass of water beside me. I must have severely underestimated my fever-ridden motor skills, because instead of grabbing the glass, I completely knocked it over and spilled water all over the floor.
"Fuuuck, no-" I whined to myself, covering my face. If I wanted to clean that up, I'd have to get up, and nothing sounded more difficult right now.
"[Y/N]? Are you, uh... okay???"
I felt a surge of panic about who could have found me like this before I recognized the voice as Tatl's. I gave a shaky sigh of relief, nodding and trying to ignore the dizzy feeling that moving my head gave me. I laid back down properly to steady myself, sinking back into the pillows.
"...eah, yeah... Got a fever..." I mumbled, clearing my throat so she could hear me better. "C'n you..."
Tatl paused for a moment, and as I let myself drift back into the warmth of the bed and shut my eyes, I heard her ask. "Can I- what?? We- we don't have any healing fairies... what do people do for sick people without healing fairies-"
~~~
I was so lightheaded. My vision fading in and out, I steadied myself against the dresser, taking a few deep breaths.
"Rosa? Are you okay?"
The blonde boy- no... Ben walked over to me, leaning up against the dresser. I looked back to him, nodding a few times- ugh. Nodding hurt my head right now. "Yeah. I slept kind of funny." I said, carefully climbing off the stool in front of the dresser.
Ben smiled back at me, the very picture of excitement. "Good! Matt says we get to see something exciting today, Rosa- you wouldn't want to miss it." He said, taking my hand and leading me out of the bedroom. Somehow- and I couldn't quite figure out why- his hand felt more real than anything else in the room. Maybe I was just too tired to register anything else, or maybe it was the warmth.
"Something exciting?" I yawned, my headache finally beginning to subside as we left the bedroom.
~~~
"... he was so warm, and then he passed out--"
Barely managing to wake up enough to listen, I heard Tatl's voice. My hand still felt warm, as if someone was holding it- so I gave their hand a light squeeze, too tired to open my eyes.
"Hang on, Tatl. I think he's woken up." Came Ben's voice. It was deeper than it had been a few minutes ago, though- had I been dreaming? I must have--
The second I was awake enough to realize that, the pain hit me like a sledgehammer. I tensed, my face feeling so unbearably hot and my neck feeling so unbearably cold. I couldn't hold in a whine, rolling over and pressing my face into the pillows for a moment as if that offered any relief.
"Come on, [Y/N], you can't stay like that. Sit up." Ben said, slipping his hand under me and propping me up without giving me a say. I opened my bleary eyes, reluctantly using my elbow to help support myself.
"'M up, I'm up..." I said, though I wasn't sure I'd be able to stay up.
"Does it hurt?" He asked, raising a hand to press the back of it against my forehead and just as quickly pulling it back. "Never mind, you don't need to answer that. Take these."
Too tired to object- he didn't seem to be trying to kill me, anyway- I adjusted my position and held out my hand. He passed me two pills and I stared at them for a moment, trying to remember what to do with them.
"Painkillers." He said, waiting for me to take them and then passing me the water. "Don't drink too fast, alright?"
No matter what Ben said, the mere presence of water made me realize suddenly that I was parched. I swallowed the pills and drank the rest of the glass, placing it carefully on the bedside table and then closing my eyes again, sinking back into the pillows.
~~~
"He says- get this-" Ben said, barely able to hold back his grin. "We're going to get to watch an ascension. Or a potential one, anyway."
I blinked a few times, shaking my head as I looked around. We were entering the living room now. There was a large table in the middle of it, and Ben led me over to our seats, pushing my bowl of oats over to me.
"Is that- are you sure we should?" I said, glancing around to make sure no one else was around to tell me not to cast doubt. "It just... it seems..." I struggled to find a word that wouldn't offend Ben, as dedicated as he was. I soon gave up- he'd probably be offended at any negativity at all.
"... Scary."
Ben shook his head. "Well-" He took a moment, tilting his head. "Well it is scary, yes, but to be courageous is to face fear head-on!" He said. "It's not the absence of fear, but the ability to rise against it and meet your destiny-"
I sighed, staring down at my oats and pushing them around with my spoon. "You really are obsessed with Link. Too obsessed with Link." I mumbled. "No wonder Matt said you could be him."
"Of course-" Ben said. "Matt says ascension is way easier the closer you are to the character. And-" He grinned, looking back to me. My world seemed to sway, blurring together as I looked back to him. He sounded like he was speaking through a tunnel.
"He says I'm almost ready."
~~~
I was uncomfortably warm, tiredly blinking my eyes open and staring at the ceiling.
I could barely tell reality from the hazy dreams I was having. It would be nice if the dreams were a break from the pain, but the throbbing headache stayed stubborn throughout my dips in and out of consciousness.
"Ben..." I murmured, my voice hoarse as I tried to recall what I'd been dreaming about, closing my eyes again and squeezing them shut. The afterimages of a bright blond boy seemed to be glued to the insides of my eyelids.
"Yeah, [Y/N]? Still with us?" Came a tired voice, and I felt a damp cloth being dabbed at my forehead. "Come on. Sit up. I've got some more pills."
His voice was enough to get me slowly sitting up. I'd normally mind that he had his hand placed firmly on my back, helping me up- but now? I was just too addled to care, both by sickness and the odd sense of unreality I'd found myself in.
"Will they kill me?" I croaked out, taking the glass of water he was now offering me and sipping at it slowly.
"Ha. No, you're not getting away that easily." Ben said, pressing the pills into my hand and watching me closely as I took them.
"Damnit." I mumbled, rubbing at my neck a bit. My gaze flicked over to Ben.
As I blinked, the afterimage of the boy slowly blended into Ben's face. I rubbed my eyes, setting the glass of water down gingerly and staring intensely at him, studying every detail of his appearance before I could fully forget the boy from my dream.
Honestly, they barely looked alike at all. They had a superficial resemblance, but Ben's hair color was both more yellow and less bright- then again, hair darkening with age wasn't anything unusual. He didn't have eyes, but I assumed he probably had at some point given that most people weren't born without eyes. Especially not with glowing red dots in the middle of them. And his eye shape was different, his face shape, but...
"Ben..." I mumbled again. I wasn't entirely certain I was remembering the name from my dream correctly, but if that was the same...
"I'm not going anywhere." Ben sighed. "And I've made sure no one else will bother us either. I- ... Slender's even making you food." He mumbled, glancing away.
"Hope you like a lot of soup." He said.
"Mm." I barely replied. There was a lot more on my mind than soup right now. Thoughts, feelings that I wasn't sure were my own, a piercing headache dear god- if nothing else, I really wished the headache wasn't my own right now.
Ben sighed, staring up at the ceiling for a long moment as if debating with himself, before he walked around the bed and sat down beside me. Not so near that I felt like I should move, but not so far that it felt awkward. He got out his phone, passing it over to me.
"... I could call anyone-" I said, squinting at him in disbelief as he leaned over, opening YouTube.
"You calling someone is the least of my concerns right now." He pointed out. "You'd probably lose your voice or pass out before you could say a thing."
I opened my mouth and closed it again, in too much pain to come up with a fitting comeback. I gladly took the opportunity to put on a video I wanted to watch, though. I didn't care if Ben left out of boredom halfway through, I'd been so bored stuck here, and there was nothing better than watching old favorites when I was sick, home alone.
...
How long had I been here now? How long had I been away from my home? It had been at least two weeks, but definitely more. This was probably the most in-person interaction I'd had in years. Being alone was beginning to feel like a foreign concept.
Ben didn't leave. Not now, and not in general. Right now he was making it his personal mission to point out every mistake in the video, much to my annoyance. But... I'd watched it before, so it wasn't so unbearable.
It was almost endearing.
... I had to get out of here before that thought grew more frequent.
I settled down, watching the video in silence and eventually closing my eyes again. Thankfully, my fever dreams seemed to be dissipating. Thanks to either the background noise or the medicine, I found myself drifting off, comfortably curling up against the source of warmth beside me.
Today had been a bust. Tomorrow we could get back to business. Tomorrow...