In which Adora recovers after the infection at the Northern Reach.

~~~

The headache pounding behind her eyes should've been enough of an indicator that she was gonna have a rough day. But, as per usual, Adora pushed it to the back of her mind, focusing on the tasks ahead. The headache only continued to grow with each passing hour, building behind her eyes, thumping in time with her pulse.

She wasn't stupid; she'd had a migraine before. Only a handful of times, granted, but as much as the Horde "strongly discouraged" any show of weakness, certain medical issues that couldn't be cured (like diabetes and migraines) with magical intervention, they begrudgingly accepted that those who were unlucky enough to suffer from them had to have certain schedule alterations periodically.

The migraines were particularly horrible after the First One's virus she had back in Dryl. The migraine in the following days had been so blinding, that any form of light or sound made her sob under the covers until she passed out. So the pounding behind her eyes was easily explained, thanks to her former best friend.

Catra had almost seemed... concerned back in the Northern Reach. She went as far as hesitantly holding back Adora's hair as she violently threw up for several hours after the incident. It was the closest to the Catra she grew up with that Adora had seen in over a year. Until Glimmer arrived. Catra sneered and kicked her in the side hard enough to send her onto her side.

With each minute that passed, the migraine grew and grew, bringing along its best friends; nausea and aches!

She could tell Bow was aching to question her.
"Why are you here, Adora? You're sick. Go rest," Is what he'd say. "Yeah, Adora. I don't wanna catch whatever you've got!" Glimmer would laugh.

But she wasn't sick; not with something that could be passed at least.

So she soldiered on.

~POV change~

Angella knew something was wrong. Not with the Rebellion; no. That was functioning just fine, thriving, if she dared to hope. Thanks to mainly her daughter and her friends... but there was something wrong. Bow seemed as chipper as always; something Angella, whilst she appreciated it, found slightly concerning. The boy never seemed to have a down day... Adora on the other hand, was almost the ying to his yang. Where he was overly confident in a plan, Adora brought the reality forward. Where Bow was too chipper after a failed mission, Adora kept him tied to the ground.

So, when she was eerily silent in the meeting after the Northern Reach, Angella allowed Glimmer to take charge of the meeting whilst she observed the blonde heroine. Her skin was pale, clammy even. In her eighteen months at Brightmoon, Angella had never seen the girl so pale. And that included several instances of close calls... ones which shook Angella to her core.

The scariest one to date was after the battle of Brightmoon. She'd been busy keeping the moonstone lit and charged, missing the entire battle. Adora led the charge, successfully preventing the Horde from taking over. It wasn't until Angella visited the wounded later that evening did she realise the damage. Bow had a sprained wrist, Glimmer had a small concussion, but Adora took the brunt, as "the heaviest hitter"

Her back was a mess, ten angry slashes from shoulder to hip; red and oozing blood through the bandages. She was pale; paler than Angella had ever seen her. It scared her, to be honest. How could somebody's ex-best friend do that much damage and simply be okay with it? Just walk away, as they lay bleeding out?

Glimmer wrapped the meeting up with a flourish; cake to be brought for everyone in the grand hall by nightfall. Angella didn't miss the sour twist on Adora's face. With a frown, she followed the young girl back to her bedroom. "Your Majesty?" A voice interrupted her mission. Angella resisted the urge to dismiss the person but saw the blonde had already fled her eyesight.

She turned with a soft sigh. "Yes, Bow?" The archer scratched his neck slightly. "Um... it's about Adora," He said. Angella gestured for him to sit. "You have noticed too? She seems off today," The queen mused. Bow nodded. "Yeah, that'll be the virus,"

Angella frowned. "Virus? Is she sick?" As a rare immortal being, Angella didn't get sick. Neither did Glimmer, but she had seen her daughter nurse Bow back to health several times to know being sick wasn't an enjoyable experience at all. Especially if you contracted something called "stomach flu"

Angella had only ever thrown up in one period of her life; during her pregnancy. And she wouldn't wish it on anybody. "Yes and no," Bow answered helpfully. Angella raised a brow. "Basically, when her sword gets infected, and Adora by proxy, by this First Ones murder virus, she turns into this super angry, blood-thirsty She-Ra. She won't stop at anything until she kills her prey,"

Angella briefly thought about how useful it would be to have that on their side.

"But the fallout is so much worse for her..." Bow glanced into the hallway, obviously concerned for his friend. "She gets super sick for like... three days afterwards. Migraines, chills, aches, vomiting, the whole thing," Angella hummed. "And there is nothing that can be done to help?" She asked, resting her head atop her hand. Bow shook his head. "Not really. It's not like the flu, where you can take stuff. All we can do for her is leave her alone and keep her hydrated,"

Angella hummed. "I think I shall check on her... she looked very peaky earlier," She stood. "I'd be careful," Bow warned. Angella raised her eyebrows. "And why is that?" She asked. Bow rubbed his neck. "When she's sick or injured... Adora can be... prickly... and snappy," Angella huffed softly. "You seem to forget who my daughter is. I speak fluent prickly,"

~

Adora felt like crap.
To put it nicely.

Her migraine only worsened with the day, and so did the nausea. The pinnacle of the day was when Glimmer mentioned cake. Adora's stomach lurched into her throat as she fled, desperately trying to make it to her private bathroom in time.

She moved quickly, too quickly, and it made her dizzy, almost falling until her hand met the concrete surface of the wall to steady her. She hated this. There was no source of her pain, no acute injuries, only a dull achy feeling all over and a fiery pain in the front of her skull as if an icepick had been lodged there. This feeling wasn't foreign, she'd experienced it once before. The last time She-Ra's sword had caused her to lose it in Dryl, she thought back. The vertigo added to her nausea and a gurgle in her stomach made her feel like she might throw up.

And then, she did.

She fell against her door, not bothering to shut it. She shoved open the bathroom door, sweat pooling on her neck. She collapsed to the ground and made it to the toilet, heaving out vomit in terse, violent waves. After she finished heaving, she wiped her mouth. Then she heard the last thing in the world she wanted to hear.

"Oh, Adora."

Adora closed her eyes and felt her mouth turn down into a grimace. While still on her knees, Adora fought to compose herself, gripping the toilet on either side with straining fingers. It took all her stubbornness to retain a gag as she stood and faced her Queen. "I'm fine," Adora acknowledged curtly.

Angella looked Adora up and down, noticing her pale, clammy skin glistening in the warm lights, making her look even more sickly. "Are you unwell?" Angella asked softly, so as not to disturb her already hurting head.

Every word Angella spoke fuelled Adora's headache. She shut one eye, wincing as she felt a sharp pain stab behind her eyeballs. "I'm ok... just something I ate," Adora cleared her throat as she flushed the chain. Angella waited until the toilet basin refilled. "Bow told me about the virus... and what happens after," The queen spoke.

Adora swallowed back a retch. "It-it's fine," She shuddered. Angella cleared her throat softly. "Well... if you are fine, as you so claim, though I doubt it," Adora rubbed her head. "I shall retrieve some liquids for you... and leave you in peace for some time,"

That was code for; you're gonna puke some more. do it in private, please.

So she did.

Angella left, Adora regretted everything.

~

Her stomach had yet to give her peace, but she'd stopped vomiting for just over an hour, so she moved to her bed, choosing to die there instead. Just as she was on the cusp of another restless nap, something cold was placed on her forehead. She opened her bleary eyes, blinking in confusion. "Catra?" She mumbled. "I knew you'd come back," She twisted onto her side, eyes slipping shut. Catra's hand began to comb gently through her undone hair, rubbing her temples every few minutes or so. "I knew you wouldn't leave me," She mumbled before falling asleep for good.

Angella wiped away her tears from where she sat. She continued stroking the blonde's head, rubbing her back when she was sick a few hours later, and soothing her back to sleep with another damp cloth. She would never say it, but she missed being able to nurse somebody... Glimmer was only ever sick when she drank too much milk as a newborn; never because she was sick.

Bow wasn't her responsibility, he already had parents that nursed him to health.

But Adora? The poor orphan girl, groomed and manipulated by the same woman who groomed and manipulated Angella's darling husband, had nobody. No parents, no siblings, no carer. From what she understood, Adora was only close with this "Catra" who was leading most of the Horde's charges now.

And despite the blonde assuring her otherwise, it was clear Adora missed her former friend deeply, deep enough to hallucinate her care. Angella tucked the young girl, no more than sixteen/seventeen at a push, into bed with the bucket by her side and a glass of water by her head. She kissed her damp forehead softly, sitting in the comfy armchair a short distance away.

Angella would watch over the ailing girl... for as long as she needed her to.