Alder watched her closely, watched as her body trembled, watched as the tears streaked down her cheeks again and again; he watched her fingers uneasily toy with the silk fabric of her covers. It was obvious that she was uneasy with his presence, even more uneasy than she had been the last time he saw her.
He lowered himself, so he was crouching beside her bed, beside her. it seemed he needed to talk to her, or perhaps it was she that needed to talk to him.
He had received a message from the palace saying that the princess was unwell, that she had been unconscious for a whole day, and he had returned to Althea as soon as she could. He had been upset to hear that she had gone to the waterfall to practice regardless of his orders, but his anger had faded with every passing day that she lay
