Regaining my strength

This chapter's song is: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger

Sylvia's POV:

It's been four days since I've woken up from my two week nap and I gotta say that I feel much better right now even if I'm light years away from regaining my full health. And I'm actually happy to say that I've gotten closer to Ace than I thought I'd ever be. I'm so glad that I've changed the plot line because I couldn't even imagine being with game-Ace and his illogical band of merry men.

My Ace is way more intelligent and logical. Not to mention an actual softie once you get to know him underneath his scary poker face. Whatever I asked for, he'd do. Whenever I wanted to move somewhere, he'd carry me.

When I was too tired to brush my own hair, he'd brush it for me. I'm strong enough now to go to the bathroom by myself and a priest comes once every few days to purify my body. Right now, I'm attempting to make my first few steps after my mini coma.

I feel like a baby again. Ace was holding my hands by the finger tips as he slowly supported me while I put one leg in front of the other. My legs were shaking, however, what kept me going was purely my own determination.

"That's it Sylvia, you're almost there," Ace encouraged as I take a few more steps forward. Suddenly my leg gave out and I fell into Ace's arms.

"I think that's enough physiotherapy for today," Ace says as he picks me up again and carries me to the bed.

"I wanted to practice some more... This shouldn't be that hard..." I mumbled as I rubbed my face with my palms. Ace grabbed both my hands and held them in his, directing my gaze and fixating it on him.

"You did perfectly well my dearest fiancée, you just need to take it easy," Ace comforted me as I laid back. My legs were starting to hurt from the little exercise I did.

"Thanks, Ace, I actually don't know what I would have done without you," I say as I look up at the ceiling. "When is this bubble thing over? I want to see my family."

"In three days, the head priest will arrive by then and he can exterminate any lingering poison in your body," Ace replies.

"But I'm bored now..." I whine as I look over to the vase of flowers, Ace always replaces them daily with dahlias.

"How about another game of chess?" Ace suggests.

"We've played that already. And checkers. And snakes and ladders. And almost every board game in the palace!"

"Well then..." We hear a knock at the door. "It's lunch time." Ace walks over to the entrance and takes the trolley full of food before thanking the maid and closing the door. He then uses his magic to create a sort of vacuum around the trolley to kill off any outside germs.

"Today's menu is a mushroom and chicken spaghetti with some pesto and a teriyaki salad, finishing off with a chocolate soufflé," Ace describes the food to me as he picks up the tray and lays it on my lap.

"Send my compliments to the chef," I smile as I pick up my fork and swirl around the pasta before picking it up and shovelling it in my mouth. Ace pulled over a table and chair next to my bed and began eating too. He always ate the same thing as I did, even in the first two days when all I could eat was puréed pumpkin. I really love this guy...

So you do love him huh? Luna purrs in my mind. Not like that Luna, I mean... I love the commitment of this guy...

Stop making excuses master, it makes me feel sorry for the poor boy to marry such a blockhead like you. Blockhead!? Excuse me, but I'm ranked 3rd highest in the school!

Yeah, after prince Ace and prince Lucas. Well they're future kings so of course they'd have to be smarter than me!

Yeah yeah, keep making excuses. Shut up Astro.

I gruntle in annoyance at my snarky familiars which catches Ace's attention.

"Are you uncomfortable, Sylvia?" Ace asks as he stops his fork.

"No, no I'm just thinking what design I should use for my dress," I cover-up. Speaking of dresses... I gasp in realisation.

"What's wrong Sylvia?!" Ace gets up and walks towards me.

"I haven't ordered my dress yet for the Royal debutante... I'm doomed. The boutiques are probably lined up with orders..." I say.

Ace smiles at my distress. "This isn't funny Ace! How am I going to attend the debutante without a dress?!"

"No worries my dear fiancée, I have already taken care of that matter." Ace assures me.

"What do you mean?"

"Well I had an inkling of a thought that you might not have gotten your gown ready so I sent word to the Royal seamstress to start working on a dress of my design," Ace explains,

"Your design?"

"Yes, think of it as a surprise. There's no way I could let you choose a dress when you're still in bed."

"I... Guess you're right. But please don't make me look hideous," I pleaded. Ace smiles as he nods to my request. Thinking about how my dress situation got easily sorted made me sigh in relief as I continued to eat my dinner. Once dinner was done, I sank back into my bed.

Ace came over to me with a cup of what I call: Nature's vomit. It was a hyper healthy drink for me to have once a day to regain my strength faster. It was made with all sorts of greens and some unknowns as well as a few herbs.

"Ugh Ace, I really don't want to!" I groan as I look at the pile of mush.

"It's for your own good, Sylvia, do you want me to feed it to you?" Ace suggests.

"Ha! How the hell are you goin-" I spoke too soon. While I was complaining, Ace gulped down some of the drink and then proceeded to mouth feed me again. This time, he didn't let go until all of the disgusting beverage was down my throat.

"Ace! It's so disgusting!" I gag as I still taste the green vomit.

"There there, it's not so bad," Ace says as he pulls out a handkerchief and wipes the residue off of my mouth. I didn't stop him, mainly because I was still trying to get over the bad aftertaste.

"That's a good girl. And good girls get treats," he says as he takes out a slice of cake from the tray. It was my favourite red velvet with cream cheese frosting and a chocolate drizzle on top. I smile at Ace as I pick up the fork and immediately started gorging down the cake to get rid of the aftertaste.

"Slow down Sylvia, there's plenty of cake for you," Ace says as he takes out a huge cake with a slice missing which was the one I was currently eating.

"Aren't I supposed to only have one cake a day? This isn't a trap, is it? Is Lillian hiding in one of these cracks?" I look around suspiciously.

"No, it's actually an order from the doctor for you to gain some weight. So eat to your heart's content," Ace says as he adds on another slice of cake to my plate.

I smile as I break off a piece with my fork and hold it to Ace's mouth. "Want some?" Ace was taken aback by my act of kindness. I mean, I wasn't exactly the most generous type but Ace is different. "Come on, my arm's getting tired." Ace opened his mouth and I slid the cake piece inside.

"Delicious isn't it? I added the piece with the chocolate drizzle for you, because I know how much you like chocolate drizzle," I say as I break off another piece and ate it. Then I gave the next one to Ace and it repeated until the whole cake was gone. (Ace was shocked because she didn't use another fork! That's an indirect kiss, not that Sylvia noticed)

"This... Is the best day of my life," I sigh as I put down the fork that helped me devour a whole cake. Well... Half a cake. Ace was laying on my bed next to me as he looked up at the ceiling.

"You must be very happy to have eaten as much cake as you wanted," Ace comments as he turns on his side towards me.

"Well yeah, Lillian's always on my case about one slice a day and she has the nose of a bloodhound so she can always smell the chocolate drizzle if I do have some in secret. Right now, she can't say anything."

"Why not have it without the chocolate drizzle?"

"That's like having a sandwich without the filling. Like having a book without the cover. Like a jigsaw with a piece missing. It's the drizzle that completes it. And I will never have cake without the drizzle," I say, resolute.

"Well then, I'll be sure to never leave out the chocolate drizzle in your desserts again," Ace says as he closes his eyes.

"You better not, or you and me are gonna have words." I jokingly threaten as I lay onto my side, facing Ace.

I have to admit, Ace's face was a piece of work. He is obviously the 1st capture target with those looks. I sigh as I begin to play with a loose lock of his hair, twisting it around my finger and letting it go so it formed into a drill.

I struggled to hold in my laughter as I continued to do the same with another lock. Suddenly, Ace catches my hand as he opens his eyes.

"Are you having fun my dearest fiancée?" Ace asks with a grin.

"Well I was, you look so pretty with your new hairstyle," I tease.

"Hmm, it is a new look for me, however, I don't think drills are a good look for me," Ace comments.

"What, do you think that drills would look good on me?" I ask, recalling that game-Sylvi had really thick drills. I'm talking like one drill could be mistaken for a mini-tornado.

"No, I much prefer your silky smooth hair. Drills will only knot it," Ace says as he starts to play with my hair. "Don't you think, Sylvia?" Ace got really close to my face and I could tell I was blushing.

"I'm really tired right now, good night," I say quickly as I turn to the other side.

"Already, but it's still in the afternoon and I remember you complaining about how boring it was." Ace chuckles.

"Well I'm tired now, good night," I say as I close my eyes and try to calm my face down.

Hey guys, it's Rookie. So sorry not to publish for a long time but I've been taking a lot of time off because a dear family member of mine died due to Covid-19. I cannot stress how important it is to stay safe and hygienic. Please wear a face mask, please wash your hands and social distance so your loved ones won't pass away too. Finally got my act together and I'm now publishing, however since my exams have been cancelled, I have to work extra hard to show my teachers that I deserve a passing grade so there will be an unorganised schedule but u will try and publish as much as I can. Stay safe and stay healthy!