Aurelia had been caring for Rhys the best she could. She knew this wasn't just a common illness—it was something dangerous, something that spread easily.
She gently wiped his fevered body with a damp cloth. His skin was dotted with red blotches, his breathing ragged, and his temperature still dangerously high.
She had encountered it once before. She and her mother had taken refuge in a small town stricken by the same plague.
Back then, they had been fortunate—a kind female doctor had taken them in and treated them.
She still remembered what the doctor said:
"This disease can be treated by this plant—eat it with meat or fish. If you survive, you'll never catch it again."
Luckily, the green medicinal plant was easy to find in the surrounding forest. She had been boiling it into stew with whatever meat she could hunt.
The doctor had said meat helped speed up the healing process.
