john knew something was wrong the moment he stepped into the dormitory.
The usual over-the-top greeting—complete with Sirin's signature smugness—was missing.
No surprise ambush. No sudden shouts of "Worship your Queen!"
Just silence.
Unnerving, thick silence.
He frowned and walked deeper into the common room. The soft humming of appliances and ticking of the clock were the only sounds.
"Sirin?"
No answer.
Then he heard it—a faint cough.
His steps quickened.
Pushing open the bedroom door, he found her.
Sirin was curled up on her bed, face pale, lips dry. Her golden eyes fluttered open at the sound, dull and unfocused.
"john…?"
Her voice was soft. Too soft. Weak.
He rushed to her side, placing a hand on her forehead.
Hot. Burning.
"She's got a fever…" he muttered.
Sirin tried to sit up, but john gently held her down. "Don't move."
"It's just... a little heatstroke... or whatever…" she murmured, trying to play it off with her usual pride, but it crumbled immediately as she coughed again, curling into herself.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"I didn't want you to worry..."
"That's exactly why you should've told me."
He quickly got to work—wetting a towel, checking her temperature, digging through the cabinet for fever meds.
Despite everything, she still tried to act composed.
"john…"
He looked down. Her eyes were hazy, but there was something else in them—something fragile.
"I had a nightmare," she admitted.
john paused.
"It was about you. You were gone. Everyone was gone. I was the only one left."
He sat beside her, gently brushing the sweat-damp hair from her forehead.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said.
"You say that… but people always leave," she whispered.
"I won't."
A moment of silence passed before she slowly reached out and grabbed his sleeve, clutching it like a lifeline.
"Stay here tonight…"
"You didn't even have to ask."
——
Time passed quietly.
Sirin lay beneath the blankets, breathing steadily now, the fever beginning to break. john sat beside her bed, watching over her.
But just when he thought she'd fallen asleep, she spoke again—her voice low, almost a whisper.
"Do you think… if I wasn't a Queen… would you still like me?"
john raised an eyebrow. "Sirin."
"No, really. If I was just… a normal girl. Nothing special. Not a Herrscher. Not powerful. Would you still stay with me?"
He leaned in closer, his voice firm but gentle.
"I didn't fall for the Queen. I fell for the girl who never gave up—who held her head high even when the world tried to break her."
She blinked, clearly caught off guard.
"Even if you lost everything tomorrow, I'd still be here."
Tears welled in her eyes.
"…You're so unfair," she said.
Then, without waiting, she reached out and pulled him close—burying her face in his chest.
"Don't leave."
"I won't," he whispered back, arms wrapping around her small, fever-warm body.
That night, he stayed by her side.
No battles. No danger.
Just two people holding onto each other in the quiet, as the Queen slept through her sickness—safe in the arms of the one person she knew would never leave.
Guys support me on my yt for more!!!