FicWad

There were voices echoing around his mind. They sounded far away, almost detached, as if he was dreaming. At the time he believed he was.
"Stella, you already know we are not allowed to journey beyond the forest. It is much too dangerous. Everyone here is depending on you for their safety."
"But that's just it, Shade," Stella responded, sounding weary. "They depend on me. And if I am unable to heal, what will my purpose be, then? I had no choice. We desperately needed more winterleaves." The fog of sleep began to leave him, but he remained stoic and silent. He felt this was important to hear.
"You could have waited until night, when the storm passed," the boy suggested.
"There was not time. I have to do whatever I can to save those that need me. And as soon as I heard what the Messengers had found, I knew the people would need to be healed. This eternal December is unrelenting to those unaccustomed to it." Davey forced his eyes to stay closed. He was now fully awake, and felt much stronger than he had earlier. He felt something thin in his mouth, not knowing what it was. It held the faintest trace of mint, but more than anything, it was simply cold.
"Stella, all I'm asking is that you try to be safe. Without you, everyone here would be dead. Including myself," he added almost sheepishly.
"Thanks, Shade."
Davey finally allowed his eyes to flutter open. He was relieved to see that his vision had cleared, and he no longer felt overheated. But the wafer-thin object in his mouth was really starting to get annoying. He spit it out disdainfully.
"Oh, good, you're awake," said Stella, taking another frozen leaf and shoving it in his mouth. He was shocked at how cold it was, but it did seem to help.
"No doubt you're wondering about us," Shade lazily called from one corner of the room. He stood and approached Davey with dark, sympathetic eyes. Davey silently nodded.
"Shade, not now. He needs to rest," said Stella firmly. Shade's face tightened for just a moment, but he nodded once in agreement and turned to leave the room.
"I'm going to go grab Nex," he called out as he walked through the door and closed it soundlessly. Stella placed a hand on Davey's forehead for a second.
"Well, at least you don't have a fever anymore," she said with a sigh of relief. "I was worried you would go into the same state as your friend here." Her hand flew to her mouth the second she stopped speaking. She hadn't meant to alarm him. He sat up and looked over at Jade, who was still unconscious. He immediately saw that something was different.
Jade was staring up at the ceiling with wide eyes, but other than that it seemed like he was dreaming. He would whimper from time to time, and shivered in spite of the blankets piled on top of him. He suddenly started coughing, and the pale, limp leaf fell onto the floor. Stella sighed and picked it up with two fingernails, tossing it into the fire.
"He's been doing that for the past three hours. It seems like the medicine in the leaves isn't helping him; it's almost as if he's allergic to it." Davey lay back on the bed and closed his eyes, but not before a single tear rolled down the side of his face. He lay still as it worked its way down his cheek. Water. Liquid, clear, flowing water. Not ice. He was away from the ice's cruel grip; he would live.
But Jade had yet to break free.
"Oh, good, you're here," said Stella. Davey opened his eyes as two sets of footsteps approached. Shade had returned and brought another person. She had straight hair that curled toward her shoulders in a tone of warm brown, but its warmth was interrupted by four icy white streaks on the sides of her head. Her pale eyes appeared to flicker from steel blue to pale green in the low light, thickly surrounded by dark makeup. She wore a black cloak similar to Stella's.
"This one looks like he'll be okay," she said in a voice much lighter than her appearance, glancing quickly at Davey. She then took a look at Jade. "I have my doubts about him, however. There's only one thing left to try." She left the room and returned a few seconds later, holding several small, colored bottles. Stella shook her head.
"Nex, that's too dangerous. I think he might be allergic to the medicine in the leaves; do you have any idea what something like this could do to him?" she said warily, placing a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. She shied away in one fluid motion and placed everything on the counter, taking at least five of the leaves and tossing them into a bowl. She measured and poured the rest of the ingredients in it and watched as the leaves dissolved. She quickly poured the light green mixture into an empty bottle and placed it in the fire.
"Jade..." Davey tried to speak, but the half-frozen leaf was glued to the roof of his mouth. He swallowed desperately, but it remained where it was. Stella soon saw his trouble and told him it was okay to spit it out. He sat up and did exactly that. "Jade...he's cold," came Davey's whispering voice.
"No, he has a fever," said Nex as she took the bottle from the fire. She slowly approached Jade and knelt by his head. She lifted his head slightly and poured the bottle's contents- now a thick, oozing black liquid- into his mouth. He swallowed involuntarily, and for a brief moment everyone but Nex relaxed as nothing happened. Then he stiffened, and the faint glimmer of life in his eyes vanished. He went limp.
"Nex...you-"
"Don't, Shade," she said sharply, interrupting his disbelieving tone. "It's supposed to happen. The potion will slow down his heart so much that the rest of his body will think he's dead, but he's not. Don't worry; by morning it should be like he's never been sick." She stood and left without another word. Shade surveyed the room once and followed her. Davey took several deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He hadn't fully understood what had happened.
The only thing he realized was that Jade was dead.