In Sickness and Health...

It was a Friday morning, and things were proceeding according to the usual routine. Shark Boy curled up in his father's lap, and said he didn't feel well. Within seconds, he told the King that he had to throw up, and they successfully rushed to the commode to take care of that bit of nastiness. The elder prince had clearly picked up a stomach curse known as a "bug". The bug ruined Shark Boy's Friday, and he had to throw up several times, including on the Queen unfortunately. He was very tired and spent most of the day resting. Luckily, the bug passed in just under a day, and the Royal Family was able to travel to their Castle by the Lake. The Saturday passed uneventfully in terms of any re-appearances of the bug, and they had a fun day. Sadly, by Sunday morning, it was clear that both the Queen and the Lightning Kid would be stricken. The Queen suffered worse, for the only apparent difference in the Lightning Kid's behaviour was occassional pauses to fire disgusting projectiles halfway across the room.

The King was stoic; his cast-iron stomach was the stuff of legend. To prove its mettle, he had considered even trying to take on an evil cursed food that had brought many others down into the depths of misery. He would not be given the chance, because early on the Monday morning he found himself under the same curse as the rest of his family - and his own mother would suffer a similar fate.

The King and Queen had worried most about the Lightning Kid. The next Friday he was scheduled to get new Tiny Titans for his ears - the previous ones had fallen out. His healer had recommended also to remove his adenoids, and this held much promise not only for improving hearing long-term, but maybe even turned him into a better sleeper, or reduce the number of runny noses - there were many promising possibilities for an outcome. Yet, he'd have to stay healthy to have the work done on him.

His recovery from the bug was so quick, and so complete, that they were able to go to the Healing House for Sick Children on schedule. In his usual fashion, the Lightning Kid refused to take a nap at any point before the operation, yet his bright, fun-loving personality kept him from getting too cranky while waiting (for the most part anyway). The King arrived late, having been held up by Royal business, and Shark Boy would spend the day (and that night) with his Grandfather and his wife. When the time to take the young prince into the operating room came, the King and Queen saw him off, and he bravely went with the nurse, needing nothing else but a wave goodbye.

The Healing House for Sick Children did its usual fantastic work, and the operation finished quickly. His healer told the King and Queen that she was able to put in one Tiny Titan in his right ear and one "Shepherd" into his left ear. The procedure took a certain amount out of the Lightning Kid, and he was sluggish the rest of the afternoon, being alternately held and comforted by the King, the Queen and her mother. Only one parent was allowed to spend the night with him while he stayed at the Healing House for observation, and while it had been decided that the Queen would be that parent, the King was dismayed that there would only be a chair to sit in; no bed to lie in.


Fortune stepped in, and there was a family with a sick little girl in the same room. They had opted to stay in a nearby inn and lent the lone overnight room that had been reserved for them to the Queen (the little girl must have been very brave to stay in the Healing House without her parents - it saddened the King and Queen to think she might be used to these overnight stays). The night was not a restful one, as a place like that is never strictly quiet, but the Lightning Kid slept about as well as he did at home - no worse (yet not much better). The next morning, he was on his feet, ready to explore as much of the Healing House as he would be allowed. He and the King got into a game where the King would lift him up to a bench then back down again, and do this repeatedly till their paired sets of giggles were ringing through the halls of the Healing House. His main healer said he was doing well and could go home - in fact a Healing House for Sick Children isn't really a place for ones as hale and hearty as the Lightning Kid, even if he did seem to be enjoying himself.

By late Saturday morning, the Lightning Kid was home, and so was Shark Boy and the Royal Family was ready for a September full of adventure!