Anna joined him in their room as light broke, trying to get Mariah to nurse. "Please eat," she encourages softly.
Mariah was fussy at first but she felt hungry after not nursing for a while and began to suckle on her mother's breast slowly. She closed her eyes, focusing only on feeding.
Anna sighs as she is barely able to suckle. She holds her carefully, sitting upon the bed beside Kodai.
Mariah tried her very best to drink but it seemed impossible by how weak she was. Kodai awakened within a few hours, surprised that Anna was in the room. "Did she feed?" softly he questioned his beloved Anna.
"A drop or so, it's been over twelve hours," she says worriedly. "She's so weak she can barely latch on."
Mariah whimpered and gazed up at her mother with curious eyes. Kodai frowned at the news that Anna had expressed to her. "This is horrible. We must do something."
"I dont know," Anna begins to cry. "I just wabt my baby back," she hiccups through her tears. "Do your parents know we had to get the doctor last night?"
Kodai felt as if he would burst into tears as well but he held them back. He arose to a position of sitting, embracing Anna ever so closely to him. "I heard of a person in town who may have a quick remedy for fevers. My parents told me about this mysterious person but I never really believed in his methods. Do you think that we should try?"
"Magic?" She asks fearfully. "I'm torn. We're not supposed to, but she's so sick."
Kodai nodded at what Anna had said. He held one of her hands, gazing down into her eyes with his own loving ones. "We must try something. She is becoming very weak."
"Should we seek your mother and father's counsel?" She holds his hand tightly as Mariah cries weakly.
"Yes. I believe that we should." Kodai nodded, keeping his eyes locked into Anna's. "I also believe that they will be accepting of our choice."
"We shall go to them now," she says firmly, holding the weeping infant tightly.
Kodai nodded with agreement and arose from the bed that both him and Anna were sitting upon, following after her as they made their way from their room and down the hall toward the throne room.
Anna enters the throne room. The Queen's smile immediately drops as she sees Anna's face. She tries to hold her tears but a few drop as Kodai comes to her side.
The king stroked his beard curiously, wondering as to why Anna seemed so saddened. Kodai spoke for the both of them, trying to stay calm and without tears. "Mother .. Father. I wanted to ask a favor of you. Our daughter has become stricken with a fever and the herbs have not worked that the doctor had injected Mariah with so please could we use magic to heal her?" The King and Queen spoke amongst themselves and then nodded. "We shall let you use magic. Just be very careful about what you choose." The Queen said softly.
Anna cries thankfully. "Thank you. She has not even eaten," she says to the Queen. "I have never seen a baby this ill; even with my work with the doctor."
Kodai smiled at his parents for accepting, placing a hand upon one of Anna's shoulder as he provided support to her. The King and Queen both nodded, listening to Anna's words of sadness for Kodai and Anna's daughter.
"We should go," Anna said, looking up at Kodai. Mariah has tired herself, just whining with her eyes closed, almost limp in Anna's arms.
Kodai turned and nodded at Anna, taking one of her hands and leading Anna from the castle and into the town where the magician was.