#an ollld prompt

[tallbluelady]

"Don't even try to get up" || "Watch me!" *stumbles and falls on the ground*

(this one is too funny not to send!)

"Rowan, lay back down, you're sick and need your rest," Papa scolded.

"I can stand up just fine!" She stood up on the bed, got woozy, then collapsed down into her pillows.

Papa sighed and brought a steaming mug over to her. "You need rest. Your mama is getting more medicine so you won't be so dizzy."

"Why does dizzy feel like it's in my ears?" Rowan grumbled.

"Because it is. Your humours are out of balance, and the kind in your ears are effected by the kind in your eyes and nose."

"That's gross!"

"That's life, little tree," Papa stroked her hair. "Try breathing in the steam through your nose."

Rowan did as she was bid and felt a little better. Enough that she wanted to stand and play again.

"Will you lie still if I tell you a secret about dragons?" Papa asked.

Eyes wide, Rowan grabbed her stuffed blue rabbit and nodded. Papa never liked to talk about his time as a dragoon, even if he did train her and Ellant how to use a spear.

"One of the main ways that we dealt with dragons was to make sure they couldn't fly. Sometimes that was slicing up their wings so they couldn't flap them, or their legs so they couldn't launch. Or -" he gave Rowan a conspiratorial look, "it was to affect their balance."

"How'd you do that?"

"Many times, a dragoon would strike at the base of their tails. It was safer to do that many times, but if you didn't get through the dragon's hide, it didn't do much," Papa said. "If you had a good archer, however, you could trust them to shoot at the dragon's ears and eyes."

"But those are small targets!" Rowan said, "And dragons move, don't they?"

Papa nodded gravely. "They move so much, little tree. But one good arrow in the eye or ear of a dragon could spell the end of them, if it didn't kill them outright."

"Because they were blind and dizzy?"

"Aye, even if it's just a dizzy dragon it makes it so much easier to slay. So that's why we want you to stay still and regain your balance, dear."

Rowan pouted. "But I'm not fighting dragons."

"No, you're not. And I pray you never do, but fate oft works against my wishes. But if you hurt your balance now and have to fight a dragon, I don't want you to die because you're dizzy, do you hear me?"

She nodded. "Aye, Papa."

"That's a good girl. You can read if you'd like, but you need to lie down for a while."

Rowan nodded again. "Can you get me a book?"

Papa smiled. "Is there one you'd particularly like to read, little tree?"

"Can you get me the one from Sharlyan?"

"Of course."

Thanks for the prompt!