Illness The Arcanist's Cold [Kingkiller Chronicles Fanfic (M, Illness, Kvothe)]

[Lexi]

My all time favourite book is Pat Ruthfuss' "The Wise Man's Fear". The lack of Kingkiller fics on he and elsewhere is tragic. It's a fantasy epic that tells the story of a legendary wizard and musician Kvothe. The Wise Man's Fear is the second novel in the series.

The not so quick background for peope unfamiliar with this fandom:

The fic is set in a nobleman's court at a time when one of the most power nobles , the Maer/ Alveron is Kvothe's patron. He's a formal, stern, fair and kind guy that Kvothe works for. In exchange for music, writing love poems and even some magic Alveron gives Kvothe money, room and board in his estate and status. Kvothe is proud, talented, wildly intelligent, and fiercely ambitious. He studied scienice and magic. And he's one of the Edema Ruh, a proud but much hated and discriminates against nomadic people who's acting, music, trouping and entertainment is world renowned.

TLDR: Kvothe is a great, ambitious, poor and proud orphan. He's one of the best musicians and wizard. He lives in his wealthy patron'saint estate.

AND FINALLY, THE STORY:

The letter read:

I remain fully dedicated to your will.  However it is my duty to inform you that I have taken ill. Take not this as an attempt at refusal. I would not want your lordship to follow in my foot steps in this manner and as such am obliged to inform you. As always I am at your service. 

Steadfastly Yours,

Kvothe

The Maer paced his opulent room, letter in hand. He needed Kvothe, and so Kvothe was obliged to come.

It was simple. 

Yet not so simple as that. He had grown to love the young man, after a fashion, in the short time he'd been around. He wanted nothing less than to cause him suffering. 

And there was his own failing health to consider as a well. 

And so he paced, letter in hand. Conflicted. 

Meanwhile Kvothe lay in his room feeling, looking and, sounding quite unwell.

************

I was nervous;  the letter I'd sent the Maer was not my most eloquent, by far. It was overly formal and lumbered on in a way that was far from my usual easy flowing diction.

I lived and died by the generosity and continued satisfaction of the Maer. A bitter truth, I knew well. And I'd not lived so well as this since before my troupe - my family - was slaughtered But it was exceedingly rude to present one's contagious self; at least without warning.

So I'd written the letter to the best of my diminished abilities. Now I could only hope it wouldn't be ill received.

Hope and try to contain my increasingly frequent sneeze.

"H'ESHHuuu!" this latest sneeze bent me in half; a common occurrence since I'd woken up.

I only had one hankercheif and, though the hour was yet early was it sodden. It no longer made any attempts to contain the mess. It was content instead to impart even more snot onto my nose, and hands.

Still, a gentleman of the court had to at least try to contain such things. And though I was no gentlemen myself noone knows the importance of staying in character and the stories we tell ourselves to our outward apperance and role than I. And to the court of His Grace the Lerand Alveron, I must appear a gentleman. 

All this to say when Stapes entered my room I was buried nose-deep in my soaking handkerchief.

"HESH-OOOO! Eshh-uh! ISSH! Ih...ihhh Ishhh-Oooh!" 

I caught a second's glimpse of the Maer's manservant and most trusted friend before succumbing to my nose again. 

"HehETCH! HE-ATSHHU!

Though it was embarrassing to be seen in this state by a man who lost no love to me, I couldnt help but smile.  I knew my father would have been proud. Even when alone and horrible ill, I stuck to my role. I'm a trouper always and Ruh through and through.

"Heh...ihhh HETSHUUMph!" Once again a sneeze ripped through me, muffled in my handkerchief.

"Bless." He said curtly, handing over the sealed note in his hand.

"Thangk you Stapes" I said as I took it in the less wet of my hands,  trying not to pass along my germs. The note read:

"Think not of my health. Come at once to my chambers. We will discuss matters over tea"

Relieved, I sighed. He seem not to be angered by my note, taking it as I had intended: a polite foreword and forewarning. 

Even better, the tea seemed to indicate concern.

Having proven some of Cadicus' lies, the Maer'a trust in him diminished, and grew in me. I suspected his need of me had to do with confirmation of something his adviser proported to be true.

********************

Ps. Let me know what you think aND if you're interested in more! (Tbh I'M a continue anyway but an audience is nice to have!) Also please excuse and spelling or formating issues, my dyslexia and my phone work together to sabotage me all the time.

 

Edited November 23, 2017 by Lexi

[Kaze Wo Hiku]

AHHHHHHHH!!!!! KVOTHE YES!  There needs to be sooooo much more with this fandom!  This fits perfectly with the Maer was well.  As he hinted a few times of pneumonia during the winter months at the Academy I always wished Rothfuss had elaborated. 

I'd definitely want to see more

 

[Alabaster]

OH YES. Finally some Kvothe love!! Thank you! 

[Lexi]

YAAAAAAAAAS!

@Alabaster you're so damn welcome, fam.

@Kaze wo HikuI got you, more to come!

OK so I'm like ridiculously happy too see replies!!!! I'm embarrassed by how often I came back to check since posting.

I tried to match Kvothe's narative style but I'm not a writer and obviously can't write like Pat. I'm only halfway through on my latest reading of TWMF and haven't gotten to the vintas part. I'm gonna read that part again to get a feel of their interaction before I go on. 

But! I'm also writing a fix set earlier in the book at the University when Kilvin forced Kvothe to stop coming to the Fishery so he could rest.

Tldr I'm stupid happy people are into this and will continue, also look out for another Kvothe fic!

[Lexi]

I'm interested in constructive feedback! Lemme know what you think and where i could improve

And here's part 2: 

When I arrived at his chambers the Maer was pacing. His stern face was both contemplative and concerned. He relaxed visibly on hearing when Stapes announced me. The concern quickly returned when he looked at me.

It was no great wonder. I'd caught a glimpse of myself on my way here.  Paler than usual, my face was a colourless mask. Except for my irritated nose and the dark circles under my eyes. My nose was competing with my hair for brightest red.

I made a simple three point bow - polished but without flare - and immediately knew it had been a bad idea.  The shift in altitude offset the precarious balance in my nasal cavity.
 
"Kvothe, I-" the Maer began but the rest was lost as I cut him of with a sneeze.

"Heh...HESOOO!" I turned away, bending in half in one smooth motion, just barley catching the sneeze in the cupped hands. This was, of course, improper. I just couldn't reach my useless handkerchief in time.

"I- " the Maer began again, and was once more cut off.

"HESH! Ehhh ESHOO!" I remained facing away from him, hands cupped and ready. 

This wouldn't be over soon.

Six more harsh, wet sneezes ripped through my nose.

"HESH-OOO! ISHHUH!" There was brief pause, just long enough to gather breathe for the next explosion.

"ETSH! HEHkxtShoo! Eshoo! ISH-ah!"

The Maer waited a few moments before asking

"Are you quite done?" With more than a little irritation and plenty of concern.

I cleaned myself to the best of my ability with my handkerchief, and turned to address him. My nose tickled fiercely.

"Pardodn be your grace but I-" the tickle became too much and I gasped.

"Ahhh! ISH-uhh!" I caught the sneeze in my handkerchief and said

"I thingk dot" 

"God's body boy! You weren't at all lying when you said you were ill!" He looked almost impressed by my display.

"Unfortunately, doe. I was dot" I was on the verge of another sneeze, and quite exhausted from all of its predecessors.

Truthfully, I wasn't even curious about why I'd been summoned anymore. My head ached, and my throat was on fire. I just wanted to lie down. Just to stay awake was a great effort that was almost beyond me.

"How cad I be of service, your grace?" I croaked hoarsely.

"A question I was just asking myself." He said with a frown.

"Take this, yours looks to be at its end" he handed me a handkerchief that was finer than any of my clothing.

I hesitated, he insisted.

[WolfPack]

This is absolutely amazing! I love your style. Please continue!