“Oh my, it’s so cold outside! Let’s go inside,” Annabel pulled him back into the house. “I heard you came to the academy, and I thought they might be mistaken. I haven’t had lunch yet.”
Albert signaled to the driver, who ran toward the direction where Wilhelmina had gone. Annabel didn’t seem to notice and enthusiastically pulled Albert toward the elevator.
Wilhelmina ran furiously into the dormitory. The snow on her hair and body melted in the warmth, soaking her clothes and making her shiver. She sneezed twice, cursing Albert in her heart, and angrily returned to her room.
“Oh my God, didn’t you bring an umbrella?” Angela looked up from her desk, jumping in fright. “Poor Willy, let me run a bath for you. First, wipe your hair.”
Wilhelmina threw her bag on the floor and grabbed a towel to dry her hair. Before the bath water was ready, she sneezed several times. This prompted Angela to find the dormitory supervisor. By the time Wilhelmina came out of the shower, the school doctor was already in her room.
“I think Your Highness has caught a bit of a cold,” the doctor said, prescribing medication and instructing Wilhelmina to rest for half a day after taking it.
“But I’ll miss my history quiz,” Wilhelmina protested.
“I’ll help you ask for leave,” Cairns said, “You’re so lucky. Maybe you can sneeze on me so I don’t have to take the test.”
“Go away!” Wilhelmina exclaimed.
After Angela brought hot milk and left for class, Wilhelmina let out a long breath, feeling a surge of shame and anger. She struggled to understand Albert’s behavior. Her anger raised her body temperature, causing dizziness. The cold medicine took effect, and she fell asleep.
It wasn’t a comfortable sleep. Wilhelmina experienced waves of dizziness from her fever and had a strange dream where she piloted an Explorer spacecraft, dodging meteorites and light beams. As a blinding light beam shot towards her, she screamed in terror, desperately trying to steer the ship.
“No! Grandma… Owen! Owen!”
“Shh… I’m here. Baby, don’t be afraid, I’m here…”
The gentle voice gradually calmed her.
Hans Borg gently wiped the girl’s bright red face with a damp cloth. The child moved restlessly but didn’t open her eyes. “Her temperature is too high.”
