Henry shook his head vacantly, staggering back a few steps and dropping heavily into an armchair parallel to the head of Beatrice’s bed, sitting as close as the containment ward would let him. He stared blankly at his wife’s face as he answered. "I don’t know. We didn’t suspect anything out of the ordinary until yesterday evening, when she started sneezing sparks. We went to the healers right away and they said ... she might have been incubating it for months now, and the symptoms only started to show. The dragon pox symptoms, that is. Before it just looked like a regular cold. Only now it’s in advanced stages and – and –" Henry drew in a shuddering breath and bowed his head, covering his face with his hands.