Angelus Carduus

Chapter 30: Court Judgement pt.2

Valeria felt like she was floating around aimlessly until a force pulled her down, dragging her. When she opened her eyes she had unconsciously closed, she saw the dreaded bright white walls she had been enclosed in for many years.

She squinted, unable to take in how bright it was before noticing her left arm had tubes inserted in her. She glanced at her right, which was the same as well.

"Why...am I here..?" she questioned but no one other than her was present.

That was until a knock on the door echoed before it slid open, revealing her doctor who had been taking care of her since she was a kid.

When they first met, the doctor had just finished his internship and studies, making her his first patient he ever had. He poured his heart and soul out into trying to help her get better and be at ease.

To Valeria, he was one of her guardians.

"Good morning Valeria, how have you been?" her doctor asked as he placed her health chart down.

Valeria couldn't tell if this was real or a dream but she answered him like how she usually does,

"The same."

Her doctor nodded, showing her a smile, "That's good but remember you have to tell me if anything doesn't feel right to you. If anything hurts, report it."

'But I can't tell if it hurts. Everything feels the same.'

Valeria wanted to say that but decided to stay silent, nodding to her doctor's words before he soon left to tend another patient.

Valeria brought her gaze over to the window, her eyes dull and mundane. She tried to move her arms which still could move before trying her hands and fingers. After that she tried her legs. It did not move.

This time she tried to wiggle her toes but it didn't move as well. Valeria stared at her legs absent mindedly.

Why was she back here? If this was a dream, why this one? But then again, any memories of her past were never nice. Same background, same faces. The same mundane life that was already losing colour.

Well, Valeria could care less at this point. She rested her head back against her soft pillow and closed her eyes.

"Valeria? It's time for your medicine." a nurse knocked on her door, heading inside with pills and injections she had to take daily.

Valeria extended her arm out listlessly, allowing the nurse to inject her. She swallowed the pills without water and continued to look out the window.

A bird sat on the window edge, looking back at her, its head tilted to the side. Valeria did the same.

After a short staring contest with the bird, it flew away so she decided to sleep as she had nothing to do but allow time to pass.

Whilst she was drifting off to sleep, she heard someone calling out to her.

"...e"

It sounded familiar to her but she couldn't pinpoint that feeling.

"...fe"

Her name didn't end with 'fe' yet she wanted to reach out to that voice calling to her. However, she felt so tired, so drained.

Despite trying her best to hear that voice once more, she wasn't able to as she fell into a deep slumber once more.

"Why isn't she waking up?" Aelius asked Keith, his hand gasping hers tightly.

It had been more than five days since she had collapsed and though the poison was almost all out of her system, her eyes never once opened. It made him scared. Fear building up in his chest as he thought of the worst thing he could think of.