Dying Dreams (AU)

Roses Rubies and Remedies

My eyes peek open to a spill of nausea and dizziness, and I lack the strength to sit up.
I'm under an ocean of dim candlelight. I turn my head a bit, but I stop when I feel a wave of dull pain shoot through my head. I groan.
I see a blur of light blue lean over me, carrying the aroma of herbs and flowers.
As the figure comes into focus, I see a bright smile strung across her face.
Her cold hand is placed on my forehead, causing a wave of goosebumps and a shiver. Her smile fades.
    "You're awake!" She says, meeting my tired eyes.  She hurries by the fire where she's cooking something in a cauldron.
Another taller gray figure walks in. They look at me, then to the blue stick.
  "I told you not to do anything to him. We don't know how he'll react to your medicines." They say calmly, then walk over to me.
   "Doesn't milk cure these types of things?" They ask her. She laughs in a nervous way.
   "That's only with potions... I'm making something that I hope will help."
"Don't do anything to him unless you're certain it'll work, you got that?"
"Mhm." She moves back over to me with a bowl and sits down next to me.
   "What are you giving him?"
   "Soup along with a healing remedy of mine." She says. The gray stick sighs.
   "That's not reassuring." They say. She rolls her eyes.
   "I'm very certain it'll work."
"What the hell did you do to me?" I say weakly, still unable to move or even open my eyes fully. She pauses and watches my eyes wonderingly.
   She looks down at the bowl.
   "You were all bruised up. I wanted to try a new remedy on you so you wouldn't be in so much pain when you woke, but... I guess I made it worse, didn't I..."
"I think so, Blue." The gray figure glares at who I presume is Blue. She ignores them, placing a hand under my head to lift me up.
   "Stop- what are you-"
"Calm down. I promise It's going to help." He says in an annoyed tone.
   "No- AGH shit!" I try to sit up myself, fighting the nausea and pain. She looks slightly annoyed.
   "I won't hesitate to tie you to the couch if I need to. I'm trying to help you."
"How can I believe that when I don't even know you?!" I say through struggled grunts trying to lift myself up. I watch the gray stick as they place a hand on Blue's shoulder. She glances up at them, then back to me.
"You can trust us. Do you really want to stay this way? If you let her give you the remedy, it'll help. When she's not experimenting, she's the best alchemist and healer I know. If anyone would help or want to help, it would be Blue. She means well." They say calmly. I hesitate to relax.
  "I'm Vic." They say and nod their head. "I'm.. Orange." I say.
   I look over to the bright blue stick who's face has softened a bit.
"Blue, you said?" She smiles and nods. I focus on her eyes, her smile. The name is familiar... her voice.. I've heard it somewhere before. She hands me the bowl.
"You seem capable enough to feed yourself. You need something in you, anyway." She sighs and walks back to the fire. Vic nods toward the bowl. "Eat." They say simply and walk off.
   I turn to the blue stick warming her hands by the fire.
"Where am I?"
"In my Ruby Room, as I like to call it." She says cheerfully.
I tilt my head. "Why is that?" I ask. She looks over to a stained-glass window, its panes making the figure of a red rose.
   "When the sun hits the window, it bounces off of anything reflective in the room, a lovely ruby red. It looks as if the room is dancing with fire... It's my favorite time of day." She says, her smile beginning to fade.
   She looks down at her hands, then begins to rummage around for something.
I take a spoonful of the soup as I watch her.
   It's a bit bitter, like rosewater and lime. I wouldn't call it a soup, however.
   It's a clear peach color, with green herbs floating inside it. It's warm, at least.
I watch her put on a pair of dark blue leather gloves.
   "What are those for?" I ask. She looks at me, then down at the floor. "I-I..." She pauses. "My hands were cold." She says in an awkward way, looking back up at me.
   "How's the soup?"
"Good." I say, taking another sip. My head has begun to stop spinning. The nauseous feeling also starts to dissipate.
   "Apart from the Ruby Room... where am I?" I ask. She smiles and nods, looking at her gloves.
   "Ah, I'd advise you save that question for Vic when you get the chance." She says. My eyebrows furrow. "Why, exactly? Don't you know where we are?"
"Just... trust me, okay? Ask Vic." She nods once more and leaves the room with a smile.
   I set the empty bowl beside me, watching the room begin to fill with red flicks of light.
...

  "What did you do, Blue?"
"What do you mean?" Says Blue, walking over to Vic.
   "It was a calming potion I infused the air with, that was it. I didn't want him to struggle or panic."
"It would've been better if we told him everything." They say. Blue shakes her head and sighs.
   "He wants to know where he is."
"So tell him." They say plainly.
   "It's not that simple. You can't just up and tell him-"
"So you want me to lie to him?" They raise their voice.
"Let him figure it out himself at least."
"And if he wants to go home?" They ask.
   She glances over at the doorway, then looks at the floor.
   "Then take him home."