As one. Always. (A Loki fan fiction)

Chapter 3

Her head was pounding. She felt like she had been on sedatives or laughing gas. She had no sense of her body, everything just felt weird. Noelle was barely aware of anything the past few days. She heard voices, people coming and going. But she couldn’t open her eyes. After long periods of this, things were clearer. Much clearer. She knew someone was taking care of her. That much was sure, because after a certain period, someone would gently apply a cold cream-like substance on her skin.

Time had no meaning while Noelle was asleep. She felt awake at some point, but she still couldn’t open her eyes. It was like the energy had been drained of her body.

It was on her fourth day in the healing room that she finally was able to open her eyes. She had been pushing them open, using all her force. It’s time to find out where the hell I am.

When she finally opened them, she noticed her right eye didn’t open as much as the left one. What the-oh right. The crowbar.  As if triggered by memory, her forehead, eyebrow and cheek started stinging as well. And suddenly the whole night came back to her. The fight…

Noelle remembered everything. She had been walking home from Lana’s when she was attacked. Garrick. Garrick attacked me! Garrick has brutally beaten her. With a crowbar. I tried to save him. She began to hyperventilate. Focus. I need to find out where I am. She tried to push herself up into sitting position, but halfway there she hissed in pain.

Oh right. She thought. My ribs. They kicked me in the ribs. Her neck felt stiff, her hands felt sore. It took her a few moments to get through each wave of sore, stiff and painful parts of her body. Each time she inched forward to sit up, she catalogued the areas that hurt most: Her ribs, her neck and back. Her face…well she supposed it was bearable. Guess I won’t be going out in public anytime soon.

When she was finally able to sit up, she took a few deep breaths, and took in her surroundings. The room was white, with beds in rows. There was an adjoining room at the end of the white room, the doorway covered with a thick green tapestry. Well, she thought, I’m definitely not in a regular hospital.

 Noelle moved a stiff leg, testing it. Her legs weren’t sore, just stiff. I must have been laying here a while. How long have I been out? She moved the other one, doing the same tests, before attempting to swing her legs over the side of the bed. She succeeded, but let out a strangled gasp. Her ribs felt like they were on fire! She had never broken a bone before. Is this what a broken bone feels like?

She took a few moments to rest again. She felt a little drained from just that simple movement. She was still catching her breath when a man walked into the room. Noelle didn’t see his face; she was too focused on the ground and catching her breath. She did see the black boots though.

“Oh…You’re awake.” The man had a deep, musical voice. She froze. Her father had that same accent. “I shall fetch the head healer. It seems she has grown tired of waiting on you to awaken.” Noelle slowly looked up at the man, and the first thing that caught her breath was his eyes. They were a luminescent green. No one has eyes like that. No one on earth. His hair was jet black, his face slim, and his skin pale. He was quite handsome. He smirked at her. “Do you see something you enjoy?”

She ignored his question. She was too focused on his clothes. They weren’t from earth. They were like her father’s clothes…the ones he wore the day he left for…

“Where am I?” Noelle said frantically. “Am I-I’m not on earth anymore?” The man shook his head.

“No. You are not.” He looked at her funny. Is he my care-giver? Is he examining me?