Forest of Fireflies

Chapter 75

I woke up feeling as if I was enclosed in thick cotton. With my eyes still closed, I reached for my head, and felt a bandage around it. I opened my eyes in fear. Immediately, I recognised the ceiling too easily. I was back in the hospital. Then, my memories rushed back to me. I skipped a breath when I remembered that I had killed Jason.

No...how could I let myself do that?! I didn't want to do that! I'm not evil!

One of the nurses in the ward noticed that I was awake and came over to me. "Your highness, your head will feel a little sore, but all is well. Yesterday, we've performed surgery on it-"

"Surgery?!" I exclaimed.

The nurse gave me a reassuring smile and replied, "Your skull was fractured when you were brought in. Details were were given on what had happened are limited, but it seems like you were lucky to have escaped a nasty blow. Your head may feel a little thick for the next few weeks, but we've given your mother instructions on the painkillers that we've prescribed for you."

"My mother? Where is she now?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"I'm not sure, but she was by your side the whole time, ever since you were brought in. She left with the sheriffs about two hours ago."

The blood in my face drained as I started panicking, "What will they do with her, me? I...I did something I shouldn't have and now they're gonna lock me away wouldn't they? Or they'll put that cuff back onto me again and I don't-"

"Calm down, Daniella. You don't know what the outcome is yet, but I'm sure your mother will defend your actions," the nurse replied with her hands on my shoulders.

I frowned, "What do you mean...?"

The nurse lowered her voice and whispered, "A boy has been brought into the hospital the same time as you. However, he has been pronounced dead."

I suddenly wanted to shrink away from the nurse but she seemed to have read my thoughts as she said, "Relax. I'm only here to make sure that you can leave the hospital relatively healthy after that blow to your head."

I nodded before realising for the first time how familiar this nurse looked. I couldn't help but voice that as I began, "I feel like I've seen you before..."

"Perhaps in Storybrooke, but I don't think it was possible in the Enchanted Forest, unless you could have looked back in time."

That gave me a hint and I immediately exclaimed, "You were my mother's handmaiden weren't you?"

She looked a little shocked as I said those words but nonetheless, confirmed it as she nodded. "Yes, but only up to a few years after King Leopold's reign. How did you know?"

I shook my head, "I uh, I saw it somewhere."

She chuckled, "Mmm, I think I've learnt by now that magic allows you to know things others don't."

I murmured quietly in response, "I guess so...But anyway, do you know if Mama's mad at me? Was she upset?"

"More or less very concerned and worried when she saw you, or so I've been told. The entire left side of your face was covered in blood and your friend told us that you've been hit by a rock."

My brain slowly caught up with what had happened. I nodded slowly, "What happened afterwards? Jason, his parents..."

The nurse took my hands and said in a low voice, "Everything will be taken care of."

I crumbled into tears, horrified at how I could have possibly caused the death of someone's son. When I looked at my hands, that have once held the heart, I let out a strangled sob. Luckily, the hospital had put me into a private room, as I feared that sooner or later, word would spread and the whole town will have knowledge that I have killed someone. The nurse tried to calm me down, but I couldn't stop. My vision blurred as tears fogged up the hospital.