Saint Ilina's Ward Second Ring

She had gone out again, hadn’t she? Tharia woke to the feeling of dull ache all over. The groaning girl pushed the blanket aside and stared at the cartoonish pony on the wall. Back again. Two guards were in the room with her. One had fallen asleep on a chair and the other was yawning so hard, that Tharia was willing to take bets when his jaw would pop.

“Fuck me”, she groaned and shuffled to the front of the bed. There was pain in places she hadn’t even known could ache. Her arms felt like she had rowed a boat for hours, the stomach was sure a carriage had hit it dead on and her feet hurt like they had been frozen off. The girl paused and wriggled her toes. Motion. The divine essence was back and busy healing her from the inside.

“Yo, guards”, she said with a louder voice, “if you bring me something to eat, I’ll be happy to ignore you just both fell asleep.”

The man standing shuddered as if lightning had struck him. He stared at her with the same scared expression as cattle in front of a carriage. Without a single word, he then ran out of the room, came back a moment later and dragged his companion out as well.

“Good times”, Tharia said sarcastically and swung her legs out of the bed. She was halfway down when she decided to check her leg motion again. They moved. This time she wouldn’t plummet. Her slim body slid out of the bed and the moment she put pressure on her legs, they gave in. Cursing profanities the world wasn’t ready to hear for another two centuries, she held onto the bed until she could finally stand.

“So we really did invite monsters”, the voice of a woman rang from the door. Tharia turned to look and saw a figure almost as small as herself. She wore a white robe and moved with authority.

“I’m usually better after breakfast”, was Tharia’s answer. She didn’t know what to make of the stranger in the robe.

“You shouldn’t be able to walk”, the woman said, “Yet you do”

“That’s what set you off?”

Her reply had been sharper than intended. The disability was a sore point for the girl. Anyone traipsing around that topic was in for a bad time. Sometimes justified, at times just bad luck. For the longest time, she had shoved these feelings aside. Grin and smile, people don’t mean harm. Fuck them. Tharia took a deep breath and glared at the smaller woman. The stranger cut her off with a gesture.

“You’re fuming. My colleague said you’d have a temper”, the small woman added and examined her from the distance.

“If you’re looking to provoke me, let me help you with that. Where is Annabelle?” Tharia snapped and turned to walk towards the stranger.

“Ground Rules first. I’m Doctor Awitel. This house is my kingdom and you’re a guest. You will not scare my colleagues, nor my patients. I don’t care who you are or what you do. You were broken, we healed you, you’re welcome”, Awitel put her arms against her waist and puffed out her chest to appear bigger. Tharia felt her intense stare burn holes into her mind. Defiance flared up in her and her first impulse was to lash out.

“You can...”, she started but then stopped herself. With her eyes closed, she forced herself to contemplate. It was true. They had taken care of her and she had repaid it with hostility. The issue with the spark had been cleaned up and could be attributed to a misunderstanding. Why exactly was she angry and ready to go on a murder spree? That wasn’t who she wanted to be, but out there, it had been all too easy a role to fall into.

“I mean no harm”, Tharia finally said with a faint voice, “Our encounters with other humans made us paranoid and angry. Please let me see my friend. In return, my magic will help your patients mend. Whether you believe me or not, I used to be a healer before all this started.”

Doctor Awitel gestured for Tharia to follow her.

The frail girl felt like a stranger in a foreign land. That person looked like Annabelle but to Tharia, it felt like she was gazing at the radiant sun. The room was filled with laughing children and her love playfully danced with a young boy while balancing an even younger child on her arm. The goddess laughed and joked with the kids and even told them sanitized stories about their adventures outside. To see her actually tell coherent if a bit slow stories stunned her to the bone. She had watched for a while when Awitel tapped her shoulder.

“She’s your beau, isn’t she?”

Tharia nodded.

“You’re like day and night”, the pesky doctor added with the accuracy of a scalpel. Tharia swallowed her sharp answer. Like before, it wasn’t exactly a wrong statement. Where Annabelle was light, she had become the counterpart.

“That isn’t wrong. I’m jealous of her too. She seems to be happier now than she had been in months”, Tharia spoke with a quiet voice.

“It’s not too late for you to join. Just take a step forward. You can be like her”, the doctor said. She wanted to. Just dance along, be merry and enjoy life for what it was. All it took was one step - and for the demons inside to be quiet. Pressing her lips together, she turned away and looked at Awitel.

“Lead me those that have no more chance”

“What are you going to do?” the doctor asked with raised eyebrows.

“Make up for some of the shit I’ve done.”

“You can start with the child there. He’s got a week at most. Lost a lung when his mother turned into a monster and now an infection threatens to take the other”, the doctor said and pointed towards a pale young boy at the corner of the room. He had a longing gaze but his movements were frail.

“Not in there, not in in front of all the others”, Tharia declared. Awitel however stubbornly pushed her inside.

“It’s not enough to heal the body”, the doctor said, “you need to heal the mind too. Give them hope, let the others see.”

Upon hearing those words, Tharia forced herself to enter the room. There was a momentary pause during which she noticed all eyes on her. Annabelle paused and smiled in her direction. They didn’t need words, one look and they had confirmed the other was alright. The goddess blew her a kiss and Tharia answered with one as well. Soon, the room was back to playing while the young woman with black hair sat down on the floor, next to the kid.

“No one sits with me”, the boy stated, his voice barely audible, broken by coughs and heavy breathing.

“Don’t care”, was Tharia’s answer. She easily slipped into a social mask. It was play pretend to be another, better person. All of a sudden, the young woman smiled and pointed towards the others.

“Want to dance with me?” she asked.

“You are ugly”, the boy answered and Tharia had to suppress a twitch of her eye. Bloody Kids. Brutal murderers by words.

“It’s because you’re not used to seeing fairy-kind. We look a bit different”, she replied. The young boy looked at her skeptically. He then shook his head. Even that small motion seemed to cost him a lot of strength.

“You’re no fairy”, he declared categorically. Tharia rubbed a finger against her nose. Annabelle was whirling around with a kid on either of her arms.

“Hey Annie”, she shouted over to the goddess. Annabelle stopped for a moment.

“Yes, Fairy?” came her answer and Tharia smirked. She blew another kiss towards Annabelle and then focussed her attention on the boy again.

“See?”

She then held out a hand and used one of her fingers to scratch her skin open. The boy looked at the drop of blood, a heavy coughing fit shaking his frail body. Tharia waited patiently for him to calm down and then finally allowed the spark inside of her to get to work. It danced towards her hand. Blue flames appeared within her palm and knitted the skin back together. The sick child’s eyes went wide.

“I’m a fairy. Tricks like this are simple. Now, you’re rather impolite are you not?” the human girl added with a stern expression, “Let me ask you again. Do you want to dance with me?”

“I suppose”

“Really, now?” Tharia snapped before remembering her role. She held out a hand and waited for the young boy to grab it. It felt sweaty and cold. There was barely a trace of life left within him. Tharia didn’t need to look at his life-flame to know that. She placed her legs to the side so that she had a stable sitting position and then decoupled her spark from her back. Immediately, all feeling left her lower half. Awitel to the side tilted her head and suddenly started taking notes.

Tharia ignored it. Her spark traced over towards the connection she had made with the sick kid. It easily permeated through his skin. The damage inside of him was far worse than she had expected – he really was on the edge of death. It was also better than she had hoped, for she could do something about it. First, she traced the essence over the lungs. One of them was sick and the other had collapsed. She couldn’t replace what was gone but she could heal that which was still there.

With a sudden smile on her lips, she poured all her divine essence into the spark. Blue flames erupted out of her hands. At the corner of her mind, she noticed the sudden silence around her but paid it no mind. Her magic enveloped the broken lung. The young boy started coughing as the essence went about healing the damage. Soon, he bucked in his chair and Tharia felt a strong hand bore into her shoulders. She shot her angriest glare towards Awitel and saw the doctor stumble back.

With no more distraction, she gave it her all. The previously lung suddenly filled up with air as the young boy took in a deep breath. She switched her attention to the other. Infections were much more trouble for her magic. All she could do was heal the damage it had caused. Still, with the second lung back in business, his chances had improved significantly. When she finally let go of his hand, her body was sweaty. She had expanded nearly all of her energy but it was all worth it to see the kid get drunk on fresh air in his lungs.

“Listen to my breathing”, she said to the kid, “You breathe in when I do and breathe out, when I do.”

She then made a show out of taking a breath and waited for the kid to mimic her. Once done, she breathed out again and let the child follow suit. Like this, she had him finally calmed down and adjusted to having his full lung capacity again. She pulled back her spark and the flames died out. Her legs convulsed and it cost her a lot to not flop about on the floor, yet she had a mask to maintain. With the last of her strength, she pushed herself up on her feet and then lifted the young boy off his chair. He weighed nearly nothing.

Her feet carried her to the center of the room where Annabelle waited. The goddess smiled. Did she look proud? Why did her love look so gods cursed proud now? Tharia grunted and then started to dance with him in a childish way. It didn’t matter that it looked embarrassing. His face went from apathy to laughing. Even if most of the humor was at her expense, thanks to her stilted motions.

Minutes later, Awitel appeared and shooed the children out of the room. She placed a hand on Tharia’s back.

“How did this happen?”

“My brother did this to me”, was Tharia’s answer.

Awitel narrowed her eyebrows, “You’re her, aren’t you? Few days ago we got a stream of people talking about the wicked Verholden witch and her concubine, the silver-goddess. Nasty rumors about how the crippled demon witch killed her own brother.”

Tharia shook her head, “Don’t believe them. I’m just a random girl and her beau – as you put it. What accent is that by the way?”

Awitel gave no answer. The doctor wrapped her arms around herself.

“I’d rather believe them”, Awitel said and directed her intense stare towards Tharia’s eyes, “His passing will not be mourned. That’s all I’m willing to say. Welcome to my house, you’re both guests of honor. Feel free to stay, even though you probably won’t. Before you go, come talk to me again. We might be able to help each other some more.”

With that Awitel left the room and the kids followed. Tharia could finally focus her attention on Annabelle. The goddess immediately pulled her close.

“You are so wonderful”, Annabelle said and overwhelmed Tharia with a storm of tiny kisses, “What you did for that kid... that’s the fairy I’ve fallen in love with.”

“Annie I...”

“Shut up, fairy. This kindness is what I love most about you”, Annabelle spoke surprisingly clearly, “It’s the girl that can be energetic and strong in the face of a cruel world, reminds me each day why we should press on.”

“Annie...”

“Stuff it. I’m talking. You need to realize that your cruelty is a mask too. You’re not an unfeeling monster, nor are you Mother Bone. It’s okay to be hurting. I’m hurting too. There’s no day where I don’t remember what the Dreamreaper had me do.”

“What did he...”, Tharia tried for the third time to get a word in, but Annabelle simply muffled her with a hand over her mouth. She blinked in response and the goddess continued.

“He made me kill you. In the beginning, I tried to resist. At some point, I accepted it. In the end, I enjoyed it”, came Annabelle’s words, “You trust me and you know I won’t ever do it. Well, you know more than I do. But seeing your belief gave me strength. You know me better than I do. Well, Fairy, I trust you too and I know you’re not really a cold and uncaring murderer. You’re my magical little woman with a sassy and sexy attitude. I know you better than you do.”

Now that Annabelle was finished, Tharia was at a loss for words. When Annabelle pulled her back into a gentle embrace, words weren’t needed anyway. After what felt like a beautiful eternity, Tharia pulled back a bit.

“Annie? There’s a thing I’ve wondered about, how did we survive that crash?”

“Something soft broke our fall”

“What did?”

“You don’t want to know”, Annabelle answered.

“No, but really, what was it?”

Annabelle shook her head, “You don’t need to know and you never will. Trust me, this is one memory you don’t want to be stuck in your head.”

Tharia pouted. Now she really needed to know.

Tharia leaned against a marble pillar in the foyer of the hospital. The thick cloak covered most of her figure. It had become something of a calling sign for her. People nodded and greeted her when she wore it. Without it, she had social invisibility. She let her eyes wander. Down here, the place looked like a fortress. The entrance was a selection of traps and they even had a couple of wartime cannons on the ready. She had no eyes for the many guards, instead, she gazed directly into a dozen large eyes pressed against the glass doors up front. Cloth-like creatures tried to gnaw through the glass. Behind them, mountains of ice had piled up and swallowed everything else as far as she girl could see.

“You’re ready to leave, aren’t you?” the doctor said to her. Awitel offered a cup of warm water to Tharia and she took it with a slight smile.

“We have to. It really feels like the whole world is dying out there”, Tharia said and savored the warmth seeping through the cup, “There’s a remote chance we might be able to change something about it. Wouldn’t that be worth it? For the kids?”

Tharia paused the moment the sentence had left her mouth. She actually meant it. For as bad as it had become out there, there were still good people left.

“For the kids would be a good reason indeed”, the doctor agreed with a grim tone, “Your friend thinks the same way?”

The lithe woman stretched her arms and let the words linger. Inside of her body, the spark sat idle, just working its magic to keep the connection to her legs going. She wasn’t entirely sure how Annabelle really felt. That beautiful perfect doll had been happier in the last two days than many weeks before that.

“I don’t really know how my Annie feels about it. Tell you what, I’ll ask her and then we’ll seek you out, does that sound good?”

The doctor nodded and left her without another word. Tharia grumbled. For a professional, that old hag had no idea about bedside manner. Then again, she wasn’t exactly a patient and the last doctor that had treated her, she had scared half to death. She pushed herself away from the pillar and headed back inside.

Tharia sat opposite to her love and smiled in her direction. She shoved a cup of tea towards her and then wrapped her arms around her chest. Annabelle answered her gaze with a slight smile as well but raised her eyebrows ever so slightly.

“Why I wanted to talk to you alone? There’s something we should decide before we head back out there”, Tharia began and leaned back. She crossed her legs by pulling them up with her arms. Once comfortable, she locked gaze with the goddess.

“What’s our end goal? Revenge?” she asked of the silver-haired beauty. Annabelle frowned and then hid her face in her hands. Her voice was quiet.

“I’m really not sure”, was the answer. Annie looked up again and Tharia saw the doubt in those eyes.

“That makes two of us. Listen, Annie, I’ve been thinking. We’re pretty shitty people, aren’t we? I mean, we had the chance to do so much good but we were always stuck on our course. Kill my brother, kill your husband. Kill this, murder that.”

Tharia grew quiet and waited for Annabelle’s answer. It took a while before she simply nodded and gestured for her to continue.

“Every legend has these goody two-show heroes, people with honest and beautiful hearts. Well, I’ve come to realize something in the last few days. When I healed those kids and people, the way they looked at me... Annie, I’m their hero. This broken fucked up piece of shit is something they look up to”, Tharia said and grew quiet. The silence lingered for a whole minute during which Tharia stared at the ground. She mulled thousands of ideas before finally speaking again.

“Annie?” she whispered, “I kinda like the feeling. What do you say we go out there, do our thing and maybe try and see if we can’t fix this mess? With you, I’ll even take on the world itself”

When Tharia looked up again, Annabelle was clad in full armor with a weapon in each hand. Words weren’t necessary after all. Tharia choked up and hid her face between her hands. Tears had never felt this good.

Hours later, the armor and weapons were long gone, she glanced at the pale skin of Annabelle and traced a finger along her cheeks. A loud sound intruded upon their moment of quiet company. The goddess tilted her head and then gently nudged Tharia off her lap.

“We should go and see what’s happening”, she said.

“Trouble, most likely. Well, it seeks company so let’s give it some”, Tharia replied with a smirk. The loud sounds mixed in with shouts. An icy wind started to waft through the corridors, spurning her into greater speed. She hastily picked up her crossbow and then followed after Annabelle. Despite the noises, everything happened with trained routine.

Doctors and nurses alike ferried patients deeper into the hospital on one side of the hallway, the other was free for guards to swarm downstairs. Tharia and Annabelle went along with them. A murderous frost had taken over the foyer, save for a small spot in the middle. Something made entirely of fire hovered above a body on the floor. Golden dust had spread out and glowed from within.

“Stop pointing your sticks at me you imbeciles and help the man”, a rather ludicrous squeaky voice came from the living flame. The flames wrapped around the man on the ground and lifted him up. Tharia blinked.

“Ravid? Sisi?!”

End: Plans and Monsters | Coming up: Departure