The Darkness Within

27 - Trying

Ciara held tightly to the handle of Tala's harness as they walked slowly down the hallway. A little after she had woken up, an angel healer had come in and examined her. She had been deemed healed but was warned that just like any other injury, she might experience lifelong issues from her wounds. The scar tissue she had in many places might cause movement issues and her broken bones had begun to heal incorrectly before Lucienne was able to heal them properly, and therefore she might have lasting pain in the area. 

When the nurse was done, Ciara had asked to leave the medical ward, and was granted leave. The only issue was her body was still sore from her many wounds and the new scar tissue was something she had to get accustomed to.

"Just one foot in front of the other," Evelyn coached her down the hall. After Lucienne had fed her breakfast this morning, the Goddess was called into a meeting and Evelyn, joined by Tala, came to help her get to her new quarters. The wolf was happy to help her walk while Ciara was getting used to the new changes in her body.

Her hand that held onto the wolf's harness for support was creaky from all its abuse but was still functional. Now that the large gash that had been in her thigh was repaired thoroughly, she could feel the scar tissue within it, protesting every step forward she took. She figured that after some practice she would be fine to ignore it most of the time, so it wouldn't be too much of an issue.

It was slow-moving and certainly took a longer time than it would have before. The main issue was that she couldn't see, and while Tala was there to guide her, she didn't realize just how much she used her sight for balance until then. It was almost like learning to walk again, which was both maddening and distressing. The stairs were the worst because without seeing each individual step it was harder to predict where the next stair would be. She got the hang of it after a bit, but it still was harder than it had been before.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Ciara, they reached her new quarters. Lucienne had insisted she stay in the Dark Goddess's chambers, so that was where Ciara now found herself to be. Ciara didn't understand why the other Goddess had insisted, no matter how fancy a room was, she couldn't see it, but trying to argue with the Goddess of Light proved to be quite the task and after a bit, Ciara had backed down.

When she opened the door and stepped in with Evelyn and Tala, she heard a loud gasp from Evelyn.

"Woah," Evelyn responded, taking a few steps forward into the room. "I always wondered what the Goddess's chambers looked like. It's so pretty."

Ciara nodded her head. She couldn't see the rooms but the ones at the Domina's building were extravagant and considering this was the Light Goddess's castle, it makes sense for the rooms to be even fancier.

After a few moments, Evelyn reigned in her awe enough to give a brief tour of the rooms. First was a living room apparently fitted with a couch and coffee table. Then was the attached bedroom for her, matched with its own bathroom and closet. And lastly, there was a balcony attached to the bedroom.

When the tour was over, Ciara felt the need to be alone for a bit. She hadn't been alone since she escaped, and she should be safe in the Goddess's rooms. No one could enter them except the Goddesses and their Champions without being let in by those very same beings, so her chambers should be the safest place in the entire building.

It took some convincing and many tiring promises that she would be safe, to get Evelyn to leave, and when the werewolf finally did, Ciara sighed.

As if understanding where she wanted to go, Tala led Ciara to the couch where she sat down. Subconsciously, she ran her hand over her chest as if that could help alleviate some of the emotional pain that she felt. She had barely escaped alive, and while she had destroyed the building where she had been imprisoned and killed her tormentors, she could still feel the ghost of the pain within her body. It was unlike when her father and her friends had nearly killed her. This time, they had ruined her body so thoroughly that she would be severely damaged forever. Her father's friends' cuts and burns had been shallow and inexperienced, Bacia's torture had been professional and destructive with the intent to break her rather than to make her change.