Her Maiden

Epilogue

Night creeps through the window to the bedroom, a sky of sparkling stars glistening like diamonds, their keen glints catching your eye as you manage to awaken, though you are still so bleary-eyed.

It wasn't the first time you had awoken.

Fragments begin to come back to you, in fact.

Voices, moments of sunlight, feelings of warmth and cold, hunger and pain.

Now however, during the dead of this cold winter night, is the first time you feel lucid, the first time you are truly conscious and grateful to find yourself alive, here, in Alcina's bedroom, one of your favourite places to be in the entire world. One which you were unsure you would ever see again.

But, as you look around, you realise with disappointment, that you are completely alone.

You sit up, somewhat weakly, your head buzzing with pain. You notice a needle in your forearm which leads to an IV drip by the bedside.

A bag of dark, medicinal liquid hangs above you, dispensing it's contents slowly down, one thick droplet at a time.

You grimace as you pull the needle from your arm, a small trail of blood spattering in it's wake.

That didn't matter now. There were more important things to focus on.

Alcina.

Her daughters.

Were they all okay? Why weren't they here, waiting for you to wake up?

Your stomach knots as panic begins to overcome you. Where were they all? Your last waking moments had been such a hectic blur, you couldn't be sure now if you truly had succeeded in defeating Miranda. What if, somehow, she had come back? Returned to kill the Dimitrescu's whilst you lay unconscious? How could you possibly know for sure until you saw for yourself?

Terrible mental images begin to materialise in your mind's eye. You, falling unconscious by Alcina's side. A moment of quiet, before Miranda suddenly gasps awake, resurrected and set on revenge.

No.

That cannot be.

You slide down from the bed, using it to support your body weight as you carefully regain your balance. You are unsteady, your feet cold, numbly trudging their way across the stone floor as you hug the walls to stay supported.

You are dressed in an unfamiliar white lace nightgown. It trails to the floor, so you pick it up frustratedly as you push onwards - the last thing you needed right now was to trip and fall. You notice, as you grab the fabric, that your forearm is bandaged neatly, meticulously.

You pause, using your other hand to briefly touch the edges of the material, wanting so badly to unravel it so as to see the damage, but, you realise, there is no time for that. Not when things around the castle felt so... off.

You stagger down the hallway outside of the bedchamber. It is well lit, and a warm, welcoming sight, as you gaze around at the familiar historical portraits and priceless antique vases adorning it, however you cannot help but notice how empty it is.

You make your way to the library, which you know to be Bela's favourite haunt.

You grunt as you push the heavy door open.

Again, the room is lit and just as you remember it, but, you find to your dismay, also entirely empty.

Where are they all?

Your heart begins to pound a little, suddenly you begin to wonder if your wild ideas about Miranda were all that crazy. This could be another one of her twisted games, to punish you for attempting to kill her.