Ill Met By Moonlight

Chapter 46: Afflictions

Lex blinked a few times, staring blankly at the ceiling above her. The unfinished sentence the Avals had spoken to her rang through out her mind. It felt as if she were in a daze, unable to snap out of it.

''You're finally awake.'' a voice beside her said, semi-snapping her out of her daze. She turned her head as much as she could in the direction of the voice. Beside her, with her hood removed, stood Bela Dimitrescu. ''Seriously thought you were going to die for a moment there.''

Slowly, Lex started to sit up, grinding her teeth and forcing her sore body to move. Lady Bela moved closer to her and helped her sit up. ''Careful. Try not to move too much, you took quite a beating. You might have died if I didn't decide to follow you.''

Lex didn't answer Lady Bela right away, instead taking a moment to observe her surroundings. Just a few seconds of looking around told her exactly where she was. The sharp medical tools, vials of clear, wriggling liquid and dark, still liquid lined the shelves. Diagrams of the human body and notes of the Cadou parasite hung from the walls in a few different places. 

She started to panic and tried to remove herself from the table she had spent too much time in before. However, Lady Bela didn't allow her to move from her spot and kept her seated. ''Where's Miranda?'' Lex asked desperately, nearly falling over.

''Miroslava, stop moving so much. Mother Miranda isn't here. She's at the ceremony site and I don't think she'll be leaving anytime soon.'' Lady Bela answered and after a few moments, Lex started to calm herself.

''Lady Bela, where's Donna? Shadow and everyone else?''

''Shadow is still at the castle with my sisters and my mom. Aunt Donna, as well as my mother and Uncle Heisenberg have gone to confront Miranda.''

As soon as she heard that, Lex tried to get up. The blonde tried to restrain Lex which only resulted in Lex remembering all too vividly of all the times she had been strapped to the metal table she was sitting on top of her. The white haired woman began to fight back, her claws forming. As soon as the oldest Dimitrescu daughter saw the claws, she backed away. As a result, Lex fell off the table, reopening one of her newly healed injuries.

Cautiously, Lady Bela went to her side with a clean cloth, dabbing it against the woman's side as the wound erupted in steam. That's when Lex finally noticed her gloved hands.

''Your hands... what happened to them?'' she asked, forcing each word out as she calmed herself. The woman hesitated for a moment before removing one of her gloves to reveal a half crystalize limb. Lex didn't say another word as Lady Bela put her glove back on and once her wound healed, the two didn't exchange another word for a few minutes.

''They can't defeat Miranda.'' Lex said. Lady Bela didn't say anything, staring at a blank spot on the wall. ''Even if they all fought against her, she's incredibly strong and has Lord Moreau.''

''I know. They'll probably be seriously hurt. But I don't think that will stop them.'' Lady Bela muttered.

I doubt Miranda will harm them. She was tempted to say, but decided against it. ''Even if I was with them to help, I'd be more of a burden. I can't defeat her. You saw me in that field.'' Lex muttered equally as quiet.

''So what are our options? Surely we can't just sit here and let them get hurt. Sure, Mother Miranda may not kill them, but she will surely hurt them terribly.''

Lex didn't say another word, simply chewing the inside of her cheek. They couldn't sit there, that much was true but honestly, what could they really do? Lex was still exhausted from the steam that healed her body sucking the energy out of her. It was still cold out due to the rain, if Lady Bela was outside for too long, she'd surely crystalize.