The Angel and The Crow~Mother Miranda x OC

Stitched Up/Emotions

The next thing I knew was white hot agony burning through me, and the faint sound of voices coming from what seemed to be quite far away, and I had to struggle with all of the strength that I had to merely open my eyes. My vision was blurred, and everything around me seemed tinted with black, my head spinning with exhaustion and pain, my thoughts a jumbled blur. I wasn't certain where I was, bloodied bandages and surgical equipment strewn about on various surfaces, and struggled to form words, but I could only manage a weak noise of pain and fear. I closed my eyes, the throbbing in my skull too painful to let me keep them open for very long, and heard someone talking to me, their voice still quite hard to make out, ringing numbing my ability to hear.

Soft and gentle hands turned my head from side to side gently, the scent of flowers clinging to their skin, and slowly, the agonizing pain began to fade from my body, a warm, peaceful feeling sinking into my bones, nearly causing me to fall back into sleep. The hands slowly slid away from my face, and I felt a very faint tugging against my back, a bit of pressure there, but I could not tell what was happening. I wanted to feel that peaceful forever, not having had a true moment of peace since before my Evan died, but knew that was likely too good to hope for. After what felt like merely seconds, but was likely several minutes, the happy feeling began to fade, but I wasn't in quite as much pain as before, able to wake up fully this time. I slowly sat up, blinking, and grimaced in pain, my back aching terribly, and I saw a woman in a black dress and veil standing nearby, her face hidden beneath her veil, but could tell she was staring right at me.

I knew I had seen her before, and it took me a moment to process that she was one of the four Lords who had been dining at Miranda's table. "Try not to move too much just yet. Your injures were quite horrible.." Her voice came out as not much more than a mere whisper, my heightened hearing managing to just barely catch the words, and I stopped moving, processing what she had said, my memories foggy and jumbled together. After awhile, I faintly remembered what had happened with Miranda, me, the beasts, and the cliff, and couldn't understand how I was possibly still alive. I was almost positive that my spine had snapped in half, and that I had been torn to pieces. So how was I still breathing? Miranda's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, as she quietly said, "Donna is quite skilled with a needle and thread, as well as medicinal plants, and with my medical expertise, we were able to save your life. It was a very close call, however. You stopped breathing for some time.."

Her voice held none of the anger and disgust that it usually did, once again soft and gentle, almost as if she were worried about frightening me. I turned my head away from her, and replied, "I believe I told you to let me die. Why bother keeping me alive? Oh, I had forgotten; My blood will bring your child back to life. You couldn't waste any precious drops, now, could you? I assume you have a dozen vials filled to the top in case I become injured once again." Sharp nails dug into my jaw, my face forced to lift up, my breath catching in my throat, as I found Miranda's eyes locked with mine, a stormy sea of emotions brewing in them, her face centimeters from my own. "Is that supposed to be some sort of joke, pet? I don't find it amusing. Do you find it amusing, Donna?" The veiled woman seemed like an animal trapped in the gaze of a predator, and she shook her head, trembling.

I pried Miranda's hand away, and steeled my gaze and jaw, anger and confusion flooding my body. "A joke? I was quite serious, Miranda- All I am to you is your experiment. I keep falling into your trap over and over, when you play your little mind games, pretending to be kind and to care for me as something other than your lab rat. I will not give you the satisfaction of thanking you for sparing my life, when I wanted it to end. You think you're an all powerful woman, but you really use the pain of others to help your ego. You couldn't care less about hurting others, if it brings back your child. I was once like you, and now, I feel sorry for you.. But that pain? It will never end, even if you were to achieve your goal. It will always be with you. I know that all too well.. You will always be alone."

I felt something inside of me twist with shame, as I saw her step back at my words, pain clear on her face. "I see. Perhaps you are right.. Once you are fully healed, I will take you back to your home myself. You will never have to see me again. Trying to bring my Eva back to me has brought me nothing but pain, and it seems that I will never be able to perfect the formula I was going to use. It is better to be alone- You cannot get hurt if there is nothing to harm you. And yet, somehow, you hurt me more than anything ever has, save for losing my child." That caught me by surprise. I.. Hurt her? I suppose I had been too busy being in agony while she experimented on me to notice then, but her shoulders seemed heavy, as if she carried some great weight on them, and she seemed beyond tired. I wondered how long she had been like that, and realized it must have been centuries. Donna, or Lady Beneviento as I knew her, seemed to take that as her cue to leave, and silently hurried off, leaving Miranda and I with awkward silence stretching out between us.

I watched her as she cleaned up the bandages and other items, wondering how she had gotten me to where I was, remembering how injured she had been herself. Had she carried me all that way while she was losing blood as well? I could no longer see any injury on her porcelain skin, but there were dark circles beneath her eyes, and the stiff way she moved suggested that she was in more pain than she was willing to show. Like always, she refused to show her weakness, and to act strong, regardless of the exhaustion that was clearly causing her to pause every once in awhile. The more I watched her, the more I noticed little things like that, and began realizing that while she was cruel and cold on the exterior, and acted terrifying, she was much like anyone else, hiding her true self to try and shield herself from any further agony. She was merely a lonely woman, and a broken mother who had lost her only child, just as I had. Before I could quite comprehend what I was doing, I stood up from the bed, and yanked her into my arms, feeling her instantly stiffen up. "What are you doing??"

She struggled for a minute, but I held onto her tightly, careful not to hurt her, and she eventually gave up. I felt her sink heavily into my arms, her head on my shoulder, her breaths ghosting against the skin of my neck. "Hold still, alright?" Before she could say a word, I closed my eyes, then felt her flinch in pain as what was left of her injuries disappeared. I opened my eyes again, shaking a bit, and sat down heavily on the bed, fresh pain on my body where her injuries used to reside on her, and let out a heavy sigh. "That is what I was doing." I didn't have to see her face to realize she was in shock, her voice shaking as she asked, "What exactly did you do?" I stayed silent, until she firmly said, "Naomi. What did you do?" I shrugged, instantly regretting it, tearing up with pain, and muttered, "I took your pain from you. It is something that my- Only creatures like me can do it." I looked down, having almost said "my people", but I could no longer call them that. I laid back down, and turned away from her, going quiet, my heart aching once again for my true home..