From Dusk Until Dawn

Chapter 26: Recovery

(A/N: I meant to upload this yesterday but I had gone out to see Scream 6. Anyway, have a good day/night!)

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Alcina sat next to Rue, her gloved hands resting on her lap. There tubes of fluid sticking into Rue's arms and her wounds had been cleaned, stitched and bandaged thanks to Mother Miranda, who had returned from her trip. Rue had been unconscious for the past two days. For those two days, Alcina rarely left the room and barely had anything to eat or drink. Not once did she even attempt to hold her hand, the memories of her claws piercing Rue's abdomen was burned into her mind. In that moment, she didn't see Rue as the one held up by her claws, but as Daria. The way Rue was suspended in the air was the same position Daria was in before she died.

The door to Alcina's chambers opened and in stepped the Lycan that had led them to Rue's family home. The beast whimpered, slowly moving towards the unconscious woman. Alcina's didn't say anything as the Lycan pushed his head under Rue's hand and resting his head on the bed. Despite not being thrilled about a disgusting Lycan to be in her private chambers, let alone touching her bed sheets, she wasn't about to kick him out when she saw Rue's hand slowly moving to pet him.

Rue groaned before forcing her eyes open and blinking slowly. The first thing she seemed to notice was the Lycan, but Alcina didn't care. She was just overjoyed that she was finally awake.

''Hey... you big Bear...'' she heard Rue weakly say before looking to the side. Her green eyes seemed to brighten when she saw her. She bolted up right before groaning and falling back against the bed.

''Draga mea, don't move. You're still weak.'' the Countess said, moving closer to her but refusing to touch her. The maid gave her a loving smile, causing her heart to flutter. ''Oh Rue... I'm so glad you're alright.''

The maid sat up slowly, which Alcina protested but the woman didn't seem to care. Rue moved close to her, bringing her hand up to Alcina's face and wiping away the tears she didn't even realize had been flowing down her cheek. ''Hey, I'm alright. See?'' she said, gesturing to herself.

''You almost died. I almost killed you just like I killed...'' she stopped, squeezing her eyes shut to compose herself. She wanted nothing more than to look at Rue but when she did, she couldn't help but feel disgusted with herself.

''But you didn't kill me.'' Rue winced, hunching over for a moment as she pressed her hand against her wounds. Alcina could smell the blood and hesitantly helped Rue lay back down. She lifted the shirt and saw the bandages around her stomach was stained with more blood than last time. ''If you wanted to see me naked, you could have asked.''

Alcina couldn't help but chuckle and she removed the bandages before dabbing a damp cloth against the stitched wounds carefully. She watched as Rue bite her lower lip due to the pain. After cleaning the wound, she inspected them and was relieved to see that none of the stitches came loose. She helped Rue sit up so she can give her a clean set of bandages. Once that was finished, she helped Rue lay back down. The maid looked so weak and pale.

''I'm going to get you something to eat.'' Alcina whispered softly before turning to the Lycan. ''Stay with her.''

As Alcina stood from her chair, she felt Rue grip onto her wrist. The woman didn't say anything at first as her hand slipped from Alcina's wrist to her hand; holding it tenderly. Rue looked up at her with a weak smile.

''It's not your fault, Alcina. Please don't blame yourself.'' then, her eyes closed as she slipped back into unconsciousness and her hand fell limply against the bed. Those words rang in her ears, bouncing off the inside of her skull. The voice she had heard in her head wasn't Rue, it was Daria's. Those were the exact words Daria had said to her right before she had died.