Blue Blood ~ Young Royals

Hospital

My eyes flutter open slowly, my vision still blurry. I feel groggy and weak, unsure where I am or what happened. For a moment, my vision is an odd white blur and my mind feels fogged. I try pathetically to make sense of what happened and of where I am. I become aware of an ache in my neck, and my entire body feels impossibly weak. Am I dead? I wonder stupidly. I blink a few times before my vision steadies, and everything seems to hit me all at once.

The memory of Simon's fangs in my neck, of feeling weak and like I would fall, and then nothing at all. A beeping sound fills my ears, and I become aware of the odd antiseptic smell filling whatever place I'm in. It takes me a moment to realize it's a hospital room, and I almost sigh with relief when I discover that this must mean I am alive. 

The relief is quickly replaced by dread and fear when I struggle to lift my head, feeling slightly dizzy and overcome by the urge to lie my head back down. I feel the soft tug of something attached to my arm, it looks like some sort of tube stuck to a bag full of blood. A thousand thoughts fill my head, none of them any good. Simon is the first thought I can fully form which doesn't slip away immediately. Where is he? Does anyone know? Is he okay?

I kick my legs and almost gasp in surprise when I manage to swing them over the end of the bed. I feel like I can barely move, so this seems like an incredible feat. I need to find Simon. I repeat his name over and over in my head, trying to gather more strength and stand up fully. I rip the tube off of my arm, struggling to get out of bed. My body is practically screaming at me to lie back down, but I can't. I need to get to Simon.

The moment I manage to get to my feet, I feel like I'll collapse again. My head is spinning  and my vision is growing blurrier again. My legs are like jelly, and I barely register the sound of footsteps outside before I feel my body falling, losing consciousness again.

***

I wake up to a nurse tucking me back into bed, fixing the tube I ripped off of my skin. I feel even worse than before, my head aching and all the sensations from before even more intense. It's like I'm being weighed down by fatigue, and there's a dizziness that just won't go away. Despite the confusion and disorientation, I can still form one clear thought. "Simon..." I manage weakly.

The nurse turns her head to me, frowning a little. "What?"

I feel a small surge of frustration at her for not knowing exactly what I want, even though that's impossible. I speak again with difficulty. "Where is... Simon?"

Something seems to click in her mind, a look of understanding crossing her face before it turns into one of disgust. My mind struggles to make sense of it and she speaks in almost a hiss, sneering in disgust. "You mean that... thing? That monster who gave you that?" She gestures at the bite on my neck, which still aches painfully.

It makes me want to cry, how disgusted she is when she talks about him, how she calls him a thing, a monster. It takes my delayed mind a moment to realize this means she must know. A lot of people must know that Simon is a vampire. An overpowering fear washes over me, desperate to know where Simon is, and if he's okay. I need to protect him. I need to make sure they knows it wasn't his fault, he's not a monster. He's an angel, my angel. My thumb slowly traces the ring on my finger, my heart aching almost painfully for Simon. "He's not..." Is all I manage before she shushes me.

"Don't worry about that. He won't hurt you again, we'll take care of that. Now, why don't you rest for a bit?" She takes a needle from her pocket and taps it a few times.

My mind is racing, and I'm filled by an all-consuming fear. I need Simon. I need to protect him, to find him, to hold him in my arms and make sure he's safe. I can't let anyone hurt him. But I'm so weak, the urge to lie here and do nothing for a long, long time is intense. But Simon is more important.

Just as I try to sit up, the nurse takes my arm and injects whatever is in the needle into me. It's crazy how quickly the tiredness takes over, my mind slipping away and my eyelids growing heavy as lead. All the worry and fear slips away along with my consciousness, and I fall into a dreamless sleep.

***

I'm starting to wake up, and I blink a few times before my vision steadies. The fatigue and weakness isn't quite as bad as yesterday, but the ache in my neck is a constant reminder of how carelessness got me into a hospital bed. 

I become aware of a nurse shuffling around beside my bed, a breakfast tray set on the table beside the bed. She's not the same person as yesterday, and all I can do is desperately hope that she isn't disgusted by Simon, that she might give me some clue as to where he is and what's going on with him. My voice is weak and slow, and I mutter hoarsely. "Simon..."

The nurse turns around immediately, realizing I'm awake, and kneels beside me to adjust my pillows to make me sort of sit up. She gives me a kind, reassuring smile. "Yes, we'll get to that. First tell me how you're feeling. You must be hungry, my colleague didn't bring you dinner yesterday." Once she's got me sitting half-upright, she puts the breakfast tray on my lap.

"Simon..." I say again, not willing to do anything until I know where he is and if he's alright. My heart aches for him. The need to be reassured that he's fine, that people aren't all thinking of him the way the nurse yesterday was, it's nearly just as intense as how weak my body feels.

The nurse keeps her calm smile, grabbing a plastic cup full of water from the tray and holding it out to me, waiting for my weak hand to accept it. "Have some water, you need it."

I give a small shake of my head, full of stubbornness. "First... tell me... Simon..." The words are a struggle and I'm tempted to take the water and swallow it in one go, but I don't, too overcome with the need to know what's happening to Simon.

She sighs, nodding slowly. "Alright, Simon. That's the name of the... vampire, correct?"

I nod. "He's-"

But she cuts me off, putting a hand on my shoulder as a comforting gesture. "Don't worry, we won't let him hurt you again. He's locked up for now, and they'll figure it out from there. It must've been quite a shock to you, huh? It sure took me some time to believe when they told me you'd been bitten by a vampire yesterday. I had no idea..."

She keeps talking, but I take no note of it. It becomes background noise, and those two words are repeated over and over in my head. Locked up, locked up, locked up. I feel sick with fear, imagining Simon in some cold dark cell, alone and afraid. Are they, whoever they are supposed to be, hurting him? Are they feeding him at all? I feel hot tears burning at my eyes, afraid and angry. I hate my body for being so weak I can't launch myself out of bed and rescue Simon, I hate these people for thinking Simon is a monster, I'm afraid of what they'll do to him. I can't focus on anything else anymore, there's only one sentence screaming at me inside my head, over and over again.

Simon is locked up.