Royal Bitch

If it doesn't work, I'm dead anyway.

"Nobody is a born warrior. You choose to be one when you refuse to stay seated. You choose to be one when you refuse to back down. You choose to be one when you stand up after you get knocked down. You choose to be one because if not you, who?"

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Chapter 56

Fiore spent the next few weeks recuperating from chemo and her symptoms. True to his word, Chuck elevated his security around Fiore's family and he regularly brought her updates.

Kenneth rarely left Fiore's side. He was ever vigilant and he didn't trust Chuck. Fiore's wing had been sterilized and was heavily guarded. Fiore was growing more comfortable in her current surroundings. Fiore was having a hard time trusting Chuck with any of this, but she had few other options. Kenneth had swept the room for unknown bugs and surveillance and the room had come up clean. There was a security camera outside of the door to her suite and outside her window. 

Fiore focused on her health and the safety of her family.  Fiore hated not being the one to pull the strings.  It was new and unpleasant.  She'd spent so long being the one who made the rules that following them seemed unnatural.

Fiore was surprised how well her body was currently responding to treatment. It still was far from healthy, but she had days where she was able to hold solid food down. She wasn't as violently ill and her body seemed to be more accepting of the treatment.  Fiore was alarmed by this.  When she was scheduled to have a check up with Dr. Douglas, she was more than a little nervous.

Dr. Douglas had been flown in via Fiore's private plane. "I'm concerned." He started carefully.

"So am I."

"I'm not seeing the results we'd hoped for."

Fiore sighed and felt herself all but deflate. "Does that mean it's not working?"

"No, not exactly. It's keeping it from spreading, but I don't see it shrinking. I'd like to schedule another surgery after this next round."

"What are all of my options?"

"Surgery is one. We can try this again. We can try an experimental drug. We can do a combination of these too."

"What drugs are you testing?"

Dr. Douglas started explaining the trial medications and potential side effects. One caught Fiore's attention.

"I want to try that one. The science behind it makes sense."

"It's two years from human testing."

"Brent, we both know what happens if I don't win. It's resisting the drugs I've already tried. It's resisting the drugs that worked in the past. We have to try something new. Let's not mince words. If I don't stop it, I will die."

"You're not going to die." Kenneth growled.

"Kenneth, shut up." Fiore warned. "If I don't stop it, yes, I will die. Now, Dr. Douglas, how do we get this drug?"

"If you do this, which again, I don't recommend, you will need to be hospitalized. You need to be somewhere that has the capability to handle any of the side effects you may experience. This place isn't capable, neither are any of your homes."

Fiore nodded. "If that's what must be done. Do you recommend the surgery with it?"

"Yes. Let's do the surgery first. Once you've healed from that, we can talk about a trial."

"Fair enough, when can we start?"

Dr. Douglas explained the weight he wanted Fiore at before surgery and it would take at least two weeks for her to be up to weight.

Fiore spent the next few weeks doing little else but sleeping and eating. She gave Alex some life advice and taught him a little more about how to manipulate girls to his favor. Ian tried to call at least every other day, which was more annoying than anything for Fiore. She usually let Kenneth deal with him, though she did enjoy hearing stories of Guili and Louis and the new things they were learning and doing.

The weeks flew by and it was the day before Fiore's surgery. She flew to Corpus Christi, Texas and was quietly checked in to a small hospital. Dr. Douglas was meeting her there. Fiore was prepped and nervous. How her body reacted to this and then the experimental drug could completely change her life and she was perfectly aware. She'd been off chemo for over a month now and she could feel the difference in her body.

The surgery went well and other than her concern with the pain killers and the amount Dr. Douglas recommended, she was doing better than expected. Fiore felt her strength returning day by day and two weeks after her surgery she was talking to Dr. Douglas about the trial drug.

"Basically, the drug is coated in DNA and the drug resistant cancer cells assume it's food. When they try to consume it, it disrupts the cell and the virus prevents the cells from being able to divide. They die shortly after."

"So it's a Trojan Horse?"

"Essentially, and might I add in theory. This drug isn't ready for human trials."

"I'll risk it."

"It could cause other cells to do the same thing."

Fiore shrugged. "If it doesn't work, chemo didn't work, and the surgery alone isn't enough, I'm dead anyway."

"Comments like that scare the hell out of me." Kenneth warned from his usual post in the corner of her room.

"It's going to work." Fiore insisted.  "And if it does what it's supposed to, then we'll worry about the after effects then."

"What if it does that to your heart, or lungs, or your brain?  Then what the hell are you going to do?"

"It won't." Fiore insisted. After an extensive list of things to watch for, Fiore and Dr. Douglas came to an agreement. She would be starting the experimental treatment with another round of chemo and praying for the outcome they wanted.

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I guess the question now is how evil do you think I am?  Guesses on what happens next?  If anyone is correct, first guess gets a dedication!  I hope you're all still enjoying this my darlings!  <3

TEASER: The Queen makes an appearance.