Snow White Queen [NaNoWriMo 2018]

Chapter Fifteen

Her vision swam. Darkness was creeping in at the edges of her vision. She was light-headed, and she knew that she wouldn't be conscious for much longer. For a moment, she almost forgot that she couldn't die, at least, not like this.

Hurried footsteps. Someone was about to find her.

The last thing Neva saw before she blacked out was Dorian kneeling next to her, his worried face blocking everything else out.

~~~

No, no, no.

Dorian had just reentered the garden when he saw Neva talking to one of the guests. Nothing wrong with that, must be someone she missed when- oh God, what just happened?

It happened too fast for him to see. One moment, the two seemed to just be talking casually; the next, Neva was falling to her knees and the assailant was fleeing into the night.

It didn't even occur to him to chase after the attacker. Neva was dying, and that's all he could think about.

"No, no, no, no, no, this isn't happening. Neva, wake up! Help!"

A passerby noticed what was happening. "Someone's attacked the princess!"

Soon enough there was a large crowd gathering around. Dorian was pushed out of the way, and a team of medics carried Neva away. Dorian followed them as closely as he could.

She could die today.

He immediately pushed the thought out of his head. No. She was strong, she would survive this.

He couldn't imagine a world without Neva. He didn't want to imagine it.

Please survive.

~~~

Neva opened her eyes to a blinding light, and immediately shut them again. She was in an unfamiliar bed, surrounded by unfamiliar items.

What happened?

She took a few minutes to try to recall the events that supposedly led to her being here.

Dorian's proposal. Was this- no, she didn't see Dorian anywhere. As a matter of fact, she didn't see anyone.

The bed she was laying on was one of many lined up neatly in rows, with plenty of space to walk in between. The room was spacious, and large windows let the soft morning light flow into the room in abundance. It would have been a very welcoming place, if not for the overwhelming abundance of white and evidence of sterility. All the bedsheets and curtains were white; the stones used in the walls were bleached so they were a very pale grey. The only things that broke the monotony were the steel medical tools scattered around, which were a dull, dark grey. It all made her very uneasy.

The medical ward.

But what was she doing in the medical ward?

The ball. They had thrown a ball to celebrate their engagement.

She and Dorian had been in the garden, trying to get away. Dorian had gone inside, and while he was gone Neva had been approached by a person. They had talked for a few moments, and then... and then...

She realized that her hands were resting on her side. Underneath her clothing, she felt a bandage.

She'd been stabbed! That's what had happened.

Not like she could have died from that injury, but it had taken a toll on her.

Now to figure out, how long has she been out?