Blinded By Stardust

Chapter 16: Recovery

(Hay y'all, I am SO sorry this chapter took me so long)

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Cass and Varian took it easy for a majority of the day. Rose came by several times throughout the day to monitor their recoveries between her duties and research. When she came to check on them the previous time she saw that the Stardust seeds had completely healed Cass's fatal wound in less than a day.

The nurse then went to check on Varian, to make sure the petals were actually continuing to heal him. Rose quietly opened the door to Varian's room and saw that he was fast asleep, like the previous few time she came to check on him. She didn't want to disturb him but she had to make sure his recovery was still going well so she silently stepped into the room.

Rose went to the bedside and gently put her hand on Varian's forehead for a moment. She then went over to Varian's desk to get her stethoscope. "Rose?" She heard softly. The nurse turned around to see Varian laying in bed with his eyes open, facing her. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she responded. "No, it's okay, I-I probably shouldn't sleep all day any way," the alchemist responded with a chuckle as he stretched then sat up slowly.

"How long was I out?" Varian asked, looking in the direction of the nurse's voice. "A couple hours,"Rose answered as she grabbed her stethoscope from Varian's desk and went back to the bedside. She then listened to his breathing for a moment. "Wow, it sounds completely clear now," she told him. "Really?" The boy responded with a chuckle and a smile.

"Yeah, and you seem to be feeling better than the last time I checked on you," said the nurse as she put the stethoscope back on Varian's desk. "Yeah, thanks to you," he responded greatfully. "It actually wasn't me, it was Cass's idea to use the petals, and I'd say it worked, wouldn't you?" Rose said happily. "Yeah, mostly anyway," Varian answered with an almost sad chuckle.

It took a moment before Rose fully registered the boy's answer. She turned away from the desk and looked over at Varian to see him looking down while fidgeting with his hands. The nurse went over and put a hand on his shoulder. When the boy looked up at her, Rose noticed his eyes were still clouded. He wore a small smile but Rose could see the sadness Varian was trying to hide.

The nurse sighed sadly. "It didn't work, did it?" she asked and Varian shook his head. "I don't... I don't know why you're still blind Varian," Rose continued then sighed again. "I've tried every cure and method I can think of, looked in every medical and plant book I could find...". "It's okay," he interrupted with a small smile, "after all, I just survived being poisoned by a legendary flower! It really is okay if I'm never able to see again, I'm still alive!".

"If there was a way to reverse the poison and save you, even after it killed you, there has to be a way to restore your sight! And I'm going to find it, I promise," the nurse told him. "Rose, you don't have to, I know you have better things to do now that I'm not in critical condition anymore," Varian said, "its okay, you did everything you could."

Legendary flower, those words of Varian's kept rolling through her mind. "Not everything," the nurse said under her breath as she suddenly realized what she was missing. Varian heard her say that and was about to asked what she meant, when there was a knock on the door. Rose then went over, opened it, and Rapunzel stepped in followed by Eugene. Rose bowed her head respectfully then slipped out of the room.

"Hey buddy, how you doin?" Eugene asked. "I'm okay," he answered softly, keeping his eyes low in hopes that the visitors wouldn't notice they were still clouded. Raps gave the boy a concerned look then she and Eugene looked at eachother. When they stepped into the room they expected Varian to be happy, happy that his pain was gone and happy that the cure had worked, but he didn't seem to be. There was definitely something bothering him, but they weren't quite sure what. The room was silent for a moment.