The Queen of Card Tricks

Ch. 3

In the infirmary, you were safe. No one could attack you there. You were safe with Neige LeBlanche always by your side. It had been four months since you've been in that small and now familiar room. And in those four months you had refused to try and leave after the incident in the hall. You had no reason to bother leaving anymore. Your head wasn't getting any better, and the feeling of exhaustion was worse than ever before.

Within the dreamy moments of your eyes flickering open, you could hear Neiges voice and occasionally the dwarves. You sometimes heard other voices, ones that were familiar.

Two weeks prior, your head was spinning as hands shook your shoulders. You were being forced out of your state of unconsciousness and your eyes pried themselves open. You couldn't tell who the smear of watercolors was supposed to be as your eyes struggled to roll into focus. But two familiar voices called out your name through the intense spell of exhaustion.

It sounded like Ace and Deuce. They begged for you to wake up, to come back to Night Raven College. To come with them. But something told you it was a dream. A hopeful one.

The shaking wasn't rough, and eventually it stopped as you were allowed to rest again. When you woke up later that night and asked Neige about the encounter, he claimed to have no recollection of you receiving any visitors from Night Raven College. Neige stated that it had just been him and the occasional visit from the dwarves. It didn't matter if it was or wasn't as time went on in that infirmary room. You knew you would be safe with Neige always close by and you slept soundly when the exhaustion overcame you. You watched your movies in peace when you woke up. You ate applesauce, oatmeal and anything else that Neige brought you and allowed him to feed you. You dressed in that uniform you had slowly grown fond of and the thin nightgown... It was the most relaxed you had felt since coming to this world.

But you also felt extremely uneasy.

Why weren't you getting any better? Why hasn't Ace or Deuce, or even Grim come to see you? Why were you always so tired? Why do you remember the one and only time Che'nya came to see you... He looked discomforted by the whole situation? You had a sinking feeling that Neige was behind all of this, but playing the role of blissfully ignorant was the safest choice for you. Accusing him or attempting to cause a scene may end with you never leaving this small infirmary room ever again. But maybe you were crazy for thinking all of this?
Neige was the kindest person in all of Twisted Wonderland. The most beloved and trusted. He was taking time out of his school career to care for you while you remained injured and afraid to leave the infirmary. He had told you he saw signs of improvement, but you didn't agree. Your head has never felt this bad since you came here.
And what was that gel he was always rubbing into your head before wrapping the fresh bandages?

You quietly shuffled through a deck of cards, attempting to recall the last time you heard the voices of those at Night Raven College. You were even starting to miss Headmage Crowley and his outrageous tasks for you and Grim to embark on. Him and his endless generosity... That's what sent you here in the first place. Neige held out an apple slice with a green peel for you on a fork, and you accepted obediently as you continued to shuffle the cards in your hands. The sun had set for the day and Neige was feeding you before bed, the moon bled through the thin curtains in the room, painting a white square on the cot you laid in. Of course you had an old movie playing, one about a princess under a sleeping spell that could only be saved by the kiss of a prince since Neige allowed you to leave the TV on at night. Something quiet and calming before you drifted to sleep. "Still not feeling better?" Neige asked gently, a pale hand caressing your cheek as you shook your head, flinching away from his palm. You hadn't grown used to him touching you over the months passing. Nor did you desire to become used to his touch.