The Cat and The Canary~OC x Daniela Dimitrescu

Chapter 11

Cold and darkness.. It felt like I was drowning in it, and yet, it wasn't terrifying. In fact, it was almost.. Peaceful. I had never known the cold, not truly, given what I was, but wherever I was then had an almost tender iciness to it, and it was as if time had stopped, my body floating in gentle waves. There wasn't any pain, just numbness, my limbs heavy and sluggish, not able to move properly, but that was fine, since I had no urge to move, anyway. I felt gentle hands touch my face, and a voice whispered, "Elaine, darling.. How I have missed you. I wish that you could stay here with us, but it is not your time. Not yet.. You have to open your eyes, love. There is someone who needs you far more than us." That voice.. It was familiar, but I couldn't recognize it, an image of someone blurring in my memory.

The hands disappeared from my face, and my body slowly grew heavier and heavier, sinking into the darkness, falling away from the peaceful place I had been, fire slowly spreading through my entire body, and I felt myself shaking like a leaf, sweat coating my skin all over. "Shh, Elaine.. It's alright." I whimpered, wanting to go back to that peaceful place, pain lancing through me all over, and felt fingers lace with mine. I forced my eyes to open a tiny bit, my vision blurred from both sweat and tears, but could barely make out Dani's face, her makeup ruined, tear streaks going through the makeup around her eyes, her hair a mess. "D-Dani?" The fingers laced with mine squeezed gently, and she nodded, fresh tears shining in her eyes. "Don't try to speak too much right now.. You're very ill, and have been drifting in and out of death for days. We have been caring for you the best that we can, but- But it hasn't been enough." Her voice shook on those last words, and my heart ached for her.

I squeezed her hand back weakly, not able to muster enough strength to do it the way I wanted to, and felt my body jerk, pain ripping through my chest as I coughed hard, tasting blood. I took a few raspy breaths, my heart pounding weakly, and closed my eyes again, feeling something cold and wet being pressed against my forehead, then a cool body pressed against mine gently in the bed. "If only we could lower your fever, maybe then you could try to heal more.. But this fever has gone on for so long." I heard the door to the room swing open, then familiar footsteps approaching the bed. "How is she, dear one?" Dani replied, her voice cracking, "She still has not gotten better, Mother.. Has Auntie Donna found anything yet?" Alcina quietly told her, "She is doing the best that she can, but we know so very little about Elaine's kind.. Hopefully, the samples of blood we have given her and that horrid fish man help to find something useful shortly. Until then, we can only hope for the best.."

Dani quietly asked, "What if we were to ask.. Mother Miranda?" I heard Alcina take a sharp breath, before replying, "That is not a wise idea, my little one. Miranda would take her from us without a second thought, and I will not allow you to suffer from such pain, or for Elaine to be used as a guinea pig such as we were." The room went quiet after that, and I heard Alcina walk off after a few minutes, the door closing behind her. "Just hold on a little longer, Elaine.. Auntie Donna or Uncle Salvatore will figure something out. They are very smart, and know things about such things. Just hold on, for me.." I weakly managed to nod, and whispered, "I don't know who they were, but- There was someone in a dream I had.. They told me someone needed me more than they did. You.. Need me."

I coughed again, this time not able to help it as a lot of blood came up, and heard Dani whimper. "Please move, Daniela.. I am here to help her." I guess my coughing had kept me from hearing someone come in, but the scent of flowers surrounded me, causing me to calm down a little, and Dani's body moved away from mine, leaving an empty feeling behind it. "It would seem that she has.. A severe reaction to the venom inside Lycan saliva, which prevents her from healing. This will be quite unpleasant for her, but she should heal after this vaccine.." Vaccine? I opened my eyes to see a woman dressed all in black, wearing a veil, and holding a large needle near me. I felt nausea instantly rise up inside me, the memories of the man at the freak show stabbing me with needles causing me to move as far away as I could. "I'm right here, Elaine.. It's alright, I promise."

Dani's arms gently held me down, and as weak as I was, I couldn't squirm away, and I bared my fangs at the other woman as she stabbed the needle into my arm, whimpering in pain, tearing up. I curled up, and started feeling dizzy, then hot, then cold, and tried not to cry, as I felt my wounds healing, bones and muscle knitting themselves back together painfully. "It hurts.. It hurts so much." it hurt almost more than when the full moon came out, and it was all I could do to keep from screaming. The pain made me feel very angry, and when Dani went to touch me, I snapped at her on accident, seeing hurt flash in her eyes. "I understand.. I apologize. But I had to help you, even if holding you down to do it made you upset with me." With that, she and the other woman left the room, leaving me shaking and alone as I continued healing, waiting for the pain to stop.

A few hours later, I managed to stand up, leaning against the wall for support, my wounds all healed, but my legs were still shaky and weak, my muscles raw and sore from healing, and stumbled my way to the bathroom, turning on the hot water, and plopped down in the water, hoping the heat would make it hurt less to move, and make me less stiff. "I shouldn't have snapped at Dani.. She was only trying to help. I always make a mess.." I sighed, closing my eyes, feeling horrible, not able to stop seeing the hurt in her eyes playing over and over in my head. I kept hurting her, without meaning to, and after I told her I liked her, still not really understanding my feelings myself, still new to them. Would she hate me now? Or could she forgive me? My brain became crowded with too many thoughts, and I started crying, letting the bath water soak up my tears, then drained the tub, and curled up under the covers, missing the feeling of Dani laying beside me..