Chapter 17: The journey through hell
Pain.
There was so much pain.
Just merely existing had a throbbing pain that made it hard to focus. The first time Dahlia tried to move, that throb quickly became acute and a sharp searing pain flashed through her body in numerous locations.
After the first attempt, she hadn't tried to move again. What would she do if she even could move? Where could she go? The constant aches she had left her barely able to listen to her own thoughts and once she moved, those thoughts became meaningless in the face of insurmountable agony that followed.
So she lay there. Somewhere. Wherever she was. Motionless.
Some of this uncertainty came from how she was brought to the current location while unconscious. But the other part of the uncertainty came from how she was currently blind. At the very least she couldn't see, though she couldn't tell if she lost sight, had her eyes covered, or maybe they weren't even open. Her senses were so fragmented that she truly couldn't tell what was true.
All she knew was her sight was unavailable and so only her presumed solitary confinement would follow. It was difficult to tell if she was actually confined or not, but given how poorly her father had taken everything, it was hard to imagine a world that hadn't occurred.
As she lay there, on what she assumed was a firm, uncomfortable mattress, time passed slowly. Waiting for an unknown future was already a torturous process, but once you add on how every breath makes your body scream… well time drags on and begins to lose all meaning.
It was in this state that Dahlia felt like she was trapped in a fever dream. She still was far from stable and she'd regularly drop out of consciousness only to awake to pain or a nightmare or both. In addition to the sting of cuts and throb that accompanied inflammation, there were other aches as well. Her body was hot and feverish and her head throbbed and spun with a vertigo not unlike what her magic caused.
Slowly, in the back of her head she managed a very basic self diagnosis. Medical science wasn't her specialty, but she hadn't disliked it either.
'Concussion. One ear that won't stop ringing, so that's probably a ruptured eardrum. Broken and fractured bones. I think my right arm is dislocated though it's tough to check without moving. Something is wrong in my abdomen, but all I know is the searing pain, I can't tell the source. My kidneys feel like they may as well be pulp. Who knows what's wrong with my eyes and to cap it all off… the fever mixed with that smell… something is infected very very badly. '
She sighed and immediately regretted doing so. It caused a sharp pain in her chest leading to coughing and even more pain. After some time, she finally got control of herself and put a stop to the coughing fit, but not before she tasted blood in her mouth.
'Ah hell. To add to it all, it seems like I have damaged lungs too, though I doubt my ribs punctured them. There's only a small amount of blood after all. Either way though, this situation is absolutely lovely.'
The sarcasm was strong at this point. Though certainly not ideal, Dahlia had found that little snarky remarks helped alleviate some harshness from when things were particularly tough. It wasn't an actual solution, but it sure helped more than the self pity she was frequently tempted to wallow in. So rather than pitying herself, she instead spent the time cussing out her injured body.
Her thoughts remained a jumbled mess however, and over an indeterminate amount of time, she re-diagnosed herself multiple times after forgetting what she had learned earlier. A few occasions, she tried to make some kind of plan, but that never got far before she forgot what she was thinking or a wave of pain suddenly stole all her focus away.
She was panting after one of those surges of pain had just washed over her when a door could be heard not far from where she was. After a moment, the door closed and a bolt could be heard locking Dahlia and her guest in. That was when a woman's voice sounded out.
"Well, if you're lying there and panting like this, I'll take it as a good sign. Seeing as I'm sure you want to know, you were completely out of it for three days. I've done my best with the tools and medics we have on hand, but your condition really isn't something to envy."
Of course it was her mother. For reasons Dahlia couldn't fathom, apparently the woman had taken up the role of maintaining her health. A concept that made Dahlia more uncomfortable if anything. She struggled to stop her heavy breathing before wincing and managing to get a few words out.
"What's the news doc? How bad is it?"
Sabrina smirked at the cheeky title given to her, but didn't go down that tangent. Instead she ran a hand through her hair, both looking and sounding very vexed.
"Being totally upfront, you're an absolute mess. The medics we can bring in are only the ones we know we can control because we don't want your condition to be made public. So instead of a professional with many years behind them, you've been temporarily treated by a university student. I won't say they did a bad job, but your treatment is horrid compared to what you actually need."
She had started to go through a routine that seemed quite natural to her. Bandages were changed, vitals were taken and recorded to the best of her ability, and particular areas of concern were checked to see if they got worse or not. As she did this, she scowled to herself.
"Your father did a number on you. If I wasn't there you would have certainly died, but even still you came out in a dreadful state. I can't even do the whippings I was looking forward to because that dumbass hurt you so much. If I tried to punish you now, there's a good chance you'd die just from a basic lashing."
Dahlia tried to interject and say something, but just another coughing fit ensued.
"Most of everything should be fine. Without magic, the wounds on you will never heal properly and you'll be scarred for life, but you'll almost certainly be healed magically before things actually become permanent. You're precious Archduchess almost certainly has healers at her disposal and she'll be able to help so long as she returns within the month. Until she shows up or our own healer arrives though, you'll have to put up with me."
Looking over her daughter's body she began to run through a mental checklist, all while making some basic observations.
"There's only three real concerns we have now, each of which still are a genuine threat to your life. Those being: unnoticed internal bleeding, whether you're going to get pneumonia in your lungs, and whether your current festering wounds will kill you off."
The last one had been said in a slightly different tone and a bit of fear coursed through Dahlia at that point. She wanted to rush and check the infected areas to figure out where they were and how bad it was, but clearly she was incapable of that self checkup.
'Damn it. The pneumonia is a real concern, but based on how my breathing is right now, I'll probably be fine. The real issue is the infection. Depending on the location and severity, even healing magic might not be able to fix it.'
"Where? Where is the infection? How bad?"
She managed to gasp her questions out between laboured breaths and ended with a couple coughs, but she at least managed to get the words out. The Baroness winced at the blood on the girl's lips and just tried to maintain an impassive business-like demeanour.
"You'll be happy to know you have two major areas of infection, not including smaller and less important areas. In your right arm a compound fracture led to a pretty mean infection. When we first examined you, it was visually horrific, but even with the current infection it isn't too life threatening. I think I have it under control right now, but if it manages to get worse then you'd still lose an arm rather than your life. What I'm actually concerned with is in your gut…"
She trailed off at this point, seeming to be unhappy with this particular injury. In fact, the way she said those last couple words made her sound disgusted. All while she had been speaking and now as she remained quiet, Sabrina continued to treat her daughter. Bandages were removed releasing the rancid scent of festering wounds and she went in to clean them of pus and acrid blood.
The Baroness clearly hated performing these tasks and wore a scowl the entire time, but if Dahlia could open her eyes and was a little more lucid, she would have noticed that her mother seemed quite skilled in mundane medicine. It was as if she had performed these actions plenty of times long ago.
After taking her time to clean some more wounds and apply ointment where needed, she finally let out a defeated sigh.
"Dahlia, your father ruptured your appendix. It's really quite bad. I know you can't open your eyes at the moment, but it's probably for the best. There's a hole currently cut open in your torso and looking at it wouldn't do you any favours."
'That's… really bad. Far worse than I was expecting. Honestly, it's a wonder I'm alive right now.'
Dahlia wasn't going to pretend like everything was alright. The appendix was basically an infection's best friend. She assumed the majority of the festering smell in the air was coming from this one wound and if what her mother said was true, they've left her cut open to routinely clear abscesses and try to prevent infection from spreading, but…
"How long?"
Sabrina didn't need to ask her what she meant, instead after a pause she answered with no emotion in her voice.
"Without a magic healer I doubt you can make it past a week. Considering your frailty, your body actually has a fair degree of resilience, but it won't be enough in this case. It might be different if we had better medicines on hand but… well obviously we don't, otherwise I'd be using them already. The Empire may have a lot to be proud of, but our medical technology is lagging behind nearly everyone else. It's embarrassing and you might die due to that negligence."
They were both silent again for a long while. Dahlia had a lot on her mind, but she took a moment out of her general concerns to consider her mother. She didn't really understand the woman. She never had, and considering she made a habit to profile people, that always annoyed her quite a bit. For one reason or another, the Baroness seemed to have countless layers to her that made her hard to decipher.
Even now, she was the one treating her rather than a servant. It simply didn't make sense. Also, while affection was far from her voice, the way her mother spoke certainly seemed as though she were concerned, and it didn't appear to be an act. Taking a moment further to consider it, and realising she may die within days, she decided to put forward the question bothering her.
"Mom… why?"
A small chuckle could be heard, though only faintly. Despite the humour in it, there seemed to be a bit of sadness tucked away as well.
"Don't get me wrong girl, I don't love you. I never truly wanted to be a mother, much less yours. You may not understand this, but you've helped me get by in harder times. You have innate value that you're not aware of, so I value your life, but beyond that you've been a compatriote with me for two decades now."
She let out a self deprecating laugh and paused again, seeming to think of what should be said and how best to say it.
"Though you may not know why, I find this life is a living hell and dragging you into suffering with me helped me cope and maintain a sliver of sanity. I regret nothing and hope you will recover so I can drag you down all over again, but know this. As my one companion on the journey through hell, you have earned yourself an irreplaceable spot. Do not think this means I will care for you or take it easy on you. I merely want us to both live so we may suffer together."
Dahlia had no idea how to take that. First and foremost, what stood out is that her mother seemed to have a dozen screws loose. Really, the more she learnt of her, the more she came to realise how unstable the woman was. Despite this, she felt like she could trust her. Nothing came out as disingenuous and in fact, Dahlia had a similar feeling.
Perhaps it wasn't in the same way as the Baroness, but Dahlia felt some weird camaraderie with her mother. Something she had never felt with her father, to whom she only felt fear, her mother elicited much more varied emotions from her. When considering their bond, Dahlia believed she wouldn't try as hard to keep her mother alive as the woman seemed to do for her, but still she would try. Where she would likely leave her father rot, she would at least attempt to rescue her mother if the need arose.
Coming to terms with this felt weird but she couldn't just deny the truth. Maybe it was like Stockholm syndrome, but there was an attachment that made her accept their strange relationship.
'Companions on the journey through hell huh? That feels pretty accurate. It makes me curious what her hell actually is, but that might have to stay a secret, at least for now. For the time being I just need to rest and try not to injure myself further.'
There were still unknowns at this point. She didn't know her mother's secrets. She didn't know where Valentina had gone and when she might return. She didn't know what was wrong with her eyes, as her mother never went into detail on that subject, and she didn't even know if she would live long enough for it to matter.
Even as the Baroness remained silently treating her and trying to keep her alive, Dahlia drifted off back to sleep wondering if she would ever wake up again.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AngelAsphodel
AngelAsphodel Another chapter with a little less fun. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed.
Something to note, Sabrina is a character that I've come to like far more than planned. Even I don't know what's going on in her head at times, but I've just been trying my best to write her how she naturally comes to me, while also explaining some of her contradictory traits. Hopefully you can find some enjoyment in her character in the same way I've come to.
I hope you're having an extra wonderful day. Happy halloween~
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone