A/N: Thank you guys. An old friend of ours makes an appearance in this chapter. And don't worry, Candy doesn't die, it wouldn't be much of a story if she did! :)

The Stars Like The Dark

Chapter Fourteen -- Delirium

Someone was fussing around her as Candy opened her eyes. Through her blurred vision she saw it was a young girl in a uniform that didn't seem to belong to her. The girl was fiddling with something on her hand, and Candy's consciousness came back to her as she realised that it hurt. Flinching away, Candy felt the girl stop, and look up at her, waiting.

"I'm sorry," she said in a sincere voice, "I was hoping you'd sleep through it."

"Through what?" Candy asked, still waiting for her memories to catch up with the present. But her mind remained dark, and she struggled to make sense of her surroundings. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you medication through the needle in your hand. Sometimes it can sting," the girl replied calmly. "But it's all done now. How are you feeling?"

The simple question didn't seem to have a simple answer in Candy's muddled mind. She didn't know how she was feeling, only that she suspected whatever the girl had given her was to blame for her current state of sedation. The room around her was bland, the ceiling made from white plastic tiles. The walls were tiled also, as if they needed to be wiped down regularly. A bright light shone on one side of her face, and the girl pushed it away on it's hinge as she noticed it was hurting Candy's eyes.

"OK I suppose," Candy replied, feeling the rest of her body making itself known. She was lying down on a soft bed; something was attached to her arm and something else to the big toe on her right foot. Nothing was hurting, nothing felt normal either. She couldn't remember ever being this tired before.

"Good," the girl replied. "That's good," she added as she began writing things down on a chart.

"Am I in a hospital?" Candy asked looking around. It wasn't like she imagined a hospital being; in fact she seemed to be in a room on her own.

"Yes, the Gorgossium infirmary," the girl replied with a smile. "Is there someone I can contact for you? To let someone know where you are? Your mother perhaps?"

Candy reached up to her neck, and noticed that her necklace had been removed. For a moment she couldn't remember why that was worrying her, until a nagging thought came back to her, that she was trying to escape something.

"Are you a nurse?" Candy asked, her mind turning from the necklace. The thoughts in her head seemed to be running in different directions, and jumping back and forth. Fighting to keep her eyes open, and to clear her head, Candy realised she couldn't fight anymore.

"Yes, that's right. Now, is there someone I can call?"

Candy tried her best to remember where her mother could be found, but her mind was wandering once again. Eventually she felt herself mumbling something before the darkness won over once again.

The girl watched her for a little while before leaving her be. An older woman was waiting outside, and looked at her expectantly.

"Lea you were a long time in there. Everything alright?" the older woman asked.

"Fine. She woke up as I was giving her the drugs. Poor thing, didn't know where she was. I think she's going to pull through though, I've done all the assessments," Lea replied, showing her superior the information she'd gained. The older woman looked over the charts and nodded.

"Did you manage to get some identification for her? Or some family to contact?"

Lea shook her head.

"No, I thought it would be best not to push it. She must have hit her head pretty hard, because she was asking me to contact Lord Carrion," Lea replied, in a pitying voice, as if she thought Candy was delirious.

The older woman nodded in agreement.

"Poor dear," she said looking once more at the charts. "Alright, keep me updated."

Mater Motley, Christopher Carrion's grandmother, was watching the world from her advantage point in the highest tower. The fairground that made an ugly mark on the dark skyline continued to shine with defiance against her disapproving eyes. She did not know why her grandson allowed it to remain, lighting up the sky and filling the silence with sickly joyful music. The tunes reached Motley on the moments of easterly wind, when the red mists rolled in off of the sea.

Motley suspected that it was here for the Quackenbush girl, who would probably enjoy such trifles until her soul was darkened by the misery of the place. But this was not really something that interested Motley, all she cared for was the continuation of her blood line, through Christopher, his marriage to Candy and the subsequent children that would follow.

She had a mind to take one of their children into her own care. Teach it as she has Christopher. Just one. To be dominant over the others. To be cruel, to rule, to be totally in her control. Any others the mother could keep.

A knock at the door brought her shrivelled face away from the window. A servant was hurrying to answer the door and to do so quickly enough for his mistress. A hunched girl stood on the other side, with dark circles around her eyes as if she suffered from insomnia. Her jet black hair hung about her face like curtains, and was as devoid of life as her expression. Quickly she crossed the distance to Motley and curtsied at her feet to show her respect.

"Mistress, I have news of mistress Quackenbush and your grandson."

"Continue."

"A ship is leaving the harbour, bound for her home hour. It is suspected that Candy is on board and that Lord Carrion has given her permission to leave," the girl reported, keeping her eyes lowered.

Motley considered the news. Her grandson did not often act out of character, nor did things that her surprised her. But Motley was aware that by introducing another influence upon him, she was adding an uncertain outcome. Had Candy Quackenbush already found a way of moulding him? It would not be hard for her, if she had the confidence to do it.

"To see her family?" Motley enquired.

The girl shook her head.

"No one is sure mistress. But it seems she has taken the offer and left."

"And your evidence that she has left is…" Motley prompted.

"It is certain she is not in the tower any longer. She was last seen walking into the gardens with Lord Carrion, and him returning alone. Her servants were looking for her, and behaving oddly."

Motley waved the servant back and walked to the window once again. She felt her bones creaking as she moved, but rather than shy away from the pains in her joints, she delighted in them. She was old, but she was strong. Old age did not dare come to claim her, not yet.

"My grandson has been foolish. But we shall not interfere as of yet. Report to me once there is any changes."

It seemed to Motley that although her grandson knew that this would be a marriage of convenience, he had not yet given up his ridiculous ideas of love. If he had been testing his future bride, then his ego would have been badly shaken. Candy was no fool it seemed, seizing a chance to run. Perhaps she, Motley, should have made her presence more felt instead of leaving them alone. After all, how could a young girl and a man taught for cruelty, ever shift well together? But Candy could run if she liked, it would only make her Grandson crueller in the end. The girl was only hurting herself. Motley would find her eventually; there would be no escape for her. Best for Candy to accept her fate, and try to reconcile to it. Fall in love if she could. Take something to numb her mind, kill her senses, and live a life that was a lie, in ignorant unaware bliss. Rather than stare ahead sober, watching the horrors of Midnight drawing closer.