Dilandau shifted his body and she thought he was going to leave her but instead he walked closer to her and leaned over so his lips brushed across her ear as he spoke. "I am glad to see you have broken so easily so I will take pity on you and allow you to live at least a little while longer. I'll even help to rebuild you but remember this; remember my mercy." He pulled back a bit and his smirk grew as he traced his finger along the slice he had created across her face. "You have been branded, my pet."
As he left her there in the infirmary she could hear his malicious laughter echoing down the hallway.
Andrea was completely at a loss for what to do. She had thought he was going to kill her, she had accepted that and was prepared to die but here she was, lying quite alive in the infirmary. She felt a cold shiver make its way down her spine and groaned as the thought of a long torturous death crossed her mind.
Reaching up she could feel a large bump fully formed on the side of her head. Dilandau must have hit her when she attacked him though she couldn't remember it. Only then did she notice there was a nurse nearby watching her carefully. "I probably have a concussion" she mumbled to herself. That lump is the second cause of her migraine after the slowly healing scar Dilandau traced his unnaturally soft finger along. She momentarily realized that it was odd he wasn't wearing his gloves or his armor for that matter. She shrugged off the thought assuming it was late and drifted off into a painful slumber.
When she next awoke it was Chesta who stood next to her bed. When he saw her open her eyes he stiffened up slightly and looked around quickly. He was obviously very nervous. He bent down next to her and quickly whispered into her ear, "I want to thank you. The danger may not have been entirely what you thought but you still stood up for me thinking it may cost you your life. Your bravery is amazing and the others agree. We will help you survive him, and show you why we admire him so you won't loose yourself." He flashed her a soft smile and was gone before she could respond.
She sighed and shook her head whispering to his now departed form, "I'm not brave⦠but thank you."
It was a couple of days before she returned to the room she had been given. After all that had happened the infirmary was really more of a home then this place, after all, she had spent the majority of her time in there. She made her way out into the hallway and down to the small bathroom after taking a minute to remember where it was.
She groaned when she saw a person beaten by an ugly stick on the other side of the mirror. After checking herself out a bit longer she went back to her room, grabbed some supplies, and headed back to the bathroom which happened to have a nice little shower in it. She cleaned herself up, tied her hair back in a bun and applied a small amount of makeup from what she had brought from home. She smiled at her appearance amazed at what a good cleaning can accomplish.
When she returned to her room a small woman was waiting for her there. She stood and made a quick bow before pulling out her tape measure and giving a short introduction and explanation, "I am Rita, a seamstress. I'm here to take your measurements as per Lord Dilandau's instructions. Arms out to the side please."
Although slightly curious, Andrea simply shrugged and did as she was told after setting down her supplies. She already knew Dilandau had something in mind for her so she figured this had something to do with it. After a few minutes in silence the lady, Rita, spoke to her. "I'm finished. You will be receiving you first set of clothes in a few days time and more will come after that. Once they arrive the odd clothes you are currently wearing will no longer be acceptable. If you don't want them to be destroyed then I suggest you hide them away somewhere. Be warned, if Dilandau finds them there will be hell to pay. Also, I am to inform you that your meals will be brought to you and you are not to leave this room until called for except to use the bathroom." Rita gave a quick glace to the door before continuing in a slightly more hushed voice. "I am sorry but you are Dilandau's newest toy and I would suggest that, at least for the time being, you do as you are told. You have witnessed his fury first hand and know the consequences." The glace she gave to the scar on Andrea's face made it quite clear to what she was referring to.
Andrea remained silent for a moment before she responded. "Thank you Rita, I will not forget your words. Would you, by chance, know his purpose in all of this?"
Rita shook her head, "No. All I can tell you is that you are to be expecting some dresses, fit for a high class lady, some custom armor and some training clothes. If you can make sense of that then you are doing better then I am. As for keeping you to your room, I don't think he wants anyone to see you in those strange clothes; it's a disgrace to him. That is only a guess though." Rita bowed and made her way out of the room as quickly as she could, avoiding Andrea's quizzical stare.
Andrea could have guessed that she was to be given armor. She had heard about militaries breaking then rebuilding their soldiers. It had crossed her mind as she replayed what Dilandau had said to her in the infirmary. The dresses however had caught her completely off guard. She couldn't even pretend to pull off being a lady with a scar across her face, no one would buy it. Her mind twisted and turned the information but could make little more sense of it so she let it be, assuming Dilandau would show his intentions eventually.
Over the next few days she was visited only at meal times. Chesta would come with food, eat and talk with her, then leave with the dishes. They talked little about Dilandau and more about the other Dragon Slayers. Chesta told her stories about how they all came to be in the Dragon Slayers and a few funny stories like how they got caught by Lord Folken playing strip poker past lights out. Turns out that Folken was so disturbed by an all male game of strip poker he set up therapy for them instead of punishing them for being up after lights out. They were also given more time off to go into town.
Chesta's visits helped to keep Andrea sane. The remainder of her time she spent gazing up at the ceiling wondering about her decision to come here, what Dilandau had planned, if she was, in fact, going to die young, and every so often her thoughts would drift back to Hope. She tried to avoid the thought as it usually brought her close to tears.
As promised, four days later she was presented with her new sets of clothes. She was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling as always and only turned her head because it was still too early for lunch. She saw Lord Dilandau standing just inside her door with a package of clothes under his one arm.
