Chapter 41

For once in her life, Mary's sleep was only a succession of dark shades of blue, as if she were deep into the abyss of an ocean, occasionally interrupted by a red flash coming from the left; she floated with her body relaxed and her mind empty of every thought: she remembered just her name, nothing else, enjoying the peace around her.

And yet, the more she began to sink into the deep purple and dark depths, the more she began to hear in her mind the echo of some voices, more and more familiar; she felt something making its way through her heart, as if she was realizing that had been deprived of something very important: life.

At last, she recognized who were calling her, who screamed, who cried, who laughed.


She opened her eyes, or rather, her eye, slowly, as if it had been a morning like usual; with the difference that she was laying in a supine position, but with her head turned on the right side: she saw only the white pillow, smelling of soap and disinfectant, a small part of the room where she was... and what she thought being a tuft of golden straw.

She wondered why she saw darkness from her left eye, trying to close one eye and keeping the other open, before considering that maybe that wasn't straw, but strands of blond hair; she sensed a body lying next to her own, with his arms wrapped around her waist, his head crouched against her neck and his breath tickling her skin.

- Shuu... – she tried to call him; a thin, shrill voice came out, almost a whistle.

The vampire was still able to hear it and moved a little abruptly compared to his usual calm slowness: the half-witch turned her head to look up at the face of the handsome blond who had raised on his arms, raising one to caress her cheek; in his ocean-coloured eyes she saw worry, relief, and bitterness mixed with fright.

- Little wren - he murmured in a low, cracked tone from that very mix of emotions.

A door opened and closed, followed by the sound of footsteps hastening towards them.

- She woke up? - Mary recognized Theo, anxious and impatient, and from the corner of her eye saw him appear on her right - Cho-hime...! – he smiled and only then the girl realized that his eyes were swollen and his lips chapped.

The wizard lips would get chapped only whenever he was experiencing intense suffering because of an unpleasant event; the half-witch thought about what could have been the reason and finally all her memories were chronologically rearranged, mercilessly.

She jumped up just to come back down due to stabbing pain in her body.

- Don't move... you're still in the process of regenerating - Shuu told her, settling himself on the edge of the bed and placing his hands on her shoulders; despite the stern voice, his expression remained the same and Theo almost folded the corners of his mouth in a bitter grimace, so that the usual smile seemed even more forced and tragic.

- Cho-hime... - he called her, trying to comfort her; after all, only he and Mark could understand and share the pain, for both the loss of Morten and Ryan's sacrifice.

- I'm no longer the Butterfly Princess - Mary hissed sourly, turning away, feeling herself strangled by a lump in her throat and her eyes stinging from the tears that had gotten ready to gush out again.

The two boys exchanged a look, not surprised by her reaction; the friend sighed and looked at her with compassion, as the vampire leaned over to the nightstand to pick up something.

- Actually, one survived - he revealed, making her turn with wide and disbelieving eye.

In the palm of his cupped hand, a small green butterfly slammed its partially non-existent wings slowly; the little creature quivered, suffering and dying: the girl felt her lips tremble at her little friend's sight, and gave Theo a pleading look to help her sit up.

With a bit of effort and a lot of pain along her limbs and spine (and with Elena's certain and terrifying reproach afterwards), Mary leaned back against the head of the bed; she managed to look around and recognize that it was one of the few single rooms of the shelter's infirmary and also glimpsed at her body: it was completely wrapped in bandages from neck to toe, and only the blanket provided additional coverage of her curves, in addition to a band of fabric for the chest. She deduced that even her left eye had been bandaged properly, due to the burn.

At that moment she didn't pay much attention to her demureness, though she would have probably done so in other circumstances, since there were just Shuu, her husband, and Theo, her best friend who had always looked at women just at their face, including her, if not strictly necessary; her attention was completely focused on the little butterfly that the vampire had gently slipped from his hand to hers, observing the little creature with so much love and sadness.

After a few minutes that seemed hours of silence, she asked:

- How's Ficchan...?

She heard Theo inhale deeply and exhale abruptly, brushing his hair with an uncertain gesture: he murmured that the tiny witch had remained beside her brother all night, his head on her lap and stroking his hair with a vitreous look, almost mechanically; Mary's breath trembled, rubbing her neck instinctively to suppress another lump in her throat.

It was at that moment she noticed a detail that didn't seem right, among the many that she had yet to see: her fingers slipped behind, brushing her hair and grabbing a lock, along which the fingertips slipped for a very short distance, meeting the vacuum just a little over her shoulders.

She widened her eyes, pointing them at the two males who couldn't help but look away, unable to say it aloud; the girl with trembling hands brushed her hair, confirming that they were short: they had probably got burnt in the flames of that demonic creature, but certainly they had also been cut for a best possible appearance.

- Elena-san fixed them while bandaging your abdomen... - Theo spoke, who jumped on his seat saying that he had to warn her about his friend's awakening.

In the meantime, Mary had another alarming question, touching her stomach.

- The...? – she was about to ask, interrupted by Shuu who held her hands in his.

- It's all right, miraculously.

The half-witch sighed out of relief, dropping her head against the vampire's shoulder, who wrapped her in his embrace, cradling her; the wizard sketched a smile, looking at them, and took his leave, warning that he would informed Elena.

Meanwhile, sobs, muffled shouts and comforting whispers echoed in the room.


Elena explained that Mary had superficial burns on her arms, on a part of her left side and a little more consistent burn on her left eye; after removing the bandages on her face after those on her body, examined by touch, the woman couldn't hide a bitter and slightly sorry expression: her eyelids had merged together in the outer corner and the skin around it was slightly wrinkled, red and dry.

- Can you see…?

Mary closed her right eye and fell silent for a moment, making her stiffen with terror and exhale an exasperated sigh as she shook her head, denying; Elena burst into tears, covering her face with shaky hands.

- I should be the one crying... - the half-witch smiled bitterly, and widened her eyes as soon as she was hugged by the doctor's.

She raised a hand slowly, giving her gentle pats on her back, while she heard her sob softly, yet visibly trembling; she waited until she had completely exhausted herself for ten minutes (and she didn't complain, after all she herself had just spent half an hour crying with Shuu) and listened to the few last things about her health.

- As for your lung, I managed to create two blends, which must be taken one after the other to perform their function without problems... I had entrusted them to Martha and Lily, but since you were almost unconscious... – she pulled out of her white shirt pocket two vials, giving them to the girl – They should be able to delay the artificial lung's failure... hoping that within this short time we'll find another solution. This is al... ah.

Elena looked at her with her eyes tearing again.

- Mary-chan, your hair...

- Don't worry - the half-witch smiled, brushing her hair - There are more important things... and then I was used to keeping them short...

"I would let them grow up, Mary-chan".

The girl closed her eyes and lowered her head, cracking a bitter and sweet smile.

Rest in peace, Ryan...

- How's the situation? - she asked, looking up at the woman, who couldn't hold back a grimace of surprise at Mary's sudden determination.

She informed her that the Dragon's head and Isa herself were safe in a sealed room guarded by some of the most powerful young men, besides Mr Ari, and also mentioned that Subaru had insisted on staying nearby, saying that it was a quieter area (Mary held back an amused smile); Mark was resting in another infirmary room, exhausted from the uninterrupted and painful crying, and Theo and Martha were keeping him company; Claire, Anna and Finn were sleeping in the shelter's main hall like everyone else (so the half-witch deduced that it was still night), and Azusa, Yuuma, Kou, Laito, Ayato and Yui were with them, stating that the latter had been very worried about her; she revealed Kanato had apparently developed some interest in Rose (she swore that it wasn't a joke as she saw the girl's empty gaze), adding that she was controlled by Lily and Mr Flyer, who would have come soon to visit her; Ruki and Reiji had been called to get messages delivered by Karlheinz, having already slept enough, considering that a few hours of rest were enough for them.

- I saw them half an hour ago while they were discussing... from what I understood, it seems that chaos has crushed the Demon World. What's worse, the portals are suddenly opened, even those communicating with other dimensions... so I think it's very likely that a disaster will soon happen, a war... a mini-Apocalypse - Elena explained jokingly, sitting on the bed's edge.

Mary gazed at her face, reflecting on what had been reported to her, and she noticed from the bags under her eyes how much the doctor was tired.

- Do you have news about my mother...? – she asked, getting out of the bed and ignoring the woman's protests to lie down again and rest some more.

- She must be cooperating with Karlheinz - she replied, unsure of her hypothesis, as she looked confused at the girl who was looking around the room - Do you need anything, Mary-chan?

- Clothes, I can't go with this hospital shirt.

Elena jumped up.

- No! You can't go in these conditions! - she disagreed, approaching her.

- Elena-sensei, I'm fine - Mary looked at her firmly, frowning so that strange folds formed around her left eye - My priority is to take the Dragon's head back to its body.

The woman tried again to reply back, but the words died in her throat: how could she contradict her? She had lost so much... yet she wanted to move on; she sighed bitterly and rubbed her forehead, murmuring that they needed to plan something to move the Dragon's head possibly without obstacles, they needed people to accompany her, and she was unsure of what powers she now had without the poor butterflies, and she kept on mentioning, one after the other, all her worries, until the half-witch stopped her.

- Elena-sensei... I already know what to do.


Shuu, after leaving his wife alone with the doctor, had gone out and settled quietly on the ground, with his back against the rock wall where it was smoother, putting the earphones to his ears and relaxing: he knew he would have had to "move his ass" soon (why was he recalling Laito's female version's words so much, why) for God only knew what, thus it was worth taking advantage of the little peaceful time he still had.

In confirmation of his suspicions, just before Mary came out of that room, he felt a shiver running over his back and an annoying buzz replacing the orchestra in his eardrums: someone, certainly his beloved, was talking about him.

As soon as the door had been opened, the half-witch stopped in front of him.

- Shuu... I have something to tell you.

I already don't like this "something" at all, the blond commented in his head, sighing annoyed and looking up at her, a little surprised: she had redone her usual two braids on the left side of her face, although shorter, and she had changed into a pair of grey jeans, a black wool turtleneck and a blue jacket full of pockets that she was filling with various things given by Elena, perplexed; her eyes shone with determination.

He smirked and stood up, ready to complain.

- Don't tell me I have to come with you... - he grumbled, brushing his hair.

- Don't complain - Mary scolded him, pinching his nose – You'll have to move a lot more after I will give birth!

Shuu remained silent for half a minute, before swallowing.


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