Chapter 14
Feelings
Diana's eyes blinked open.
Her heartbeat pounded against her skull as she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to force away the distinct feeling of bodily weakness. She felt like all of her blood had been drained from her body, like she hadn't had any water to drink or food to eat in days. Like she had woken up from a very bad, very long dream that left her reeling in the face of reality.
She tried to sit up but felt a sharp stab in her gut that made her slowly ease back onto the bed. She grunted in pain, pushing down the covers and pulling up her shirt to reveal a bandage wrapped tight around her waist, a little bit of blood staining through the white material.
A heavy weight on the bed pulled at her attention.
"Akko?"
Moonlight flooded through the window to illuminate the side of Akko's peaceful face. The Japanese witch was curled into her side, gentle breaths rustling a strand of brunette hair that had draped across her cheek. Her hands were clasped tightly around Diana's forearm, clutching it to her chest like a comfort as she slept.
With some effort, Diana reached her free arm over and gently pushed the hair out of Akko's face. She could see deep cuts and bruises scattered across the witch's face and ran her finger gently over each, wondering how Akko had managed to put herself in harm's way this time.
Then she remembered. The Second Realm.
Akko bursting from the rift at a run, blood pouring down her face and eyes wild with fear. The deep wrench in her own stomach as the bullet broke through the fissure and brought her to her knees. The blood that was spilling over the ground, spilling out of her. Her own hands and Akko's hands coated in dark red as the brunette fell to the ground and pulled Diana into her arms.
Light flooded into the room as her bedroom door cracked open and the familiar form of Aunt Daryl slipped in. She stepped slowly over to the bed, careful to make no noise until she realized Diana's eyes were open and she was, in fact, awake.
"Diana," she whispered, gently touching Diana's shoulder and offering her a glass of water from her bedside table, which Diana gulped down gratefully. "How are you feeling?" Aunt Daryl asked.
"Not well," Diana replied, her voice hoarse. Her insides throbbed with the effort of speech.
Aunt Daryl nodded, placing a soft hand on Diana's forehead and lifting her shirt to inspect the bandage. "It will take some time, but you will heal. You're safe for now. So is this one," she nodded at Akko's slumbering body. "She made sure of that. Go back to sleep, you need rest."
"Thank you," Diana forced out, eyes fluttering as she watched Aunt Daryl take her leave. The door closed with a soft thud.
"Mmm," Akko mumbled.
Diana sighed, licking her dry lips and settling back against the soft pillow as she ran her fingers through Akko's hair.
"Diana?" Akko's bright red eyes flickered slowly open, gazing sleepily into Diana's. A slow smile slid across her lips. "Mm. Hey."
"Hey," Diana replied in a whisper. She felt herself using a lot of strength to smile back. She let her hand fall from Akko's hair and slide back across her aching chest. "You look... rough," she said carefully.
Akko pushed herself up. "You don't look much better," she replied through a yawn. She smiled down at Diana's pale face, the dark half-moons that hung under her blue eyes. "In fact, this is the worst I've ever seen you."
"Funny," Diana wheezed.
"I'm not joking," Akko said, looking down at her hand and gently rolled the sheets between her fingers. "But you still look gorgeous."
"Funny," Diana said again. The moonlight cast a glow across Akko's face, and with it she could see the blush dusting her cheeks.
"I—I'll get back to my own room now," Akko said, rising. "I just wanted to be here for you when you woke up."
"No," Diana replied, lifting her hand to take Akko's fingers and gently squeeze.
Akko looked down at the hand clutching her own. "No?" she echoed.
"Stay," Diana said. It was taking so much effort to speak. She coughed. "Please."
Akko's breath hitched. She could feel the burn beneath her skin, the familiar jolting sensation in her lower abdomen that made her head feel fuzzy. "O—okay," she replied. She slowly lowered herself back to the bed, letting her head fall against the pillow beside Diana's and curving around the figure beside her.
Diana squeezed her eyes shut. She could feel Akko's quiet magic seeping into her side and it brought an easy, warm comfort. Akko snaked an arm around her waist and she pushed it away with a grunt.
"Careful," she muttered. "It hurts."
"Eh, sorry," Akko said, chuckling into Diana's neck. "My bad."
Diana sighed. "It—it's okay, Akko."
Everything hurt, but the sensation of Akko's soft, steady breath against her neck put her at ease. A light touch tickled at her palm and she opened her hand to let Akko's fingers intertwine with her own.
"Diana?"
"Yes, Akko?" Diana whispered.
"I'm glad you're okay."
Diana said nothing. Instead, she tilted her head back and let the exhaustion take hold, relaxing easily to Akko's welcome touch.
Akko listened for Diana's breathing to steady. She blinked up through weary eyes, taking in the sight of the sleeping witch with her wild blonde hair splayed across the pillow.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Akko whispered again, to herself this time. She pressed her lips to Diana's cheek, and, instead of pulling away, let herself drift off with Diana's soft skin tickling her nose.
The sound of the door clicking shut was enough to rouse Diana from her slumber.
She turned her head to look at the door, where Anna was standing with a massive platter of food and looking a little confused and a little, well, disoriented.
"Oh, I apologize for waking you, my lady," Anna said, dipping her head with a blush. She stepped forward, carefully balancing the tray of food. "I thought I would bring you breakfast. I didn't realize..." she trailed off, eyes falling on Akko.
Akko had made the bed her own. One leg was thrown across Diana's, the other dangling off the side from beneath the covers. Her face was buried into the crook of Diana's neck as she snored quietly, limp hand still lying on the fingers she'd fallen asleep holding.
"She—uh," Diana breathed in hard. She didn't know what to say. Finally, she said, "She wanted to make sure I was okay."
Anna nodded. She set the tray down on the nightstand and shook her head at the brunette witch wrapped around Diana. "She truly cares for you, that much is true," Anna confirmed.
Diana felt herself smiling. A pang in her chest quickly wiped it away.
"We will need to change these bandages soon," Anna said, pulling up Diana's shirt to look at the bright blood that was soaking through. "Lady Daryl did her best to heal you, but she is not Lady Bernadette. Your recovery is not likely to be very smooth." Anna sighed, swiping a finger across the red bandages to look at the fresh blood transferred to her finger. "Still, you are very lucky she was there."
With a final glance at Akko, Anna offered Diana a nervous smile and left the room.
Diana stared at the food at her bedside. She didn't feel like eating, but she knew it would help. She picked up a piece of toast and nibbled it, tasting nothing.
Akko stirred next to her. "I smell food," she murmured sleepily.
"Good morning, Akko," Diana said, lowering the toast in her hand.
"Er—Diana." Akko pushed herself away as the heat rose to her face. She stood. "Oh, sorry," she muttered as Diana let out a grunt of pain with her sudden movement. She scratched the back of her neck and smiled sheepishly. "Forgot I was here," she mumbled. "How are you feeling?"
"Not well," Diana answered honestly. "Your face, Akko—"
Akko reached up, fingers running over the deep lacerations on the left side of her face. "Oh, right. Aunt Daryl said she was afraid of messing with faces." She plucked a thick piece of bacon off the tray of food. "It's fine, though."
"I can take care of it." Diana made a move to reach for her wand but stopped with a wince. "On second thought, that might be better done at a time when our magic doesn't summon necromancers who are desperate to kill us. I'm not certain I would be very effective in a fight today."
"It's no big deal," Akko said around a mouthful of bacon. "I can wait. Just so you know, though, Aunt Daryl did a real botch job on you. That thing will take some time to heal. You're going to have a wicked scar."
Diana groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. "I'll see Madam Wong on our return to Luna Nova. She has the proper training for scar removal. Just tell me this wasn't in vain, Akko."
Akko hummed. She reached for a sausage and chomped down on it. "You should eat, Diana," she said before launching into a detailed recount of her time in the Second Realm from the moment she found herself in the dark hallway to her frantic lunge for the rift.
"I thought you were going to die," Akko finished, frowning as she chewed thoughtfully. "There was so much blood. It's a good thing Aunt Daryl was there, she was able to cast a spell to get it to stop until we got you back here."
Diana ignored her. Her mind was running over Akko's recollection of events, mulling the possibility of Damien succeeding in the ritual during the Martian Eclipse. "They're using him to break the barrier between the First and Second Realm," she said, pressing her fingers to her temple in thought. "I wonder how they acquired a Philosopher's stone?"
Akko shrugged. She peered through the window at the grey sky, at the looming threat of rain from the dark clouds hovering overhead. Wind rattled the windows. "I don't think there's much we can do until the Martian Eclipse. It's not like they can get to us if we don't use magic." she said. "Probably a good thing right now." She gestured to Diana's bandages.
The bedroom door creaked open once more. Aunt Daryl poked her head in. "You're awake. Both of you. Good. Have you eaten? Was what Anna brought you not acceptable? I can have her bring something else. Soup, perhaps?" she asked as she strode over and lifted Diana's shirt to examine the bandages.
Akko blushed and looked down. "I'm, uh, going to go get dressed," she muttered. Without another word, she bolted out of the room.
"Oh, these desperately need to be changed," Aunt Daryl continued, ignoring the sudden absence of Akko. "My apologies, I was never the skilled healer your mother was. Honestly, I have never gauged enough interest for the subject to learn the correct protocol."
"That's alright," Diana said. She watched as Aunt Daryl slowly unwrapped her bandages, wincing in pain as she removed the thick block of bloody gauze that was wedged over her wound.
It actually wasn't alright.
Faded green sutures from Aunt Daryl's spell were barely holding the hole in her gut closed. Her skin was yellow and purple, dried blood and bits of torn flesh clinging to the wound.
"This may hurt," Aunt Daryl said in warning before lifting her wand. Pale green tendrils of magic flowed over Diana's abdomen, bathing her in warm light. She grit her teeth hard to keep from crying out when she felt her skin start to tear and push together like someone was stabbing her with needles from the inside out.
She sighed with relief when Aunt Daryl lowered her wand and looked down to see fresh sutures holding the wound together. It was cleaner than before, somewhat less gruesome looking, and Diana had to admit that a little of the pain was gone.
"Thank you," she said as Aunt Daryl began wrapping a new bandage around her torso.
"We have had our differences, but as Bernadette's daughter I do wish you good health. Though, I must admit, some of this is selfish. The girls and I have been planning a holiday party for quite some time and the Hanbridges are due to come along with a few other notable political figures. I would much rather have you showing face for the House of Cavendish as opposed to bleeding out on your own bed." Aunt Daryl pulled Diana's shirt down and gathered up the old bloody bandages.
"Still, thank you."
Aunt Daryl offered a curt nod, looking entirely uncomfortable with the whole situation. "I will send Anna with a more suitable meal," she said. "I will also inform Miss Kagari that she can return, though I must insist you refrain from planning any more of these suicidal missions. For my sake, and for your own."
Diana sighed deeply, pushing herself up against the headboard and finding, gratefully, that she could sit up with little pain. She turned her head to gaze out the window at the darkened grounds of the Cavendish Manor, watching as the rain slowly began to patter against the glass in a soothing rhythm. Her eyes fell on the unicorn rearing into the dark sky.
She had to find out more about the Martian Eclipse. She had to stop Damien from claiming Head of House Cavendish, from getting his magic back, and, quite literally, opening the gates of hell.
"I just don't get that stupid 'We Will Rise' stuff," Akko was saying as she walked beside Diana through the quiet halls of the Cavendish Manor. By the evening, Diana had been feeling well enough to move around, and she was absolutely sick of lying in bed. Though there was an aching pull in her torso and limited range of motion in her left leg without pain, she was determined to return to normal.
"It's just so lame," Akko went on as they rounded into the dining room where Anna was tidying up after supper. "I mean, is that supposed to be some play on necromancy? They could have thought of something way better."
"Like what, Akko?" Diana asked as she gave Anna a polite nod. She didn't really care what Akko was saying, and she wasn't really listening, but she had to admit the rambling was bringing her some level of comfort and distraction from the pain.
"Well—" Akko scratched the back of her neck. "I dunno, you kinda put me on the spot."
Diana hummed as they walked down the hall to the ballroom. She could already see the garish decorations that, without a doubt, Maril and Merrill had picked out. "By the Nine," she mumbled, pausing in the massive arc entryway. "What have they done?"
"Aunt Daryl told me about this earlier," Akko grumbled. "I got a lecture from your Aunt about behaving in front of guests. Can you believe that?"
"Well… yes," Diana said, resting against a table that was already set with the finest china the Cavendish family owned. "You are generally rather—" She pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers as she tried to think of a word that wasn't overly insulting. "Crass."
Akko waved her hand in the air as if dismissing the comment. "Whatever. Well, she's making me wear this awful dress."
"Not the pink one, I hope?" Diana asked.
Akko shook her head. "No. Thank the Nine. It's one of Maril's—er, Merrill's? I'm really not sure."
Diana leaned forward, closing her eyes as a sharp stab seared through her gut.
"Are you okay?" Akko asked. "We should get back. We've walked enough. You need to get rest."
Diana nodded. Akko was right, she had pushed herself a bit more than she should have. She clutched her side and straightened her body with a sharp intake of breath at the sudden pain. Worried red eyes were staring at her.
"Er—" Akko shuffled nervously. "Do you want me to… carry you? Or something?"
"Absolutely not," Diana huffed. "You couldn't possibly carry me anyway. That's absurd."
Akko frowned, narrowing her eyes as though Diana had just challenged her. "You don't know that," she grumbled. "I could be the strongest girl at Luna Nova."
"I don't doubt it," Diana replied, too weary to engage Akko in one of her pointless arguments. "If you would allow me to just lean on you, that would be fine."
"Uh, sure."
Akko slowly wrapped one arm around the taller girl's back and guided her back to her room, trying to ignore her own weird feeling in her stomach as Diana leaned into her shoulder. The smell of her hair made her breath hiccup in her throat.
She almost sighed with relief when she felt the other girl's magic release its tight hold on her own as they broke apart. She watched Diana settle onto her bed, pushing her blonde hair out of her face and shaking her head.
"This is ridiculous," Diana said, frowning. "I have never felt so incapable in my life."
Akko was trying to calm her racing pulse. She played with the bottom of her shorts, looking anywhere but Diana. "You're injured. It happens. Besides, Aunt Daryl said you should be back to normal tomorrow. For the most part, anyway."
"I suppose." Diana pulled her legs up onto her bed, sighing at the presence of her aching wound. "Would you—" She hesitated, swallowing hard as she stared down at her own hands shaking gently in her lap. "Would you want to stay again? With me? It… was nice," she finished.
"Oh." Akko felt her a tug so hard in her chest it made her eyelids flutter. "I—"
Her legs felt like jelly. She wanted to. She wanted to curl up with Diana just like the night before, to wake up to the soft outline of the other girl's jaw, to the perfect blonde hair that spread across the pillow like gold. But it wasn't the night before. Diana was awake, she was alive, she was sitting in front of her in a thin shirt and shorts and Akko could see her pale neck, her smooth legs.
The lurch in her lower abdomen felt anything but innocent.
"I—uh, I think it would be best if—if I didn't," Akko stammered, stepping backwards until she'd found the doorknob. She rushed from the room before a surprised Diana could even respond.
Akko let her back fall against the closed door, heart racing as she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to steady her breathing. She did not need to be having these thoughts right now. She did not need her own teenage hormones distracting her from their actual goal. They were here to stop the Order of Aurelion, nothing else.
Get yourself together, Akko, she thought as she pushed into her own room and settled into the bed that had gone empty the night before. But, as hard as she tried, she couldn't push Diana from her mind.
No, she was far beyond that point.