Pairings: Mariah May/Toni Storm, Toni Storm/? and others may appear throughout the story
Rating: Rated M for gore, graphic violence and any other mature themes if they are present.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for any OCs that I use and the story itself. All the other characters belong to themselves obviously and Impact Wrestling/WWE/whatever promotion. This story is complete fiction. AU (Alternate Universe)
Toni's POV
Two Days later..
It has been two days since Doctor Mero and Lady Mercedes had returned from their mission in Quven. Two days from where the grim reality had set in that a piece of their friend's body had been on the battlefield this entire time. All of the pain and sorrow that the Horsewomen felt, I could never imagine. From that moment on, I hadn't seen any of the Horsewomen since. Deonna and I returned back to the house and allowed them some privacy to grieve, no matter how much I wanted to stay and attempt to comfort them. Daisy has not returned home. Not a single peep about what she's been doing or how she's been. I understand that it is really not my business, but I want to know if she is okay or not.
Deonna had already departed for the day to see if more work and training could be squeezed in. I noticed a subtle shift in her demeanor as well since what happened on the training field. Purrazzo was also affected by the reveal of Becky's remains which means that either she was friends with Becky herself, or she was feeling grief because of Daisy's feelings. Either way, I was thinking about going and checking up on Doctor Mero today.
It was still early morning whenever I decided to leave the brunette's house with a mission in mind. I wanted to pay my respect to Becky because she was a dear friend to the others. I never got to meet her, but I imagine that 'The Man' was an amazing woman. My main objective was to locate the flower shop and purchase a bouquet of flowers to put on the grave if allowed. If not allowed, I wish to give them to one of the Horsewomen or Queen Charlotte if possible. If I remember correctly, I saw one on the way to the library the other day. A cute little building by the name of 'Happy Petals', I was surprised that it was even opened this early. Behind the florist shop, I noticed what looked to be a greenhouse that was closed off to the public.
Upon opening the glass doors to the shop, I was bombarded with various floral scents. Dozen if not hundreds of various plants and flowers neatly organized into plating trays. "Good morning, my name is Dalila! How can I help you?" A woman greeted me with a super cheerful smile as I turned my attention to look at the presumed shop keeper. The first feature that stood out to me were her beautiful, baby blue, translucent butterfly-shaped wings. They had a small touch of yellow in them. Her skin was an espresso color with bright green eyes. She was maybe about five feet tall at the most with curly brown hair that was pulled back into a messy high ponytail. Her dress was a dark green with yellow floral patterns on the top and near the bottom, a high slit on the right side to show off her legs.
Pointed ears and pretty wings like that, she must be a fairy of some sort. "Good morning, Dalila, nice to meet you. My name is Angel. I was curious if you had the appropriate flowers to place on a grave."
"Oh, going to pay respects? My condolences for your loss." The shop owner frowned slightly, giving me the same sympathy I have been giving my friends. It's really nice that even random strangers can express such feelings to others.
"I never got to meet her, but she meant a lot to my friends. It's the least I can do." Considering how nice the other ladies seem to be, even if Mercedes is still questionable, I would have loved to have gotten the opportunity to meet 'The Man'. She was the second strongest out of the original four and was a kind demon which seems odd to think about.
"You are very sweet. I have loads of bouquets that are freshly picked from the garden. Any flowers or colors you have in mind?"
I hadn't thought about which kind of flowers that I wanted to grab. There are some that I remember Mina telling me about, but I don't see any yarrow or rosemary here upon first glance. "Umm, I want some lilies, and forget-me-nots. Preferably red and orange, but the lilies can be white. What other flowers do you recommend, Dalila?"
"Hm, Cempoalxochitl are native in Zaravilla and other countries across the Brentrich Sea, they are a common flower for funerals and memorials. Chrysanthemums and Orchids are as well. If the deceased was a soldier, poppies are very popular to put on their graves." Zaravilla is where Deonna is from, those sound very unique. I hope the others would like them too. Poppies were not ones that we placed on the graves last time, but I will definitely remember to do it this time and next time with Mina.
"If it is okay, I would like a little bit of all you just mentioned as well. I hope that's not too much."
"Not at all, I think it is a very touching gesture." With a skip in her step, I watched the fairy move around and gather all the flowers I requested, humming a cheery tone as she went. After about a minute or so, she had gathered multiple flowers and wrapped them beautifully inside a red bag with a pretty yellow ribbon. "I do not have Cempoalxochitl in red or orange, but I do have all of the others. Is that okay?"
"Yes ma'am." After putting down the amount of required gold coins, I grabbed the flowers and sniffed them. "Wow, this is a beautiful assortment. Thank you very much for your service, Dalila, have a great day."
A brief farewell later, and I was now on my way back to the Queen's castle to hopefully be able to enter and pay my respects. Whenever I arrived at the castle, the guards surprisingly let me in without a hassle. They must have received words to my identity, or they were the same as the other day. It's hard telling with those helms on. Through the massive doors and into the main hall of the castle, I stood baffled since I have no idea where Doctor Mero would be or where Becky is even buried. I heard the sound of heels walking in the distance as someone was coming into the main entrance. She looked familiar, where had I seen her before?
The second her hair came into view, and I saw that long braid, I instantly remembered her. She was a member of the council that was very sympathetic to my story. Her outfit was very sparkly with a bunch of sequins on them; it was a two-piece outfit with the top half being a crop top and the other was a thigh-skirt. She also had large hoop earrings. At first, I decided that I shouldn't interrupt her, but I really needed directions. "Excuse me, you are Lady Bianca, correct?"
The taller woman turned her head over to look at me, a small hint of surprise on her face. "It's just Bianca but that's me, wassup?"
Bianca. She doesn't want formalities from my understanding. I will remember that. Her eyes took a small glance at the bouquet of flowers. "Do you know where I can find Doctor Mero?"
The cheerful smile on the council woman's face had immediately disappeared upon mentioning the brunette. Her brows lowered and she frowned; she shook her head. "...She's out in the greenhouse. I'd refrain from disturbing her." Why is Daisy in the greenhouse? I would be expecting her to be where the other Horsewomen or at least in a cemetery or tomb for Becky.
"Why's that?" I asked.
Bianca folded her arms over her chest; her saddened expression remained. My eyes might be deceiving me, but it looked like tears were attempting to form in the corner of her eyes. "She's in a dark place right now. Becks meant the world to a lot of us here." A dark place, I figured that coming back here will activate more of her trauma and now discovering what they did. I can't imagine the pain.
Becky touched the lives of many people and Bianca is another one that is affected by such a tragedy. "I know, I never got the chance to meet her, but I can tell she was an amazing person." I said sincerely, I held the flowers up. "I brought these flowers to put on Becky's grave."
The gesture made Bianca look down at the flowers and her frown was replaced with a small smile. Her thumb brushed underneath both of her eyes carefully wiping away what tears were trying to escape. "How kind of you, maybe you should go see her." Bianca nodded her head which got a smile out of me. If she was adamant about me not seeing her, I probably would have given the bouquet to her to deliver to the Horsewomen. She pointed down the left hallway. "If you follow this hallway all the way around, you will come across a three-way split. Take the door straight ahead, it will lead outside to the greenhouse."
"Thank you very much, Bianca."
"Anytime girl, I'll probably see you around more since you're Daisy's friend. Take care."
"Same to you." Is everyone here so friendly to me because I am Daisy's friend or is it naturally how they are? I followed her instructions and continued down the left wing off the castle and past the room that previously housed the meeting. Besides a couple knights and various other staff, I never saw anyone that I would consider to be familiar. Once I made it to the fork in the hallways, I continued straight and went through the double doors ahead. There I was directed where to go by the cobblestone brick path and that was to a massive glass building. In the distance to the right, I could see the training field where I imagine Deonna is right now. I should go check on her after I talk to Daisy.
Reaching the glass doors of the greenhouse, I pushed them open gently. My nose was immediately bombarded with a mixture of floral scents. This whole place was surrounded by glass but yet it was able to house fully grown trees and even a freshwater river that had multiple species of fish swimming about. Different bugs were flying around, and birds were chirping. A whole ecosystem existed in this building that had to be several hundred if not thousands of feet. I walked along the pebbled pathway being cautious not to step on any creatures or flowers. For some time, I didn't hear any sign of the brunette being in here. I made my way across a small wooden bridge that goes over the small river and toward one of the bigger trees.
Looking at the green leaves made me realize that not a single tree in this greenhouse was a cherry blossom tree. There were some different colored fae trees and other trees that bear green leaves. I guess these plants wouldn't survive in this biome without assistance. Was Daisy still even in here? Surely, I would have seen her if she left, right? Right whenever I was second guessing myself did, I hear something, it sounded like.. sobbing.
The biggest tree in this greenhouse was almost in the center of this massive building, there Doctor Mero was sitting underneath it, her knees pulled back to her chest. Her head resting on her arms, the brunette was looking at the small gravestone beside her. Even Rascalz was there, he was lying on the opposite side. Do I say anything to get her attention? I slowly continued my approach, unsure what I could say to make her feel better. "Why-Why didn't you listen to me, Mo Ghra? It di-didn't have to be this way." I heard her say through sniffling and hitching breaths. I'm not sure what Mo Ghra means, is that a nickname for Becky?
I watched the brunette run her hands through her hair, pulling on her own tresses roughly. "Why couldn't you have let me die for you? I was only around for a short amount of your life. Y-You could have moved on and forgotten me. B-But.. What am I supposed to do now? I'm not going to live a long life, and I don't want to if you aren't here." Her voice was laced with venom, but it was never directed toward the deceased woman. She's projecting her anger at herself. 'Why couldn't you have let me die for you?' The sentence repeated in my head, and I was starting to understand what happened during that battle. Becky sacrificed herself in order to save her dear friend and Daisy is left to feel the guilt of being the only survivor. Oh Doctor..
Daisy removed her hands, and several strands of her hair were tangled in her fingers. Tears poured from her tear ducts like a raging river. Her choked sobs only worsened. "I wasn't worth dying for.. The Horsewomen ne-need you right now. Not me! Mortadel needs you. Rascalz needs you! I NEED YOU!" The last sentence was done with an agonizing plea which caused my own chest to tighten like I was the one suffering this heartbreak. Tears started to roll down my cheeks as I bit into my bottom lip to suppress my own sobs. Why? Why am I feeling this? I never even got the opportunity to meet Becky, but I feel like a piece of me is missing. Am I feeling this pain because Daisy lost a dear friend of hers? What can I do to ease her pain? Can I even do anything?
"Yo-You told me how you escaped the demon realm but whenever you were younger. You can do that again ri-right? Right Rebecca, can you come back to me? Wh-Why aren't you? Come back." Her attention stayed glued to the headstone as she uncurled herself from the ball-like position she had herself in. Her hand was caressing the gravestone. This pain in my heart isn't going away, if anything it's getting a lot worse. "Oh, I-I would give anything for you to be with me right now." Is Becky able to escape the demon realm even after death? Is that possible or is Doctor Mero asking for the impossible?
My hand clutched onto the fabric of my shirt, right above my heart. Do I attempt to say something now? How am I supposed to help her? This pain is squeezing me so tight, it feels like I might die. The brunette's body slumped against the tree, her eyes looking to the sky. I don't believe she saw me even though I was in her line of sight for a split second. "Remember what we wanted to do after the war. You wanted to take some time away, just for the two of us and start a family. You didn't want me to fight anymore. I had contributed enough as a soldier, that's what you told me. Roux, that was the name that you wanted to give our child if we had a little girl." …The last piece of information took a little longer to process and that's whenever it finally clicked in my head that Doctor Mero was the widow. She was Becky's wife. She didn't lose a friend on the battlefield that day; she lost her lover.
"It wasn't Rebecca because I wasn't strong enough. You came back to save me and refused to let me give my life for you. Vyrolo took my will to live that day. I-I'm sorry, I didn't know that a piece of you was still there." Not only survivors guilt but also the brunette believes that she disrespected her wife but not finding the head sooner. How could she have known? Doctor Mero was the only one that survived that battle. Soldiers that she was supposed to lead and protect perished and not only that, but the brunette also saw her wife die in front of her very eyes. "But you're home now, you're home but it's not changing anything. Whenever we said 'til death do us part' it was supposed to be my death, not yours. I-I know the girls still blame me; shit, I know Mercedes does. I don't blame her. It's my fault you're dead. Why couldn't I have just died with you?!"
"Oh Daisy.." I watched in silence for a little bit longer, but the brunette never said anything else. That weird dream I had the other night is starting to make a little more sense in my mind now too. The house belonged to the married couple and perhaps that's why 'The Man' was being hostile toward me. She thought I was attempting to steal Daisy from her. Why would I imagine them being married though? I didn't have that information until now. So many things still aren't clear about that, but it does make the picture a little clearer for me. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I made my best attempt at composing myself and trying to manage the emotional pain I am feeling.
Slowly but surely, I started to make my way over toward the grieving widow. There has to be something that I can do to help ease her pain. Even if it's only for a second, I want to help her through this. As I approached, the charcoal companion that laid a couple feet from his master had woken up. He turned to me and hissed. "Rascalz…please, let me comfort her." I understand that he is overprotective of Daisy but surely, he can realize that my intentions are pure. I cautiously sat down on the ground in front of Doctor Mero, whose face was buried in her hands and completely unaware of my presence. As I reached one of my hands out to touch her shoulder, Rascalz hissed again and bit onto my arm. Fuck.. That hurt but I imagine that he is also grieving over Becky as well. After a second or so, he released me from his grasp and hissed again. I'm not giving up on him and especially not on Daisy, she needs a friend right now.
"If it counts for anything Daisy, I know loads of people that are thankful you are still here."
My hand reached out and touched her shoulder lightly which alerted her to my presence. "...!" Her head snapped up and I stared into those hurt, lifeless eyes of her that were so red and puffy and fought back my own tears. "...Angel, what are you doing here?" It was like she had completely dissociated from surroundings and had to remember who I was. Her bottom lip was trembling and her teeth pierced into it as she was attempting to hide her grieving sobs from me.
"You haven't been home for two days; I wanted to check up on you." My heart was starting to beat faster the longer I looked at the brunette, seeing her like this continue to pierce through me like a sharp blade. Reaching over with my free hand, my thumb wiped underneath her eye in an attempt to get rid of the tears. She almost flinched at the action. "And um…I brought these flowers for Becky. Do you think she would have liked them?"
I held up the bouquet a little closer when Daisy finally noticed them. She looked at them softly, reaching over and brushing her fingers against petals of an orange orchid. Her attention stayed glued to the flowers, but I saw that her lips had curled into a small smile even if it was for a split second. "...She would, although she'd deny it. Thank you, Angel." The smile disappeared as soon as it was formed, and Doctor Mero took the bouquet from my hands and rested it gently against the gravestone. "...How much of that did you hear?" She asked quietly.
"All of it. I-I.. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." A wave of guilt coursed through me, I was not supposed to hear any of that. If Daisy wanted to talk to me about it, she would but I was snooping around and didn't make my presence known earlier. It's my fault. "It was an invasion of privacy, please forgive me." I said sincerely.
Daisy looked back at me. "...It's not like you barged in or anything. Anyone could have witnessed that." She admitted, looking back over to the bouquet. "Why did you bring these flowers?"
"Mina takes flowers once a week and places them on the graves of fallen soldiers and others. She does it to show respect for their sacrifice and remembrance of their lives. I thought I'd do the same for Becky. I knew you guys were close but.. I didn't.."
"...know that she was my wife." Daisy solemnly finished my statement. Whenever I was informed that 'The Man' was married, I was assuming that it was another one of the Horsewomen. Mercedes' hatred of Daisy has to do with Becky's death, doesn't it? That's why she refused to fight her friend because she takes complete blame for her wife dying.
"Yeah." I answered, unsure of what to say next. Looking back over at the flowers and back at the brunette, I reached over and touched her bicep. "I can't imagine what you are going through but… I feel like she wouldn't want you blaming yourself for what happened that day. I'd like to think the other horsewomen don't either."
"..." Daisy didn't say anything in response at first, looking back over to the headstone. Her eyes were glossy again, but her mind seemed absent again like before. I wish I knew what she was thinking about but that was probably easier now considering the subject. A hand covered part of her face and her fingers tangled in her hair again. Her body was trembling, her lip quivering again as tears poured out of her. "It is hard not to blame yourself whenever you are constantly reliving that nightmare over and over again. At one point in time, I thought about taking my own life so I would be able to travel down to hell and see her again."
At that exact moment, my heart stopped beating for even a split second upon hearing her confession. She trusts me with such information. Do Mina and Deonna know about this? Does that feeling of hatred for herself still exist? I'm not sure if Daisy continues to have such dangerous thoughts about ending her own life still. I imagine that if I lost a lover; I'd feel the empty void where their love was. "Doctor Mero."
Her eyes shifted downward looking more toward her chest, her left hand resting over her breast. "The longer I thought about it with the blade pointed at my heart, I came to the realization that changed my life. If I killed myself, then everything Rebecca did that day would mean absolutely nothing! I'd be mocking her sacrifice even though I really wish it was me."
Part of me sighed in relief hearing that she no longer has those suicidal thoughts. My mind thought back a couple days ago whenever they rescued me. I judged her appearance not looking like a doctor, now I understand why. She wasn't a doctor at first, she was a soldier and a Horsewoman. After Becky's death during the war, the brunette didn't want to be a soldier anymore. She chose the path to become a doctor. I placed my hand over on top of hers, the one resting on her breast and waited for her to look back at me. "...Can I say something?"
"What is it?" I squeezed her hand softly.
"I never got the privilege to meet Becky but considering how kindhearted of a person you are, I'd like to think she was the same. You might not realize it, but I think that she is probably proud of the person that you become. Instead of taking lives, you walked down the path to save them, and you are doing that in her memory. Doctor, you have helped hundreds if not thousands of people in that timeframe. People that would have died if it wasn't for you. They wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for you. I probably wouldn't be here sitting with you. You helped save my life. I'm forever grateful and all of those in Hazelgrave are too." Which is the complete truth, even with Mina's skill, having another doctor around has saved plenty of people. My life could have met its tragic end in that river on that day. I scooted myself a little closer to her, our knees almost touching and wrapped my arms around her in a tight embrace.
At first, Daisy didn't know how to react to my comfort but after several seconds, her arms wrapped around me and rested on my lower back. Her head nuzzled into the crook of my neck as I heard her attempting to fight back her sobs. "I-I…Damn it, I haven't really talked about my wife in so long. I-It's really hard-"
"Sh, you don't have to say anything. Don't force yourself to open up to me. I'll be here whenever you are ready." Daisy, you've been through so much and have started to open up to me about things. You don't have to unload all of your baggage at once. I'll be here whenever you wish to speak more about Becky. Doctor Mero cried into me as those walls crumbled down again. She had been trying so hard to keep it bottled up after discovering I was here. My words must have allowed her to feel safe yet vulnerable enough to cry in front of me. My heart was still hurting, occasionally my own tears would escape listening to the grieving widow's agonizing cries.
All I did in response was hold her closer, allowing her to lean into me as my fingers played with her hair. Cooing comforting words into her ears every so often, I held her for several minutes if not longer. Her rapid breathing had steady into a more normal pace and the sobs had ceased. Daisy lifted her head up and leaned back from my hug. Her eyes immediately looked at my arm and saw the bite mark that Rascalz left on me. I was so focused on tending to Daisy that I never paid attention to the damage. "How did that happen?"
"Oh well.."
"Rascalz." I didn't want to bring that up or get him in trouble, but the Helitten was now sitting up and glaring over at us. "I'm so sorry, let me bandage that up for you."
A rhetorical switch flipped in the brunette's mind and now she's in doctor mode. The brunette set down her medicine bag and opened it up. "Please don't worry about it." I should be the least of her worries right now.
"I'm not risking it getting infected." She said adamantly, pulling out some rubbing alcohol and some gauze. Daisy didn't give me much of a chance to protest, she grabbed my hand and pulled me a little closer back toward her. As Doctor Mero prepared the rubbing alcohol, I noticed the Helitten walking around the tree and joining his master on her right side. "Rascalz used to belong to Becky, he was her loyal companion. He had been by her side ever since Becks was a child in the demon realm. The two of them used to fight battles side by side and ever since her passing, Rascalz remains by my side. His promise to his master to stay by my side if anything ever happens to her is what fuels him."
The explanation hurt me more than the sting of the rubbing alcohol as Daisy grabbed the gauze and started wrapping up my arm. "Oh, poor little guy." My eyes gazed at Rascalz, who looked at me with venom and hissed loudly again, the flames on his back erupted. "Oh…He really does hate me."
"Stop being a jackass, she's a caring person." Daisy snapped over to her pet as he turned his head away. I forgot that she could understand what he is saying because of their strong bond. "Rascalz needs time to warm up to you. He is really adamant about his overprotectiveness of me and thinks anyone could swoop in and take his master's place."
"No one could replace her; I would never try too."
"I know. Again, I'm sorry about what he did."
"Really, it's okay. Thank you." Daisy managed to beam up a small smile, she finished wrapping up the bite and started putting her supplies away. I guess it is a good thing that the brunette brings her bag everywhere. I feel like I have overstayed my welcome a little bit. I wasn't supposed to hear what she said. Maybe I can use what little gold I have left to go get her something to eat. I don't know if Daisy has eaten or slept in the past two days. "Do you want me to leave you alone?"
Picking up Rascalz and setting the grumpy feline into her lap, she looked to me and almost gave what resembled puppy dog eyes. "...Can you sit here with me for a little longer? I don't want to be alone right now." She patted the spot where Rascalz was just sitting, and I crawled over to it. The brunette laid down and stared up at the glass ceiling, one hand was petting her pet and the other was caressing the gravestone. "This used to be her favorite tree to nap under. I..I kind of want to lay here too so I can feel close to her again."
"Okay I'll stay as long as you want me too." It was all I could really say as I copied her previous actions and laid next to her. A few minutes passed as I turned my head to look at her, she was completely asleep. Her chest rising and falling at normal pace and with a peaceful look on her face. Rascalz laid on her stomach sleeping soundly as well. My own eyes closed, and I will hopefully manage a small nap myself. I'm really glad that I have been able to help my friend even if it's only temporary.
No One's POV
Unknown Location in Mortadel
Toni Storm's eyes felt heavy as she attempted to open them to take a gander at her surroundings. They weighed the equivalent of lead but slowly the distorted vision was starting to make sense. Her face was laying sideways on the dirt ground, there was a variety of tree colors surrounding the blonde, from pink, red, purple, blue and even a little green. Queen Storm made an attempt to move her hands, but her arms felt numb at first. What was going on? Her hands nor feet were bound with restraints but moving them felt like an impossible task.
The blonde monarch wasn't sure what to think, she was using all of what remained of her strength to move her arms. She managed to move them a little until an unbearable wave of pain coursed through her body. She grunted, fighting back the tears in her eyes. What was the source of all of this pain? An immense pressure of building up in her chest; she was having trouble breathing. Every breath seemed like it was going to be her last. Toni managed to grip the dirt below her and push herself off of the ground. Her knees bent and finally the blonde wasn't lying on cold, hard ground anymore. Multiple coughs left Storm, each one harder than the last. The final cough made something expel from her, whatever it was splattered on the ground in front of her. Toni's eyes widened recognizing the crimson liquid as blood, she was bleeding.
Her eyes looked down to notice the patch of dirt where she was lying previously was darkened with a reddish hue. "...Wh…at..?" The pain increased every second that the blonde was sitting up, it felt like her neck was on fire and her abdomen was going to burst. Vision was starting to distort again, the Queen of Montecarlac knew that she was on a timer until she passed out again. This pain was unbearable, was she going to die?
No. Toni couldn't die here. There was still so much that she wanted to do in life. At this exact moment, nothing came to mind, but death was a terrifying concept. The blonde struggled to look around some more, the smell of smoke filled her nose. There was a fire nearby and with a burning fire currently active; that means people were nearby. Someone would be able to help her, maybe her life would be spared.
The stabbing sensation continued as Storm forced her body to rotate looking what was previously behind her. Several feet away was the fire actively burning the logs chopped neatly to be its source of fuel. Why? Why was she here? She doesn't recognize this forest but the more the blonde curiously looked near the fire, something stood out to her. Candles placed in distinct positions and equal distance from each other on top of a painted surface. The shape was circular with many other circles and triangles inside it. Queen Storm wasn't sure at the moment what this meant but it had to be something to do with why she's stuck in an unknown place.
"He.." Help. That was the word that she wanted to scream up but only a small sound left her. Why couldn't she speak? Toni wrapped her hand around her abdomen and with all her might forced herself to stand on her wobbly feet. Any moment the Queen of Montecarlac could lose consciousness, she needed to move forward.
The bushes rustled in the distance and the blonde could feel her heart trying to escape her wounded body. Two figures emerged, two females, one was wearing all black and the other was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a blue tank top. Both of them froze in disbelief staring at the woman in front of them. Did Toni recognize them? She wasn't sure but their expressions hardened. They were not here to help her. "What the hell, how is she even standing from all of the poison in her body? That was supposed to completely paralyze her!" The shorter of the two, a brunette, spoke astonished.
"We mustn't let her escape; Her Majesty will have our heads if she lives." The woman in black reminded her partner. Toni exhaled a couple of quick breathes and mumbled a silent prayer. Someone would come to her rescue, right? Someone has to be looking for her. The blonde looked behind her and immediately started running in that direction.
Her steps staggered and each one was harder to take than the last, pure fear and adrenaline were the only driving forces keeping her awake. These people might be the ones responsible for all of the wounds she's sustained even if the blonde couldn't see them. "How has no wildlife feasted on her yet? This is insane, it was supposed to be simple!" Every step started to feel like it was going to be her last. The two women had brought her out to this forest for the wildlife to feast on her body. Why? What did Toni do to deserve all of this? "Queen Charlotte is going to be livid." The name immediately struck more fear into the face of the monarch, the Queen of Mortadel was responsible for this.
"What matters now is making sure she dies, it doesn't matter how, but we mustn't cause a scene." Toni kept running in the opposite direction from the heartless henchmen that wished for her demise. Nothing looked familiar to her and every time the blonde attempted to shout for help, not a sound would come out. She was so weak that she couldn't talk. No one was going to come rescue her.
After another minute of running, the blonde woman came across what looked to be the end of this forest. The trees were starting to decrease in number and the sound of water captured her attention. It was a river. Does she attempt to stay in the forest where there are unknown dangers or adventure out into the fields? Her eyes scanned the field lands and, in the distance, looked to be a town. A town with people that could maybe help her. Would it be smarter to cross the river in her fatigued state?
In that instant, someone appeared in front of her, and it was the blonde woman that was chasing her. How was that possible? Did she teleport or something? Toni halted her footsteps and attempted back away slowly, her head looked back to see the brunette approaching as well. She was trapped. "It's nothing personal; it's just part of our job."
The Queen of Montecarlac was quickly running out options and the next one out of the two was to cross the river. The closest bridge across looked to be several miles away which meant that Toni was going to have to do this herself. Does she die by being captured by these two or does she make an attempt to escape? Queen Storm made her choice and without further hesitation the blonde ran to the side of the river. She was going to jump until she felt two hands shove her. Toni looked back to the brunette, who smirked wickedly, and the two captors disappeared from her sight.
Toni crashed into the rushing water; the current was starting to overwhelm her. The fatigue was now outweighing the adrenaline of being chased. Her body refused to move any further, no matter how much the panicked monarch made an attempt to swim. The wounds had become too great for her body to handle. Her body had completely given up on her. What little Toni could do was futile, she kept her eyes open and prayed that someone would snatch her out of the water. She wasn't able to hold her breath much longer and soon her lungs were going to be filled with water. She was going to drown. Toni's body had accepted her fate, but she didn't understand why someone would want to kill her. Why her? What did she do to deserve this? She was fading quickly, and the pitch-black void of death was embracing her. One last time she attempted to think of something else, something that made her smile to no end as she slipped into unconsciousness. 'Ma..ri..'
"Angel. Wake up." Next thing Toni knew was hearing a familiar voice calling out to her. The heaviness, pain and fatigue still lingered about until it completely dissolved. The feeling of suffocating was nonexistent as she stared blankly at the glass ceiling and the face looking down at her.
"Wh-What?" The blonde wasn't sure what the hell was going on anymore. But she recognized the woman looking down at her. "Doctor Mero, where am I?"
"You are in the greenhouse, I guess you really needed that nap." Angel rubbed her eyes as she slowly sat herself up. She took a small glance around to see that the two of them were still resting in the area where one of the four was buried. Green eyes gazed at the small headstone and Rascalz curled up resting in front of it. "You were mumbling in your sleep; did you have a bad dream?" Daisy asked the shorter woman with a hint of concern which somehow surprised the blonde. Given everything that has happened revolving around the brunette's deceased wife; Doctor Mero still tries to care about her friends' wellbeing.
"I..-" The former monarch started to answer but stopped, she was thinking back to that dream. It felt too real to be such a vivid dream. Instead, this one seemed to be something more telling than that, the pain adds up to where her wounds were whenever she was discovered at the riverside. Wait.. The more Angel thought about everything that happened in that dream, she thought about the town in the distance. It reminded her of Hazelgrave, in fact, she was certain that it was Hazelgrave. This dream told her the story of how she ended up in the Harmony River and barely clinging to life. Those two women were her kidnappers but why? There were still so many unanswered questions, but this was the first time Toni has remembered anything regarding her past life. "Yes.. I remembered something."
Daisy's expression surprisingly perked up a little from her dead and emotionless state. A small smile appeared on her face. "Oh! That's excellent, you are already starting to recover some memories." Doctor Mero was really glad that Angel was starting to remember what happened before they discovered her. That was until the blonde sitting in front of her brows lowered, her lips curled into a small frown. "I'm guessing that they aren't good memories."
"No, it wasn't." Angel was thinking back to those two women that were chasing her. Were they the ones that attempted to kill her or were they simply her kidnappers? She didn't know them, but Toni focused on what one of them had said.
'Queen Charlotte is going to be livid.' Queen Charlotte, surely Toni had to have misheard them. There was no way that someone as kind of as Queen Charlotte would want Angel dead. If she truly did, wouldn't she have ordered her execution anyway? The monarch might not know that she's whatever target the Queen ordered to be slain.
"Hey, do you want to talk about it?" What does Toni do? The blonde woman covered her mouth with her hand and started trembling slightly. What if Charlotte can't be trusted? Does that mean none of the Horsewomen can be trusted? She felt so sick. Her breathing was becoming erratic; her stomach was twisting in knots. "Angel? It's going to be okay, deep breaths. You are overwhelming yourself." A hand caressed her shoulder softly, gently rubbing up and down, Toni let out a small gasp and looked at Daisy.
A new question started drifting in the jumbled mess that was her mind after unlocking said memory. If Toni could no longer trust any of the Horsewomen, what does that mean for Doctor Mero? She's a Horsewomen, she's one of them. Does that mean the brunette knows the secrets of her past life? Daisy continued to rub Angel's shoulder trying to give her space to calm down and gather herself before this panic attack evolves further. Does that mean she can no longer trust Mina and Deonna as well? Is she truly alone? No. No. No. That can't be true. If they truly wanted her dead, why would her friends have gone through the trouble of rescuing her? Mina and Daisy wouldn't have taken the time to nurse her back to health. Nurse Shirakawa wouldn't have taken the extra time to bond with her and teach her things. Doctor Mero wouldn't have taken her in. She wouldn't be buying her things.
Angel barely knows the three, but the blonde woman was going to continue to trust all of them. Now the other Horsewomen were a different topic, how was going to find out the truth? Toni debated on telling Daisy what the nightmare was about. Would that cause an unnecessary rift between friends? She does not want to get Daisy in trouble either. "...Can we talk about it whenever we are back at your place?"
"Whenever you are ready to talk about it, I'm here."
Hazelgrave, Mortadel
Mina Shirakawa wiped the sweat from her brow with a wet compress, the green glow from her other hand started to dim. She was starting to feel the fatigue from overusing her healing magic. Another one of those mystery bandit attacks happened yesterday and Mina has been constantly doing whatever she can to make sure both of them survive. These attacks are really happening more frequently, and no new answers have gotten them closer to discovering the culprit. Combined with being the only doctor in the village, the pink-haired woman has really been overexerting herself. The patient in front of her noticed the young woman's-tired state, her smaller and fragile hand resting on top of Mina's. "You've already done so much, Nurse Shirakawa. It's just a small burn, dearie, I'll be fine."
"I know Ethel, but your body wouldn't heal this as easily." Ethel was an elderly elf woman that was barely shorter than Mina. She ran the local bakery along with one of her children Donna Joe, and the other daughter, Cindy, works at the tavern that Rena owns. "I'm going to help everyone here no matter how small."
"I really need to be more careful in my old age." Ethel watched the petite nurse continue to use her magic on something as small as a burn. Ever since the Japanese native moved to their small village, Mina has been very kind to everyone. Whenever all of the other doctors had been recruited to aid in the war, Mina stayed behind to take care of the ill here. If it wasn't for her, some of the people in Hazelgrave wouldn't be here today. "Oh sweetheart, you've always been so kind to me and my daughters." Ethel adopted two twin girls whenever they were very young, although they were human, they were more family than even her own blood.
"Yes, but mistakes do happen. I'm glad that it was only a small burn. I'm going to prescribe some cream for it just in case the pain returns." Putting the cold compress down on the table beside them, Mina pulled a pen from her shirt pocket and her notepad and started jotting down the prescription.
"Thank you, sweetheart, have you heard whenever Doctor Mero was going to return?"
"I have not but don't worry, everything is going to be alright." Nurse Shirakawa reassured her patient with a warm smile. The pink-haired woman was also curious about her friends and when they were going to return. They've been in Nehanora for days now and she was not anticipating such a long absence. This business with Vyrolo is worse than she thought, Daisy's going to be involved in all of that again. Another war is going to be on the horizon, Mina had that feeling. Deonna will probably have to go wherever the battle takes place. She is fearing for their safety. Then there was Angel, a sweet stranger that was rescued at the brink of death. A blank canvas that has a warmth about her that even has Daisy taking notice. Mina is glad that Angel is staying with them. They really want to help Angel recover her memories and going to Nehanora could potentially help with that. She hopes that was the best choice for the blonde woman.
Without knowing how long Daisy was going to be gone for, Mina was going to have to take on more of the workload. Shirakawa thought this journey was going to be quick considering Kyros took them there. The pink-haired nurse was strong enough to run the clinic by herself. Mina's thoughts were derailed as the elderly elf stood up from her chair and patted Mina's hands gently. "I believe you. I'm going to have Donna Joe run some muffins down here for you later."
"You don't have to do that." The generosity of the baker touched the nurse; she loved going to the bakery after a hard day of work before going home.
"Of course I do, you are a stellar young lady Miss Shirakawa, and you need to eat. Take care now." The elf smiled wide, taking the paper with her prescription into her hand.
"Thank you, Ms. Ethel." After a brief farewell, the pink-haired nurse breathed out a sigh of relief and walked over to her purse. She opened the bag and dug through its content. Grabbing a small vial with blue liquid inside, she closed the bag. Shirakawa opened the vial and downed the liquid in one gulp. "This is my last one, I'm going to have to see Vasati to snag more Mana potions." Shirakawa spoke out loud to herself, the nurse will add those potions to the list of others she needs to pick up whenever she can. The clinic was almost out of regenerative potions as well.
Taking a mental note of her list, she felt a couple presences approaching her. Mina didn't like the malicious energy coming from these visitors. There were two of them but whichever one that was going to come in first was the leader, she assumed. "Hello, welcome. How can I help you?" She was nervous considering that she was alone but kept her tone cheery and welcoming.
The door had barely cracked open as a female voice answered in surprise. "Oh? You sensed us." Mina turned to face the visitors as both strangers walked into the lobby of the clinic. The first woman was sporting a long, black cloak covering her attire underneath and a black hat with wavy blonde hair. The second woman was the shorter of the two, a brunette with a thorny crown of blue roses on top of her head. Her attire was also hidden underneath a black cloak. "Mina Shirakawa, it's a pleasure to meet you. Tell me, where's Doctor Mero?"
There were several questions that popped in the nurse's mind as the blonde spoke to her. Who was this person and how did she know her name? Shirakawa never got the opportunity to introduce herself to potential patients. More importantly, why were they looking for Daisy? "She's out of the village right now on business." Mina replied, keeping the same cheerful tone. This evil energy radiating from them is overwhelming her. She doesn't believe she's ever felt such malicious intent. "Am I able to be of assistance? Are either of you ladies injured?" Mina questioned. She did her best to remain calm.
"No. The only assistance I need from you is giving me Doctor Mero's whereabouts. Where has she gone?" The blonde stranger spoke once again, her tone showing irritation at Shirakawa and the lack of answers given.
There was not a recognizable crest anywhere on their person, but something was telling these women were not from Mortadel. If they were, they wouldn't be here asking for Daisy. No, the reason for coming for one of her closest friends wasn't good. "That's classified information. I cannot disclose that to you. My apologies, but I am more than happy to take a message for you."
The door remained open as the brunette took a couple steps out the door. The unnamed blonde scoffed, she turned her heels and walked out of the clinic too. Her body turned back to face Shirakawa. "Tch. Useless wench, we will come back and if Doctor Mero isn't back by then, we are going to have some problems."
A palm opened out in Mina's direction and a black aura formed around the sorceress' hand. Every second the energy was growing exponentially, and the pink-haired woman knew that she wasn't going to be able to dodge such an attack. Out of nowhere, a hand quickly grabbed and squeezed the wrist of the stranger. Several small sparks of lightning swirled around the arm of Mina's savior. She didn't even sense her coming this way, but a wave of relief coursed through the petite nurse. "Is there a problem here ladies? Did I hear you threaten this curvaceous beauty?"
The blonde eyes narrowed, looking over to see who had the audacity to touch her. A pair of grey eyes were staring back at her, the feature that stood out at the moment was the bright yellow hair. The black aura disappeared as the cloaked woman swatted her hand free from the knight that dared intervene. "And if I was, what are you going to do about it?" Mina watched Taya take a couple steps closer and purposely block the doorway. Valkyrie couldn't help but smirk at the challenge, small bolts of electricity continued to appear around the knight.
"No, we mustn't. Conserve our strength for things that matter. Remember our orders." The brunette stranger spoke for the first time as she stared at Taya. A sigh left the blonde and without a second thought, both women said nothing more and teleported away.
Taya was caught off-guard by the sudden action and looked around frantically to figure out where they went. Their energies had completely vanished into thin air; they really did flee the scene. "H-Hey, get back here and fight me you pussies!" She shouted angrily, stomping her foot on the ground. These two were not friends of Shirakawa, that's for certain. Neither of their energies were familiar to her. Nothing could be done about it, Taya turned to face the beautiful pink-haired nurse that gave the knight such a sweet smile. "Mina, are you okay? They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"No, I'm okay." This managed to ease the yellow-haired woman slightly knowing that her friend was safe from those two. Taya joined the nurse inside the clinic and approached her.
Taya nodded. Thankfully for Shirakawa, Taya was already making her way down to the clinic as per orders by Favian, who is the captain of all of the knights of Hazelgrave. "Good, I'm glad I was able to make it down here in time. Why were they here?" This wasn't some random encounter, this happening the day after those bandit attacks is no coincidence. Perhaps those two are suspects, they are both strong sorceresses.
"Looking for Daisy, I have a bad feeling about this."
'Looking for Daisy 'means one of two things and neither of them are good outcomes. Are they wanting to hunt her down because of her status as a doctor or is it because she's a Horsewoman? No one in Mortadel would even attempt to fight her. I know her powers are suppressed, and she hasn't been able to activate them again since that day. Those two are from another kingdom. Is it Quven again? With Vyrolo's return, it's a possibility, I'll need to inform the church elders but first...' The yellow-haired knight analyzed the situation at hand, and she continued to study Mina's body language a little more. There was something off about the petite nurse, it was her eyes. They looked rough and heavy and not the soft and cheery Valkyrie was used to seeing. "Are you sure you are okay, Mina? You look exhausted."
Mina gave a weak nod of her head, leaning herself back on the lobby desk. "I am. Not that I am not grateful but what brings you here, Taya?"
"Came to see if our John and Jane Doe have woken up yet. Plus, I did promise Deonna to check up on you." Taya was tasked with getting any kind of information pertaining to these mystery bandits and luckily for them, the couple managed to survive and that was thanks solely to Mina.
"They are not awake yet." With how badly the couple had been damaged, their chances of survival have been shaky. Whatever got ahold of them could have sliced them in half. Including Angel if she was attacked by the same people, that's the second attack this week alone.
After that, Taya continued to look at the nurse with a bit of concern, she could tell that Mina's exhaustion was starting to really affect her. With no one else in the clinic but the unconscious patients, Shirakawa needed to take this opportunity to rest up. Taya's metal hand gently touched the nurse's shoulder. "I see. Come on, Mina, you need to lay down for a bit." Shirakawa is normally adamant about continuing her work, but she didn't protest. She took a couple steps forward but staggered, if Taya wasn't close by to catch her, she could have fallen. Valkyrie scooped up her legs and carried Mina effortlessly toward the sofa that Daisy loves to nap on. "Have you eaten today?"
"No." She doesn't dare leave her patients alone, so until Daisy returns the couch was going to be her bed if she could ever sleep. Mina has made several attempts to sleep but to no avail, the nurse's mind would continue to imagine the worst-case scenarios for her patients.
"That won't do, we need to get you some grub fast." If Taya had known that this beauty was alone without food and proper rest, the knight would have brought some food for her. Valkyrie could feel Mina's magical energy slowly grow back up at a steady pace. She understood what the pink-haired woman was doing, and the consequences are potentially bad if continued.
"You know I can't leave the clinic while I have patients here."
"I'll sit here and keep an eye on the clinic while you go get some food. Either that or I'll go grab you something."
"You're sweet Taya, thank you." Mina cooed sweetly, nuzzling herself a little closer to the knight's armor. All the yellow-haired woman did was smile and carefully placed the nurse onto the sofa.
"You are going to get ill if you are constantly overusing your magic like that. Mana potions come in handy, but you need actual rest." Valkyrie scolded Shirakawa slightly, the tone immediately shifted once Mina puffed her cheeks out in a pout. Taya found it adorable. The knight patted Mina's head lightly with a smile. "I want you to lay down on the couch and rest until either a patient comes in or our couple wakes up. I'm going to grab you some food. Is there anything in particular you want?"
"My usual from the Ethereal Wildcat Tavern sounds delicious right now. Rena has it memorized." There might be biases of that particular tavern being her favorite spot to eat at. That isn't saying that the other tavern wasn't great in its own right. Shirakawa didn't have the energy to protest the kind offer from her perverted friend. The pink-haired nurse reached into her pockets. "Here let me-"
A hand extended out which managed to get Mina to stop what she was doing. "Don't even think about giving me any money, a beauty like you should never have to pay."
Normally Taya would have remarked something about her outfits making her breasts look extra perky or some remark about her ass. Today has been surprisingly tame, the kindness without the expected remarks is welcoming. "Oh wow, thank you for the compliment and for the food. Next time it's on me." A big smile graced her lips as she looked up to the knight with those soft brown eyes that could make anyone melt. A small giggle escaped her, a hand moving some stray strands of hair from her face and tucking them behind her ear.
Looking down at the petite woman's face caused Taya's cheeks to heat up slightly. She let out a small scoff, pointing down to the sofa. There was no way that Mina was ever going to pay for her food while she was here. "We will see. I'll go grab us some food and drinks and keep you company for a bit. You better keep that cute butt on that couch and get some rest. I'll be back as fast as I can." A grin plastered on her face; the knight left the clinic and up the cobblestone path leading more into the village. Feeding Mina was definitely a priority, but Taya knew that her duty as a soldier came first. She needed to tell Agre, Oliver and Marc Mero what happened at the clinic.