The man came in along with the woman, walking behind her. Black hair and black eyes. Penny knew his name but for some odd reason, she wasn’t able to his name on her tongue or her mind. She tried remembering the names where she had seen him but for the love of God, she wasn’t able to do it either!
Internally she was frustrated and her brows furrowed enough to raise the eyebrow of the woman.
“Is something the matter?” asked the woman who had checked her temperature moments ago.
“Am I in heaven?” Penny asked the woman. The woman instead of replying to her turned to look at the man behind her, “No this isn’t heaven.”
Oh, no, thought Penny to herself. For some reason, her soul had been warranted to hell? She felt her heart sink. She should have known by looking at the color of the dull walls.
“This is a place we call as unknown,” the man answered her thoughts which was appearing on her face without needing her to speak up.
So it was neither hell or heaven. She woke up, sitting upright on the small bed.
“I am not dead then? Where is Damien?” she asked slightly anxious over the fact that he was still sucking her blood when she had passed out. He was still under the influence of corruption.
“Damien?” asked the woman as if unaware of who he was.
“The man who was with me. H-he,” Penny touched her arm to feel nothing. There was no pain nor were there any fang-like marks when she looked down. She looked up at the woman and then the man for answers. She had never been this confused in her entire life.
The man raised his hand to sign something to the woman who nodded to bring a glass of water for Penny to drink. Penny looked at the glass, staring at it.
“Please drink,” the man offered her a small smile which was faint. She took note of their clothes, which looked very similar to a church’s clothing. The long robes and long sleeves that both the woman and man wore, “It is hard to tell if you are still alive, Miss. We do not speak of this place and even if we do, we make sure to erase the person’s memory.”
The glass that Penny was bringing up to her lips stopped and she placed it back on her lap, “Are you black witches?” she asked worriedly. She had enough of memory-erasing and she wasn’t willing to get her memories erased again.
“No. Rest assured, we are not here to harm you,” the man said, moving his hands from bottom to top, asking her to drink the water, “You are in the transitioning phase. From being alive to dead. It seems long right now and dragged but consider it to be the span of a dream. I need you to go back because you have things to accomplish.”
He placed his hand on her forehead and Penny started to feel dizzy again.
“Farewell, Miss Penelope,” said the man, as her eyes drifted close Penny found the woman and man talking to each other, their lips moving but she heard nothing before darkness engulfed her for the second time.
The next time when Penny woke up, the room was dark and warm. And though it was dark, she felt like she was back somewhere safe.
Her left hand appeared to be somewhat warm and when her eyes trailed to look at the other hand which was enclasped in Damien’s hand.
“I am alive,” she said, her voice brighter than he had expected it to be and he let out a sigh of relief.
“I don’t know what I would do if you didn’t come back to me,” she could tell that he had been utterly worried and had not moved from here. Holding her hand in his for the entire time, “I am sorry for putting you through it,” she could sense a sense of disappointment in his voice as if he wasn’t happy how things had turned out in the forest.
“If there is anyone who should be blamed we should blame the warden for offering you artificial blood. Does that exist?” she didn’t even know something like that existed until today.
“You get them as pills which are created by the white witches in the church. Though it isn’t distributed everywhere, some are sold in the black market which is how it must have ended in the slave establishment. How are you feeling? Let me ask Martin to prepare something for you to eat,” he said ready to get up from his chair and Penny stopped him by placing her arm which hurt.
She pushed herself up to sit upright where Damien helped her. They were back in Lord Alexander’s mansion, in Valeria.
Damien suddenly engulfed in his arms. He let out a sigh of relief.
“When I got my consciousness back I was worried to find you in my arms. Your heart had stopped beating for a good ten seconds before it started to beat again. The next time my corruption reacts, the first thing you do is take a carriage and go to the closest safe place you know. I almost killed you,” said Damien hugging her tightly, worried as he felt her pulse beating softly right now.
Damien had almost lost his mind that had only accelerated the corruption in his heart at the sight of Penny who was in his arms, unmoving who was not breathing.
Penny shook her head, “I don’t want to leave you alone,” things might have turned to the worse but she still wouldn’t change it. The dream she had before waking up felt faint in her mind but she didn’t bother herself with it.
She didn’t need words from him, his silence and his hug that held her close as if he was afraid to lose her told her everything. They hadn’t expected for things to turn like this when they had left for Bonelake, but who knew the sketchy warden would offer and artificial blood.
Penny hugged him back to let him know she was alright and here with him.
