My mind faded from physical reality and I found myself floating in familiar darkness. It was the same darkness I had experienced once before on the night I died, when my spirit had lingered between the world of the living and the world of the dead. While my bleeding body lay on the bathroom floor dying, my spirit was stuck in this limbo waiting to either cross on to the other side or be dragged back to the land of the living.

I waited in the darkness for death to come.

'Mia.'

The voice echoed in the darkness and it was the same voice that had been haunting me for weeks, calling my name, tormenting me. More importantly it was the same voice I had heard in the bathroom before being attacked.

'Mia.'

It called again and in the darkness the ghost appeared.

I didn't move. She was right in front of me, hunched over with her head bent forward. I could not see as the thick matted locks of hair created a filthy veil that covered her face. Her dress clung to her body in dirty shreds covered in soil, as if the material had been left to rot in the earth for a time. The pallor of her skin was lifeless yet her shoulders trembled as she drew unnatural rasping breaths.

With great fear I asked, "Celia?"

There was a hitch in her breath, a sudden pause in her erratic breathing that seemed to indicate an acknowledgement of the question I had asked her. Her head lifted like she was looking at me, but dirty clumps of hair shadowed her eyes and face. Eventually she exhaled with a long gurgle and continued to 'look' at me.

Nervously I asked, "Why are you doing this to me? Do you want me dead?"

There was a pause and then the darkness around me dissolved and I suddenly found myself standing alone in a dim and unfamiliar room. Celia was still standing opposite me, she stood in the corner of the room next to a table and small cabinet.

"I don't understand." I said looking at her.

Celia replied by lifting her arm and with her long bony finger she pointed towards the door, and outside I heard sudden footsteps approaching accompanied by the soft squeaking of trolley wheels. The door of the room opens and nurse walks in pushing a trolley with a wash basin on top of it. The nurse does not see me, and I begin to realise that Celia is showing me a past memory.

She hums a soft tune to herself and flicks on a light. The room lights up and reveal to me a make shift medical station with a hospital bed and a table covered in medical equipment and drugs. The nurse pushes her trolley fully into the room and removes the wash basin. The door swings open again and this time a familiar face walks through.

The doctor who tried to sedate me earlier at Louis' command closes the door behind him and says, "Have you finished washing the patient?"

The nurse continues humming but nods her head in reply.

The doctor groans in frustration, "The King is becoming impatient. He does not understand why the Princess Amelia has not woken up yet."

"She has been out for three days- even I am wondering why she hasn't woken up by now." The nurse replied.

"I was sure she was just in shock because of the encounter involving Prince Casper but now we know better..." The doctor said trailing off.

"Oh I know, a royal baby! Who would have ever have guessed the Princess was pregnant. I hear, the King is absolutely thrilled, although I feel sorry for the Queen. She has always longed for a child of her own." The nurse replied.

"Yes, it is very sad," The doctor replies suddenly losing interest in the conversation as he picks up a chart lying on the table, "I think we should be feeding the Princess an extra bag of blood, just to see if it helps her condition. We will have to keep feeding her intravenously until she pulls through from this 'sleep'."

"Shall I go do the transfusion now?" The nurse asks.

"Yes please." The doctor replies pulling a pen from his jacket pocket and scribbling something on the chart.

The nurse walks over to a cooler box tucked beneath the table and pulls a bag of blood from it. Sighing she replies, "It's worrying her husband Prince Luc hasn't visited her since she came here. I feel so sorry for the girl. No one seems to care about her except the Queen."

"Yes Queen Henrietta has been very attentive since the Princess' arrival." The doctor replied absently as he continued to write on the chart.

"Ohhh, I tell you who else has been surprisingly attentive is that captain of the guards, Nico. He has been hovering around Princess Mia like a fly 'round a honey pot... Oh that man gives me the chills."

"No one likes Nico very much." The doctor added dryly. The doctor seemed slightly irritated by the nurse's continual gossiping. He turned his back away from her, pretending to lean on a counter top but the nurse kept talking.

"I don't understand why the King lets him hang 'round the Princess. It seems unfitting considering he failed to protect the Princess Celia all those years ago." The nurse chatted away.

The doctor abruptly stood up and said, "Please excuse me, I have to fill out these charts. If you could see to the blood transfusion I would be grateful."

"Oh, of course doctor." The nurse said with a pleasant smile.

The doctor picked up the chart and left the room.

The nurse crept over to the door and listened for a few moments then rushed over to the small medicine cabinet. She opened the cabinet door and removed a dozen bottles of different pills and medicines before finally removing a glass blue vial of liquid. The nurse examined the bottle and made an approving noise, and then took a large syringe and put it inside the blue bottle. She pulled the syringe plunger back and drew up a brown/black looking substance into the syringe. Nervously she glanced about, listening carefully for footsteps she the doctor returned.

The nurse then took the syringe in one hand and walked over to the table. Crouching down she slid the cooler box from underneath table and lifted the lid. She then picked up the first bag of blood and injected a small quantity of the substance into the blood bag and replaced back in the box. Then she picked up a second bag and did the same.

I watched in strange horror as the nurse contaminated every single blood bag that was meant to feed me while I was unconscious with this unknown substance.

I turned to Celia and asked, "What is she putting into my blood supply?"

Celia did not respond, so I walked over to the table and looked at the blue vial. I could not pick up the bottle because I was not really there, but I looked at the bottle closely and made out a label which read 'black snakeroot'.

"Is that poison?" I asked Celia.

Celia did not speak, but instead with her head slowly nodded.

I sickening horror I lifted my head and watched the nurse slip the cooler box back under the table. She tossed the syringe away and quickly placed all the medicines back in the cabinet with the exception of the blue vial. Quickly glancing around she stuffed the blue vial under a pile of blankets then continued to prepare my blood transfusion.

"You bitch." I said watching the nurse who continued to hum her pleasant tune.

I wanted to punch her, even though I knew she wasn't real. I walked towards her but found her and the room dissolving back into darkness. The memory was disappearing and I was left alone with Celia again in the darkness.

I turned to her and asked, "Why are you doing this? Why show me this when you know I am lying on the bathroom floor dying from the injuries you inflicted on me."

Celia said nothing.

"Why can't you speak to me? You seem to say my name just fine!" I snapped at her.

Celia took a step backwards and the darkness began to envelop her. I rushed forward shaking my head, "No you can't leave me like this. I need answers Celia!"

Celia took another step back and in the distance I heard a voice.

'Mia, come back to me.'

"Luc?" I breathed, turning away from Celia.

'Mia, wake up.'

Luc was calling to me.

He was bringing me back to life.

***********************************************

OMG angels!

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