35. Blue Rose

"What happened to her?" one nurse questioned Raven as he was rolled into the hospital. Oakley quickly followed behind the paramedics and nurses as they rushed through the hospital.

"A call came in from a teenage girl found on the trail near the manor. She has a broken arm, along with bruises and a strange wound on her neck. She was unresponsive when we got to her, and she barely had a pulse, but we managed to get a steady pulse."

"She must have gotten caught up in the weather accidentally."

Oakley stared down at the girl she had grown so fond of as the doctors talked, but she did not listen. The girl, once filled with laughter, kindness, and compassion, was now only an echo of who she was.

BEEP

BEEP

Raven's eyes sprang open, white lights blinding her.

"Wha-what happ-end?" She questioned herself, trying to figure out where she was and what happened, trying to lift herself. Someone pushed her back down onto the soft surface.

"Don't move too much, Raven."

"You were in a hiking accident, but you will be okay," the nurse explained.

"Where is he?" Raven asked.

The nurse stopped to look at the girl.

"Was there someone with you?" she asked.

"Is he okay?" Raven breathed out, her body becoming hot and nauseous.

"There were no reports of someone with her. Maybe they missed him."

"She hit her head pretty badly. She's lucky to have survived with injuries of this magnitude."

BEEP BEEP BEEP

"Dorian," she cried out softly, pain spreading through her body.

"Her heartbeat is too fast."

"We need to call her parents."

"Her parents have passed, but she has an aunt who owns the diner."

"This is Melissant's niece."

"Can someone please inform her?" Christian looked down at the girl, more specifically, the girl who was his girlfriend's niece.

"IT HURTS!" Raven cried.

"Doctor?"

"We need to get her heartbeat down."

"Raven, you need to calm down."

Raven moved rapidly in the bed, wanting to claw at her skin, but her hands prevented her from doing so.

"Everything hurts!"

Her body was lifted as she felt her coat being removed.

"Look at her arms and neck."

"Why does she look like that?" the nurse questioned.

"It could be poison."

"Something poisonous bit her."

"We took some of her blood and sent it to the lab."

**

Melissant walked into the hospital room with her niece in bed; the monitor was beeping rapidly.

"What is going on with her?"

"Her body is trying to adapt to the venom. We don't know what venom is inside her, but we are bringing someone in to look at her."

"She looks like she's in pain."

"She is stable, and we are monitoring her."

Melissant brushed her niece with her fingers. Feeling like this is the millionth time her niece has been here.

"Oh, Raven,"

****

Raven lay in bed as the person stopped right next to her bed.

"It is a terrible thing that, as healers, they can only heal others but never themselves, the most selfless," the girl said softly, observing the bite on the girl's neck.

"You will be happy to know that she will find the venom dissolving," Grace said out loud.

"She survived."

"I know," he said, walking deeper into the room, his eyes never leaving Raven.

"Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome," Grace said before leaving him with the girl.

THUMP

THUMP

THUMP

Her heart is beating.

Her heart is beating.

Leaning over the girl, Dorian pressed his face into the crook of her neck, his lips over her pulse. Even though he could hear her heart, he needed to feel it. He gently pressed his lips to her pulse, the slow rhythm of her heart pulsing against his lips.

A breath of relief.

"We have met before."

He heard it from the other side of the door.

"You will be okay, love."

Melissant opened the door, heading inside as the girl followed her.

"You're the one who called her in."

"I am sorry for just showing up, but I brought her something."

"And it is not cut flowers."

"Pardon?" she asked, confused.

Melissant reached forward to the flowers.

"She hates flowers that have been cut," her aunt said monotonously, placing them directly next to her bed.

"You know, if she were awake right now, she would tell me everything about this plant. This plant symbolizes hope or what benefits this plant has," her aunt laughed slightly, tears in her eyes. Facing Oakley, she brushed away her tears.

"Do you want a moment with her?"

"No, it's okay. You should get some rest as well. I am glad that she is going to be okay, Miss Drew."

"Thank you for bringing her in. That's very kind of you."

"Of course, I will leave you now."

Oakley said softly, hugging Melissant before leaving and closing the door behind her.

***

Raven's eyes blinked open. The steady sound of a monitor beep was the only sound in the room. She was in the hospital again. Her eyes landed on her aunt in the chair next to her bed, asleep, her head resting on her hand.

"Aunt Mel," she called hoarsely. Her aunt's eyes opened instantly, and she shot up from the chair.

"You are awake. How do you feel?"

"Tired"

"What is your pain scale?" her aunt asked worriedly, gripping her hand in hers.

"It does not hurt that badly, Aunt Mel."

"Are you sure the doctor said the venom is lethal, and it is a miracle that you survived, but luckily it seems like it's dissolving?"

"What time is it?"

"It is 17:00."

"What day is it? How long have I been asleep?"

"It has been four days."

"You should go home and get some rest," she told her aunt.

"I am not leaving you again."

"You missed the fireworks, but you will see them next year."

"A girl named Oakley brought you these, and Wren came to visit," Aunt Mel said as Raven slowly began closing her eyes, tiredness pulling her in.

Raven slowly stood from the bed, her aunt helping her to the bathroom, her face sunken in her body, covered in bruises from the bite mark on her neck. She turned away from the mirror, her aunt helping her the best she could to not get her cast wet.

***

One day later, she was released, but the days flew by, and she had not heard from him.

On bed rest as the doctor ordered, but she has not heard from him.

"How are you?" Ophelia asked, sitting down on her bed.

"I am doing better, actually," Ophelia stared knowingly at the girl. She had lost weight, her skin sunken in her veins, spreading from the bite, and her arm in a cast covered with bruises.

"I am healing."

"You haven't asked about him."

Toying with the petals of the flower, Raven avoided Ophelia's eyes.

"No"

"Why?"

"I am giving him space. I know he will be hard on himself about this, but I don't blame him."

Ophelia turned her attention away from Raven; she could not read the girl in front of her, and she did not know if she was scared of Dorian after the blood moon or if she really was giving him space so he would realize she was okay. Her gaze drifted to the bunch of flowers scattered across Raven's room.

"Your aunt has been buying a lot of plants. They're all over the front porch."

She smiled at Ophelia as she looked at the flowers in her room.

"She has gotten into the flower thing of protection, so she bought some plants that symbolize protection." She smiled as she thought about what her aunt had done to make sure she healed quickly.

"You have the best aunt."

"I do." Raven smiled softly, agreeing with her friend.

***

Raven stared up at the ceiling. The sun was low in the sky, and she was all alone in the house. Her body felt restless on the bed, tired of lying on it. It was still not time to take her medication. A sigh left her as she brushed her hand over the wound on her neck. It was taking its time to heal, and the wound was occasionally bleeding. Her neck felt barren; it was missing the chain she wore. She threw her comforter off her body as she began searching through her room for it.

"You dropped it, Raven," she reminded herself.

Grabbing her cardigan from the chair, she covered herself with it as she slowly made her way outside. It had snowed recently. The ground crunched under her weight as she moved through the woods to the ruins.

"You are supposed to rest," a monotone voice said from beside her, turning her body to face the person. She faced him fully, as he was a few feet away from her among the trees. In all his glory, his shaggy blond hair a perfect mess, his burgundy-silver eyes solely focused on her like he was reading into her.

"I feel fine. I am okay," she said, wincing as her arm bumped into the wall. As she breathed through the pain, she saw Dorian no longer a few feet away from her, but instead, he was next to her. His arm circled her waist, holding her to him. "I could not find it."

"Find what?" he questioned her, confused.

"The necklace, I dropped it; I can't remember where," she told him, trying to recall where she must have dropped it. "I thought you were out of town?" she questioned him.

"I returned. You need to go home and rest," he told her as he slowly began maneuvering her away from the cellar down the trail, which led back to her house.

Her brows furrowed as she stopped abruptly, stopping him in his tracks. Her breathing was hard as she had moved around too much when she was supposed to rest. "I am fine; I just need to catch my breath."

'Stubborn,' he said, tough as he stared down at her tired eyes. Letting out a tired breath, she looked into his eyes.

"Did the spell work, at least, because I won't be doing that again?" Raven asked jokingly. He cast her an unamused look as his arm circled her waist once more, holding on to her uninjured arm as he began walking with her again.

"Not the right time," she questioned sheepishly, allowing him to lead her back.

He shook his head at her. "It didn't work."

"What about the curse?"

"Why do you care so much about the curse?"

Raven turned her gaze away from him, still locked in his arms.

"I do not care about the curse; I care about you."

He blinked down at her.

"You should forget about the curse. What's done is done," he told her as the house came into view.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked.

"We?" he said.

Nodding her head slightly, she is trying to make her movements as slowly as possible.

"We are not going to do anything, love; you're going to go and rest now, and you are going to heal," he said.

"But this is it; you spent centuries looking for a Graverose witch, and now I am here and I want to help you. We will find another way; my mother wanted me to help you," she trailed off, but Dorian cut her off.

"No, don't do that. You did what your mother wanted you to do. Raven, you have done everything and more."

"What?" she questioned him, confused.

"Your mother knew the curse wouldn't ever be broken; she knew that, and now that everything is back to normal, you should," he gently grabbed her face between his hands. Narrowing her eyes at him, she covered his hand with her small hands, slowly pulling away from him.

'What are you doing?" she questioned him; something was going on with him; she should have realized it since the moment he called her 'Raven,' not his usual name for her.

"Your part has been done," he said, ignoring her as he continued.

"I thought we were friends," she questioned him, confused as to why he was suddenly acting differently.

'Friends,' he thought.

No.

"I would not call us friends, not after everything we went through; I will always make sure that you are safe and protected." He told her honestly.

There were no bounds to what Dorian would do for those he cared about and even loved, and in this moment, she knew he would do something. Tearing her gaze away from him, she began walking as fast as she could to get away from him. As the trees moved along with her, she was grabbed suddenly and cradled against him, her back gently against the tree.

"No, Dorian," she told him, squeezing her eyes shut tightly as she turned her head away from him.

He bent down to her ear, his lips brushing against her ear, and softly whispering.

"Open your eyes, love."

Her eyes sprang open. He was only inches away from her.

"Please don't," she begged him, tears in her eyes.

"I am not going to do anything," he whispered to her, his fingers gently hugging her.

"You are lying," she told him seriously, her arm pressed against his chest as she tried to get out of his grip.

"And how can you know that, love?" he questioned her.

"I know you have been keeping it a secret," Raven reminded Dorian as her eyes stared intently at his. As if she could see into his soul and know everything about him, everything he had buried, and everything he would do for the girl in front of him. He blinked away from her, overwhelmed by her gaze. A loud sigh left him as he loosened his grip on her.

"I know you have another gift."

"How did you figure it out?" he inquired.

"You were the one to tell me about the immortal's gift, but you never mentioned yours." A sigh left him as he gently held her face in his hands. "Never would I have thought you would be the one, but the time spent with you has been full of surprises. My love, you should go home and rest; you should be the person you have always wanted to be, no matter what others say. Do not be afraid to be you; you are the most kind-hearted, soft-spoken ray of light, ready to touch the darkness without fear, knowing that you can bring light from the darkest places. I would know, for you have done it to me. You will heal and forget about everything from the last few weeks, everything that keeps you up at night. You will heal and sleep peacefully. You will not be afraid of what is outside of the tales of the monsters that lurk in the woods. You will forget about the story of the boy who was cursed and those who cursed him. You will remember your ancestors to have done things, but they have made up for it. Now go home and rest peacefully, love."

Raven opened her eyes while standing at the tree line, with the house behind her.

Staring, confused, at her surroundings.

'What am I doing?' she pondered, stepping away from the trees. She headed inside the house; it was getting colder by the minute. Stepping into her bedroom, she moved her comforter out of the way, carefully claiming the bed; she lay there, resting and waiting for the sun to go down.

Later that night, Dorian jumped onto the balcony, twisting the door handle. The door unlocked softly, a click sounding in the air. The house was dark. He was staring at the threshold of the house he had seen so many times in the last few weeks, taking a step across the threshold that was once believed to keep him out. His eyes landed on the tiny figure covered by the thick comforter, her body covered in bruises, her face no longer sunken in the bruises, which had taken longer to heal, and the bite was still an eyesore.

"Little Raven, you will know someday. Nothing can stop me from getting to you," he whispered to her. He reached down to grab the book tucked in her arms, placing it on the nightstand next to her. Grabbing her hand in his, warmth came from her as her body relaxed to his touch. To the human eye, they would not agree, but he could see the bruises slowly disappearing.

"And nothing will stop me from making sure that you are safe." Brushing away the hair that fell over her eyes, he tucked it behind her ear, bending down to her ear.

"Throughout all the times in my life, I have never met anyone who could go through hell and still come out an angel." His lips hovered over hers slightly, small breaths leaving her. There was nothing between them anymore except air. Straightening himself, he began to leave the room.

"Ne vom revedea," he said, closing the balcony door behind him.