Darkness.
It was all Aesther remembered. The drowsiness of her sleep and the nothingness of her empty dreams softly embraced her into a serene slumber.
The first time she woke up, it was in the early hours of dawn.
Inez was asleep on an armchair.
Aesther was feeling to weary to remain awake. The next time, her eyes opened, Inez was still there; feeding her medicines and potions but they did not speak. If Inez did say something, Aesther was not sure.
Her thoughts and her mind still felt trapped in the slumbering lands.
"Old man healer says you overexerted your magical core," Inez said one night, "Your wounds have healed perfectly, Rose. But it's taking unusually long for your body to absorb mana…"
Aesther's eyes were distant as she blankly stared at the bowl of green medicine. She was hoping to feel the shadows of her injuries and their brutal pain.
But all that remained was a light headedness.