When Belle opened her eyes again, she was in so much pain, ten times more than she had been when she and Rohan had journeyed to Groovestill to take those souls. Even her eyelids hurt as she tried to force them open, but they refused to move. She was cold, so cold that her body trembled uncontrollably, yet she was sweating at the same time.
Belle drifted in and out of blankness and wakefulness several times, but her fever had taken over, making it impossible to wake fully. Her throat burned when she swallowed, as if pine needles were being plunged down her throat, piercing the walls with each breath. The back of her eyelids felt like hot coals were pressed against them, and her ears rang deep into her brain.
She was burning from a terrible fever that made her begin to hallucinate in her subconsciousness. She recalled the last time she had suffered a fever, her husband had been right there, taking care of her and being as gentle as someone handling a precious treasure. He had kept her warm with his body when she was cold and bathed her when she was hot.
The thought of him brought hot tears to her eyes, and they slid down the corners of her closed eyelids, burning a trail down her cheeks. She felt a hand wipe the tears away and tried to open her eyes to see who it was, but that was impossible.
She didn’t know how long she remained that way, trapped in the haze of pain and fever, but someone was right next to her through it all, pressing something cold against her forehead and cheeks.
At one point, she managed to open her eyes, and her heart leaped at the sight of her man. He was looking down at her with a worried expression, his blue hair disheveled and falling messily over his forehead as he hovered over her. Belle didn’t realize how much she had missed him until that moment.
Her eyes burned with tears, but she forced them back and instead smiled to reassure him that she was fine now. He didn’t have to look so worried and torn. She wanted to say the words, but they refused to leave her dry mouth, so she spoke them in her heart.
I am fine, my love. I did well today in protecting myself... but I miss you and our son so much already. It breaks my heart knowing someone else is living as me in your life... please don’t fall for her, don’t let her fool you, Rohan.
She noticed a look of tenderness settle over his handsome face as he gently began to stroke her hair in that loving way he knew she liked, his fingers massaging her scalp with care and warmth.
"What has happened to you, Isa?" she heard him say softly.
Belle tried to raise her hand to touch him and tell him she was here with him, but her hands refused to move. She was in so much pain she wished it would stop, it only grew worse. So much worse that she cried out at one point and let her walls, her brave front, fall completely. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
"I’m in pain, Rohan..." she moaned weakly. "It hurts a lot..."
She wanted to stay awake and keep looking at his face as he rubbed her hair and massaged her scalp, but she slipped back into that blankness that momentarily took the pain away. This time, she welcomed the darkness.
When she came awake again, the fever had gone down, and the pain was less severe. There was someone near her again, pressing something cold to her forehead.
"Rohan..." she breathed his name faintly.
"Stay still, lady, or you’ll reopen the wounds," came a voice she recognized as that woman, Andrea, not the deep, steady voice of her husband. A rush of disappointment stabbed her straight in the chest.
Belle moaned as she forced her eyes open this time around. At first her vision was blurry, until it slowly cleared and focused on the woman hovering over her, applying something cool on her head. She frowned, realizing she was still in the same cell, the dim room lit faintly by the twilight spilling in through the small high window.
"You were talking rubbish in your sleep," grumbled the woman, drawing Belle’s attention back to her. "You kept calling the name Rohan. Your husband, I’m guessing?"
Belle, who was still trying to get a hold of her cloudy mind, heard the woman’s question and slowly managed a faint nod to acknowledge it. Her thoughts were heavy and slow, as if they had to push through fog before reaching her. The smell of rust and dampness assaulted her nose when she finally began to relax, reminding her of where she was.
She was no longer shivering from the cold, but her body was covered in grime and a thin layer of sweat that made her skin sticky and uncomfortable. Her head still throbbed faintly, and she felt weak all over, like she had been beaten and left to rot. She would have given anything for a warm bath and fresh-scented clothes, anything to feel clean and human again.
Her throat tightened as the truth settled in. She was still trapped in this nightmare, and being unconscious hadn’t changed a thing.
"How... how long have I been like this?" she asked hoarsely, her voice rough with thirst.

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