Her eyes cracked open to a dimly lit room, with walls a soothing white and the only light source being the door at the foot of her bed, where if she glimped in the gap through the fluttering lace curtains, she could make out the blue sky. It was evening, or maybe dawn. She couldn't rightly tell.
She was lying down, and had been covered with a light pink sheet. A quick look down let her know that the only thing protecting her modesty was bandages. A lot of bandages, with green poultice sneaking out at her waist.
Kira moved her head to the side, confused. 'Where the hell am I?'
All she could remember was...the carnival...the old meddling lady...and the stone- the ruby. Was she forgetting something? Oh yeah! THE WOLVES!
She shuddered, just thinking about it. Not entirely sure it was not a dream.
Best as she could manage with her injuries, she sat up, resting her hands on the side of her body until she could support herself enough to stand. She spied a threadbare cloth on a rocking chair at her bedside, and abruptly stretched her hand out towards it.
"Ow!" She cried in pain. Instinctively her hand went up to her left side. Right, she was hurt. Badly. Jumping off a cliff would do that to you. She had no idea how she did that- she had yet to come to terms with her strange bout of recklessness.
Cursing her own actions, she reached forward again. Slowly, and carefully, she covered her torso with the cloth, removed the blanket from her legs. Thankful that the cloth was large enough to cover her legs as well, she turned her body, intent on stepping on the floor...
...Only to fall with the first foot she placed.
She shouted as a current of pain raced through her, starting from her foot and up and up until it very nearly made her choke up with the agony of it all. Her eyes welled with tears that eventually made their way down her cheeks.
She clutched her ankle, sprawled on the floor on her side, the blanket on her body thankfully still maintaining her dignity as she was in no condition to do it herself.
Kira had no idea how long she lay there on the floor curled in on herself, and how loud her cry was but apparently it was enough to bring a young woman in through the same door she had seen earlier.
This woman looked quite a bit younger than her, with her cheeks very youthfully round. Her hair was up in a bun, and the simple skirt and blouse she wore in no way diminishing her beauty. Her very rounded belly, and the child toddling in behind her at her heels completed the picture.
Kira stopped for a moment, too shocked by the new presence, and blinked owlishly at the woman as she bent down to help Kira up from the ground, who allowed herself to be handled and raised back to the bed.
She kept saying something, the words rapidly leaving her mouth as if she expected her house-guest to understand. Kira could only shake her head regretably, hoping to convey her lack of understanding. The woman paused, sighed heavily, and then continued fussing about Kira. While the woman was smoothening out the covers over the patient, Kira risked a glance at the child standing at the end of her bed, only to find him looking back at her curiously with a thumb in his mouth.
When their eyes met, the child did not break his stare but only reached out his free hand and clutched his mother's skirt, drawing her attention who without stopping, picked him up and put him on her hips, and then at last turned towards Kira, her eyes unsure.
Kira tried to smile, hoping to convey her gratitude to her host, using her elbows to raise herself up and and bent down her head. Looking back up, she could see the woman had understood and she now mirrored the smile given to her.
Adjusting the child on her hips, and motioning towards the bed, she nodded and left the room.
Now alone once more, Kira let out a sigh and carefully laid down again, the tears dry on her cheeks. It was no use trying to get up again, not for a while at least.
She took in her surroundings more carefully again. The off white uneven walls, the carpeted floor, the ceiling with patterns painted in. There were various small wooden shelfs along the right wall, adorned with small pots with flowers and other leafy plants. The threadbare blanket she had put on the rocking chair at her bedside itself was a cacophony of colours.
It was like going from being in a horror movie to a feel-good suburban tv movie. If she had not been hallucinating, and the last thing she remembered- the wolves and the cliff- were indeed true, that is. She wasn't completely sure that this was not a fever dream itself. Maybe she was in a hospital somewhere in her world. She could only hope.
Turning her head she spotted another door to the back of the room, which presumably led to the inside of the house. That too, was covered by a lace curtain.
Turning back to the gateway to the outside woorld, she concentrated and soon enough, she could hear voices, sounds. The chirping of birds, the laughter of kids. She could make out a group of men with axes on their shoulders passing in front of the house, chattering, their outlines visible.
The world outside looked brighter than before, the blue of the sky looking lighter with rays of the sun finally filtering through.
So it had been dawn after all.
Kira laid there on the bed, too tired and hurt to move. Very soon, she could feel her eyes closing as she drifted off.
The next few hours passed in a haze, she could tell there were people coming and going from the room. At one point her eyes opened to see the small child perched at her bedside, his tongue in his cheeks in concentation, his elbows supporting him as he reached out to her face with his chubby hands before the woman from earlier swooshed him away. There was a man at one point, talking to the woman. Presumably the husband. He sweetly kissed the wife, laid a loving hand on her belly as he went inside the door to further inside the house with an axe in his hand.
Not much after that was clear to her. She finally fell asleep, peaceful...
Her dreams were not so peaceful though.
She dreamt of the forest, and running for her life. Her body thrashed in the bed at the harsh reminder of her experience, unable to escape the nightmare. Sweat formed on her brow, her breathing laboured. The room felt unbearably hot.
The line between dream and reality blurred. Kira clutched the sheets around her, her damp hair stuck to her forehead. Please! Help!
Respite came in the form of a calming cold touch on her forehead, soothing her worries away. There was a sudden draft of cold air in the room, chasing the hot winds until she could feel her body cool down.
Kira's aching body wanted to finally settle into the rest it had been denied.
An enchanting melody filled the air pulling her under, but she fought against it, reaching a hand out to the person by her side. The person who was helping her...
Her hand touched nothing.
She forced her eyes open against the strange compulsion working on her.
There, by her side, sat an old man. He smiled at her indulgingly through his white beard as he saw her look at him. His hand moved caringly on her forehead, but while she couldn't feel it, the cool sensation returned.
Her hand, which had been hovering in the air caught her attention. There it lay, where his body should have been. Her hand, even in her weakened state, had not missed and if it had been anyone else it would have caught them.
For the man however, she could not fully explain it, but her hand occupied the space his body should have. It was like looking at her hand through water, as it passed through the ghostly presence.
Eyes widening, she thought about scooting away from the spectre, but somehow she was not afraid. If anything, she felt safe, secure.
The man smiled, and it was as if all was right in her world. Against what should have been her better judgement, she closed her eyes, content.