Sleep 1 : Sleep 2 : Sleep 3 : Sleep 4 : Sleep 5 : Sleep 6 : Sleep 7 : Sleep 8 : Sleep 9 : Sleep 10
Reine barely managed to catch herself before she fell on the floor, a soft rug where she was expecting hardwood. She tried to shake the fog away, blinking several times only for her vision to remain blurry, her eyes stinging and watering.
It had been such a long time since she woke up enough to move by herself, but even then it was only barely. Her arms and legs shook with just the weight of her own body on top of them, disused and thin.
Her ears rang at the sound of her own name, terror washing over as she realized she would once again be put to sleep, once again be unable to run or scream or escape.
“Reine,” arms closed around her back and pushed her into someone’s chest, unable to break free.
“Nn…!” Reine groaned, unable to force the fervent No! out from between her lips.
“Nn-no-no no…! No please…!” she cried, every fiber of her being trying to pull away from the grip she was trapped in.
“Reine, it’s me, you’re safe!”
“No!” she sobbed, “No, no no no please! Please…!”
“Reine, I’m not gonna hurt you. Klaus can’t hurt you anymore. I promise, I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again. Reine, please. It’s me. Please, I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.”
Lina grabbed the sides of Reine’s head, forcing their gazes to meet.
“... Lina…?” Reine’s voice was so small her sister almost didn’t hear it. Reien stared at her, confused. She had been trapped in her nightmares for so long, but never once had Lina appeared in them.
“Lina?” Again, she called her sister’s name, trying to confirm that the person in front of her was really there, really her sister.
“Yes,” Lina nodded, looping her arms around her little sister’s body once more, grunting as she lifted Reine back onto the bed.
“No,” Reine’s voice cracked as she dug her fingers into Lina’s arm, trying to drag herself off the bed once more. “Please, no.”
“The drug isn’t out of your system yet,” Lina explained helplessly. “It would be better for you to sleep for now.”
“No!” Reine shouted, “No! Please, please don’t make me-!” Her voice again hitched in her throat, nausea rising in her stomach. “Please…!” Please, don’t make me go back to sleep, please…!”
“I’ll wake you up, I promise Reine,” again, Lina tried to comfort her sister.
“You’re lying…!” Reine screamed, pushing her sister away and crawling toward the other side of the bed.
“Reine, I’m not lying,” Lina raced around the other side to stop Reine just before she fell face first onto the floor.
“You’re lying!” Reine repeated, throwing her hands at Lina’s face. “You’re lying! You’re just g-!” She gasped as her breath escaped her, gasping again and again until the ceiling began spinning.
“Slow down,” a deep, gentle voice cooed, accompanied by a warm hand on her back. “Here, sit up,” Cyrus guided her legs over the side of the bed, keeping one hand in front of her in case she fell over. “Breathe out,” he pushed on her back, “and slowly back in.”
Reine struggled to follow his words, her hands and feet going numb.
“Breathe out, Reine,” Lina nodded, squeezing her sister’s hand.
Finally, she was able to catch her breath, sliding into a daze as her breathing went back to normal.
“How long has she been awake?” Cyrus asked, checking his watch.
“It was only a few minutes ago. The motion sensor went off when she fell on the floor.”
“Hm,” Cyrus nodded, lowering himself to his knees so Rene could look at him without having to raise her head. “Can you hear me?”
Reine gave him a tired, confused look.
Reine looked away, her eyes closing with a long, drunken blink. “Mm.”
“You’re in pain?” Cyrus guessed.
She answered him with a whimper, nodding ever so slightly.
“And you don’t want to sleep?”
“No!” she shrieked, immediately pushed back onto the bed by both Lina and Cyrus when she tried to stand.
“You don’t have to sleep if you don’t want to,” Cyrus quickly reassured her. “We’re not going to make you do anything, okay?” He glanced at Lina who immediately nodded enthusiastically. “Do you want to eat something?”
Reine made a face, unsure if she would even be able to eat with how sick she felt.
“How about we get you sat down in the chair over there,” Cyrus nodded to the armchair Lina had brought in to watch over her when they had first brought her back, “And I’ll get something light to eat. Is that okay?”
Reine didn’t answer, her blinks getting longer and longer.
Cyrus pursed his lips but picked her up, placing her in the chair. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
Her eyes finally closed and didn’t open again, head slowly lowering to her shoulder as sleep overtook her once again.
