Wingram ClinicIn collaboration with @Nanaya
And just like that, the shadow imp was defeated. Ciara watched with a sinking feeling in her gut that the euphoria couldn't quite mask as the principal left with the imp trapped in the gargoyle. It was the last time she would likely ever see the imp.
Then the mannekin arrived.
Sylv would take note of the arriving guard force, and move over towards Ciara after ensuring that Otis had slid on the ring he was offered. She would first place the box on the nightstand, and then withdraw another ring while looking toward her. There was little in the way of emotional bias, to the point that even the sudden turn of events regarding the shadow imp had failed to draw out as base a human reaction as surprise.
"We have all made choices to lead us to this point, Ventura, and I am afraid this is simply the result of that. Regardless of religious allegations, blood is indeed on your hands, and nothing can change that. It would be best to use this time before judgment to reflect on what that means to you."
With that, the doctor would place the ring on Ciara's left ring finger, before stepping back and looking to the door where another group of four mannekin would enter and stand at ease on either side of the shadow mage's bed.
"I will soon have more patients to attend to, so I would advise you to stay put with these constructs. There is nothing more regrettable than the lost life of a child.”
Ciara glanced down at the ring on her finger, her lips pursed into a thin line. That was it, then. She couldn't defend herself now even if she wanted to.
The mannekin stood like towers over her bed, and that sinking feeling in her stomach churned even more. Her fleeting thoughts of a rescue attempt on the imp were further squashed and swept away. Hell, to even rescue herself, it was a pipe dream, wasn't it?
Her voice was a little hoarse and shaky when she spoke.
”...Thank you, doctor. I'll stay put.”Not like she could move anyway. Her limbs still felt like jelly.
After the doctor has taken her leave, Ciara laid there in the moderate quiet of the room. Everyone had left. It was just her and these mannekins. They stood there, the quiet threat if she ever had the funny thought of leaving.
Maybe she should be thanking the Dark One for the drugs. She imagined how she might have felt in her raw emotions, and her desire to leave might have had her fighting these contracts. Yes, she had to count her small blessings, lying here, immobile and wrapped in sweet euphoria.
The struggles of the day came back in her thoughts, like waves lapping at the shore. How she almost killed Iraleth. How she did, in fact, kill some of the guards with too much pressure on the ribs. Was she really so desperate for her own survival that she would sacrifice others so selfishly?
Her little rescue stint with Davil seemed like a token effort to redeem herself, in comparison. She was disgusted with herself. She had gone too far. Tears pricked her eyes.
This wasn't what heroes did.
”Who said you were a hero?” Came her own thought. Not the Voices. Everything attached to her Ethos was shut off. But she knew her voices so well, it was reflexive at this point.
The thought shocked the tears from her, drying her eyes. However, her heart still sank. Could a villain even be saved?
She would defend herself, yes. But, perhaps she could only redeem herself through death. If that was what the High Bishop decided… She wouldn't fight it. She'd hate it, but maybe it was what she deserved.
Fuck, no!Her lips curled back into a snarl, and she groaned from her bed. Alas, no matter how hard she tried to relax and accept her fate… she couldn't. She wouldn't die here. She wouldn't go out like this!
That fire continued to burn inside her, warming her insides as she fell into an exhausted sleep.