A Tale That Dawned [Book 4 of Selvina's Tale series]

Epilogue

Where am I?

A beeping sound was the first thing Selvina heard. The single beep came every two seconds it seemed without fault, ringing against her ears like a bell. The next sensation was the faint smell of alcohol, mixed in with the scent of sickness, stale air, flowers, and, strangely, coffee. Then came the voices, some faint and somewhat echoing, as if in a hall or chamber, and then one sounding much closer and instantly recognizable.

Mom?

What the hell is she doing in Faeryum?!

Selvina blinked her eyes open and, though her vision was blurry, found herself in a white room with a window on her right side and a partially opened door off to her left. On a table to her right were dozens of vases, all of them filled with flowers of all sorts, the source of the pleasant flowery scent. Cards sat upon the table, partially opened, all wishing for better health and strength through trying times. On her immediate left was a seated woman.

Something dropped on the ground as the woman gasped loudly.

Selvina blinked her eyes several times, chasing away the fog, and met the gaze of a late-thirties woman with blue eyes, a bob of pale blonde hair, and an expression of absolute shock. She was dressed in a black business-type suit, as if she was going or coming from work.

"Sweetie?" the woman asked, fighting to find her voice. "Sweetie? Selvina, do you hear me?"

"M-mom?" Selvina asked, her voice hoarse, as if from lack of use.

"Oh my god," the woman breathed before extending her arms and then pulling them back, extending them once more, pulling them back again, and then settling to place a hand on Selvina's cheek. "It's me, sweetie. It's mom. It's me! I can't believe it. You're back. You're finally back!"

Hearing the chatter, another woman walked in, dressed in hospital scrubs.

A nurse? Selvina wondered in confusion. She glanced to the side to see a clear bag of transparent liquid constantly dripping into a vial that was connected to a long plastic tube which was then attached directly to Selvina's arm.

Her mind, still reeling from what had happened in the pit chamber with Merlin, Accolon, and Iktarosh, raced to make sense of the situation. She clearly was not there anymore. She was in a hospital room, lying on a bed with an IV in her arm, her mother seated directly beside her, and a nurse glaring at her as if she'd just seen a ghost. How? Was this a trick somehow? Was this some spell of the Writer's? Had he somehow twisted her memories and brought them up to confuse her?

But no, this wasn't a memory. Selvina had never been in a hospital bed. She had never stayed overnight at any hospital. This wasn't the past. This was the present. She felt the softness of the bed's minimal padding on her back, the slight discomfort of the IV needle in her arm, the warmth of the heated blanket on her body, and the plushness of the pillow under her head. It all felt real. The sights, the sounds, the smells all felt real as well.

Could it be?

Could she be back to her own world?

The nurse ran out of the room, saying something about getting a doctor, and Selvina shifted her attention to her mother, who was wiping tears with a tissue after recovering her dropped phone. She was smiling ear to ear and though she was crying, Selvina couldn't remember her being any happier.

"I want to hug you so bad, dear," her mother was saying. "You have no idea, sweetie. The doctor said not to move you or touch you too much, something about shocking you or whatever. It doesn't matter anyway. You're awake and that's what matters! How do you feel?"