A bespectacled man in a striking blue coat flailed his arms. "-awake in three months! This is impossible. Please heed my words your grace, we can't sustain Lady Demeter any longer!"
The other occupant of the room, Duke Poulette, gently grasped his daughter's hand. His amethyst eyes bleary with anguish. He replied with finality, "No! We can't give up. I refuse! This is an order Doctor. You must attend to her until she is well."
The doctor's face crumpled with pity at the sight.
Without notice, the duke felt a weak twitch from his comatose daughter's fingers. She expressively winced in pain as she grasped her chest in pain.
"Shut up…" she croakily muttered. She slowly opened her eyes and rapidly shut them as her violet eyes were assaulted by the harsh sun rays.
"Demeter! Oh my goodness. Doctor you must attend to her. Hurry!" Duke Poulette hastily left the room to summon the maids.
"Ri-right away your grace!"
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"WHAT-WHO—WHERE AM I?" Demeter exclaimed. She quickly surveyed the room and a golden letter opener glinted in the corner of her eye. She stood up with vigor to grasp it—only to fall flat on the burgundy carpet. Her weakened legs forgot to support her. The Duke quickly kneeled to assist her. His descent was met by a painful slap to the shoulder.
"Dearest daughter! What's gotten into you?! Remain calm, you've just woken up and I am assisting you," the Duke said.
"Hold it. Don't you dare come near me," she icily replied.
"Doctor, what is the meaning of this!?"
"Your grace! Lady Demeter's mind must be adrift at the moment. Allow her to orient herself your grace," the Doctor replied shakily.
"Oh for the love of—will someone tell me who the hell 'Demeter' is? It sure isn't me! And look here Mister, I'm not your daughter. Last time I checked, my folks been six feet under since years. More importantly, where the hell am I?"
Demeter's sudden outburst was met with overbearing silence.
"Dear daughter…how did you become so uncouth in the course of three months in sleep?? This is preposterous! Doctor, what have you done to my precious daughter. If you have not done part of your bargain proper I can assure you will meet your demise."
"My Duke! I have done no such thing! I attended to our Lady diligently. It appears that she is experiencing amnesia your grace," the doctor replied cautiously.
The Duke fumed in anger as his hands shook his pink fringe aside. He paced around the room, and finally, sighed in defeat. His slumped shoulders aged his appearance. "Can you bring her back?" he asked glumly.
"Helloooo I'm like here? Why are you two ignoring me??"
The two men looked at her with pity.
"Your grace, it is truly unfortunate, our advanced alchemy is still incapable to mend neurological disorders of this nature," the Doctor paused, "but, there is a new experimental procedure in the works that can ignite lost memories. However, it requires 50 Luciferins to operate the machine."
"Have you lost your sight Doctor? Our manor is littered with Luciferins just take as much as you need I don't care if they're driven to extinction. Just cure her!" The Duke responded with conviction.
'Only in your manor Duke…' The Doctor silently thought.
"You guys sure are rude. I've been asking shit and all you do is ignore me! I'm Alex and I need you both to take me back to my damn farm! Now that I think of it, what are you two wearing? Is this some kind of weird ass cosplay skit?"
"My daughter. Please give us more time. We will cure you as soon as we can," the Duke replied in lament.
The Doctor harrumphed and inquired, "Your grace, may I ask your permission to summon my coven and extract the Luciferins from the manor?"
"Doctor, what are you lounging her for! Get to it! Do anything necessary to treat her! I swear to Alectryon this manor is cluttered with fools."
Demeter frustratingly scrubbed her long wavy pink locks. "What the hell is going on," she despairingly said. "What the…why's my hair pink?!" She shouted in alarm.
The Duke despairingly gazed at her. He apologetically said, "Dearest, I'm truly sorry about this." He swiftly paired his pointer fingers and split it open. A bright magenta incantation ring appeared and shot at Demeter. Demeter's eyes widened in surprise. With her reflexes dulled she was immediately hit by the sleep spell. Her body dropped on the carpet in seconds.
The Duke solemnly carried his daughter back on to her bed. He stood beside her bed and looked up to the glass ceiling. As he watched the waxed two red moons, he silently prayed, 'My dear duchess, where did I go wrong…'