Chapter 3.2: Strange Mind

'I called her mama.' The teenager sat still as a different apprentice checked her temperature. Her eyes were downcast as she frowned. 'When did I start doing that?'

Her mind felt alien to her as the apprentice doted over her frail body. She was a woman with greying hair in a bun who sat on her knees as she wiped up the sweat drenching Elaine’s body. Her outfit wasn’t one of the elegant gowns Lucille wore but a plain ankle-length dress that reminded her of a nun. This apprentice was mute, most likely having overheard the commotion caused earlier in the day. Instead of speaking, she focused on the task of caring for the sick child, moving in a robotic routine. The teenager was grateful for the gentle touch of the older woman but she felt out of place in such a position.

Elaine shied away from the wet rag the woman held. Her nose scrunched up as it hit the side of her face. It smelled like bleach from the number of potions she watched her drench it in. She wished she was back asleep. She was tired of everything that had been going on. It made her feel conflicted inside and weak on the outside in a way that was puzzling. She hadn’t meant to call the woman that. It was a term that meant something she just wasn’t able to feel for the witch.

Doing so would be a betrayal to her REAL mother, back in her old world. The two women were incredibly different and she saw Lucille as something else. The woman was open with her emotions in a way that a child would be. Her actual mother while loving was closed off from years of being worked to the bone in a dead-end job. The witch was soft with her caresses being warm when her mother would touch her somewhat reluctantly.

Her face scrunched up as the apprentice huffed and left the room. ‘I shouldn’t take it back though. She probably felt relieved at me calling her that.’ Oily hair fell across her face as she deflated into the bed’s large pillows.

The bed was comfortable despite being as big as her body. The room itself was very small to her surprise. When she imagined a fantasy doctor's office she'd expect cauldrons and glass orbs. Instead, she lay on a small bed with a wooden frame. There was a table to her left with a tea set filled with the potions they had been feeding her. Besides that, the room was empty with a rather plain aesthetic. She felt disappointed when she got a good look at it. Lucille's home just she guessed was an outlier in this world.

The teenager pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. She expected more from a doctor's office run by healers who used magic. She wanted something out of this world, like a three-eyed nurse to watch over her. Instead, all the apprentices that cared for her were nice enough but subdued with fear. Lucille's message had gotten across and they focused on making sure her money wasn't wasted. They didn't talk much and when they did it was to trick her into drinking those yucky potions.

'Is anyone going to talk to me.' Elaine thought sadly as the door began to push open.

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Her attention was drawn by who came in. It wasn't another one of the apprentices but someone who looked more vibrant. A woman with lipstick that looked neon along with her eyes stared at her. The woman waved her dainty hand and smiled warmly before closing the door behind her. She had a large dress on with multiple skirts that dragged against the room's furniture. With a grunt, the woman picked the skirts up and made her way over. Before Elaine could ask who she was the woman put a hand on her neck and then her head.

"You don't have a fever anymore, which is good." Her voice was deeper than Elaine expected for someone who looked like a Victorian doll.

She moved to look closer at Elaine. The teenager pressed against the back of the bed as she sat directly in her face. "Your eyes look exactly like your mother's, but your face is your father's."

"Um." Elaine started to speak but stopped herself as she was unsure what to say. 'This woman knew not only Lucille but her lover?'

Embarrassingly, Elaine had never taken the time to think of who her father was in this world. In her original world, her father left her family and never looked back. The bastard acted as if he never even had a wife and a daughter. She had just assumed the same had happened here or that he had passed away. But by the tone of this woman's voice, he sounded very much alive. When she mentioned him, a look came on her face that the teenager couldn't decipher. She tucked it into the back of her mind to try and ask Lucille about when she was healed.

"Oh!" The woman gasped and moved to stand away from the girl. She flushed with a guilty tone overtaking her curiosity. "I'm sorry, I must be scaring you."

"I am the headmistress at this clinic and I have heard many mutters about you." She confessed making sure to stay far from her. Her small hands clenched together as she continued to explain herself. "Your mother has caused quite the ruckus with my employees."

Elaine looked away from the woman. She felt guilty from the reminder of what she indirectly caused.

"It's alright," The woman walked back over and gave her a gentle head pat. Her hands felt warm against Elaine's cold body. "I'm privy to Lucille's emotions. She's very protective over the people she loves, especially her children."

She laughed and sat down next to her, crossing her stocking-covered legs over each other. "I will speak to her about her outburst, however. And to see if I can visit my niece in a better state of mind."

'Wait…' Elaine squinted at the woman and repeated what she had said silently. A pleasant aura came from the older woman as she patted her head again.

She grabbed at the woman's dress and looked at her more closely. Her beauty was that of a porcelain doll, with her eyes large and dazzling under the room light. It was hard to see the similarity between her and Lucille. Both women looked as if they walked out of a manhwa, with their enchanted looks almost overwhelming the teenager. But any resemblance ended there. Different nose, different lips, different face. They looked like complete strangers who happened to be gorgeous.

"By your reaction, I suppose Lucille decided not to tell you." The woman watched Elaine look her up and down with wide eyes.

"It's getting late so I'll have to leave," The woman got up and smiled down at her. "All of your questions will be answered tomorrow."