Chapter 15 - Mending The Heart
At the front door of the estate, the tension in the air was heavy as Vincent, Natasha, and Deina saw off the two medical specialists.
The male medic turned to the group with a solemn yet professional expression. "As I have explained, Lady Maribelle is stable for the time being. I will return tomorrow morning to check on her condition and perform a deeper diagnostic of her cardiac flow. Keep her warm and quiet."
"We will. Thank you so much for coming." Deina said politely.
"Yeah. Thank you." Vincent muttered hollowly.
With a final nod, the two white-robed medics stepped off the porch and flew up into the sky.
Vincent stood in the doorway for a long moment, just staring out at the vast, peaceful landscape of the divine realm. He then slowly turned his head to look at Natasha and Deina; his eyes clouded with exhaustion.
"Thank you both for being here," he said softly. "But... I’d like to be alone with my mama right now. I have... a lot to think about."
"Little Demi, wait–"
"It’s okay, Vinny. We understand," Deina gently reached out and placed a firm hand on Natasha’s shoulder. "He needs some space."
Deina looked back at Vincent with genuine concern. "We’ll head out for now. But please, phone us immediately if anything changes, alright? Do you know how to use your mother’s divine phone?"
"Yeah." He nodded weakly. "She taught me how to use it a few decades ago in case. I’ll call."
Natasha’s pout returned as a wave of jealousy cut through her worry. She stepped around Deina and pointed a stiff finger at Vincent.
"You! If anything happens, you phone me first, got it?! I live much closer to here than Deina does, and I’m faster!"
"Oh, please." Deina rolled her eyes.
A small chuckle broke through Vincent’s somber expression as he looked at Natasha’s flushed, demanding face. "Alright, Nat. I doubt anything will happen, but I’ll be sure to phone you first. I promise."
"Hmph! Good," her cheeks blushed slightly. "You better keep that promise."
With a final, lingering look at him, both Goddesses flared their wings and launched themselves into the sky.
As they flew side-by-side through the sea of clouds, leaving the estate behind, Deina glanced over at the silent redhead. A mischievous smirk quickly found its way back onto her face. "My, my, War Girl... you really are one incredibly jealous cat, aren’t you?"
Natasha didn’t snap back with her usual fiery anger.
Instead, she kept her eyes locked straight ahead, looking serious as her face burned with an intense blush.
"Hmm? What’s wrong, Nat? Got something to say?"
Natasha took a deep breath and spoke. "Once Mari has fully recovered... I’m... I’m going to confess to Little Demi. For real this time. No more running away, and no more lying."
Deina’s golden eyes widened in surprise. "Natasha..."
"What about you?" Natasha turned her head to look Deina dead in the eyes. "Aren’t you going to confess to him properly, too? Or are you just going to keep hiding behind your teasing?"
"I... I don’t know."
"Good. Keep hesitating. Because the moment he accepts my confession, you are officially not allowed to kiss him anymore."
Deina’s playful edge returned as she let out a teasing chuckle. "Haha~ How cute. And who says he’ll even accept your confession, War Girl? You’re making a big assumption."
But Natasha didn’t waver. Not even a single flinch.
"He will accept it. I know he will. And I’m not afraid of the time dilation like you. If I have to wait a hundred years between his visits, then I will wait. I’m not running away."
"Hmmm. Fine. Go ahead."
"I will."
"...."
.
..
...
Back in the quiet master bedroom, Vincent sat on a plush chair pulled close to the side of the bed. He rested his elbows on his knees, staring down at his mother’s motionless face.
His mind was in an agonising loop, replaying the chilling explanation the medical specialist had given him just moments ago.
"Your mother’s heart has been incredibly weak ever since the separation of her second child," the medic had explained.
"Since she separated from Katherine? What about me? Was her heart weak when I had to leave her?"
"No. The situation back then was very complex. When you were separated from your mother, your father stayed by Lady Maribelle’s side for several weeks to help mend her emotions and keep her stable.
"It worked. But your father was a mortal. Long periods of exposure to the divine atmosphere of this realm began to take a catastrophic toll on his body. Despite his immense strength, he was not a divine being.
"Because of this toll, his body couldn’t stay in this realm for longer that 30 hours. And so, Her Majesty placed a permanent special constitution on his soul, dictating that he was only allowed to remain in the Divine Realm for exactly one day, once every Earth year, before his body would begin to reject the atmosphere and force him to return to home.
"When Katherine was born, your father couldn’t be here to support Maribelle through the labor and the separation. That prolonged isolation did severe and permanent damage to her heart. That was when her frequent medical check-ups began."
The doctor had looked at Vincent with a mixture of pity and seriousness.
"And now, after she became so fiercely attached to you over the course of five centuries... having you suddenly leave her triggered that old trauma. Her condition came back with a vengeance, resulting in the comatose state you see now."
"I-Is there anything anyone can do to wake her up? Any medicine? Any spell?"
"Haaaa... All we can do is wait. As I said, she is not in any immediate danger, and her heart is stable for the moment. We will return tomorrow to perform a deeper check and provide further details."
The flashback faded, leaving Vincent in the silent bedroom. He buried his face in his hands and dug his fingers into his hair.
"Fuck... This is all my fault. If I had just stayed... if I hadn’t been so damn eager to go back..."
"Hey, Vinny. Why’re you looking so downy-wowny?"
"... Huh?" Vincent froze.
Recognising that particular pitched, squeaky, slightly synthesised voice, he slowly pulled his hands away from his face and lifted his head.
Sitting on the soft slope of Maribelle’s stomach, looking incredibly tiny for some reason, was Mr. Marshmallow.
"Mr. Marshmallow? What... What are you doing here? How did you even get out of my inner world? And why the hell are you so small?"
The tiny marshmallow completely ignored his questions.
He hopped off her stomach and waddled over to sit on her chest, looking up at her peaceful face. "Whoa... Mama Mountain looks so pretty when she’s asleepy-sleep."
"She’s not asleep," Vincent dropped his voice into a miserable murmur. "At least, not in the traditional sense. She fainted... and she won’t wake up. The doctors don’t know when she will. It’s all my fault. Because I left her."
"Well... if it’s your fault, then you should just fix it!"
"Ha! Fix it? How? The medics literally told me all I can do is wait. I don’t know how to "fix it"."
"Hmmm... This reminds me of that sleeping lady I saw in your memories. The one from the old fairy tales... Oh! I know! Maybe she’ll wake up if you give her a chu-chu!"
"A kiss? Are you serious? This isn’t a Disney movie, Marshmallow. That will never work. Besides, it’s really creepy to kiss an unconscious person."
"But she does it to you all the time when you’re sleeping!" Mr. Marshmallow countered happily.
"She does?! Wait, we are talking about that later. But still, no. I can’t just do that."
"This isn’t just any old person! It’s your mama! Come on, Vinny. It’s totally worth a try! Besides, if she’s unconscious, how are we visit marshmallow mountain?! It’s a tragedy!"
Vincent looked back and forth between the tiny, bouncing marshmallow and his mother’s lifeless face.
Desperation finally won.
He didn’t care how creepy it was anymore – if there was even a point-one percent chance it could help her; he had to take it.
"Alright... I’ll do it."
"Yay!"
Vincent slowly pushed himself up from the chair and leaned over the bed. He looked down at her beautiful, quiet face and whispered softly, "I’m sorry for hurting you, Mama... please wake up."
Before his lips could touch hers, Mr. Marshmallow squeaked out one final instruction.
"Wait! Don’t just kiss her! Pour your divine power into her while you do it! Smooth and gentle-wentle!"
Vincent nodded with determination. He closed his eyes, leaned down, and gently pressed his lips against hers.
Once they were together, he parted her lips and smoothly slipped his tongue inside her mouth to establish a direct connection to her. He concentrated on his golden reservoir of divine power then carefully channeled a warm, soothing stream of it through his lips, pouring it directly into her body.
The divine power flowed through Maribelle’s throat, traveling down her system in a glowing wave, until it gently swirled around and settled directly into her fragile heart.
Thump.
Vincent broke the kiss and pulled slightly with a pant. "There. It’s done, Mr. Marshmallow. Looks like it didn’t work--"
Mr. Marshmallow was gone, having dissolved back into the safety of his inner soul.
"Of course... typical."
Suddenly, a weak, airy gasp cut through the silence of the room.
"D-Dusty...?"
Vincent’s head snapped back to the bed so fast he nearly whiplashed.
Maribelle’s long eyelashes fluttered slowly. Her beautiful blue eyes, glazed with disorientation, cracked half-open as she stared at the blurry figure nearby.
Over the moon with pure relief, Vincent’s eyes welled with fresh tears. "Mama! Mama, it’s me! It’s Vinny! I’m right here!"
Maribelle’s eyes slowly focused on his face, taking in his blue hair, his blue eyes, and his frantic, tear-streaked smile.
"Vin... ny...? Vinny? Vinny! My... MY BABY!"
With a sudden burst of maternal adrenaline, Maribelle shot upright in the bed and launched herself forward. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into her supple chest as she squeezed him with a crushing strength, crying loud with ecstatic tears of pure joy.
"You’re here! My baby is here! You didn’t leave me!"
Vincent, despite currently suffocating in her chest, let out a muffled happy laugh as he wrapped his own arms around her waist to hug her back just as tightly.
Through the small gap in her embrace, Vincent happened to glance toward the foot of the bed.
There, sitting on the wooden post, was the tiny figure of Mr. Marshmallow. He offered Vincent a smug thumbs-up before vanishing back into his soul with a soft sparkle of light.