The Prince And I

Chapter 22: Warm

I brace myself and take a deep breath as I hit the water, sending up a sizable spray of water into the chilly night air. I sink down a ways before allowing myself to float back to the top to conserve energy. Once my head is safely above water I exhale then inhale as calmly and quickly as possible, treading the frigid water easily. I cannot see anything, so I take a best guess and do survival strokes back to, hopefully, the shore. Along the way I dive and remove my shoes, holding them in my hands above water as I swim.

Fritzi is a coward. I meant what I said. But, I can't totally blame her. Her life was banked on marrying Basil and now I've stolen it away, though far from in ignorance of it. We're all scared but she's taking it out on me in the wrong way. She hid sedatives in the drinks and once we blinked out she had her minions grab and abduct me. I groan, wiping wet tendrils of hair away from my face and mouth as I swim harder, straining my eyes for a glimpse of the shore. 

At long last I feel the lake muck slope upwards and I drag myself up the bank, crawling on my hands and feet to dry land where I put my shoes back on and slowly stand back up, using a tree for support. The cold night air combined with the lake water is dangerous enough. I need to find someone and fast. I stay still for a minute and listen for any signs of other people. 

I'm lucky. I can hear car engines, or a car engine. That is comforting. I take a very labored breath and wrap my arms around myself as I force myself to walk towards the noise. I would love to just curl up into a ball where I might garner a little warmth, and I'm very tired, which is what I can't give into. I hiss, walking briskly to try and warm up. After some time, I hear an engine approaching. Or so I think. I sway back and forth, trying to discern the direction of the noise. All sound seems to swirl in my mind, a painful whirlpool too intense for my disoriented brain to clear up. I reach out for anything as I trip over a tree root and collide with a tree. I lean against it for a few moments, "I can do this. I can get there. I need to stay awake and keep up my strength." I encourage myself, praying that I wasn't hallucinating or hearing things as I push off of the tree and stumble towards the engine. 

Through the trees and plant growth, I catch the familiar and hope-promising glow of headlights. I release a cry of relief and my legs take over, pumping towards them, "Over here! Help!" I call, ignoring my own voice. What seems like forever finally results in running onto a gravel road and into the path of a slow moving golf cart- one of the park vehicles. The cart screeches to a halt and I realize that I'm falling. I hit the hard gravel with a crunch and my vision fills with strangely colored dots, dancing before my eyes. I am subconsciously aware of two employees running over me before I pass out. 

My eyes flick open. It's dark, and I realize that I'm in a moving vehicle. The golf cart, "What is your name, Miss?" 

"Z-Z-Zipp..orah... Ro-Roux..," My teeth chatter. I notice that I've been covered in jackets and two thin wool emergency blankets. They ask me something else which I don't quite comprehend, "W-What?" 

"We're trying to get you warmed up. There's an ambulance-" I start to wheeze and sniffle, hacking up my lungs. I feel absolutely miserable. 

The employees try to get me to reply verbally and stay awake, but I only respond with small noises and movements. "So much for the first date... Thanks a lot, Fritzi." I growl to myself. I blink and then I'm inside a brightly lit hospital room. I groan, the light irritating all at once. I try to cover my eyes but a pair of enticingly warm hands clasp around mine. I look to my right and blink a few times. 

"Thank goodness, Zipporah. You came to pretty quickly," Basil breathes, standing up and leaning over to plant a chaste kiss on my lips. I return the kiss without thinking, "You're still a little cold and blue though." I look down. My hands and arms, the only limbs I can see, are faint blue and I shiver. When I see the needles and IV, my trigger is pulled and I writhe, feeling an insatiable need to pull every piece of equipment out and away from my body. My breath becomes shallow, rapid against the oxygen tubes. 

"Get them off..!" I hiss. 

"Zipporah, stop!! You need those!" Basil calls for help and gently arrests my arms and hands, careful not to further dismantle the delicate network of needles and wires. I continue to wriggle, panicking. I hate the needles. I hate the tubes. These thoughts control my mind, "Zipporah, what's wrong!?" I try to yank my arms away, fighting him. 

"What's happened?" A nurse queries as she enters the room. When she sees the scene, she immediately yelps for aid and hurries to the bedside to help restrain me, grabbing a couple IV boards in the process. I know that I've pulled the needle out. I don't need to look.

A doctor and two more nurses show up and straighten my right arm, using the IV boards. Without a second thought I seize control of my arm and snap both. Only when they back off with the equipment do I start to calm down and stop struggling. I still eye the equipment warily. I become aware of strong arms around my shoulders, "You're alright, Zipporah." 

"I'm sorry, Basil..." 

Please vote and comment below! More detail next chapter! 

~Uilosris