Douce Dépendouce

Chapter 10

When I had finally got home I had sucken down onto the ground, my back rested up against my door as I put my head in my hands, my mind still racing. I hated having to lie to the Druids, and pretend that I felt fine, but deep down, I needed to get away. I couldn't be with them anymore, not when I felt in such a way. Linda looked like it was her fault, which I hated seeing her like. All she had done was guide us and get us back, she didn't know that Pandora would take an effect, or that we would be trapped there for that amount of time. Despite that, Avalon had told us that our horses had arrived when we were still in Pandora, a clear sign to him that we would be there longer than needed. I couldn't even feel happy that Hu was safe through my sickness and exhaustion.

I sighed, soon forcing myself up as I headed over to my mirror, taking off my sweater as I looked at my back, my eyes glazed as I looked at them; they were worse than I had thought. Big deep ones settled at the stop of my shoulders, running down to the bottom of my back. Small and medium ones accompanied them, somehow looking more deep. I sucked in a breath as I painfully removed my top and the rest of my clothes, dressing into a loose fitting nightwear. As I crept into bed, my eyes instantly shut. The feeling of final relief and stress leaked away, leaving me in an exhausted state as I drifted off.

That feeling of exhaustion later disappeared as I turned on my side again, begging for the throbbing to stop. For the past hour, I had been in intense agony. The realms ached and stung with even the slightest move I made, making even getting comfortable uncomfortable. The nausea and dizzy spells hadn't stopped, and left me in a near state of vomiting. It felt like the realms were sinking deeper and deeper, slowly eating my energy away. I opened my eyes, knowing it was late. I then sat up, shutting them again as the discomfort continued, making me break out into a sweat to even move my legs. I couldn't go back to the Druids, not at this hour. Plus, I knew I would have to give an explanation for not wanting to get them treated in the first place, or even why I wanted them treated now. I didn't want to move, or do anything at all, but I had to. Reluctantly, I pushed myself out of my bed, my vision blurry as I steadied myself. I then tried to distract myself as I got dressed again, trying to look for a loose sweater. Once I got through the torture of getting ready, I grabbed my gloves and helmet, heading out my room and soon onto the streets, chilled by the air. I didn't bring a jacket, knowing that piling more clothes on would make the feeling worse. The wounds felt hot and inflamed while the rest of my body went in goosebumps, leaving my teeth chattering as I walked to the stables, feeling guilty as I did so.

Getting Hu tacked up was painful, and heartbreaking. I hated having to push him more, especially when he was trying to rest. Once I had gotten my gear on and had worked my way to my destination, my legs felt weak when I had asked him for a trot. I had decided to remain at a walk, making the journey even longer. As I steered him up the road to Nilmers, I felt the butterflies return; I didn't even have a clear plan on what I was going to say, or how I was going to explain. Knowing that Ydris was a Pandorian, made me hope that he had seen this sickness before, and that he hopefully knew what to do. I didn't even tell him about what we had done, or that his home was destroyed. The pit in my heart gew as I pulled Hu to a stop, dismounting him and soon walking him over, tying him up loosely as I headed towards the Circus tent, remembering that sometimes Ydris worked late. Once I opened the curtain, all I saw was nothing. The air felt flat and lifeless, not like it normally did. It always felt that Pandoric energy was in the tent, but it felt gone tonight, almost like it had paused time. As I looked around, I noticed the famailer eyes of the Watchers. They stared down at me, their yellow eyes locking onto mine. I turned away, bringing my attention to the back of the tent, the flap opening. Xin soon emerged, making my stomach sick again. He stopped, staring right at me, tilting his head in a clown-like manor after a few seconds.