The Eternal

2: Can I Die Yet?

I gasped for air as I shot up from the water of the bathtub, coughing as Madam Karine rolled her eyes, scoffing in disapproval. Yes, she was in the bathing chamber whilst I bathed; did she care that I was naked? No. Will I tell her I feel incredibly exposed by her presence? No, again. She sat behind the tub, and took the bar of soap she had been torturing me with, rubbing it into my head like she was trying to create an indent in my skull. She scratched the soap practically into my hair follicles, and then dunked me under the water again to rinse the soap out.

I always despised baths, and being in here for two hours already was enough to drive me even more insane than I already am. When I came back up, I grabbed the walls of the tub, not letting her shove me back down again. "Is this a trial?" I asked, glaring at the cursed throthy water as it lapped at my knees. "Why do you ask?" She pondered, dumping a bowl of water on my head. I sputtered, spitting the water out of my mouth and onto the stone floor outside the tub. "If this was a trial, I could drown myself and still be claimed to have fought in the trials- Why!?"

She smacked my head with the bowl.

"You will succeed in the trials, Abby. Do you understand me?" Her voice was cold, slicing through any playfulness I could have possibly mustered up. I nodded silently, and let her finish without protest. "Do you really think I'll succeed?" I asked, my eyes trained on the throthy water while I moved my spread fingers through it, as if I was combing back hair. Madam Karine paused, before she dunked me again.

"No. I have doubts you won't die during the first trial, let alone complete them all."

I shook my head like a dog, and harshly wiped the soap from my eyes, the sting making them water. "You didn't have to drown me to say that!" I blubbered, heaving myself over the bathtub wall and landing on the floor with a wet thump. Madam Karine grunted in acknowledgment, and threw a towel on my chest. "Dry off and get dressed. We leave as soon as you finish, so don't be more than 10 minutes."

I sat up, and just stared at the towel that was now in my lap, my thoughts circling around one issue: I'll have to actually participate in the trails. This thought, though probably one I should have had before I agreed to do this, was not one that had popped into my brain until I was trying to get some sleep last night. It kept me awake for hours, until I was too tired to think and fell asleep, only to be woken up an hour later to get ready for today. Why I couldn't just sleep in a few minutes, Madam Karine refuses to share.

I never thought of myself as the kind of person for this task. Well, okay. I have. But only once. I stopped that thought from continuing as soon as I had it. I was beginning to think of hanging myself again. Honestly, that would be so much better than this. I shook the thought away, though, as I dried myself off and tugged on my clothes that I still severely needed to wash. If I hang myself, then my death won't be epic. That's what I need; an epic death. A death people will talk about for centuries to come. Imagine, people sitting down in a tavern for a few drinks, and they start talking about a boy named Abaddon Meir, who was a participant in the Trials of the Eternal. The boy who died during a trial by being impaled to death by a narwhal's horn. That. That is how I want to die; a perfect, bloody, painful, gruesome, unforgettable death. "It's settled," I said to myself, "I'm going to go to the trials, and when I find a potential epic death, I'll take it. Perfect."

I made my way to the landing dock, and saw Madam Karine and the Highest Elder, waiting for me. Merid was no doubt already inside, enjoying the royal starship that was sent to take us to the trial. With one sharp look, Madam karine went inside, while the Highest Elder smiled at me. "Here," She whispered, taking one of her many necklaces from around her neck. This one was one I had always looked at as a child; it was a dark brown leather cord, with a hand carved wooden key on it. I had always wondered what it went to. "You keep this close to your heart, dear. Don't you lose it, and don't ever give it away. Not until your time leaves you." She ordered, making me nod.