Trashes of the Counts' Families || Trash of the Count's Family || OC

63

Adara thought the fisherman was a very brave man, able to grin and laugh like that casually. She wasn't scared of the water, but she didn't like how viciously the boat tipped from one side to the other.

She had never been on the ocean before, and the water was not a very pleasant thing to watch. It was dark and violent, getting darker as the centre of the whirlpool went deeper and deeper. She wasn't sure if she would ever go near a whirlpool again if the Black Dragon were not near her. They were unnerving.

"Young Master-nim, Young Mistress-nim," the fisherman yelled out, "it is the island over there."

Adara could see what he was talking about. In front of them, the smallest island in the cluster of islands looked the most like what Cale had told her. They only needed to get there now.

"The whirlpool in front of that island is the worst!" the fisherman continued, laughing. "You'll need to say goodbye to this world immediately if you get caught in that one!"

Adara wanted to laugh as soon as she saw Vice Captain Hilsman's face get paler, but the boat rocked to one side, forcing her to hold on to the railing tighter. She had the kittens on her shoulders, their claws digging into her. She would need to be careful with them.

Cale himself wasn't looking that much better than Hilsman, though she figured he was always pale. She just needed to hold onto the kittens, and everything would be fine. The island was just up ahead.

The fisherman continued screaming over the roaring waves. "There is a legend that says that the whirlpool appeared because of a thief who stole something from a god, but— aiya!"

The boat tipped to the other side, a bit too close to the water. Vice Captain Hilsman lost his balance as the boat rocked, falling onto her. She was in no danger; she had not fallen off— Hilsman was already starting to apologise when she realised Hong had lost his grip on her shoulder.

Everything seemed to happen at the same time. Hong, no longer on her shoulder, tried to jump onto the railing to stabilise himself. But the boat tipped again, and he missed the railing.

He disappeared into the water.

Adara's eyes widened. She barely heard the fisherman chastising his son for almost letting the boat tip over or Hilsman's surprised gasp. In a flash, she had taken off her shoes, put On quickly down, and was diving after Hong, her ears ringing with horrified screams from everyone still on board. She only realised her mistake when she felt herself plunge into the icy cold water.

She didn't know how to swim.

Underneath the water was quiet. Not calm, she could see the whirlpools around her, seemingly closing in, but quiet. As if it enveloped her, shielding her from the chaotic sound from above. Panic filled her like an overflowing basin as she felt the weight of her wet clothes pulling her down.

She didn't have time for this; she needed to get to Hong. She looked around as best she could, her movements slowed. She didn't know where up or down was; all that filled her stinging vision were the distorted swirls of currents and whirlpools, shadows, and never-ending blue.

As she swirled around, trying to catch sight of a bubble, to tell which direction it floated in, she caught sight of something that was most definitely not a whirlpool. She squinted despite the pain, flapping her arms closer to it. It couldn't be Hong; it was far too big and long.

A cold dread washed over her as she saw it, shivers crawling up her back. It was a figure in a servant's outfit. Suddenly, the water felt a lot colder.

Her Unnie was there, hidden in shadows, though she could see her plainly. Her hair was not floating around like Adara's was, it stayed fixed, only moving with the gentle swaying of her body. She was not smiling; her eyes were not bright. Her head was at an odd angle, her neck longer than Adara remembered it. Pallid skin that was not a trick of the light and arms that dangled loosely.