How to Catch a Fish (ManxMan)

Chapter Four: Under the Sea

~Chapter Four: Under the Sea~

Shiny, black blood covers the floor.

"Atasah!"

A familiar face smiling and happy. A familiar face, eyes glassy and dead.

"You should have been here to help us."

Maybe I could have saved them.

"This is all your fault!"

-

Cold.

The lack of warmth is enough to startle me from my nightmare. After so much time in the relatively-warm prison, the cold air is a complete shock. It is enough to pull me from my haze of exhaustion, even though a larger part of me wants to return to sleep, where it is warm, safe, and I can just forget reality for a while longer.

Why in Skuure's name is it so cold? Am I sleeping on an ice cube?

It takes a great deal of effort to pry my eyes open – it feels like they were sealed with magic or something – but when I finally do, everything is too bright and blurry. Brighter than it ever was in the prison, that is for certain. After a lot of blinking and staring at the light blue ceiling above my head, I realize two things. One, this is not a prison cell. Two, I am not in Yabrogath either.

So...where am I?

There is not a great deal of furniture in the room aside from the large bed I am lying in and the small tables on either side of the bed, each holding a lamp. There is a chair in the far corner next to a table, facing me. It looks like it was somewhat recently occupied from the angle and the half-empty glass of water on the table in front of it. There is a closed door directly across the room from the bed and an open door to my right that appears to lead to a bathroom, though I can only see the sink from here, which means it could also be a kitchen or a very odd closet for all I know.

Because of the overpowering cold, it takes me a minute to realize that I am currently tucked into the bed, practically buried under a pile of blankets that offer no warmth. Had I been in the prison, I would not feel cold under all the layers, but it is quite clear that the curse has returned. The curse aside, though, there are some perks to being outside of the prison, such as the slow return of my magic. However, I can feel more magic within me than there should be, which leads me to wonder how long I have been asleep and why I was even sleeping in the first place...

Heather.

After freeing myself of the sheets, I climb off the bed. I quickly regret it when the room ends up being more frigid than I expected, but I need to find Heather to make sure she is okay, so I get to my feet, albeit unsteadily. I take a step towards the closed door, but the world suddenly tilts sideways, and I reach out blindly for the edge of the bed. Somehow, I end up on the floor instead.

My cheek hurts almost as soon as it hits the hard stone floor, but the disorientation otherwise saves me from feeling any other pain from the fall, as it is too distracting for me to really focus on anything else right now. After my head stops spinning, I reach out for the bed again and manage to pull myself up. The vertigo is quick to return, but the bed helps support me until the feeling fades enough for me to stand up on my own power.

I have to slide my feet in order to actually move, though, as the muscles in my legs are protesting like crazy. My lungs feel weird, too, like there is a weight on my chest, but I doubt not breathing would fix the problem. Sidr, I shout with my mind. The magic that is dragged from my reserves makes me wince, as the sudden decrease is extremely noticeable with how low my magic is right now.