Moonlit Wishes

Chapter 6- Secrets of the Past-Part 1

Siobhan felt like she was floating in a cocoon of warmth, completely untouchable from outside influences. She could feel someone shaking her and calling her name, but she didn’t want to leave her safe place.

Here she could forget all that had happened, all that was still happening. She could just sink deeper into the warmth, and everything would be alright once more. She would wake up, laughing at her wild imagination and all of this would just be some bizarre dream caused by chemicals that some big company must have leeched into the water. She would wake up, and everything would be normal…at least that’s what she thought before she was rudely pulled back to consciousness.

She felt a huge splash and a sudden drop in temperature. A torrent of icy water was being poured down upon her.

“SON-OF-A-FUCKING-BITCH!” Siobhan screamed and sputtered, sitting up so fast her head spun as her body went into shock and her teeth began chattering. Her arms swung out, hoping to do her unseen tormenter some serious bodily harm.  

Her fist connected with something and she felt a supreme sense of animalistic satisfaction when she heard a male voice groan loudly in pain.

She raised a shivering hand and wiped the water out of her eyes. Looking over in front of her, she noticed a Briarius, curled up and rocking himself in the fetal position while cursing loudly as Karina and Ceara looked down upon them both with worry and amusement.

“Dammit, Siobhan! Are my balls ever going to be safe around you woman?!” Briarius choked out his words in an unnaturally high-pitched squeak.

It was like Déjà vu.  Siobhan couldn’t resist grinning wildly even though her teeth were still chattering and her body wouldn’t stop shaking.

“Tha…That’s what yo..you get, you blo…ody wanker!” She spoke as clearly as she could under the circumstances. She moved to kick him, but her mother intervened.

“That’s enough! I know this has been a hard day, but we still have more to talk about. Briarius, stop whining and help Siobhan to her room so she can get a change of clothes and a shower. The last thing we need is her catching a cold during all of this.” Karina was serious and they both knew there was no arguing with her even though neither of them had ever been sick a day in their lives.

Briarius shakily got to his feet while grimacing in pain, pulling Siobhan up along with him. They left the study without a word and trekked up to her room, the only sound between them was Siobhan’s chattering teeth. Even their heads were curiously silent, having both been dealt a huge blow.

Siobhan grabbed her clothes out of her armoire, knowing exactly where the outfit she had in mind was, and stumbled to her bathroom leaving Briarius sitting on her bed. Throwing the clothes on her sink, she grabbed a towel and twisted her shower knob to the hottest temperature it would go to. As steam from the hot water quickly filled the air, she gave a sigh of relief and climbed in.

The shower felt fantastic, like a dreamy forbidden pleasure. Her mother was right; it was exactly what she needed. The water swiftly soothed her tense muscles, and any other day she would have lingered as long as she could to wring every drop of enjoyment out of it, but not today. She knew she had to get back to her mother’s study as fast as possible.

Speeding through her shower, she turned the knob off and grabbed a towel. Drying herself off hastily, she wrapped her towel around her hair and swiped a hand across the mirror that hung over her sink. Studying her reflection, she saw dark circles shadowing the skin under her eyes and the strained look on her face.

I look like hell warmed over.

“What was that, Sio?” Briarius called out to her.

“Nothing, Bri.”