Mia's POV
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When I come back to reality, I take a deep breath of the warm, cozy air. My head doesn't hurt, I actually feel really good.
I quickly recap my vision in my closed lids before opening my eyes. I immediately see the silky, see-through material of the canopy above my bed. I lie there with a comfortable smile for a second, until my mind catches up with me and I remember what I left.
My hands sink into my mattress as I push myself into a sitting position, looking around my room. Everything seems fine. No screams. No blood- Oh! My hand, I had almost forgotten about that. Gingerly taking the weight off of it, I notice it's wrapped in a dark cream bandage. Looking down I also notice that I'm dressed in a loose top with long, puffy sleeves that have a tight cuff at the wrists, and a multi-layered olive green skirt with white fabric details here and there.
I run my good hand through my hair, which feels silky and plain, no braids and no blood.
What do I do now? Go get someone? What is even happening?
My door makes a sound and opens slowly, causing me to jerk my head that way. I relax when I see El come in, carrying a bottle of lotion-looking stuff and a spool of the same wrap on my hand. She nearly drops the stuff in her hands when she sees me, probably out off surprise.
"Oh my god, Mia! You're awake!"
She rushes over and gives me a quick hug, then gets to work unwrapping the bandage on my hand.
"What?" I ask, confused. Is it that crazy that I woke up? "Hey, how'd you get into my room?"
"Oh, sorry," El says, looking embarrassed. "The Queen can get into any room, so she lets me in here to clean you up."
"Oh, thanks..?" I reply, still perplexed.
El just nods her head in a relieved way, changing my bandages and applying the cream to my hand so fast I barely catch a glimpse of it. Looks like the two cuts from grabbing the arrow are still there, but look more like two paper cuts now.
"El, what happened to the Cin? Why were they here?" I ask, sitting up straighter. Elanil presses her lips together, looking away for a minute.
"We honestly don't know. They came here, scared everyone, then just... Left. They left about ten minutes after you went out. Our guards killed a few, but... Our best guess is they were looking for the Heartstone, or maybe trying to scare us before the war. I don't know, but I have to go, I'm sorry. So glad you're awake though," she says with a smile, hugging me again. I tilt my head in confusion, but she's already out the door before I can ask anything.
"What the hell," I mutter to myself, sighing.
A minute later the door opens again, and Knox peeks at me from the other side of the door, his eyes widening a bit.
"Mia! Finally," he says, like he's surprised. And relieved. He crosses my room in a few long strides and pulls me into a tight hug. Of course I return it, sighing at the safe, warm feeling I always get from his embrace. But I'm also confused.
"Finally what?" I ask.
"Finally you're awake."
"Didn't El tell you I was awake?"
"No, she came up here and I didn't see her. I think my mother said something about talking to her."
"Why are you saying 'finally' about me being awake?"
"Well, we were all starting to get kinda worried."
I pull away from his hug, holding onto his shoulders at arms length.
"Wait wait wait, how long was I out for?"
"A week."
My eyes bug out of my head at that one.
"A week?! How, I was only in that vision for a few hours!"
Knox slides next to me on my bed, our shoulders touching. He searches my eyes for something.
"I don't know... Maybe you were tired enough to keep sleeping."
I nod. Even though I was apparently asleep for a week, I want to go back to sleep, or just lie here forever. I want to just stay here, sit and talk with Knox and not do anything, but I know that's not an option, as much as I'm craving a rest. If it was a normal day I would probably be sitting on my couch, listening to music and doing homework. It still feels surreal sometimes to think this is happening to me. Especially as I let what happened to me sink in, and what it means.
I always thought in movies and books that 16 year olds going on these crazy quests was unrealistic. I'm 17 and I still feel young. Too young to be fighting and having the weight of the world on my shoulders. But it's like being on stage, once you start performing you kinda forget about the audience, about those heavy thoughts. Mostly anyway.
I blink and come back to the present.
"I should tell Rose about my vision."
"Yes, she was planning on meeting with you, me, and Andor to talk about it when you woke up. But I'm assuming you're hungry first."
I open my mouth to say no, but at that moment I'm very aware of how empty my stomach feels, that feeling where you're so hungry you don't even feel like eating anymore.
"Yeah I guess," I reply. Knox gracefully gets to his feet, disappears with a transport stone, and appears a minute later with a wooden tray containing water, a salad, and a thick slice of buttered bread. My stomach rumbles on cue, and I lick my lips, realizing how dehydrated they are.
"Thanks," I say, grabbing the tray and gulping down the water. "I can't believe I was out for so long," I say, still pondering over it as I take a big bite out of the bread, closing my eyes as the rich, doughy texture fills my mouth. I guess I am hungry. He lets me eat in silence for a few minutes.
"Yeah, it was... weird," Knox finally says. He joins me on my bed again, sitting comfortably with one leg tucked under him and the other sprawled out in front.
"I hope you weren't too worried," I say around a bite of salad. Knox just looks at me, the tone of his expression positive and negative at the same time.
"Well, you've never been knocked out for that long in any other vision. I started to get more worried on day four. El told me you'd wake up, and I knew you would, but... Part of me was scared."
I bite the inside of my cheek as I let his words sink it. Time to lighten the conversation.
"You can't get rid of me that easily," I declare dramatically, setting my now empty tray down. I feel a lot more energized now that I'm full. Knox gives me a weird look and laughs, a real laugh, and I join in. It's always nice to have these happy moments in the chaos I've been through. I try to hold on to them, and I think it's working. I'm usually a pretty positive person. I mean, I was when the only thing I had to worry about was biology tests and track meets.
The warmth of the covers over my legs remind me of waking up every day for school, especially in the winter, when it was so cold outside of your bed that you didn't want to get up. I sigh and lean against Knox, closing my eyes softly and resting my head on his shoulder. I feel his arm wrap around my shoulders, sure and strong. Caring.
I've figured out by now, I think, how... Affection works with elves, so to speak. It's basically the same as Earth, but elves seem to have more meaning in their gestures. Like, that one couple in school who would always be making out in the hallway. Yeah, elves wouldn't do that, not in public anyway. They seem to be the type that don't just make out with each other simply because they can, they don't kiss each other just because they're 'supposed to' because that's what couples do. Every gesture seems to have more meaning, to be more than just one of those month-long high school couples. I also have a feeling they aren't the people to say 'want to be my girlfriend?' or vise versa. They just kind of know. Like an elven sixth sense, I guess..? After knowing, even if only briefly, what it's like to be with Knox, I like this better than the thought of having any boyfriend from Earth.
I feel Knox press a soft kiss to the top of my head. My whole body warms up, and I feel the butterflies in my stomach come to life. Then, for some reason, I yawn.
"Why am I tired, I literally slept for a week," I murmur. Knox laughs.
"I have no clue." Then he gets up, and I feel the cold creep up on the parts of me that were leaning against him. I finally open my eyes.
"You should probably get ready, take a shower, whatever you want. I have a feeling my mother will be ready soon."
I nod, taking his outstretched hand and getting to my feet. For a second my feet are filled with a numb, pins and needles sensation, but it quickly fades. I look up at Knox, feeling a sudden gratitude for him.
"Hey, thanks for not... letting me die last week," I say, jokingly about the 'die' part. It still sounds weird to say 'last week,' considering it felt like yesterday for me. Knox gives me a small smile, blowing a breath out of his nose that could be a laugh. He takes my hands in his and pulls me closer to him.
"You're not going to die on my watch." I hear the jest in his voice, but it also sounds serious.
I suddenly wish he would kiss me. As much as I, for some reason, don't want to- is it because I don't know what I'm doing?- I have to make the first move here. So I rise up on the balls of my feet and kiss him.
For a second I wonder if I shouldn't go with my gut, but I have to remind myself that no, our first kiss wasn't two days ago, but a little over a week ago. Besides, I've always felt comfortable around him- recently more than usual.
Knox cups the side of my face with his hands and kisses me back. It's short, but still takes my breath away all the same. I feel him smile into the kiss, and I swear I almost pass out again.
A minute later he's gone in the fog of a transport stone, and I'm alone. For a second the emptiness of my room feels too much, but after walking around for a few minutes it feels less oppressive. I actually like being alone when I can.
Opening the bathroom door, I look at myself in the mirror for the first time in a while. My hair is still golden, probably as light as it will get. My ears are still a little pointy, and my face looks the same but different. It has the same skin tone, same freckles, same green eyes. But I notice my face has hardened with the circumstances. I still look friendly, in my opinion, the same way I always have. But there is a seriousness, a confidence and readiness to my expression that wasn't there when I was just a high school student. I stare at my reflection for a second longer before finally deciding to shower. I definitely need one.
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The day is colder than usual.
It's not snowing, and the breeze is light, but it's colder than I expected. My breath plumes out around me in white vapor, and my head, which is still damp from my shower, burns with the cold. I quickly pull the hood of my cloak over my head and pull the long sleeves of my dress over my gloves. I didn't bring an ember stone with me today. I wanted to do some things without the use of magic, like walking to the meeting tree, which is a tree a few paths down from the training center. It's where I will be talking with the Queen and a few others about my vision and what to do next.
As I walk along, passing a few smiling elves along the way, I feel more peaceful and collected than I thought I would. Maybe it's because the fact of the approaching war that has finally settled in, or maybe it's because when this meeting is over, I'll have a path. I'll know what to do to help, I won't be wandering around aimlessly, training but not knowing what for.
I'll have a purpose. I'm ready.
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It snowed SM yesterday OMG- I went on a walk through the wood w/ all the snow and it reminded me of this story😭😭