Even though Astrid and I are both dry and wearing fresh clothes, I still feel the chill as if I were sitting before James in my living room with wet floors. Astrid seems to feel it, too, because she's huddled in a blanket.
Thankfully, neither of the Bens and Cecilia are down in the rec-room, so they aren't here to watch me get scolded... for some reason I haven't figured out yet.
"That was the second ocean accident in a very short amount of time," James says, glancing between us like it might be somehow our fault.
"This time was my fault," I mutter. "But the first time- it was such a clear day, and then it wasn't-"
"Thank you for taking responsibility," James counters, "but I'm not convinced that either were your fault, Brandon."
I frown. "You think someone else is at fault here? Other than nature?"
James turns his grim face to Astrid, and gestures toward the pen and pad of paper he gave her.
She glances down at it before turning questioningly to me.
Nodding, I clear my throat and turn to James. "Actually, James, Astrid can-"
"Talk now," she finishes.
James whips his head back around to face Astrid, his eyes wide as his hand moves to cover his chest. "Oh, my."
"I couldn't before," she adds with a shrug. "But now I can."
He blinks. "How?"
Licking her lips, Astrid opens her mouth. "I..." A choking sound claws out of her mouth instead of words.
Astrid closes her mouth, frowns, and then opens her mouth again. "I... was..." Again, something cuts her off, only this time Astrid jolts backward on the couch.
I take her hand and steady her. "Astrid, are you all right."
She nods at me despite how much she's trembling. Standing up and lifting her chin, she looks like a queen despite the fact that she was just fished out of the ocean this afternoon and can barely get two words out. "I was cu-"
Suddenly, Astrid's eyes roll backward, and she slumps forward.
Diving forward, I catch her before she can completely crumple. "Astrid?"
She doesn't stir.
James rushes forward and presses his fingers to her pulse. With a sigh of relief, he gently lifts one of her eyelids and looks in at her.
"Well?" I ask, rearranging Astrid in my arms so I can hold her properly.
"I don't know. She seems fine, only sleeping."
At the word, exhaustion tugs at my muscles, and I almost drop Astrid. "Well, it was a trying day for us both."
James frowns. "But what triggered her exhaustion so sharply like that? It was almost as if she was choking on what she was trying to say."
"Yeah? And?"
Stepping back, James shakes his head. "There are greater powers at play here."
"What?"
"I don't know what they are, exactly," James answers. "Only that they exist. I saw them with her mother. Astrid knows what they are, but they are keeping her from explaining."
I frown. "James, you're not making any sense."
"That's because I don't have any answers." Sighing, James rubs his face. "Just take Astrid to her room so she can sleep it off."
Turning back to the sleeping beauty, I hoist her higher in my arms. Then, because James is being so cryptic, I decide he doesn't need me to be completely clear with him about how Astrid's room is now mine.
Thankfully, James doesn't follow, so I don't get any sermons when I lay Astrid gently onto my bed. She stirs slightly on my pillow, and then I tug the sheets up to her chin before straightening. But seeing Astrid lying on my mattress, her face so peaceful and her hair a shining crown around her, is strange. She doesn't appear to be the queen she carries herself as. Instead, Astrid seems smaller, more fragile, but still beautiful. Like a lost princess.
-Signature by -krystallite