The Last Hope

33 - Sight

SONG FOR THIS CHAPTER - Chosen, Generdyn, SVRCINA. If you enjoy the chapter please vote and share, it means a lot. Also, I actively encourage commenting and am trying my best to reply to any as quickly as I can. Want a chat? Don't be shy!

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Murmuring tugged Mercy back to consciousness, like she was caught on the end of a fishing line, slowly being reeled in. Hushed voices blended together in a quiet song, individual words were hard to decipher, but together it was music. Further away was the sound of trickling water, and closer, by her ear, the rustling of clothes. Someone watching over her.

Whoever it was smelled faintly of sea salt and lavender. It was calming, reassuring, but unfamiliar. Mercy took in a deep lungful of air as she peeled open her eyes. Serenity sinking into every pore. But at the movement her face felt tight, salt had dried on her skin, making her feel grimy as she rubbed at her eyes. When she pulled her hands away, she stared up at the ceiling.

Mercy had thought the temple was special, with its high arching ceiling and intricate stained-glass windows, but in comparison to what lay above her...

The ceiling arched into high curved points, several beams made from cream and ivory all glinting with iridescence like mother of pearl. Between these, panes of glass cast skittering, dancing light into the room, it moved sluggishly, resembling glow worms. Each wall of the room was carved from marble, with seashells, waves, scales, tiny fish, and seaweed. All done with such fine precision that had they not been alabaster in colour, Mercy might have mistaken them for photographs or paintings. Chandeliers dangled from high above, bursting like stars and made from what looked like - sea glass? Each tiny fragment of glass was as colourful as a gemstone, refracting rainbows into every shadowy corner.

The rest of the room was the same ivory and cream shades, with several white cots lined up against the outer perimeter of the room. Silk curtains floated between each cot, marring the view of the neighbouring beds. In the centre of the room, was a large, curved countertop, curling around towering shelves, packed with potions and herbs. Briefly, it reminded Mercy of the storefront facade at the temple, only on a much larger scale. Beyond gigantic sash windows, the colour of the sky was slightly off, too deep a blue, but not dark enough to be evening. She narrowed her eyes at the sight as a figure swam into view. "It is good to see you awake, your Highness." The voice that spoke was delicate and sweet, young sounding.

The final edges of relaxation simmered away. Mercy sat up in alarm, at last remembering what had happened. Sebastian had been dragged under the water by that creature. She'd struggled and fought but hadn't made it back to the surface. Had she died? Was this ... heaven? What had happened to Lincoln? The worry was churning her stomach. She looked around at the room again, if this was heaven, she wasn't disappointed. Though she often expected she'd be sent downstairs instead.

Blue eyes the colour of the Mediterranean Sea blinked before her, and Mercy focused on who they belonged to. A young woman, who looked no older than Mercy herself, with coppery blond hair draped over one shoulder. The dress she wore was simple and elegant, woven from plain white fabric and cinching over one shoulder and around her waist, similar in fashion to a toga. Her sun-kissed skin was peppered with freckles, and Mercy found herself star struck as she blinked at her.

Maybe this was heaven.

"Your Highness, are you okay? You're looking rather pale."

Nope, heaven would know that she only liked to be called Mercy. "What happened?" She croaked out, her throat scratchy and raw. She'd swallowed gallons of salty seawater during her fight with... well whatever the hell it was.