Worlds of Waves and Shadows

Fifteen

"You ready?" Sarina questioned as soon as the door to her room whooshed open.

"Yup." Kaenisa nodded while putting her feet in her shoes, which, a moment later, automatically tightened comfortably around her feet.

She had to admit, the technological advancement here was astonishingly unparalleled.

She was in the hospital for two weeks. Two very bad weeks. After she was discharged she mostly preferred to confine herself in her room, alone. Mostly studying. But her friends kept pulling her out of the room. Like this time.

"Shall we?" A voice laden with the thickest Russian accent called out as the doors opened once more.

Over the last couple of months, Rolan's English had improved loads, thanks to Sarina and her relentless endeavours. At first, she had only agreed to do it because Kaenisa was beyond fed up with translating every second sentence he spoke.

But then, as much as she hated to admit, they'd grown on her. And now, all the walls Kaenisa had built around her to keep them out had crumbled.

It had all begun in the two weeks she had spent at the infirmary room of the hospital, when the petite blonde had visited her almost every other day.

It had shocked her, how someone who had barely known her for like a day spill their heart out like that.

But what had surprised Kaenisa even more was that Sarina wasn't the only one who had come.

She thought back to being surrounded by those sterile walls and the strange people in long white coats, who had vaguely told her that she had been shot with a weapon that should have killed her.

And that her recovery was a miracle in itself. But it wasn't even the most absurd part of her stay there. It was him. Her very first visitor.

Kaenisa could not forget the look on the General's face when she had told him her mother's name.

For some reason, his face had turned sheet white, eyes widening ever so slightly. They had seemed out of focus for a moment, as if he had been there, yet so far deep into his thoughts that he was lost forever.

Then he had turned to her, a firestorm raging in his amber eyes. In a moment, thousands of emotions seemed to rage through them.

She couldn't shake off the weight of that uncanny gaze no matter how hard Kaenisa tried to.

There was something about her that he knew, something that Kaenisa did not. She was sure of it.

"Kaenisa!" The platinum blonde's voice jostled her out of her daze.

"Ye...yes?"

"Did you listen to a word of what I just said!?"

"Yeah...no. Sorry." She replied, looking away. They had told her how she would have been dead if it wasn't for Zaic bringing her there on time. Kaenisa felt her heartbeat quicken.

It was okay. She was okay now.

But the fear was already choking her, dread churning up her insides. What if he hadn't brought her there on time?

"Kaenisa? Are you okay? Are you in pain!?" Sarina fussed.

"No I'm....." She started, forcing herself to breath. She remembered how awful the pain had been. It had made her want to die.

But now, when she realised how close she had come to that....Kaenisa gulped down as much if the sweet air as she could, for a solid twenty seconds before Kaenisa could bring herself to straighten up, "I'm fine."