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Lee woke up to a soft glow and the warmth of a soft blanket around her, sitting up and looking around in a haze. She realised that she was back in her room at camp.
Lee groggily got up, her muscles still aching with exhaustion, and she realised what had happened the last time she'd been conscious. Khayme's black eyes swam into her vision, her stomach lurching at the thought.
Lee willed herself not to think about this, because she knew that if she did, then she'd start to break down, and there was no stopping it if she started coming apart. She was holding herself together by a very thin thread, and she'd like to keep it that way.
Walking into her bathroom, she stood in front of the mirror, looking at her messy hair and dark circles that were more prominent than ever, under her eyes. She washed her face and brushed, freshening up before she changed into a new set of clothes, coming out of the dirty, sand filled clothes from before.
After she had changed and was feeling a bit better, though her headache was still there, she walked over to her door, turning the knob, but that's when she realised that it was locked. She turned it over and over her hand, but the door didn't budge. Lee tried knocking on the door and thumping it and shouting till someone would hear her, but no one came.
She knew that they could hear her. The camp wasn't that big and there were rooms right beside hers. So someone in the neighbouring rooms ought to hear her, but nobody came. After a few minutes, Lee gave up, her headache getting stronger, and she went back to her bed, lying down again.
She closed her eyes, trying to think of anything other than what was going on right now, but she couldn't help letting the moments fill her head. When she'd seen Khayme fall, finding her in the underworld, seeing her wake up, seeing the look in her eyes, all while her emotions were all over the place. She had exhausted herself, over-used her powers and lost consciousness. She didn't know what had happened after that, or where Khayme was. Or how.
It was with these thoughts, that Lee once more drifted off to sleep, her muscles aching and her heart hurting.
She awoke a few hours later, and once more tried to get out of the room, but the lock wouldn't budge.
Did everyone hate her? Was she going to be exiled and imprisoned? Did they blame her for Khayme? Did she blame herself for Khayme's death? She didn't know.
She sat looking out her window into the gardens where two girls were practicing combat, and a lone tear fell down her cheek, the girls reminding her of all the times Khayme had stayed longer to train with her, just so she could be stronger and better.
Suddenly, she heard the lock click and quickly wiped her eyes, turning around to see who it was.
It was her mom. And as soon as Lee looked at her, she knew that her mom had been crying. Vienna's eyes were red, and it was clear that she was trying to hide that, and so Lee made no comment on it. She turned away from her mom and sat there, looking out the window again, her breathing uneven as anxiety, guilt and pain bundled up in her stomach.
