The Silver Seer

Chapter 13: Burn Bright

A groan escapes my mouth before I bring myself to open my heavy eyes. What meets me is an area that betrays my fuzzy memories. It is not a raging red fire, a dark green forest, or a black collection of ash and debris. It is a soft, flickering light from a candle somewhere to my right, illuminating dark red walls with golden designs, and black crown molding that gives way to a black ceiling dotted with small white lights- no brighter than stars in the sky- in a collection of constellations I can vaguely recall from my endless nights of stargazing alone or with Reko.

I fail to remember the entirety of what led to me ending up here, but I can recall certain sounds, scents, and thoughts. Fighter jets. The smell of smoke. The realization that I may go missing or be injured, but I want my officers to know that everything is okay. Trying to contact Dimitry before the helicopter began to spiral downward while my world turned black, with only glimpses of the wreckage before I ended up here.

A soft knock on a black door to my right brings me to try and turn my head to see who will be on the other side, yet a jolt of pain courses through my body at the action. How badly was I injured? I'm grateful to be alive, of course, but what about Friederike and the pilot of the helicopter? Did they survive?

The door opens, and a young girl walks in, holding a bowl in her hands. She stops by the nightstand and sets the soup down, before looking at me with great interest, as though I am the first person she's seen in many years.

"Oh, you're awake! My father says I should address you as 'General Adelric'. He said it's because it's the position you hold in the military and your name is on a dog tag that is around your neck. Do you feel alright?" The girl's voice is quiet, and I can feel the light metal of the chain around my neck and the tags themselves against my upper chest.

I blink a few times as the girl pulls over a chair from the corner of the room and sits down, taking the bowl of soup from the nightstand and putting it in her lap. She stirs it with a spoon as I speak to her, though my voice is softer than I hoped it would be. "I'm just a little sore, but fine overall."

"That's good to hear. My father says I have to feed you food like soup. He showed me how to
do it. I think he said you can sit up if you try." I try my best to push my body upward, gasping as another shock of pain courses through, but I ignore it and end up in a sitting position.

"Yay! Good job General Adelric!" The girl shouts happily, and I smile before allowing her to address me like my soldiers do.

"You can just call me Felix." The girl vigorously nods at my request, and dips the spoon into the soup before bringing it up and moving it towards my mouth.

I awkwardly open my mouth and the spoon enters, almost burning my tongue as the contents make contact. I let the spoon go and swallow the soup, debating whether or not I like it. "What kind of soup is this?"

A wide smile. "My father said it's called Buttermilchsuppe. Do you like it?" I nod and she feeds me another spoonful, while I am thankful it has cooled down just a bit.

So it's German. I either landed in Switzerland near Basel, or in Germany. Thilo would certainly be jealous. He loves German food, especially anything with alcohol, though he's not a heavy drinker at all. There was that one celebration near Christmas, though...

Several minutes of being spoon-fed pass before the bowl is empty. The girl raises from her chair, the bowl in her hands, and dashes from the room, calling out for her father. "Father! Felix is awake!"

A male voice grows louder as I assume the man approaches the room in which I am located. "Anna, go fetch your sister. And I thought I told you to call him General Adelric. Though, I suppose if he requested you call him Felix, that's al-" The man stops in the doorway, staring at me.