Veil: Tale of a 16 Moons [FANTASY EPIC] [MAGICAL COMING OF AGE + ROMANCE]

Fool's Responsibility

Katherine:

She remembered the darkness fondly.

Katherine groaned and twisted, orienting herself before vomiting onto coarse sand below her. The water enveloped her body, threatening to take her away, but she stumbled towards the trees, setting herself down and taking long, deep breaths. Katherine tried to recall what happened, but it was all a blur. The princess coughed and surveyed her surroundings. She spotted her polearm on the seabed and quickly jumped in the water to retrieve it. Once she did, the princess started to explore the small island she found herself on. Hours later, as the sun started to set on the visible horizon, Katherine spotted a humane form splayed out in the distance. Alarmed, the princess hurried towards the form and immediately recognized who it was. When she got there, she couldn't help but be shocked as he was covered with sand that made him unrecognizable. She put her head on his heart, and felt a panic envelop her as Katherine heard nothing.

"Alaric, wake up. Wake up." She yelled.

He didn't respond to her cries. Katherine tried not to give into her anxiety and immediately tried to rack her brain on anything that she could do. She lifted him onto her lap to perform the medical drowning procedures drilled into her time and time again during her Royal training. After pushing on his chest, she immediately pressed his lips to Alaric's as she had practiced and breathed air into his lungs.

The first few moments were met with silence, the world around her eerily quiet except for the sound of crashing waves. But then Katherine heard a faint splutter, a small gasp for air. The princess' heart soared as she continued, hope rekindling with each breath they took.

Suddenly, a cough and a splutter echoed from her friend's lips, and she didn't even notice as water spilled over her already wet clothes. The sorcerer held him as he spewed out more and more seawater, and Katherine's spirit lifted as he witnessed the first signs of consciousness.

As the slow seconds passed, his eyelids fluttered, and he began to rise with the breaths she administered.

A weak but steady pulse throbbed under her fingers.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Alaric gasped, eyes blinking open, confusion and distress evident in his gaze.

"Kat?" His voice was weak, barely a whisper, but still music to her ears. As she laughed and hugged him tightly, Alaric eventually came to his senses and scampered away from her with embarrassment.

He wiped himself off and asked her about their whereabouts. "Where are we?"

"Upon an unfamiliar island," she responded. The pair attempted to assess their surroundings but could only locate the golden book and her wooden polearm. Stranded at sea, they wondered about the whereabouts of their crew, a question to which Katherine didn't want to address.

Alaric whispered. "Do you think they are...gone?"

Katherine shifted her gaze to him with a dreading expression. She stuttered. "I...I don't know."

"Katherine. How could they have survived? Except for Allan, none of them could have survived your spell." Her friend said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She felt a gut wrenching feeling in her stomach that took her under. "Allan and the Captain were unconscious Alaric. I...I killed them all."

He quickly denied it, but as her vision blurred with tears, he moved to comfort her.

"It's okay...it's going to be okay. We had no choice." Alaric consoled her. But inside, she knew that it was completely their fault. Alaric wiped her tears and told her to calm down once more. Katherine was still unresponsive.