Oz Vessalius: The Golden Present

1

"Will she be ok?"

I woke up to the sound of a boy's voice, his words dripping with worry. I felt a heavy weight on my right shoulder, but was too fatigued to even properly come to my senses, let alone open my eyes to investigate my surroundings. Whatever was on my left shoulder smelled greatly of food; meat, to be exact. It made my mouth water. But if I couldn't open my eyes, how could I even expect to feed myself? That wasn't the only thing I felt. The ground seemed as if it was moving beneath us, and I could hear the muffled sound of galloping hooves.

"I don't know," a deeper voice replied. "We did find her collapsed in the streets of that town during our mission... She could have been there for quite a while."

Things were silent for a moment, making the galloping noises of the horses sound louder and clearer.

"I'm sure that stupid rabbit napping on her shoulder isn't helping her, in any case."

I felt the weight on my shoulder being lifted off of me instantly. That was all I heard and knew of before I felt my consciousness slip from right under me.

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

"Mmm..."

My eyelids felt heavy and so did my body. Despite this, the morning sun's rays seeped through to my irises, and irritated me enough to force myself awake.

I searched around with my hands, feeling my slender fingers brush up against a mess of soft, fluffy bed sheets and pillows. A sigh of relief briefly escaped my lips and I realized just how comfortable I felt. My limbs ached ridiculously, as if I haven't slept in a bed for a very long time. This feeling only seemed to weigh me down even more, seeing as my body refused to part with such a luxury.

I slowly turned to lie on my right side, my eyes still gently shut. Then, I reluctantly opened them, and was met with a blinding white light. After everything in the small room I resided in had finally come into focus, I was met face to face with a man with short, shaggy whitish-gray hair. His one red right eye was visible whilst the other was left hidden behind his long bangs. He knelt beside my bed as if he'd snuck into the room awhile ago, and peered over at me in my slumber with a creepy grin.

"Why, good morning, there," he greeted in a much too cheerful, sing-songy tune.

I screamed on cue and jumped off the left side of the bed, taking my covers with me. Then, I hid myself under the cream-colored sheets as if it would do me any good. He chuckled upon seeing my actions, and I tightened my grip on the sheets as the clopping noises his shoes made came nearer. I could feel my heart make three thumps against my ribcage for every step he took as I stared down at the light brown, wooden flooring beneath me. That was all I could see - the covers and the floor.

After a moment of silence, my heart stopped altogether and I could no longer be patient. I stole myself the smallest of peeks from under the hems of the cream-colored sheets. Unfortunately, I came face to face with that same red eye.

"Hey, now," the young man coaxed, waving his floppy white right sleeve. "Running away won't- GUH!"

Before he could finish his sentence, my sudden rush of adrenaline had caused me to jump up and bonk him square on the top of his head with my hands clasped together. Then, in a panicked state, I threw all of the covers over him in a way that he couldn't free himself, and used him as a launching pad to jump onto the bed and bolt right out the door.

As soon as I stepped out of the room, I shut the door tightly behind me and kept my trembling hands pressed firmly on the round, brass knob. Each of my breaths were heavy and erratic. I laid my head against the door, feeling spikes pierce through the tissues of my lungs as I tried to steady my breathing. No sound. I gave a short but much needed sigh of relief.