The Dark Maiden

Chapter 3

When Carmen woke up, she was in an unfamiliar room. She was laying in an unfamiliar bed, wearing unfamiliar clothes with an unfamiliar- and extremely painful- pounding in her head.

She reached a hand to her forehead tentatively and winced when she felt the throbbing raised bump there.

"You hit your head."

Carmen whipped her head around to the voice, and regretted it instantly. She groaned, her head feeling like a carved up watermelon.

"Sorry." It was Obsidian- Lilli's husband- and his hair was all crusty and plastered every which way on his head, from what Carmen assumed was salt water. His clothes were stiff as well, and it seemed he was the one who pulled her from the treacherous depths. He was holding a large glass of dark green brothy liquid. A pink straw was in the thick liquid, whose stench caused Carmen to wrinkle her nose from her place in the bed five feet away.

"What is that?" Carmen asked, confused. "It reeks. And where am I? What's going on?"

"Your mother had me bring it-"

"She's not my mother," Carmen corrected, her eyes narrowing. "That woman will never be my mother."

"It's medicine that you need to drink." Obsidian explained carefully, ignoring her earlier comment and sitting down in the chair on the side of Carmen's bed. "Something to make your head feel better. And she'll explain everything soon."

With those words, Carmen took the drink. She was still kind of confused, not yet alert enough to wonder why she wasn't home or even in a hospital. She didn't yet understand how concerned she would be once she woke up more, how concerned she would be that Obsidian was tending to her instead of her own father and mother. She gulped down the drink, frowning and squinting her eyes at the... Fishy taste. But as soon as she finished it, she felt the throbbing in her head already begin to lessen.

"Why do I feel like I just drank a fish?"

"It's seaweed." A voice from the door explained. Carmen turned her head more carefully this time, and frowned when she saw Lilli standing there. "Obi dear, thank you, but I believe I should talk to Carmen alone."

He nodded, carefully took the empty glass and straw from Carmen, and then departed the room. Lilli took his seat, sitting next to Carmen.

She didn't say anything for a few moments, until she exploded. "Do you know how stupid you are, doing that?! You could've died!"

"I wasn't aware you cared," Carmen's eyes narrowed. She was waking up more, remembering more clearly the events right before she smacked her head into a rock. "People who kidnap other people generally aren't focused on that person's best interests."

She scoffed. "I'm your mother-"

"Mother's can still kidnap their children." Carmen shot back. "I'm on your ship, aren't I?" She waited for her to correct her, to tell her, no, she was actually a decent person who got her actual medical help. But she didn't, and Carmen tried to get up.

"Lay down," she snapped, grabbing Carmen's arm.

Carmen shook her off. "Don't touch me." Her tone was rabid. She tried to stride past the other woman and go onto the deck, but she staggered and Lilli grabbed her arm to support her.

"I said don't touch me," she spat. She was more sure of her feet this time, and she leaned against the wall as she staggered out of the room. She was hardly aware of Lilli following her, and was shocked when she looked at the receding ocean behind the ship. There was no sign of Tila- no sign of her home.

Lilli again tried to touch Carmen- this time her shoulder, but Carmen shook her off. She felt cold, salty tears trace paths down her cheeks and hastily brought her hand up to brush them away.

With determined steps she walked back into the room. She didn't wait for Lilli. She slammed the door behind her and sank down to the floor, leaning against it. She let the tears trek down her cheeks, but she didn't let herself make a sound- she wouldn't let Lilli know how upset she was. Carmen bit down on her lip until red streaks of blood dribbled down her face alongside the clear tears. She wiped them away, and then buried her face in her arms.

Outside the room, still on the deck, Lilli sighed and then, after a pause, let out a scream of anger. She swore under her breath and pulled at her auburn hair. "What a stupid, stupid girl! Ungrateful to everything we're offering her, everything I'm offering her..."

She took in huge gasping and ragged breaths, as if trying to get her anger under control and regain her composure. After a moment, she did, and as quick as the boiling rage had been there, it had been replaced by cool elegance. She straightened out her hair and strolled over nonchalantly to her husband. "Obsidian?"

"Hm?" Obsidian jumped at the sound of his wife's approaching figure. He wasn't afraid of her- no, he could never be- but she did startle him when she had those fits of rage. They came and went so quickly that he couldn't help but be startled. He was more frightened of what the children must have thought. They seldom saw her anger, and he couldn't imagine what they thought after witnessing it. It was not good for them to see her like that. He couldn't help but think they'd be frightened after seeing it. And it was not healthy for them to fearful of their own mother.

"Keep the ship at this pace. And please have Iz bring Carmen her dinner later. We don't need her to starve and nearly drown on the same day." Lilli explained. "And it'll be good for them to 'bond'."

"At this rate, we won't get there until the end of the summer. Mid August, maybe." Obsidian reminded her carefully. "We'll miss the twins birthday."

"When did they ever want us there anyway, Obi? They hate me, you know. They always have." She paused. "Though they'll miss Izzria, Joei and Sidi."

"They always do." Obsidian nodded. "And they do not hate you. You're their mother, they could never hate you-"

"Do not lie to me Obi." Lilli exclaimed cooly. "They've hated me since they were children. They grew up hating me. It grew stronger within them every day. Especially Jaya. She hates me for everything I am trying to help her to accomplish. Ivy is just bitter that she can never leave and see the world." She paused. "I hated my own mother for that very same reason, so I cannot blame her. Only Jaya. She is so ungrateful to everything that I'm trying to help her to achieve..."

"She doesn't understand yet. She will." He tried to convince her. "Why don't you let Carmen cool down before you go talk to her again?"

Lilli frowned. "Why do you think-"

"I know you, Lilli." Obsidian glanced at his wife. "Give her some time."

She rolled her eyes. "She's just a girl. She'll come around. We have ten times the amount her other family had to offer her. An impoverished island life? We can give her everything they could not. Security, stability." She paused. "She'll come around."

"She may not."

"She will!" Lilli slammed her hands on the wall.

"Of course dear." Obsidian answered.

"I'll be in my room if you need me." Lilli exclaimed sharply, and walked away.

Obsidian sighed, but continued his focus on steering the ship as they traveled home.