Academy Island

Afterlife

"Marie!"

Waves tugged at my hair, wet and cold splashing against my chin as I tread water and spun, looking for Marie's dark head. The sinking ship creaked and the sound of rushing water was fantastic from inside it as it was dragged under by it's own weight. It's heavy presence in the water was the only solid thing in a world of constant movement and flowing, the sea making it's own kind of sparkling thunder as the waves clapped together, pushed by the wind.

I was breathing in the salty spray too fast, but the only thing that had been safe had just been enveloped by white swirling capped waves, the ocean hungrily gulping the vessel down into it's depths. I watched the ship's shadow sink, trapped air rising to the top and spreading like bulging lacy florets on the deep blue surface of the water. Father. Mother. Marie. I couldn't see them. I clumsily stroked my spread arms to right myself, being pushed in so many directions by the waves. I was alone out here. No one else had made it out, even though I was so sure they had leapt when I did.

Scanning waves, one after the other, rising and falling in a chaotic pattern, I cried out jubilantly when I spotted both Mother and Marie, too far out from where I swam to hear me. I rode the next wave happily, already on my way to join them, glancing around for Father too. If they were out he would surely be. I just had to keep looking, keep my hope up. My smile failed me, disappearing with the heads of Marie and Mother under a powerful dark wave. They didn't reappear after it had passed over them and continued towards me, eager to take me too. I turned and swam for my life, crying out when the wave took me from behind, rushing over my head and stealing my breath. Hands grabbed at me, shaking my shoulders, touching my face. I grasped at a shirt, pulling the body to me, Father. We were going to drown together. He touched my face again, brushing my hair away with an unfamiliar hand.

"Come on, Sweetie. You can do it. Just take a breath."

I opened my eyes in the water, surprised, and gasped.

I wasn't in the water at all. Sunshine made even brighter by reflecting sand surrounded me, and right in front of me, his white shirt gathered tightly in my trembling fists, was a blond, curly haired man cupid. I searched his eyes, light green, rimmed with gold, worried. So this was the afterlife. It was stupid that I still felt dizzy and had an aching ankle when I was dead.

"That's it. Breath."

I obediently took a more calm breath, emulating the way he was showing me how. When I had it he smiled, pleased.

"Excellent. Nathan, hand me that skein, will you?"

I tried to turn where he was looking, my senses and memory coming back at the mention of the last person who had carried me, but he held my head still, opening my eyelid with a thumb so he could look at my eye. I attempted to blink but couldn't.

"She's severely dehydrated. Slight fever. Where have you been getting your water, and when was the last time you drank?"

He released my eyelid and reached behind me. I stared dumbly at him for a moment, trying to keep up even though I wanted to go back to sleep. He pulled the top off of a gourd shaped leather bag and urged it under my mouth, offering it.

Water.

I let go of his shirt and was only able to gulp a bit down before the nausea forced me to stop. I lifted a forearm to my dripping mouth, terrified I couldn't drink any more than that when I needed it so badly. He took the skein from me and recapped it, handing it back to Nathan. Muscles appeared beside me, kneeling in the sand where I sat so he could peer into my face. I gave the skein he held a longing look. Thinking about how I had begged him to put me down flushed my cheeks with warmth. I hadn't really gotten off on the right foot with any of them. I glanced back up at Cupid who was still waiting on my answer with more patience than I'd ever been shown. His shirt was all crumpled from my grabbing. Nice. Another bad first impression. I was really on a roll.

"Yesterday, late. I drank from your lagoon."

The corners of his mouth tightened and he shared a glance with Nathan. "Straight? You didn't do anything to it first?"

I closed my eyes at the memory. The water had been pure heaven and I hadn't thought beyond quenching the torment. "Yes."

Footsteps ran up and I heard the familiar voice of the man that had given me the piggy back ride. He was breathing heavily, trying to get his words in between gasps for air, something about being relieved. I turned slowly to face him better, afraid to set off another bout of dizzy by moving too quickly. He held to his knees, bent forward as he tried to catch his breath.

"She's awake. Thank goodness. Kota's on his way back...with the others. Tiger swam off."

"What tiger? Who...where did that come from?"

I let myself untwist back towards the newcomer and noted that he was gaping at the others admitting they didn't know before dropping my eyes to the sand. I felt responsible somehow. It was me the cat had gone after in the first place, probably because I was weak and covered in blood. I brought one of my hands over to tug at the sleeve of the offending shirt I wore. I needed to get clean, before I brought another tiger out of the woodwork. I felt sand shift at my leg and looked up to see Cupid bent over my bound ankle, inspecting it curiously. He put his hand on my shin and began running it down towards the injury, making me stiffen. I'd had it messed with enough. His eyes darted all over above and below the swollen area, an air of knowing what he was doing about him. He made a little sound like he'd found what was wrong and looked me square in the eye.

"It's dislocated. I'm going to try to put it back into place before we move you. Do you think you can stand it?"

I really, really didn't want him to play around with it, more so didn't want to get moved again. Thinking about it made me more aware of the pain that I honestly didn't want to get worse by getting it grinded and twisted around back into place. Something in his face, confidence maybe, told me I could trust him though. I gritted my teeth, trying to keep them from chattering while I spat out my answer.

"Do it."

He nodded cheerfully to me and the men on either side of me. "Here we go."

I didn't want to see what he was doing and closed my eyes. Strong bracing arms wrapped immediately around from behind and a hand slipped into mine, a thumb brushing along my palm. Intense pain shot through my rolling ankle and up my leg right before a sickly pop jolted surprised relief of the pain I'd been enduring. My mouth fell open and I shared wide eyed looks with them all, disbelieving that the agony could disappear so quickly and almost completely. There was only little twinges, nothing in comparison. I wiggled my toes, delighted that I could without suffering. Nathan sat down hard in the sand, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Thank god. I thought it was broken. It was bent so weirdly."

Cupid tsked as he bent to examine the rest of my feet and thankful ankle. He looked so happy to be looking over my cuts and bruises, his soft curls blowing every which way in the wind. Everything about him glowed, his light shirt only adding to the effect. Even his face was heart shaped. I giggled and his head shot up, eyebrows arching up in surprise. I was surprised myself, when I admitted out loud what I was thinking.

"You really do look like a full grown Cupid."

He was quick to crack a smile, mocking shooting an arrow into my heart. The men kneeling and sitting beside me laughed and I put a hand over my breast, laughing at myself and the mistake I had made at the first sight of him.

"I thought I had died when I first saw you. I'm so glad I was wrong."

I giggled again, alone this time, and pulled my other hand out of a stilled grasp to cover my eyes. For some reason they were filling with tears. One dripped down over my upper lip while I struggled to keep the giggles giggles. It had been a hard day. I had to laugh it off and be grateful, or I would cry.