Chapter 20
The next time I woke up, I was shivering, practically freezing. I made an attempt to pull the blanket up further, but that was very hard with my hands still tied. So I lay on the cot, shivering, hoping that my captors would somehow see how cold I was and come try to warm me up. They seemed to have thought everything out, and they seemed to know a lot about me, and mermaids as a whole. So, they should have known not to let me become cold, unless they were doing it on purpose. Mermaids can’t last long in the cold; our bodies are built for the warm tropical waters. I had no idea whether the room was actually as cold as I thought, or if the cold I was feeling was some sort of side effect of the medicine. If it was, I knew that it might be a while before anyone came to check on me.
Speaking of the medicine, I had a feeling that it wasn’t working as well on me as it should. Although I felt dizzy, I knew that I was much too coherent for them. Shivering, I realized that if I wanted to keep from being drugged more, I would need to try and act like I was still confused and disoriented. That is, if someone actually came to check on me.
Not knowing what else to do, and trying to keep my mind off of my situation, I curled tightly in a ball onto the cot to try and conserve body heat. Closing my eyes, I wished that my hands were untied, if only so I could wrap my arms around myself. I knew that I was visibly shivering at that point, and after a little while I could think of nothing except how cold I was. I knew that mermaids couldn’t stand the cold, I had been taught that from a young age, but I had never learned how long it took in the cold for a mermaid to die. I was terrified that if they didn’t come to check on me soon, I might find out.
On top of the freezing cold, I came to realize my growing hunger as well. I groaned, just barely managing to roll onto my side without falling off the cot. I knew that my captors didn’t care whether or not I was comfortable, but I had hoped that they at least wanted me alive. Surely, I figured, they would at least bring me food soon. Then they would see how cold I was, and do something to raise my body temperature. Knowing my luck though, they probably would arrive just after I died from the cold.
After that, I drifted in and out of consciousness. There was no need for my captors to drug me then, because the cold and the hunger were dulling my senses, lulling me into a fitful sleep. During one of my fully conscious periods, I realized that I had no idea how long it had been since I had eaten, because I had no idea how long I had slept at any given time, or how long I had been tied up on the uncomfortable cot.
Drifting once more, I had become semi-conscious when I suddenly heard a flurry of curse words. I was disoriented and I couldn’t understand why someone would want to curse that much. The words sounded funny to me, and I tried to laugh at them, but what came out sounded more like a low groan. I had no idea why. All I could do was wish they would stop and leave me alone, because I wanted to go back to sleep.
Through the haze of confusion hanging over me I heard a clanking, creaking sound, realizing later that it was the door to my cell. I felt hands shaking me, and vaguely heard a voice calling out to me. I tried to tell the person that it was alright, that I only wanted to sleep some more, but the words just wouldn’t come out.
Finally I realized that I was too tired to stay awake, even when I was being yelled at and shaken. So, I abruptly fell back into the void of unconsciousness.
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“I’m sure that she’s okay Tyson,” Brooke said gently as I paced the room. “Marina is a tough cookie, I guarantee that she won’t be willing to go down without one heck of a fight.”
“Yes,” I said miserably as I paced back and forth. Back and forth. “But she wouldn’t have to put up a fight if it wasn’t for me. If I hadn’t picked a stupid fight over nothing, I would have been walking with her. She wouldn’t have been alone, and I could have protected her, kept her safe,” I said as I paced. Back and forth, forth and back. The idea that I might wear a rut into the floors of our spotless mansion calmed me slightly; mainly knowing that Marina would laugh at the sight of it, probably cracking some joke at my suspense.
“Tyson,” Pierce said, and the tone of his voice implied that he was trying to ‘break through to me,’ as the humans would say. I did not acknowledge him as I paced. Still, he continued. “If you had been there, they probably would have taken you too. You’re going to be king after all. They wouldn’t have passed up the opportunity.” I opened my mouth to reply, but Brooke beat me to it.
“Even if you had stopped them, they would have tried again. They wouldn’t have just given up after failing once. At least now we have you here to help us, and we only have to rescue one of you,” she said, her voice once again the gentlest I had ever heard it. Dimly, I realized that she must have been taking everything hard too; she’d known Marina much longer than I had anyway. However this revelation did nothing to stop the flow of my angry words from coming out.
“And what have we done so far?” I asked, the words coming out harsh and hurtful. “We’ve been sitting here for almost two days, just listening to our parents and waiting to hear what the kidnappers want. Then what?” I asked quickly, my voice rising. I quit pacing entirely now, remaining in the center of the room, staring at my brother and my friend. “Will we just do what they ask, and then forget that any of this ever happened?” I asked, looking between Pierce and Brooke, both of whom looked slightly surprised. “I can’t just forget. I just… can’t,” I finished, my voice finally lowered to the level of a whisper.
Both Brooke and Pierce looked as though they might try and console me, but I couldn’t stand any more consolation. I quickly left the room, almost running away in my haste. Without thinking, I ran directly upstairs and into Marina’s rom, slamming the door shut behind me. Once inside, I put my back to the door and slid down until I was sitting on the flood, my legs sprawled out haphazardly in front of me. My head fell into my hands, and I sat there for a long time, shaking my head slowly, surrounded by the comforting presence that Marina left behind her.
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Tails of My Life
FantasyMarina is a soon-to-be sixteen year old girl who has wished her whole life to just be normal. But how normal of a life can she have when she is a princess, or when she has a big blue tail? She and her friend Brooke have tried their whole lives to be...