Destiny Island

Chapter 23

Swept off his feet

Royce wasn't sure how it happened, one moment he and Ignacio were talking about all they had been through, the next moment he was all alone, standing in the middle of an enormous cave. It was the strangest cave he had ever seen and it reminded him more of a tunnel than anything else. The reason for that was the fact that he could see some dim light in the distance from both sides of it. He couldn't help but wonder how he ended up in the middle of a strange tunnel-like cave. Just moments before, he was on the road with Ignacio. Thinking about Ignacio, he started turning around, looking for his friend. Ignacio wasn't there. Through the whole ordeal, they went through all the difficulties together, and Royce couldn't understand that he was all alone, in an unfamiliar place. Royce was not a coward but being all alone, in a mysterious place, made him feel very uncomfortable. His piercing green eyes widened as he listened for any strange sounds. As his pupil widened, the little brown dot in his left eye was even larger as he scanned the place for any signs of danger. He felt so out-of-place in there. What with his spiky brown hair with blue tips and all his piercings. In the movies he saw, where something similar to his situation happened, the main characters were never guys whose noses had small round earrings or earrings on their left brows. At least he wasn't wearing his usual spiky necklace and bracelet since he put them in the bag before they left the fairy village. There he was, possibly in danger, and he was thinking about strange things such as fitting in. He did his best to snap out of his thoughts, and focus on his surroundings.

As he finally looked around, he noticed that although he could see where the tunnel opened up to the daylight, it was much further away than he previously assumed. Around him, it was very dark and every sound seemed ominous. He thought it better to choose which way to go quickly, and just leave. The place gave him a very strange feeling. There wasn't a reason for that, it was just the bad feeling deep down in his gut that told him that he should go. Then something strange happened. Some small glowing insects that reminded him of light bugs, just four times their size, appeared. At first, he wasn't sure if they meant him harm but since he was always a very positive person, he ignored all the bad presentments he had and decided to believe that they were there to help him. They seemed to confirm his words by forming a kind of torch by swarming closer together. That was when he started seeing the surrounding space clearly. He started noting all the strange things about it. The walls were covered with green moss that he was used to finding in other places, not in caves. There was also a sap kind of substance pouring down the walls. It reminded him of a tear slowly rolling down a person's face, but he quickly erased those thoughts from his mind. As he started walking towards what he thought was exit he noticed that the ground he was walking on was smooth and it reflected back his image, the same way a mirror would.

That was the exact moment his anxieties kicked in. In the last few years, he was able to control them relatively well but it was all just too much for him, especially having in mind that he spent most of his life fighting with the fear of losing control. Many people have that kind of fear to a smaller or lesser degree but for him, for a few years, it was more than just a regular fear it was a true phobia. He would get consumed with the fear that if he didn't manage to control the outcome of future events, something terrible would happen. The same feeling that started drowning him at that moment, while he stood all alone in a place that he had no control over. It felt like he didn't have enough air to breathe as his rational thoughts got drowned out by the paralyzing dread. Even in the regular world, he came from, it was difficult for him to deal with the world. It all started when he was younger. He was in a car with a friend, and his friend was driving. They got into a car accident which resulted in his friend's death. Royce never got over his best friend's death. He had a feeling that if he had been in control everything would have been okay. In a way, it seemed to be his mind's way of dealing with the sudden trauma. It was from that day on, that he tried to have total control of everything in his life, and that was no way to live one's life. He was looking for certainty in a world that was always uncertain. Over the years he had learned to let go of the demand for certainty. He managed to let go of unrealistic perfectionism about reality and was finally free to relax. Royce had confronted his angst and won, but after the shipwreck, he could feel himself slipping up. Luckily, Ignacio was there to help him out. He knew about his problems since they had been friends for such a long time. Sometimes, all it took to feel better was arguing with Ignacio since that made him focus his attention on something other than his fears and insecurities. He had a feeling that Ignacio did it on purpose. That he started arguments just to get his mind off of his problems. Now that Ignacio was gone, Royce was truly lost.

As he gripped with his emotions, he tried to remember how to stop or at least control his fear. He remembered that it was all about accepting responsibility, not for the future but for the choices he made. Finally, he was able to remember his calming mantra: "I won't fear the future." He started repeating it over and over until his breathing finally evened out, and he was able to feel like his old self. It was his decision to face the situation head-on and not worry about the future. Nothing was guaranteed, so he had to go on and see what happens. Although he was imperfect and prone to making mistakes he knew he could deal with a bit of magic and with the strange little tunnel-cave. Worry was put away in the small box inside his mind and instead, he focused on the situation at hand.

Only then was he able to see some smaller and bigger holes on the walls that seemed to shelter some kind of animals. Although he was a relatively curious person, he decided that he didn't care to meet those creatures that were more likely than not utterly unusual and possible extremely dangerous. The roof of the cave was entirely blue which he found very strange. Not really interested in finding out what it all was or what it meant he started walking briskly away, eager to seek the comfort of the sun's warm embrace. Instead, he ended up in a different warm embrace. As he was hurrying out of the cave staring at all its peculiarity in awe, he failed to look where he was going. The moment he was exiting the strange little place, he tripped on a big stone and fell right into Jade's embrace. She managed to steady them both, but he did spend a few moments in her firm hold, as she tried to prevent them from tumbling down the cliff side. When he finally regained his balance, he couldn't help but blush. "Thanks. It's good to see a familiar face." He barely managed to say. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. What about Ignacio, where is he?" She said looking around for any sign of him. "I honestly have no idea." Was all Royce could tell her. He was grateful that she didn't mention him being swept off his feet because the truth was that he was swept off his feet the moment he met Jade. He knew it was strange, but he was immediately certain that she was the One. One of the things no one knew about him, was that he believed in true love, and he spent his whole life with the knowledge that when it did happen, it would be love at first sight. He was right, but it seemed that the others hadn't noticed anything unusual, and he wanted it to stay that way. The most important reason for that was the fact that Jade didn't seem interested in him. They told one another what happened to them until that moment, and decided to carry on together which was bitter-sweet for Royce.