A Seahorse Tale

Chapter 27

Kenneth woke up warm and human. He sat up slowly and looked around. He was in a strange room with no windows and very little furniture. The bed he was laying on was hard and there were no sheets. But there were blankets. A couple of them wrapped around him tightly. The pillow was soft and there was a glass of water by his bed. He reached for it quickly, gulping it back as he realised how dry his mouth actually was. He pulled the blankets tighter and tried to stand up.

Tried to. As he went to move his legs, he heard the clang of chains and his feet couldn't move far at all. Shifting the blankets, he found his ankles had been cuffed and chained to the bottom of the bed. He gulped and closed his eyes, lying down again. 

He was in deep trouble.

"Yes, you are," Endotuer's voice agreed with his thoughts, not from within his mind like normal but echoing from outside of the room. "How are you feeling?" he asked a touch softer, appearing in the doorway looking dark and looming with a steaming mug in his hands. "You really should know better than to jump into the ocean when it's cold," he scolded. 

"I..." Kenneth shivered and pulled the blankets closer. "I don't know?" he offered cautiously. His stomach was turning strangely, his chest felt numb and his limbs were trembling. His head ached and that was before he focused on his emotional state. 

"Hum," Endotuer hummed, walking over. He sat on the bench and passed the mug to Kenneth. He accepted it, looking down. It was tea. He swallowed and looked up at Endotuer. "Drink," the merman ordered, a hand lifting to touch Kenneth's cheek. "The whiskey stopped the magic today but it will return tomorrow. That also means that you won't heal properly until tomorrow either," he explained, still speaking in that gentle tone. It wasn't forgiveness. It was acknowledgement Kenneth was fragile at the moment. 

Kenneth bit his lip and nodded. He took a sip, wincing as the liquid hit the back of his throat. It was sore. He rubbed his neck and lowered the drink. "How long was I out?" he asked, really not wanting to sit in silence. Even the mental link in his head was quiet, not much passing through. It was unnerving. It felt too much like waiting for the sword to drop and behead him. 

"Couple of minutes. I got you out of the water quickly," Endotuer said gently, hand lower to rub Kenneth's legs. "Not taking you to a doctor. As I said, tomorrow when the magic comes back, you'll heal up. You'll have to deal with the uncomfortableness for now," he scolded almost parentally. Kenneth almost smiled at the tone. It was almost reassuring. Whatever Endotuer had planned, Kenneth would survive it. 

"What happened to Robert?" Kenneth asked, braving another sip of tea. It was starting to cool and that was making it easier to swallow. 

"That is a conversation for later," Endotuer said tensely. "It should be obvious today, your gambit failed and he was captured. As for what happens now," he trailed off. "When you are stronger," he settled with. "Ennitt is also suffering for your deeds too if you care," he said his voice starting to grow dark. Anger was starting to build in the back of his mind now. Almost hauntingly.

Kenneth shuddered, putting the mug down. That sounded ominous for different reasons "Is he okay?" he asked seriously. There had been many things he had been hoping to accomplish but hurting Ennitt had not really been one.