mercy <<>> the originals

eighteen

| queen (n): the female ruler of an independent state, especially one who inherits the position by right of birth |

   MERCY WAS DROWNING.

Both figuratively and physically, she was choking, flashes of blood, of fire, and of Noah's dead body circling her brain like an endless and cruel carousel. She rode on this ride of horror, reliving the moment over and over and over again. It happened so fast, and she had used her magic without hesitation, hoping to help.

Yet she only made things considerably worse.

She gasped, feeling freezing water fill her throat and lungs. It was a shocking difference to the fire that surrounded her just moments ago in the bayou, and she grew disoriented, twisting and spazzing to try and figure out where the surface was. It felt like a never-ending sea of darkness, but she could see a distant light in the middle of it all, and she swam toward it.

Panic consumed her; would she even make it? Did she want to? The guilt of Noah was plaguing her like a sickness, and each second that passed was an excruciating reminder that she was alive, and he was dead. She was the murderer, and he was nothing but a victim that unnecessarily stumbled across her path. She had his blood all over her hands, and it belonged there. She almost wanted to stop in the water, and let the drowning swallow her, but something deep inside wouldn't allow it. Perhaps it was self-preservation, but Mercy had a feeling that it was connected to something else.

She pushed her arms against the water. Her lungs were on fire, and spots danced across her vision like graceful ballerinas. Between them, she saw the hole of light, so similar to the circle of the full moon in the bayou, and she reached toward it weakly.

She gasped and spluttered, choking on the water as her hair stuck to her face. It wasn't cold when she pulled herself out, but the freezing waters had chilled her to the bone. She wrapped her arms around herself and fell out of the hole onto her side, teeth chattering together loudly. Her chest heaved, getting as much oxygen into her system as was humanly possible. She pressed her right temple into the ground, fluttering her eyes open to try and understand where, exactly, she was.

She had been in pain, remembering the turning and how badly it hurt when her arm and leg cracked and reformed the structure there. She remembered the circle of fire separating her from Lucy and Caesar Day. She remembered that they were turning under the moon as well. She remembered Noah's unmoving body. Noah...

She sat up, and immediately felt lightheaded. She laid a hand on the ground, bending her knees in order to rest her forehead against them. She tried to focus on her breathing, but it was shaking with each inhale. Her entire body trembled, and Mercy clenched her eyes shut, wishing that everything she remembered had been some kind of sick nightmare.