I woke up to the sound of wood stairs groaning above me.
I slowly opened my eyes. Everything was covered in a strange, blue moonlight.
I felt the whole floor moving beneath me. It took a moment to realize I was on a boat.
I was far away from everything I knew.
The air in the room was thick and damp. It tasted like salt and old wood.
The only light came from a small, round window above my head. Outside, the waves slapped against the side of the boat over and over.
I tried to move, but the heavy metal rattled. I was in chains.
I wasn't able to move an inch.
I tried to remember. I searched my mind, but I couldn't remember anything.
I didn't know how I came here. My past was a wall of black fog.
Every time I tried to think, my head started to throb. My wrists were red and sore from the iron rubbing my skin. The chains were bolted deep into the heavy floorboards.
Then, I heard a huge THUD.
It felt like the whole ocean went quiet with that noise. The world became still.
I saw a tall figure standing in front of me
As he came forward, his eyes came across that blue moonlight. I saw diamonds in his eyes.
He was almost unreal. His hair, his height—it was almost unbelievable.
"Did I disturb your sleep, love?"
I heard this deep voice coming straight from his throat.
His voice didn't sound human; it sounded like the earth cracking open. It was smooth but heavy, filling the tiny room until I could barely breathe. He stood so still it was like he wasn't even breathing.
"Who—are—you?"
He suddenly, in a blink of a second, was three inches away from my face.
"Shhhh."
He put his finger on my lips.
His smell—he smells like powder of bullets mixed with smoke.
I don't know what bullets smell like, but with this smell, I think I'm close.
He continued, tilting his head with a little smirk.
"I know you have so many questions, love. But don't waste your tiny little brain in a mess. I will give you answers when we reach."
His face was perfect, like a statue carved by a master. Even his smirk felt like a trap, beautiful but sharp enough to cut. I could feel the heat coming off his body, mixed with the smell of a winter fire.
He looked at me like he already owned every part of me. I wanted to look away, but his diamond eyes held me frozen.
Reach where? I said in my brain.
But it looks like that was a whisper, and he heard it.
He gave a little chuckle before standing and walking towards the moon.
I can see his back. It is very wide.
He said, "Look."
I saw a castle behind the woods.
It felt so unreal that I almost thought it was a nightmare.
"It's Erebus. Our home."