So this is the chapter that I (and probably most of you) have been waiting for! I'm so excited to finally be able to post it! It's a little short, but it's worth it. Enjoy!
I was surrounded by water on all sides of me. I was completely submerged in it. I looked around, but could see no land anywhere in the distance. Just water that seemed to go on forever. I felt my lungs beginning to burn. I would need to take a breath soon, but I seemed to be fine for the moment.
I looked up and saw a distorted view of Killian looking down at me. I waved my arms to try to reach the surface, but I couldn't move. My leg was caught by some seaweed. I opened my mouth and tried to scream, but no sound escaped my lips. The pressure in my lungs was increasing exponentially as water flooded into my mouth.
I woke up and realized I actually had been screaming in real life. I stopped screaming, but I couldn't get my heart to stop racing. I heard a pounding, and I thought at first it was my heart but soon realized someone was knocking on my door. Barely aware of my surroundings, I saw out of the corner of my eye the door burst open, and Killian rushing through. He looked worried. I sat up in my bed and hugged my knees to my chest.
"I heard you screaming," Killian said. He was breathing heavily; he must have run all the way from his room. "What happened?"
I shrugged. My voice was almost silent when I answered, "it was just a bad dream. I'm fine."
Killian almost laughed. "You most certainly are not fine!" He walked over to the small couch next to my bed. He sat down and leaned forward, squinting his eyes at me for a moment before relaxing slightly. "What was your nightmare about?"
"Same as it always is," I whispered.
"Which is..." he prompted.
I pulled my knees closer in to my chest and sighed.
"I'm absolutely terrified of drowning." I paused, figuring that if I started talking about it, I might not be able to stop. I took a deep breath and continued. "My parents died out at sea when I was five. Ever since then I've had nightmares of it. I've never been able to go on a boat since. Which is kind of frustrating when you live on an island."
I looked over to see how Killian was reacting to my story. He was staring at me as though he had never seen me before.
"So after your parents... you know... the king took you in as a daughter." I nodded. Killian smiled. "So is that why you don't really like all the parties and dresses?"
I smiled. "Yeah, I guess." I took another deep breath and realized that my heart had gone back almost to normal. But I still didn't think that I would be able to sleep very well.
Killian looked like he was still trying to work something out in his mind. "So the other night in the kitchen, what scared you? We weren't near any deep water."
My body shuddered involuntarily. My mind began thinking of that night, of when I'd seen a harmless little spider washed down to its death in the pipe system. I opened my mouth, about to explain to Killian, but the words wouldn't come out.
Killian noticed my hesitation and sat next to me on my bed. He put his arm around my shoulder comfortingly. "It's okay, you don't have to explain right now. Just forget about it."
I rested my head against Killian. I suddenly felt safer than I'd ever felt before, even after the king had brought me into his home off the streets.
I felt tired, like I wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer. I felt myself drifting off into a deep sleep, but I was no longer worried about having another nightmare. I felt safe and free in Killian's arms.
When I fell asleep, I was underwater again in the same situation as before. But this time my leg was not caught in seaweed. I swam to the surface to a smiling Killian. He pulled me into his boat and into his arms. In the dream, I wasn't afraid of the water, which was an odd feeling for me. The two of us sailed off towards the sunset, to a new land promising a new life and adventure.
Awww, wasn't that adorable? Please review, let me know what you think! I'm thinking that the next chapter will just jump straight to the ball, even though it said it was a few days away, I hope that doesn't make anyone mad. Anyway, thank you so much for reading this far I have been waiting so long to share this scene with everyone! I'll try to post the next chapter within the next day or so, so see you soon!
