Chapter 26 Going Home
The hallway leading from Celia's room to the exit was very short, only a few feet. However, Celia purposely took her sweet sweet time to travel down it. Her stomach ached and stung, her palms were clammy. Shudders ran up and down her back as she made her way to the outside.
When she finally did get there, she was greeted by the sight of Roy, smiling up a storm. The grin on his face made Celia feel a little better, as she wasn't used to being smiled at in that way. However, it didn't get rid of her anxiety. At this point, nothing would get rid of her anxiety.
"You ready?"
The answer that she wanted to give him was no, but she knew that he wouldn't accept that. "Yeah. I'm ready."
"Good!" Roy gestured for her to follow him, and he led her to the back of the hospital. Celia was a little confused by this, but her confusion cleared away when she saw something that made her heart stop. It was a motorcycle. It was coated with an orange paint job and multiple advertisements for some businesses, and it glistened in the sunlight.
"We're….are we going to ride that?" she asked.
"Yep!" Roy said. He went up to the motorcycle and patted its seat. "It's going to get us to the Mushroom Kingdom extra fast."
Celia hesitated, stuttering as she did so. "I….I don't….I don't think…." Her anxiety was increasing beyond wha ly she could handle. She put her hand to her chest, trying to get her breathing under control.
"Don't worry; it'll be fine!" said Roy. "This baby is used all the time in Mario Kart races. It can handle any terrain you can throw its way." He approached her. "And I'll be the one driving. You can trust me to drive, right?"
While Celia didn't know anything about Roy's driving skills, at most only being able to speculate, this admittedly did make her feel a little better. Roy was someone she could trust, after all. After all he had done for her, she trusted him with her life.
So, Celia sighed. "Yes. Yes I can."
"Good," Roy said. He hopped on the bike and patted the seat behind him. Celia squeezed in and held onto his back. Despite the spikes on his shell, she actually felt really comfortable gripping onto him, like she was putting on a very snug, comfortable glove.
"Okay!" Roy turned on the engine and revved up the bike. "Mushroom Kingdom, here we come!"
He pulled out. Celia gripped onto him as she watched the ground move. It almost seemed like it was running away from her, getting ready to hurdle her into a massive chasm. She gulped as Roy sped up. She decided not to focus on the moving earth, but rather, Roy himself. She gripped onto his shell. It really was comfortable, really was safe.
Despite some bumps in the road here and there, the ride went smoothly. Celia could see multiple towns be left in the dust. There was of course Stonebrim, with its drab buildings and miserable people. Once they left that place, they found themselves in a town called Amber. Amber was less depressing than Stonebrim, but considering it was on flat, barren ground, nothing really stood out about it. After leaving Amber, they travelled for a few miles until they reached Twompville. They didn't actually enter because it was heavily guarded, but Celia could see the interesting, stone crafted architecture as she passed by the borders. It gave her a very "ancient civilization" vibe.
"You excited about seeing your mom?" Roy asked once they were a good distance away from Thwompville.
Celia seized up, almost falling off the motorcycle in the process. She tightly gripped Roy's shell again, which at this point was like her security blanket. "No."
"No?" Roy's tone was beyond confused. "Why not? She's your mom!"
"I know that!" Celia said. She looked out at the moving terrain, despite knowing the fact that it could cause her to throw up. Even if she didn't look at it, her stomach squirmed so much that she would probably throw up anyway.
"Is your mom evil?" Roy asked.
"No."
"Is she ugly?"
"No!"
"Is she an assassin for hire or something?"
"No! What kind of question is that?"
"It's just a question," said Roy. He gripped the handle of the motorcycle, speeding up as he did so. "So, if she's none of those things, why don't you want to see her?"
Celia was silent. She recalled when she had last been with Ruby. It was six years ago. It had been two weeks after her tenth birthday. Celia had just been walking around the house in the middle of the night, trying to get a glass of water from the kitchen. When she did, she found Ruby sobbing in her room. She hadn't actually seen her, but the sound she produced that night was so strong and so sad that it prompted Celia to feel sad herself. She was the reason why her mother was crying. She was the reason why her life was hard. She was the reason none of her dreams came true.
So, that very night, Celia had run away. There was just too much pain in that house, in that life. She did not want to live in it any longer. She didn't want to ever return.
And now, she was doing just that.
"Celia?"
Celia did a double take as she was dragged back down to reality. She looked at Roy before sighing. She figured she might as well answer the question.
"It's just been so long since I've seen her."
"Oh. That makes sense." Roy cast her a smile. "But I'm sure she will be happy to see you again!"
Celia nodded, but she didn't actually agree with him. She couldn't. After all, how could she possibly face her Mom after letting her down and hurting her so badly?
"I guess you're right." The only reason she said that was because her tongue forced her to.
The two of them continued to ride. One thing that Celia noticed was that dusk started to settle in the closer they got to the Mushroom Kingdom. The sky turned a glowing periwinkle, stained with pink along the horizon. Eventually, when the sky turned navy, Roy could no longer see the road in front of him. So, they stopped in a town called Sparksville. Roy led her to a hotel called the Fiery Lotus. It looked pretty fancy, more fancy than Celia had had the privilege of staying at or experiencing. Thankfully, Roy had plenty of money (he was royalty, after all). The two managed to get a very nice, very hygienic room. The bed, with its swirling periwinkle pattern, looked so comfortable. So, so comfortable.
"Okay," said Roy. He gestured toward the bathroom. "If you want, you can take a shower. Or a bubble bath; hotel bubble baths are the best there are."
"That's okay," Celia said with a yawn. "I'll do that in the morning; I just want to sleep right now."
"Oh. Okay." Roy grabbed a towel from the closet. "I guess that means more bubble baths for me." He laughed like a seal as he closed the door.
Celia sighed as she sat down on her bed. It was a long day, a very long day. She really wanted to sleep, to drift off into dreamland for a good 12 hours. So, she pulled the covers up and closed her eyes.
Unfortunately, the sleep she experienced would prove to be one of the worst she had in a while.