Chapter 17: Battling the Waters
I was unsure how much time had passed-- it was already noon, though, by the look of the things, and the Viscount had once again disappeared behind me. I heaved a happy sigh, and continued walking; determined to get off the blasted forest, and begin the journey across the ocean by mid-afternoon.
I was still just about bursting with adrenaline from defeating the Viscount, and keeping myself free of his madness. It was then that I realized that I was walking around without a shirt on, so I forced myself to end my brisk pace so that I could slip into another shirt; the one I had been wearing the previous day was now lying torn and filthy on the ground-- maybe the Viscount had taken it for some sick souvenir of what could have been. I shuddered at the very thought, and quickened my pace, after making sure that my new shirt was completely buttoned up in the front.
I longed to be back in Matthew's arms now more than ever. I felt so utterly alone and deserted. Jessica had betrayed me to the Viscount, and I had nearly been raped by him in the aftermath-- the experience had deeply scarred me for it was such a frightening thing to think of-- those disturbing "what-ifs?" that remained in my mind… It was so surprising to realize that not even a week ago, I was with Matthew, feeling safe and protected from every single possible type of danger imaginable-- but everything had changed so suddenly with his disappearance. And although I had been so angered by being left in the dark concerning everything, I would trade back everything I now knew to have him reunited with me, and return home, and stay there for good. I had learned so much from all of my outer worldly experiences, and I somehow sensed that after having found Matthew again, it would be my last adventure. I didn't give a damn though. I just wanted him back in my arms.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After nearly a day of walking, I found myself at last out of the forest.
I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the sun directly upon my face, and the warm grains of sand between my toes, as I had long ago discarded my shoes-- preferring traveling barefoot as long as I wasn't in a desert, as I had been before. I walked closer towards the blue body of water that was the ocean-- I felt a sudden twang of homesickness at seeing such a place after so long, and wanted to cry out for not being there with Matthew anymore. But, the truths that were well-hidden in the form of the prophecy lay on the other side, so I was indeed eager to get across the ocean. And fast.
I broke my gaze away from the ocean, and looked to my left; there it was-- the path that Matthew had been bewitched to tell me to take. Seeing it and knowing what I now knew filled me with utter dread-- who knew what lay within it? It looked harmless, but I knew that it was full of dangers-- as I stated earlier, taking it would surely lead me to death.
I took in a deep breath, catching the sweet fragrance of salt. I loved the ocean, but this time, it was different. I had to construct a raft of some sort to make my way across it, and since I was altogether inexperienced with such matters, I needed to become an expert at it pretty quickly. Thankfully, I still had the ax and the rope, so my task would not be altogether impossible. I stared at one of the heavy branches that made up one of the many trees of the forest, and with one fatal swish through the air with the ax; I saw it fall to my feet.
Splitting it right down the middle, I felt-- knew that this wouldn't be the easiest thing to accomplish.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eventually, I had cut down nearly twenty branches, had split them right down the middle, and had begun tying them together with pieces of rope.
It didn't take as long as I would have at first imagined, so, before I knew it, I had completed the construction of the raft, and the only thing left was to make sure it would float.
Once again, I stared out into the sea. The waters were raging; it was obviously high tide or something-- thanking my lucky stars that I had been an excellent swimmer all my life, I gently pushed the raft, and watched with baited breath as it steadied itself and floated.
Wanting to sing a song for my joy, I quickly ran into the sea, and hopped onboard. My extra weight nearly caused the raft to sink, but after having stabled it once again by balancing myself in the very center, I took out an extra branch I had brought along, and began to row away from the beach just as the sun began to set.
The wind was blowing through my hair, and the horizon looked much brighter than it had ever before. I was reaching my goal, and I knew it. I only hoped that by the time I reached him, Matthew would still be alive…
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Night soon came, and with it, the urge to sleep once more.
So, having decided that the wind would be able to guide me throughout the night to the other side, I set down the branch I had been using to row, and lay down. My eyes shut, and I drifted off into the uncertainty of sleep…
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My eyes snapped open while it was still dark, and I discovered that there was a storm. Rain fell from the angry gray skies, and I was soaked through and through. I gasped in astonishment as the harsh waters forced me under, and I choked on seawater. My raft was sturdy, however, and soon bobbled above the surface again, but nonetheless, I was screwed, and I knew that because of the harsh angry winds, and the amount of rain, I would easily be blown off course.
I panicked, and cried out in anger. I needed help-- but there was no one to rescue me, of course. I could not write to the Queen or to REHtoMna, as the sheets of parchment I had been given had become soaked and soggy; utterly unusable. I screamed in anger, and tossed the dripping papers into the churning waters of the sea.
I was helpless. Completely and utterly helpless. The stone around my neck glowed warmly, as I shivered, and I thanked it silently for providing a bit of comfort in all the chaos.
Waves were hitting me left and right; a very strong one in particular slapped me across the face, and I thought for a moment or two that I would lose unconsciousness again, but, thankfully, this was not the case, and my eyes remained wide open, although they were constantly stung by salty seawater that made them redden.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" I screamed; I wanted the storm to pass-- but I knew that it wouldn't let up just for me-- oh, no. It would keep up until it had successfully overturned and destroyed my raft once and for all, and had drowned me, so that I would be nothing but a floating and bloated corpse that a local fisherman would find in a month or two. No, I thought, Fuck no… I am not going to let that shit happen-- I am going to brave this storm, and I will survive to see Matthew again-- and see the birth of our daughter.
I steadied myself upon the raft, and forced both my hands into the freezing-cold water. I was not going to give up without a fight; the answers to the questions I had pondered for nearly three years lay somewhere on the other side of the ocean, and I would live to uncover them, and learn their truths for myself before the shaska could try to intervene and prevent it. I would not let them win-- and I would not let that sickening Viscount win by being reassured that I wouldn't be around any longer to expose him for what he truly was.
I had to make it. I had to push forward with every fiber of my being, and succeed in crossing the damn ocean. I had made it through deserts and forests, and I was not going to let a small amount of water-- well, not small, but you get the point-- I was not going to let a small amount of water kill me before I could finish what had been started.
The waves continued to crash over my body, but I wouldn't-- couldn't let them stop me. It didn't matter in the long run-- nothing did. I would emerge from this battle triumphant. I simply had to for the wellbeing of all-- including Matthew, myself, and our child. I closed my eyes in deep concentration, Don't worry, baby love-- we'll make it. We'll make it there, I opened them once again, and smiled a warm smile; I had taken to speaking to the child, although I knew it couldn't hear me as it wasn't that far along in the developmental stage, but I didn't give a damn about that. It comforted me to talk to it-- to reassure it, although it didn't have a clue about what was going on.
The smile wiped from off of my face, as I placed all of my attention on getting to the other side-- for I could actually see a small stretch of beach that would lead me to everything I sought now-- I decided to discard the raft, and swim the rest of the way.
Making sure I still had my pouch with me (for the clothes would have uses once again when dry), I leapt from off of the raft, and watched in stunned silence as the waves embraced it, and tore it apart; the branches and the rope fell apart from each other, and continued to float just above the surface of the water. I took in a deep gulp of air, and allowed myself to be pushed towards the shore by the extremely strong undertow.
Moments later, the swift journey complete, I lay dazed and confused, slipping away into unconsciousness on the sandy beach.