CHAPTER 18
Shadows emerge! Drowning in Grief!
Ari opens her eyes and is enveloped in darkness. She peeks over from her spot on the floor and spots a few tiny stars sparkling in the night. Other than their faint light, her room is coated in shadows. Suddenly, the wind picks up and howls through the window, causing a paper from her nightstand to flare up and glide over to rest on her neck. She sits up and secures the worn paper in her hand. She identifies it as her receipt to the Stony Brook Sword Shop and casts it aside to rest on the floor. She massages her neck and head and peers skeptically around the room. She can't help but to quiver at the shadows that seem to cling and cluster around the corners. It's as if they are watching her in silent cognition. They fix her with an intent stare, trying to convey their insight. A chill runs down her spine and the hairs on her neck rise. Suddenly, the chill running through her is met by the stark contrast of a warm puff of breath tickling the back of her neck. She whips her head around and swears that she sees a darker, more prominent shadow retreat back into darkness.
Huh… that's weird… I could've sworn I saw something… and when did I fall asleep anyway? Ari gets off the floor and glances over to the clock on her bedstand. She shakes her head and then looks at it more carefully to make sure that she read it right the first time. Seriously?! It's three in the morning?! Man, I hate getting off of my sleep schedule! Well, might as well try to go back to sleep. She climbs into bed and pulls the covers over her shoulders. She snuggles further into the warm cocoon and awaits a visit from rest, despite her newfound paranoia. She finally feels her eyes drifting down to her cheeks, but as soon as they shut, the image of the shadow woman from her dream is burned once again into her memory and she flings open her eyes. The blankets over her suddenly feel more constricting than welcoming. She shrugs them down her body in a hustle, causing them to gather around her ankles like tight confines around a prisoner. All at once, the entirety of Ari's nightmare comes back to her and she recalls when her feet were even more painfully constricted. She manages to untangle herself from the blankets and hugs a pillow to her chest as a temporary console. She glances this way and that around her room, checking it over and over to make sure that she is, indeed, alone. The shadow I swear I saw moving earlier before I remembered my nightmare… could it just be a figment of my imagination? I must be going nuts!
She sits there a while longer with the pillow crushed against her chest until she decides to get out of bed and head to the kitchen for some comfort fruit.
XXX
It's too bad that there weren't any pomegranates, she thinks to herself as she shuts the palace doors behind her. The chilly night air welcomes her as she wraps her poncho around her more snugly. She steps down the stairs and onto the cool grass as she bites into an apple. The sweet juicy foam gathers in her mouth as she chews. Juicy. She strolls around the palace yard and eventually comes across a set of gates, not unlike the front, at the very back of the palace. These doors, however, had not been knocked down by the reckless pirate captain. Holding the apple in one hand, she creaks one of the gates open using her free hand. There's a tidy, dirt path leading out to a field next to a swamp. She looks back at the palace and debates for a second, before stepping outside the gates and walking along the path. The dirt goes on for a while, before turning into a wooden bridge that is built over the swamp. There are groves of thick trees lining the bridge, blocking out the moonlight. She strolls on the bridge and carefully watches her step as she navigates. Suddenly, the wood gives as she sets down her left foot, causing the faulty plank to fall into the water below. Luckily, she regains balance and is able to right herself back on the bridge without falling in.
She walks a little farther, being more careful this time, and the live trees clear, leaving room for the moonlight to shine through. The trees in the swamp are leafless, their bare branches shamelessly flaunting their visit from death. When she comes to what she estimates to be the center of the bridge, she sits. With the sky completely unfolded before her, the stars can be seen much more clearly. The moon hangs high in the sky, its bright light barely resembling a full moon. Full moons… it brings back memories alright. She shudders at the memory of when she was forced to end her musical career and start anew as a pirate. Pushing the unpleasant memory from her mind, she lays down on the bridge and pulls her poncho back down to her knees as she fights to reminisce about happier times…
It was a clear night, the kind of night that's perfect for sailing. The moon was full and blessed the crew onboard the Grey Symphony with its compelling light. At the same time, the night casted eerie shadows on the face of the figurehead. Pheonix laid in the middle of the deck, with her hands resting behind her head. She closed her eyes and basked in the familiar, breathtaking glow. The captain emerged from her office and came down onto the deck to join her first mate. The air felt like the very definition of peace, smelled of the sea, and carried with it a sailor's home. It was ever-changing and never the same. Flutter often found Pheonix laying out here at night, especially when the moon was at it's fullest.
"It's too bad I can't get any closer to it," Pheonix sighed in both contentment and disappointment.
"Closer to what?" Flutter inquired.
"That." Pheonix stretched out an arm and pointed up to the moon.
"Why not just go up in the crow's nest?"
She shook her head and said, "No, that's not the same." The captain continued pondering what it was her crewmate meant, when she spoke up again, "Back before I was a pirate, the moon would light up my room at night. So I would sneak out, past the rubbage and then into the forest to get a better look. One night, I found an old apple tree standing tall and strong. I decided to climb up to the tallest branch. And so I would sit up there, basking in the moon's glow for hours.
"It became a tradition of sorts. Every night, I would sneak out and look at the moon while I snacked on apples. Eventually, I left my house and made that tree my home instead. Sometimes, I wish I could go back and look at the moon from that height once more."
"You could always visit home. What village are you from?"
Pheonix shook her head again. "That tree was burned down a long time ago."
"I see," Flutter replied, unsure of what else to say. "What about your village?"
Pheonix's face turned still as stone, her lips formed into a grim line as she asserted, "Night, Captain."
And before Flutter could open her mouth to say more, Pheonix disappeared into the bunk room to join the rest of the crew in their slumber.
XXX
It makes me wonder if Pheo is the one that set that tree on fire, Ari chuckles to herself, before turning grim once again. Though I suppose I'll never know. All of a sudden, Ari doubles over from an unexpected sob. The grief and the guilt seize her body all at once. I forgot how much full moons affected me since I met Pheo. I should get back to the palace… I should get back… I-I can't do this. Not right now. Not r-r-ight n-n-ow. Ari shakily gets on her feet, and wobbles along the bridge, tears clouding her vision and grief clouding her judgement.
The live trees once again block out the moonlight and she stumbles through the dark, struggling to balance herself against her sobs. Her right foot catches on a hole in the bridge, causing her to lose her balance and tumble into the swamp below.
The murky water slurps her body underneath its surface in greed. The water instantly counteracts her devil fruit powers, paralyzing her. The liquid fills her ears, and the grime in the water stings her eyes as she opens them. Slowly, she sinks down farther and farther until she can no longer see even a trace of the bridge above. All of a sudden, she is taken back to when she was tossed into the sea after her crew died. A series of flashbacks begin, all of which include the horror and shock on her subordinates' faces. Another sob racks her body, but when she breathes back in for air, her lungs are only met with water. She continues sinking down to the swamp floor, gradually choking on the mass of liquid around her. She feels a sharp sting at the back of her head, and she gives every attempt to move, to swim back up to the surface, but she is a prisoner inside her own body. A prisoner to her sight fogging up, a prisoner to her eyes closing, and a prisoner to the death that awaits her after the blackout.