First of all I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the encouraging reviews I have received so far. It really means a lot to me, and I appreciate them so much. Okay, enough of me, on to the story.

Chapter 10

Sea

When I wake up a few days later, there's a chill in the air. I wake up shivering and look up at my alarm clock.

'Ugh. It's only 5:30.' I think to myself. I try to fall back asleep, but I'm shivering too hard. I sighed. 'Might as well check on the animals early.' I quickly climb out of bed and pull on a pair of boots and a jacket before I go out into the cold. 'Goddess, it's freezing!' I think, and I quickly run to Beauty's stable. Inside, he's sleeping soundly, seemingly fine despite the cold.

'Good morning Beauty.' I sign and softly pat his head. His eyes quickly open and he tenses up, but when he sees it's me he relaxes and closes his eyes again. 'Good boy.' I sign to him, and I make sure he has plenty of hay before I leave for the chicken coop. I walk straight in and begin to distribute food to their spots. Flower comes straight up to me and cuddles against my side. 'Are you cold chickie?' my hands say, and I softly pet her. I finish putting food in their spots and look around for Ginger. She's laying on a patch of hay, resting quietly. I walk over to her and sign 'Good morning Ginger,' before bending down and patting her head. She doesn't move. 'Ginger?' I sign to her and gently shake . Panicked, I bend down and feel for a pulse, a breath, anything. Nothing. 'No.' I think. 'No,no,no!' I shake her, desperately trying to awaken her from her doomed slumber. There's no point. Ginger is dead. The scream leaves my lips. My world goes black.

I wake up in my bed. It's warmer in my house than it was earlier, and I smell something cooking in my kitchen. When my eyes fully open and my senses come to me, I see Celia in my kitchen cooking something and Muffy behind her, scrunching her nose at whatever is in the pot. I knock on my side table to catch their attention.

'Jill!' Muffy says when she sees me awake. 'Oh my goddess you're okay!' The blond rushes over and squeezes me in a hug. I look around for a notepad, but I'm unable to find one. Muffy notices and calls over Celia.

'Hi Jill.' Celia signs. I nod to her and sign back.

'What happened to me?' Celia looks confused, so I sign it again, slower this time, and finger-spell some of the words.

'Oh,' she says, then turns to tell Muffy what's going on. Afterwards, they exchange a look. 'Well, I came over to invite you to lunch this morning. I rang the bell three times, and when you didn't answer, I figured you were tending to your animals. I went into the chicken coop, and I found you and...' her lips stop moving. I drop my head.

'Ginger,' I move my lips to form, no sound coming out. 'Where's Ginger?' I sign to Celia. She looks confused for a moment, then her expression darkens.

'Ginger? Oh, you must mean your chicken. Marlin,' she pauses. 'Marlin buried her not too long ago. I went to grab him and Muffy as soon as I found you.' I can't look at her anymore. I don't want to show my devastation, or any other sign of weakness. Someone puts a hand of my shoulder, but I refuse to look up. I know they're trying to speak to me, but with my head down and my ears damaged, there words are futile. Eventually, I lift my head and look Celia dead in the eyes.

'Go away.' I sign. Celia looks shocked.

'Jill...' she begins, but I shake my head.

'Go away!' I sign again forcefully, and I see Muffy looking frantically between us, confused as to what's going on. I see Celia's lips move and Muffy's face grow sad as she's realized what I've said. She turns to talk to me, but I turn my face away, refusing to read her lips. Celia looks like she's about to cry, and Muffy is looking at me with such an extreme look of pity I almost lose what's left on my sanity. 'Please go.' I sign. 'Please.'

They go away. Celia had walked over to my kitchen to turn off the stoves while Muffy stood by the door, looking everywhere in the room but me. Right before they go though, she comes up to me and pulls my blankets up around me, not looking me in the eye. I stay at home all day, feeling void of any emotion. I try to think of anything but Ginger, but my efforts prove to be useless.

'She's just a stupid chicken Jill.' I tell myself, but the words have no meaning. Ginger was more than the financial support she provided. My animals are my family, and losing her felt as if my own best friend had died. 'You know about that, don't you Jill?' my mind tells me, and I force my brain off, unable to take any more of its torture.

I drift in and out of sleep all day. When I wake up at one point, I walk over to the kitchen and see what Celia made for me. I sniff it and smell curry. It seems questionable, but I eat it anyway before climbing back into bed and going to sleep.

I wake up again at about 11 pm and I can't stand my house anymore. I march outside, not bothering to put on a jacket or even any shoes, and go to the goddess pond. When I get there, I walk straight to the pond and sit down, avoiding my reflection in the water. I don't want to see what I look like. It'd kill me if I didn't recognize who was looking back at me. I put my head in my lap, and I know the wind must be blowing, and the air must be freezing, but I'm too numb to notice. I'm surprised I'm even able to feel the hand on my shoulder a few moments later. I don't look up, and the hand shakes my shoulder gently. When I still don't move my head, I feel the person sit down next to me, cup the side of my face, and gently move my head up to look at him. It was Skye. Who else would it be? His emerald eyes are brimming with worry, and his face is more serious than I'd ever seen it.

'Jill?' his lips ask. 'Are you okay?' His hand was still on my face, brushing my cheek gently. I turn away from him and look up at the sky. We sit for a while, and I can feel his gaze on me. After a while, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I glance over to Skye and he nods at the water.

'I love the water.' he says, and I'm taken aback. ' It's beautiful and constant. And it judges no one.' he glances at me, and I'm staring back at him, entranced by his words and why he decided to bring them up now. 'It doesn't show its beauty only for the rich, or the prominent. Anyone, even a lowly thief such as myself, can experience it's beauty.' he pauses, then smiles. 'I've always wanted to be someone's sea.' I barely catch these last words, and Skye turns out to look at the water. I stare at him, long after he's finished talking to me. His eyes are focused on the goddess pond, and he would look completely peaceful, if it weren't for the hint of worry still in his eyes. I reach out to touch his face, to make sure he's real and not a dream, when he catches my hand with his own. 'You're so cold Jill.' his lips barely form. This human contact is all it takes to break me. Skye gathers me in his arms, and I sob into him. I crack into pieces in the thief's arms and I can't stop myself from breaking. All I can do is hope that in the end, Skye will still have all my pieces in his grasp, and I'll be able to become whole again.

A.N. Soooo I'm pretty sure y'all either love me or hate me right now. Sorry, this was a necessary chapter! Hope you liked it! Please Review!