From the Depths

They heard the door close behind them and moments later Kirea’s legs turned to jelly. She very nearly collapsed at his side.

Acting quickly he caught her just as she was about to fall to the ground.

“I’ve got you, I've got you. Come on let’s get you to your room.” His voice was low with a hint of concern.

She’d always been strong, he saw a fighter in her. To see her like this was saddening, and he had inadvertently been the cause. He noticed a slight shake had set in as he helped her make their way through the castle halls.

All colour draining from her, she’d been hiding it well in King’s chambers he realized. But the moment they were free, all that hidden emotion, all those reflexes had all but vanished. It appeared as though she wasn’t taking this very well, his heart clenched. The last thing he had wanted to do was hurt her, or anyone for that matter.

The sudden pain had him frowning, when had he come to care for the feisty thing? Of course, he didn’t see her as a lifelong companion, but he enjoyed her banter.

But where was the attitude now? They should be laughing and celebrating their near miss, but she looked a mere shell of herself. This ordeal was simply too much for her.

His anger turned on the king. How he wished he could kill the bastard. he was more than capable. However, there were very few none supporters of that cruel bastard, if the King was murdered there would be an investigation and a new tyrant from his inner circle would be appointed. Nothing would change, and the promise to his sister... It would be for nothing.

Kirea didn’t appear to be coherent as they moved. Her head hung limply as she leaned heavily on him for support. He found it difficult to open the door to her room with her so far gone. The moment he let her go to close the door behind them she collapsed to the floor in a heap. Her hand covered her mouth as her body convulsed, he knew she was about to vomit.

Henry, in a panic, grabbed the wash basin and sat with her on the floor as she emptied the contents of her stomach. He held her hair out of her face and gently rubbed her back until she was done. He wiped her mouth and cleaned up the mess, returning with water for her to sip once she was able to hold herself up again.

She hadn’t moved from the floor, her clothes torn, her hair and face a mess. Her bottom lip trembled as she looked up at him. Tears pulled in her eyes as she began to shake uncontrollably.

That look, he knew it all too well. He grabbed her and pulled her into an embrace as she wept. She cried clinging to his bare torso. He rocked her gently as he stroked her hair muttering that he was sorry.

He knew she must feel utterly humiliated, he had exposed her without her consent. He hated himself for it. It seemed she couldn’t stop the trembling or the tears from falling. When she tried to speak only hiccups came out. The stress and confrontation of the situation completely took hold of her. He couldn’t blame her, he blamed himself. He should never have agreed to sneak her into the King’s quarters. It had been a mistake.

She just needed to get through this small... inconvenience. No that wasn’t the right word. He hoped with all his heart that she pulled through this. One thing was certain, they had the answers now, they just needed a plan-

She started to cough, breaking his thoughts, his attention snapping back to her. Her throat and nose already clogging up from the tears meant that she started to hyperventilate. Soon she was having a full-on panic attack as she couldn’t breathe.

“Kirea!” Henry began to panic as he caught onto what was happening. “I know it’s hard to breathe right now, but try to slow down your breaths.” He took hold of her hand and placed it on his chest. “Focus on my breath, breathe to it.” He breathed deeply, really emphasizing the rise and fall of his chest.

She was able to get her breathing under control as she closed her eyes and followed along with his movements. The next coughing fit had her expelling a large amount of blood, it gushed from her mouth soaking his shirt that she still wore. Finally breathing normally she was paler than before and looked utterly exhausted.

“How did you know how to stop it?” She questioned as she was finally able to speak. Though it was a harsh whisper as her throat was likely strained and sore.

“My sister.” He stated with a grim look. “She often had panic attacks during her fits. The one I used to get the medicine for.”

Henry picked her up from the floor and gently placed her on her bed. He reached to remove the shirt. She didn’t even have the energy to protest.

“What are you doing?” she managed to say.

He couldn’t help but smile, she was coming back to him. “Cleaning you up so you can get some rest, you and I still have a lot of work to do. You hear me, I’m not losing you yet.” His voice was stern.

“I can’t just rest now, I need to go see him. I promised.” She protested as she attempted to get to her feet. Henry caught her as she stumbled forward, losing her balance, her legs just didn’t have the strength.

“You can’t go anywhere like this. You need to rest and recover.” He ordered. “If I must, I will go see him and fill him in, okay? You and I will talk about the fact that you’ve been sneaking out later.”

The defiant smirk she gave him had him relaxing slightly.

“Okay, just don’t tell him I’m sick.” She concluded.

He frowned at her. Rather than ask questions he encouraged her to keep her mouth shut. He helped to wash her down with a fresh washcloth, he hoped it would help her feel less like a used piece of meat and put her into bed in a fresh nightgown.

She fell asleep in no time at all, leaving Henry to play over the night events. He let out a long breath as he watched the rise and fall of her chest, his concern had lessened but she was still very, very ill. This ordeal could have very well accelerated her illness.

For the first time in a long time, he felt conflicted. His life at the castle had been anything but easy. The moment she had entered his life he knew she was different, but for him to consider her a friend... He hadn’t had one of those for years, he couldn’t. It was too much of a risk when you worked for an asshole like Haith, he’d use it against him in a heartbeat. Just like he had his sister.

He cleaned her room and took the ripped dress and bloodied shirt with him, he was going to burn them on his way out to the beach. No one stopped him as he hurriedly returned to his own room to fetch some new clothes for himself.

No one questioned him leaving the castle grounds, perks of being the head of the Knights. But what bothered him the most was that he hadn’t the faintest idea that Kirea had been sneaking out all this time to see Ren at night. They both appeared fascinated with each other, and it was too early to tell if it was a good thing. It was hard to look at the Siren as anything but dangerous.

But, how could he blame her honestly, Ren was a creature of legend, and one he wasn’t about to let the King eat. He had been waiting years for the tyrant king to fall, there was no heir to the throne so it would push the kingdom to be under the Knights’s control. It was the whole reason he had worked his way to the top, he had promised his sister that he would change things. It had been a long journey and not one he was going to give up on any time soon. He didn’t want to be King, far from it, but it meant he could aid and bring to power a new, better King. He would not allow this King to gain immortality, he couldn’t.

He raced down the cliffside, he’d walked the path many times, knew how the winds worked and maneuvered them with a speed that was simply unheard of. Hitting the sand below, he ran for the rock wall. He wasn’t as good at spotting the entrance as Kirea was. Normally she would open it for him, he’d been imprinted on the rune inside sure, but he’d never been here alone. He wanted to do this quickly so he could get back to her, in case she had another fit.

His hand skimmed the surface of the jagged rocks until he felt what he was looking for. He glanced around, no one was on the beach at this time of night, but still, he always made it a habit to check his surroundings before he disappeared inside. Passing through the invisible rock only after the soft glow of the rune greeted him. He’d once walled into the rock not giving it enough time to open, he’d never heard the end of it. Kirea had found it hilarious.

The moon was high tonight and because of that, the cavern was well-lit inside. He walked to the water’s edge and crouched down. He didn’t like the information he had to relay, but he needed to tell the siren, for all their sakes.

“Kirea!” Ren splashed to the surface an edger smile on his face.

The siren’s face morphed into surprise as he realised it was him and not Kirea. He sank back into the darkness of the waters.

“What are you doing here?” His tone tuning more guarded and reserved.

Yeah, yeah, I don’t want to be here either. He thought as he stared at the fish man.