The Cosmic Princess

The Grays In Between

Song: Nelly Furtado- All the Good Things Come to An End

Waking up was the hardest thing I ever had to do. It wasn't like the usual times where I would awaken, and I have little to no recollection of what happened before. Instead, the second my mind became aware that I was coming back into hopeless reality, I was bombarded by the earlier events.

I wished I could just close my eyes and go back to my unconscious unawareness where nothing could touch me; however, that was a failing dream I wasn't going to try and chase.

Instead, I pushed my cheek off the cold slab of ground beneath and glanced around. We were right back in the hell hole we had been in before.

The jail cells, except they seemed even smaller than they were previously were.

Everyone was asleep, in various positions of discomfort around the cell.

Aeon and Kaiya laid resting in a corner. Aeon had his back propped up against the wall, while Kaiya's head was rested on his chest with Aeon's chin resting gently on the crown of her head.

To my left Nydale rested on his side, with his back to me.

Quickly, I glanced to the ground seeing Mist not too far from Nydale, her body situated close to Ike's.

Nausea gnawed at me, gruesome image conjuring into my mind of the battle field I would see on Ike's back. I honestly didn't want to look at it, didn't want to face my own mistakes.

I had to though.

Keeping my eyes on the ground, I crawled closer, past a sleeping Nydale and pass a slumbering Mist lying on her stomach.

The closer I get to a still Ike, the more nauseas I feel until I finally stopped and took a look at my handiwork across his back. Already looking at it, I could tell that Mist has been working on it.

I expected, raw shredded flesh hanging from his back from the agony I felt before. Instead, it didn't look half as bad as what I had felt previously. His back was red and inflamed and welts marred his entire back, but was not cracked and ruined. Silently, I sent a thank you up to Selene and then gently rested right next to him.

His face was turned towards me, and in his unconscious state he looks untouchable- like he hadn't went through the most traumatizing experience in his life all in the name of love.

"Ike." I breathed out softly-one because I don't want to wake the others and two because the suddenly melancholy that swept into me made it hard for me to talk any louder without risk of my voice cracking. "I am sorry." I whispered, those stupid annoying tears emerging once more.

"This is all my fault, and I swear I'll make it better." I reach out and gently touch the side of his cheek, feeling the soft skin prickled with an emerging beard under my fingertips. "Please forgive me."

"We're lucky that he's still unconscious." Mist's quiet, groggy voice caused me to push myself up and peer over at her from across Ike's side. "He'd still be in pain if he was up."

"How long did it take to heal him?" I questioned, knowing talking about this would only cause the guilt to eat at me even more. I was torturing myself, but I needed to know this.

"Around two hours. It was- " She heaved, and quickly put her hand over her mouth. "The sight, I'll never forget it. He could've died."

And it would have all been my fault.

She didn't say it. She didn't have to. I could hear the words hanging in the air between us.

"He was so still and the sight was so...horrendous." Mist carried on over my thoughts, eyes distant and somber. "These creatures they're feral...a product of their own environment and conditions they were put in, but..." Mist shook her head. I expected tears from her, instead her eyes were unusually dry.