Fantasy Tales Series: Rise of The Merfolk

Chapter Twenty-Eight

I snuck off to see Cece the earliest I could. My plan was to heal her, get back home as quickly as possible and then when the doctor called, we would all celebrate in joy. I didn't have my car to drive and I didn't want to steal Sophia's car keys so public transport was my only option. I took a bus for a while- I lost track of time listening to music and jiggling my knee up and down in anxiety. I wasn't nervous because I thought I would fail; I knew I would succeed. I was nervous because I was scared Kalum was stalking me.

How on earth had he known where I was that night? I had a feeling it wasn't the last I would see of him. I had to prepare myself as best as I could and that would mean not letting my guard down. I could learn some self-defence- but I doubted I could learn it in such a short amount of time. Kalum could strike at any moment. I would have to be prepared to use my powers at any moment. That would be my self-defence.

When I arrived at the hospital, I started to feel something I hadn't in a while- excitement. I was excited to save Cece because I knew in my gut, I had gotten the potion correct and I couldn't wait to see her face and tell her how much we all missed her. I let myself feel consumed by the excitement and happiness as I walked into her room and closed the door. I immediately made sure the windows were closed and curtains drawn and searched every nook and cranny of the small sterilised room. Empty, except for Cece. She was pale and looked deathly still. The heart monitor was beeping at a steady pace. It didn't matter how I gave her the potion in order for it to work so, frowned in concentration, I opened the bottle and held out my opened palm towards the small bottle. I extended my fingers forward a little and felt the familiar, and now welcome, tingling in my fingertips.

The pearl pink liquid levitated out of the bottle and into the air. I made sure every last drop was in the air. It looked like a floating bubble. I slowly moved it so that it was hovering over Cece's face. Her lips were slightly parted. I made the liquid slowly dribble in small droplets into her mouth. It took me ten minutes to get the full dose of potion into her mouth- I had to do it so slowly as to make sure she didn't choke in her comatose state.

As soon as it was done, I walked out of the room, slipping the empty bottle into my pocket. I knew from Cora telling me that magic and modern technology didn't mix- the cameras wouldn't pick up on the magic as it messed with the wires. In turn, the camera footage would become very fuzzy and hard to see the moment I brought the bottle into the room. It would just be a regular visit to any prying eyes watching from the security tapes.

~

I managed to make it back to the house just in time. I wearily sat on the couch in anticipation while the others ate breakfast and almost five minutes later the phone rang. Sophia answered it. I saw tears of joy brim her eyes.

She hung up the phone and stared at us in silence. The tension was thick as we waited for her to speak. 'I can't believe it,' she muttered.

'What?' Lila demanded.

'That was the hospital. Cece's awake! Like fully awake!'

'Oh my god she's alive!' Naomi sprung up and raced over to Sophia giving her a huge hug. Lila and I joined in.

'We have to go see her right now!' Lila announced giddily. 'I have to catch her up on our show 'Humanitarian.' She's going to be so happy at the season finale!'

'I can't wait to take her shopping! I'm buying her a whole new outfit she'll love it!' Sophia clapped her hands and raced over to her purse to grab her car keys.

We all raced out the door and I noticed Naomi lagging a little. I knew what was bothering her. 'Cece will forgive you- I promise. Remember her last boyfriend?'

Naomi made a disgusted face and I laughed. 'You mean Bryan? He was such an asshole.'

'Exactly. She'll understand.'

Naomi broke into a grin and side hugged me. 'Thanks, Aqua.'

~

The hospital room was full of laughter. Cece was completely back to her regular healthy self. Her cheeks were red with life and her eyes held a sparkle to them. She was sitting up in her bed talking rapidly and absolutely enthralled in all the latest events and news we caught her up with.

'So, Kalum's gone?' She spoke to Naomi.

Naomi laughed. 'Hell yes.'

'About time girl! Congrats!' She gave Naomi a tight hug.

'You know,' Cece continued. 'The doctors still have no fucking clue what poison it was. Now that I'm awake they've kind of given up.'

'And if someone else gets poisoned?' Sophia muttered. 'That's so idiotic to just give up like that.'

'Maybe it was a known poison but it just reacted to your body weirdly?' I suggested. Too many suspicions were never good.

'Aqua's probably right.' Lila piped up. 'I mean, I doubt your too much of a medical mystery you're not that special.' She teased.

Cece gave her the finger and giggled. 'When can I get out of here?'

'The doctors say you're good to go whenever. You came back healthy as ever and there's no reason to keep you an extra night. Whatever poison it was it out of your system.' Sophia presented Cece with the bag of clothes she hurriedly packed for Cece.

'We'll all wait outside for you.'

We all exited the room to wait for her and I was left feeling elated to see my friend again. Of course, it was a doubly awesome feeling to know I was the one who cured her. Not only was I starting to become a decent spell caster, not excellent and not even average. Just decent, which was good enough for now. But I was also flooded with more confidence in my choices. I had been questioning how I was going to stop the war- my initial plan was bogus. Evidence against Kalum would not erase centuries of hurt. I was going to steal back the stone and use it to halt the battle. I had an epiphany- If that stone had been around since the start of the fighting it had seen everything that had happened. It held ancient knowledge and magic inside of it. If I found a spell, I might be able to harness that and somehow show everyone what the source of the fighting was. If they were confronted with the truth and how petty everything was, then perhaps they would stop.

It wasn't full proof; in fact, it was a long shot. I had to try. I only had a week.

Cece came out of the room dressed in black sweats and a hoodie. 'Let's get out of here.'

We checked out, Cece payed for her bills on her card. She had a separate account since she was fifteen with hard earned savings in case of a rainy day and she was pretty proud to be able to pay for all her own costs.

We jumped into the car. 'So, I was thinking of making us dinner while you rest Cece and we can have a nice quiet-,'

Cece snorted, interrupting Sophia. 'No way. I am so sick of inside. I have so much energy. Lets all go out and celebrate.'

'Oh, I am so up for that.' Naomi cheered.

'Where do you want to go?' Lila asked.

Cece shrugged. 'lets just go to a local club and have a nice meal and a dance. It'll be great.'

'Yes! It'll be the perfect way to celebrate.' I chimed in. It sounded like fun- a nice way to welcome Cece back alive and healthy. I hadn't had a sip of alcohol for a while, so this was going to be great. No one else besides me knew, but I needed a night to relax as well. I had had so much worry on my shoulders lately and now that Naomi was cured and Cece was healed, I could afford one night of drinking and laughing. I wasn't much of a dancer, but taking pictures of everybody creating memories and doing something stupid would be hilarious to have on record.

Then, I could refocus on my plan for the war. I did feel slightly guilty for not straight away jumping into solving my problem for Merfolk kind but I figured one night off, to recharge, would only benefit me in the long run. I couldn't do any good while I was tired and overwhelmed.

So, I took in a deep calming breath and pushed everything out of my mind. I was going to try not to worry tonight too much.