An hour bled into hours, hours turned into a day, a day turned into days...three days to be exact.
Nixxon was almost dead. There was barely any difference between him and the dead, rotten man.
Nixxon had long forgotten what real air felt like, the stench was so thick it coated his throat, making his breathing feel like he was swallowing something rancid and greasy.
He'd forced himself to endure the smell of the rotten body; it was overwhelmingly foul and nauseating, and a heavy, cloying stench lingered in the air and clung to everything around it.
Nixxon was well on his way to joining the rotten man; his skin looked cracked, eyes sunken, and limbs barely moving...not like they could move in the first place.
Overall, he'd given up hope of ever getting out of there alive. Those three days had made him question himself over and over again about why he chose to leave the ocean, but as bad as it was, he still didn't regret leaving.
By now, he'd have been forcefully married to Valtira, and he would now be a puppet king who ruled under the close supervision of his father and father-in-law; no decision of his would ever be considered, his freedom would be gone, what's worse? He'd be forced to mate and create an heir with someone he didn't love... his life would just be over, the same as being dead just as he was on his way to dying.
There was not much difference between his fate here in the human world than it would have been under the ocean, Neireda must've been mocking him when she told him that he'd face a different fate, she had probably known that he would die but still chose to let him go just to punish him for choosing to leave the kingdom.
This was her way of showing her loyalty to his father, her king; he should have always known that Neireda would never betray her King's trust.
He'd been betrayed by his people, and now, he was about to die in the hands of a cruel human named Vernon.
Nixxon suddenly felt the last content of his stomach push upward, and he vomited. A green slime liquid flowed out of his lips, the pungent acidic odor adding to the foul stench of the room.
With his last strength, Nixxon cursed Vernon with all the curses of the ocean before he gave up fighting. He let the lulling darkness draw him into its abyss.
***
"He'll be fine with the adequate diet, but for his movement, he'd need a personal trainer who will aid him in learning how to walk again..." Nixxon heard the familiar voice beside him.
It was Dr. Zee, he could still remember his voice.
'Am I alive?' He thought in disbelief.
He could feel the clean, fresh air going into his nostrils. 'I'm really alive,' he confirmed.
"But... the boy..." Dr. Zee paused, sighing.
"What do you want to say, Dr. Zee?" Armani's voice asked in his usual calm tone.
"He might take longer to recover due to the incidents he'd encountered; I had advised that he faced no violence for a speedy recovery. Instead, he was made to perform violence himself. I'm sorry, but if Mr. Vernon needs his answers quickly, I doubt he'd get it. Nixxon's brain must have relapsed again, he's not been responding to stimulations for a day now, I'm only nothing but a doctor, not a magician, I can't abracadabra his memories back into his head, it's a slow process, and I wished Mr. Vernon understood that," Dr. Zee explained.
"Thank you for your fast response, Dr. Zee; I will do my best in helping Nixxon in the smallest ways I can; I hope my best will be good enough; the poor guy needs to pick a struggle: a criminal or an innocent hostage, he can't be both," Armani said.
"I have to take my leave; I have taken off the infusion from him because he's had enough; if he still doesn't wake up by evening, I will have to give him more nutrients; his skin looks pale and dry," Dr. Zee recommended.
Nixxon didn't move, he didn't want to. He was patiently waiting for when he'd stop hearing voices and movements so he'd escape. There was no way he was spending another night with those ruthless humans, he had to escape.
However, his body had other plans; his throat suddenly felt itchy, and so did his nostrils. he felt like sneezing.
'Oh no!' He panicked.
He tried to hold it in, and he surprisingly succeeded in holding it in; however, in the next second, his lungs pushed out a heavy gust of air through his nostrils and mouth.
His eyes flew open to catch two pairs of eyes staring at him in surprise.
"He's awake," Armani turned to the doctor.
"Seems like it," Dr. Zee replied.
Nixxon was disappointed in himself.
After a series of check-ups from Dr. Zee, Nixxon was finally released from his curious hands.
Dr. Zee left the room after giving Armani a few instructions on how to care for Nixxon.
It was just the two of them left in Nixxon's small room, The silence was heavy as Armani's blue eyes found him, calmly staring at him.
Nixxon refused to look at him; he wanted nothing to do with him anymore. He was the only person he thought he could trust, yet he betrayed him with the rest.
"Hi, how are you feeling?" Armani asked quietly.
Nixxon didn't respond, he didn't want to.
Armani sighed and slowly went close to Nixxon's bed and sat beside him. "Being angry at me is not going to do you any better; he doesn't care about anyone's feelings, Nixxon. He could come in here and do the same thing to you all over again, and no one would say a word about it..." He placed a hand on Nixxon's knee.
"We're no different, you and I; we both don't have a voice under Vernon's roof. But, I can help you, Nixxon, I can help you recover, and you might not believe me, but I know you're innocent; I can feel it. You can gain your freedom by learning quickly and proving your innocence; let me help you as a way of apologizing," Armani suggested apologetically.
Nixxon slowly raised his face to stare at Armani, only one word piqued his dead interest: Freedom.
"Freedom?" He asked Armani, his eyes turning dreamy for a second.
He imagined living free as part of a normal human society, with no gore, blood, or hatred, just...living.
"Yes, Nixxon. Vernon might be ruthless, but it's only to those who deserve it. Once you've proven you're innocent, he won't keep you here for more than a second. He'd let you go, set you free," He assured confidently.
Nixxon thought about it for a while and slowly nodded, "Okay... I learn... freedom," he said, putting out his most important words.
Armani smiled, "Yes, Nixxon, you'll learn, recover your memories, prove your innocence, and then be set free." He nodded his head.
Nixxon copied him and nodded his head too.
"Okay, I've already cleaned you up, but let's start by giving you a proper shower, agree?" Armani pointed toward the bathroom door.
Nixxon nodded. His body was already cleaned up, but he still felt unclean. What he wanted was to dive into the deep ocean and let the water seep away his impurities, but he couldn't go back there, so the human shower would do.
***
Nixxon sat on his bed, all clean and dressed; he loved the citrus-smelling soap Armani had used on him; he almost tasted it but was stopped by Armani and was told that soaps are not edible, no matter how good they smell.
After eating the seafood Armani brought him, it was time for the real deal.
Armani dropped a huge book in front of Nixxon, a smaller book, and a pen.
Nixxon was staring at him in curiosity, not because he didn't know what they were, but because he was curious to see what the human alphabet looked like. He knew those were books and pens (writing ink); there was no need for Armani to introduce them to him.
"Are you ready?" Armani asked with a smile.
Nixxon nodded, "Ready, freedom." He stared at the books.
Armani knew it was going to be a long journey, but he was willing to help.
"This is a dictionary. But, we'll learn the alphabet first, then we can use the dictionary to learn the words and pronunciations." Armani gently tapped on the dictionary.
"Dictionary?" Nixxon repeated the big word expectantly.
Armani nodded, "Yes, dictionary. It's... It's a reference book, you know what? Why don't we start somewhere? You'll understand its use as we progress." He went and sat beside Nixxon.
Nixxon stared in anticipation; however, the moment Armani opened the dictionary, something very strange happened.
Nixxon was startled when the locket around his neck suddenly gave a low vibration, causing his head to ache, and a high-pitched ringing sound invaded his ear.
"Uh!" He placed both his hands in his ears, shutting his eyes to get the pain and sound to go away, but he heard a voice in his head... Neireda's voice.
"It took you long enough, Son of Nereus." Neireda's voice was laced with knowing amusement. "The locket is your guide, but it will only aid you in places untouched by corruption. Focus is your key—water, your greatest catalyst."
"Nixxon, are you okay? Are you alright?" Armani was hugging Nixxon to himself, confused and scared.
Nixxon blinked; the voice was gone as if he'd only imagined it; he slowly detached himself from Armani, his eyes going straight to the opened dictionary.
"Choreography..." A word slipped out of his mouth.
"What?!" Armani questioned, slacked-jawed.
Nixxon placed his finger over the word written on the page, "Cho-re-og-ra-phy." He repeated louder this time.
"What?!" Armani asked again, stunned.
And for the first time, a flicker of understanding lit Nixxon's eyes.