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