Hydrangea awoke to the light crackling of a fire. Her head felt extremely heavy and she couldn't tell if the heat she felt was from the fire or if her body was burning. She tried to move but her left shoulder complained loudly.
"Hydrangea."
Bastian.
Her eyes squinted open against the pounding in her temples and she tried to find him. A blurry form appeared next to her, glowing from the fire still cracking next to her.
She opened her mouth to call to him but her tongue felt like sand in her mouth.
His hand stroked her cheek and she rolled her eyes internally at how she'd acted when he'd touched her that morning. There was absolutely nothing to be afraid of.
"Do you need water?"
She did her best to nod her head which felt a boulder strapped to her neck.
He left for a few moments then returned and her chapped lips were greeted by sweet water. She swallowed as much as she could and thanked him for it as soon as she felt her thirst was quenched.
"Did we get out of-" Her voice caught on a dry patch in her throat, "Out of Selva?"
"We did. We're in Waxingville."
"We are?" She tried to sit up on her elbows to see if she recognized any part of the familiar territory.
Bastian gently pressed her shoulders back down to the ground, with a light chuckle in his voice he said, "Yes. We're in the jungle far from any civilization."
She let him rest her aching body back to the ground.
After a few minutes of silence lapsed between them, filled only by the feel of her heartbeat in her temples and the fire, she said, "What do we do now?"
Silence again.
He breathed out a breath and she turned her eyes from the dark treetops above her to look at him. He looked tired. Had he slept? She reached out her sore arm to him, "Lay down."
Somehow, more exhaustion piled onto him and his shoulders sagged. She met his eyes with compassion and worry for his physical and mental state.
He obeyed her and laid himself down beside her on the blanket. She hissed in pain as he tried to bring her closer, her left arm taking the brunt of it.
He whispered an apology and kissed her pounding temple.
Once they became settled and she saw him relaxed, she dared to ask the question once again.
"What do we do now?"
He sighed, "We have two options." He went quiet again and her expression softened. "We can hide in these trees. The Lords still believe we're in Viskogorny, maybe they even believe we were killed by the Emissaries."
She thinned her lips. She could tell he wanted to hide in the trees. She did too, if she was honest. They wouldn't have to worry about the Lords and Selva and many other things. But they couldn't. The Lords were evil. Hadok would want Cadarama saved, same as he wanted Bastian saved. And the Primals… the Primals would not let them hide away from the troubles of the world.
"We couldn't. Even if we wanted to." She said, "Lord Stone is going to destroy this place if we don't do something. Besides… the Primals told us we have to." She pouted.
"They did, didn't they."
An unsaid agreement passed between them; they would help the Primals with their problem, because in the end, Cadarama was safe.
"What's option number two?"
He sighed again and closed his eyes, "Bell Island is just a short distance from here. We can stay there for a respite. It's a safe haven; its temple is sacred."
"Bell Island sounds familiar." She muttered as sleep began to creep into her mind.
Bastian sighed, "It's where my mother lives… or should be living."
She tried to come up with a verbal response but she could only hum as she fell into sleep. Bastian soon following after her.
~~~~~~~~~~
Bastian opened his eyes to find an open expanse of water around him. White and clear, reflecting the bright sky above.
"Samadur." He muttered. He felt excited but very nervous. He'd anticipated a message from the Great Primal since he had entered Cadarama. They'd gotten through Lake Kuratuma with the help of a drunk ferryman who'd been more than willing to help them escape Selva.
"Bastian…"
He turned and found himself in that jungle with the pool below his feet and the shrine before him. The stone statue looked cracked. The water in one of the hands was turned to mud and the sapling in the other was dried up.
He looked up and realized the jungle felt hot. Hotter than it would naturally be.
"We don't have much time, Bastian." Samadur's voice whispered around him. "Cadarama is in pain…"
Bastian turned his head to survey the dark jungle. He could find no trace of the Primal.
"Why won't you show yourself?"
A sigh rustled the trees; the brown and sickly green leaves drifted into the dark pool.
Looking up from the decaying leaves his eyes landed on Samadur.
He nearly gaped at the Primal's appearance. His dark skin was sickly and splotched in places. His once pure blue robes were tinted a murky brown and his face… looked sickly and ill with his blue eyes sunken into his skull.
The Primals were dying.
"I can no longer generate my usual form. This is all I can manage at the moment."
Bastian saw a flicker of shame pass through his eyes. He cleared his throat and avoided looking at Samadur, "How am I supposed to save you, and Cadarama when I don't have any form of an army to back me?"
"Go to Bell Island. The solution will come to you."
Bastian nodded slowly. He wasn't sure what to think about seeing his mother. It would be the first time she'd see Hydrangea. She hadn't wanted to come to their loveless Union.
He massaged his neck, "Is there anything else I must know?"
"Many things…"
Before he could translate the expression on Samadur's face, he was swallowed by the water.
He immediately began to panic and frantically search for air. His lungs burned dizzyingly and his limbs weren't cooperating.
Again, after minutes of struggling, he found his body floating in the murky waters. But instead of seeing his flower's happy face above him, he saw visions and heard voices.
"You've had too much to drink…"
"I have not…"
He felt heat and warmth and scented the familiar smell of toddy and mead.
The scene changed and he saw himself holding Hydrangea in his arms. They watched the sunset across the sea. She looked sad, as though she'd been crying.
The scene changed again and he could only hear voices in the dark.
"Oh, Hydrangea…"
"Bastian!"
"Have no fear…"
"The seas will guide you."
"You must stay behind…"
He began to try to turn himself away as an all-too familiar vision began to play out.
He was fighting with an unseen foe, he still could not determine who. His heart began to pound as he knew what would happen next. He watched as he ran through halls and down stairs—shouting out a name as another shouted his—and threw open doors to arrive in a throne room.
He wanted to close his eyes.
"No."
Dropping his sword and rushing to the figure on the stairs he turned them over to reveal the face of the person he loved most. He released a breath as he watched himself sob while holding his wife's dead body.
This wasn't a vision, it was only a nightmare, he tried to convince himself. Only a nightmare.
The vision faded away and he found himself surrounded by darkness.
Still shaking from the idea of that horror, he called Samadur.
The shrivelled up Primal appeared before him, his form covered by shadow.
"Tell me that will not come to pass. You once promised me that Hydrangea and I will rule Cadarama together. Tell me that vision is not true."
Silence.
"Samadur! Tell me it's not true. Tell me that Hydrangea won't die, and I'll do everything I can to save this country."
"You and Hydrangea will rule Cadarama, side-by-side, for many years."
Bastian took a step back and swallowed. Taking a deep breath he nodded. Hydrangea was fine.
"Do you promise?" He dared the Primal.
"I swear on the very seas you've sailed that my words will come to pass."