Wake up

"Kelpies. Those are tricky little creatures. You have to be careful if you ever see one, Cece." my mother says, as she brushes a curl from my face, and gives me a kiss on my temple.

"Do we have any here, Mama?" I ask her, and she chuckles.

"No, your father made sure that kelpies would never enter this land. But that's not the case in all places you'll visit when you grow up. If a kelpie tricks you..." water began to drip down her nose, and then her eyes.

Frightened, I grabbed my blankets close to my chest, scooting away from my mother. "M-mama?" I stuttered out, water pooling out of her mouth as she tried to grab me again.

"If...a...kelpie..manages to trick you..." she says, and as she talks, more and more water flows out mouth, drowning out the rest of the words.

I don't understand, I can't hear her, or know why she's talking about kelpies of all things-

A boy emerges from the waters spilling out from my mother. He has his hood up, and it falls back as he stares at me.

"COME ON CECE, GRAB THE BRIDLE!" he screams at me, and I'm confused once more until-

-my eyes open. My hand is stuck on what use to be a foal, and is now a giant water horse is leading me deeper into the water.

I clamp my mouth shut, trying not to breathe in, instead using my other hand to search for the bridle of the kelpie.

It panics, instead of diving downward like it was, moving in zig-zag motions, trying to stop me from finding it. My arm aches at the sudden fast and hard movements, and I grit my teeth, my body begging for air.

Then my fingers brush on its face, just a little, and I feel the bridle then, locking my stiff fingers on it as my body begs for air, and then begs for warmth.

I tug on it hard, it snapping in my hand, as it shrinks down, turning into bracelet on my right wrist. The kelpie stops moving then, and my hand becomes unstuck.

Freed from it's trap, I sit on its back, kicking the sides of the kelpie to lead me back upshore. It shakes its head, but does as its told, moving faster and faster upward.

The minute my head breaks the surface, I cough out water, wheezing, and gasping for air. The kelpie leads me to the side of the lake, where there's still a pile of snow around it. My body trembles at the sudden drop of temperature, and I roll on to the bank, the clothes feeling so heavy, and cold against my skin.

I lay on my back, hearing the kelpie splash back down in the water. My eyes stray up to the sky, and my teeth are chattering. I feel sloshy, and I lay on my side, thrwoing up water. I curl up into a small ball, feeling so cold from the tips of my toes to the ends of my hair.

At some point though, a warmth overcomes me, and I can feel my eyes getting heavier. My body trembles, adjusting to this warmer temperature, and soon, sleep comes over me.

I know I must find help, but I am just so...tired.

I don't fight it in the end.

Cold hands are placed on both of my cheeks. It's uncomfortable, and I try to pull back from their hold.

My eyes open, and Death looks at me, relief in his eyes.

"You're awake! I thought for sure the deal that we made would have been all for naught! And just as it was getting interesting." he says, leaning back, and twirling his scythe.

"Where am I?" I asked, feeling the fog move around me.

"You're in the Here with me. Not the other side just yet. But don't worry, everything is going to be okay." he says, with a cheeky grin.

"What makes you say that?" I ask, wrapping my arms around myself.

"You're betrothed found you. And one of his pack members deals with magic. They're healing you now as we speak." he says, a smile appearing as warmth overcomes me. I close my eyes, freely moving my arms and legs as I feel the blood flow go through me.

"How long will it take?" I ask him, and Death shrugs.

"You've been out for about...a week? I think? I'm not sure, time moves slowly here." he says, and I sigh.

"I need to fully wake up." I say, and Death looks at me for a moment, before standing up with his scythe pointed at my chest.

"This is going to hurt but bear with me now." he says, as static gathers at the end of the scythe, and a sudden burst of electric flies out from it, to my chest.

I can't move fast enough to even dodge it, the electric ball going through it's target, and pain overcoming my entire body as shocks bring back to life my legs and arms.

I'm not sure if I scream or not, but I can feel everything.

I force my eyes opened, momentarily seeing nothing.

I am not blind when I come to, just momentarily blinded. I lay nude on a strange wooden table, my hair pushed away from the rest of me, strange red orange light surrounding my entire body.

I sit up slowly, feeling my stiff joints become more languid, and I glance around. There's a fire blazing in the fireplace, wood being chucked into it. Footsteps move at a fast pace, and I look around, only seeing a red-orange stone emitting the light that is touching me.

"Hello?" I rasp out, and the pacing stops, as two sets of footprints rush over to me.

I blink, and then see Quill standing in front of me, as he cups my face, unshed tears glittering in his eyes. He looks me all over, and then hugs me so tight, the warmth of him coming over my still cold body.

He holds on to me, before pulling back, and cupping my face with his hands. "Are you okay?"

"Just...thirsty..." I croak out.

"Lip, get me some water!" He says, and I hear the sound of affirmation, as quick footsteps disappear. Quill lets me go, then wraps me in a thick blue blanket. I take it, grateful, realizing that there's a strange small black chained bracelet on my right wrist.

I remember then of the kelpie incident, and I wince. Quill, seeing the discomfort on my face, quickly looks me over.

"What's wrong? Are you in pain?" he asks, and gets ready to scream for Lip, before I shake my head.

"I'm sorry." I say instead, and Quill's face softens, as the panic leaves him.

"You were out for two days, Cece. We thought we lost you a couple of times, Lip even..." he trails off before pulling me in another tight hug, rubbing my back gently.

I welcome the touch, my aching muscles calming and feeling soothed by the prescence of Quill.

After a bit, Quill lets me go, Lip appearing with a big glass of water. I thank him again, taking the glass, and drinkng slowly from it.

Lip looks calm, though his eyes are rimmed red, and his face has hints of red in it too. His eyes are puffy, and look like they've been rubbed in.

"I'm so sorry Lip." I say, feeling my own dry eyes start to want to water. Lip gives me a watery smile, and tries to wave off the apology, clearing his throat.

"My lady, I was so worried. But you're awake, so everythin is well now." he says, and I smile back.

"This isn't quite the impression that I was wanting to give." I admitted, and Quill grabbed my hand, kissing the knuckles.

"Though I was scared out of my mind, I'm impressed that you managed to snag a kelpie." Quill said, as he lightly touched the small black chain on my right wrist.

Oh yeah. That was true.

"It's the only reason it didn't get the chance to kill me." I say, and a look of relief overcomes Quill as he pulls me up in his arms, securing the blanket around my body.

"Come, let's get you into bed, and get some food in you." Quill said, and Lip followed close behind, grabbing the strange looking stone, and placing it in his pocket.

He caught me staring, then offered me a real smile, before following behind us.