Chapter 2: Mysthaven Isle

[Ocean]

My nose was filled with a strong sterile odor. My senses have been jolted awake by soft chattering voices.

“She’s starting to wake up.” The sound of an elderly woman drowned out the others.

“She’s a beauty.” Another high-pitched voice, clearly from a young girl, spoke up.

“She has an unusual scent for a human.” If my memory serves me correctly, the voice came from the bronze-skinned man.

Why do they keep mentioning my scent? Do I stink?

My head shifted, indicating that I was aware of what they were saying.

“I can’t wait to see her eyes open.” The girl’s voice cheered.

“Hi my dear, I’m Seraphina. The village’s healer.” An elderly woman with bright green eyes greeted me as soon as mine were opened.

Her head was adorned with white and black streaks of hair, which was neatly tied into a tight bun. Accenting the visible creases on her forehead and at the side of her eyes. She’s wearing a dress that is mainly heavy white cotton with puckered vertical stripes, while the collar is embroidered with crocheted trim and dotted with sequins. She also had a dark-colored vest with golden trim embroidered along the edges. Her dress is topped with a piece of fabric made of wool, dyed red with minimal designs. It had a long band that was stashed on her waist and tied to the back of her neck.

Despite her undeniably older years, the evidence on her face reveals that she once possessed a beauty that would have made any woman envious back in her day.

A young golden-haired girl, ranging in age from thirteen to fifteen, sits on a single stool behind her. She’s dressed in a blue dress with flowers embroidered on it. Her golden hair was braided on both sides of her head and her eyes were similar to the old woman in front of me.

The bronze-skinned man who helped me earlier was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed.

“Hi, Seraphina. What is this place?”

My head is much better now, and my wound is wrapped in a piece of cloth and my bruises don’t hurt much when I move.

My gaze wandered around the room, which was filled with medicinal herbs, the strong aroma of which had awoken me. The room has a single white bed, a white painted wall with yellow accents, and a warm red rug on the floor. Seraphina took a seat at the foot of my bed.

Her soft smile accentuated the wrinkles around her eyes.

“This place is called Mysthaven Isle.”

“Where are you from?” Enquires the young girl. In response, I just shook my head. I’m not sure what the answer is. I have no memory of where I came from.

Of who I am.

“I’m so sorry dear. By the way, this is Aria, my granddaughter, and the man who brought you here is Arzhel, the Seriphos Pack’s Beta.” So, the bronze guy is named Arzhel and this cute girl is Aria. That explains why Aria and Seraphina both had green eyes.

They appear to be friendly, particularly Seraphina, who I assume is the one who took care of me.

What Seraphina said captured my attention. Beta? Pack? Is that the name of their community? Is Beta a chieftain’s name?

My face was scrawled with befuddlement. Arzhel sat up straight and sighed.

“I know you had a lot of questions, but I think it is better if you take one moment at a time. You need to get better first.” I took a look at Arzhel, who was now dressed in a white cotton shirt with sleeves and black pants with fringed legs. The vest is made of thick wool and is dark. A color red sash around his waist.

I look down on myself, and I am now wearing a white cotton dress with long loose sleeves of the same design as Seraphina but without the top fabric and vest.

“Arzhel is right, dear. You must first regain your strength before we can introduce you to our village.” Seraphina took one of my hands and lightly squeezed it. “But do you not recall your name?”

My name?

The last thing I remember was being tossed and turned in the ocean.

When Seraphina noticed the blankness on my face, she sighed. Aria, on her side, was the one who quipped.

“What about we call you, Ocean?” She nodded excitedly at the brilliance of her idea. “It’s quite a fitting name since the Ocean brought you to us.”

Ocean? I pondered for a moment, and then smiled.

I quite like it.

“Yes,” I agreed. “You can call me Ocean.”

“Alright, Ocean. We’ll ask the Alpha Quillan to keep you here until your memories return. In the meantime,” Seraphina inserted with her in her eyes.

“Don’t worry Ocean, I’ll convince Alpha Quillan to let you stay. I know he cannot resist my charm.” Aria chimed in, smiling from cheek to cheek.

Another strange word, Alpha. If Arzhel is Beta, and this guy named Quillan is Alpha. He must be superior to Arzhel, right? They said they would get permission for me to stay.

“I know you will, Aria,” Seraphina assured the girl.

“You must be hungry, I’ll go get you some food.”

“Thank you very much, Arzhel.” I respond politely, bowing my head in gratitude.

Seraphina asks me about the things I remember. I told her about the storm and the shipwreck. She said that shipwrecks were common on this rim, but it was the first time that a survivor had been washed ashore. Mostly didn’t make it this far because of the shark-infested waters.

That explains why I didn’t see any people when I woke up in the middle of the sea. They might have sunk together with the ship.

This island is secluded only from people like them, there were also other packs, as they called them, around this island. It just happened that Arzhel and Khail, the pale-skinned man, were patrolling their area. They caught a whiff of my distinct scent nearby, so they came close to the shore and investigated.

I must say that these people really had a keen sense of smell.

Aria excitedly told me a lot of things we could do together while I stay there. If this guy named Quillan would allow me, of course.

A grim thought enters my mind if ever man, Quillan, will decline. Where will I go then? Maybe I should kneel in front of him and beg him to let me stay, or I can tell him that I can help clean the house or something. Seraphina will undoubtedly help me and teach me in their ways.

At the very least, I’ll have a place to stay for the time being. Until my memories return, that is.

“It’s fortunate that you recall your name, Ocean. But no need to worry because I got you quite a pretty name.” Aria beamed, tearing me from my thoughts.

“Well, I had a snippet of memory flash on my mind when I was still on the beach. A man called out to me, but I didn’t know who he was. Besides, I like what you name me.” I truthfully said.

“Do you remember the face of this man, dear?”

I sighed and turned to the elderly woman. “No Seraphina, I only heard his voice.”

I don’t know if that man was really calling me. Perhaps he was calling someone else, and it only happened that I was the only one there. Had that man also survived the accident?

“Don’t hassle yourself now Ocean, cheer up. In time your memories will be back.” I genuinely smiled at the old woman.

The door opens, and Arzhel enters with a tray full of food. The delicious aroma wafted around the room, causing my stomach to grumble in hunger.

“It’s time to feed that monster inside your belly.” Arzhel teased me as he laid the food down on the table beside my bed. My cheeks warmed at his comments, Aria giggled and Seraphina chastised her action.

“I’m sorry.” I mumbled in embarrassment. Well, I can’t deny that I am actually hungry, plus, the food that Arzhel had prepared is appetizing enough to make the corner of my mouth drool.

“Let’s leave Ocean for a moment to eat in peace.” Seraphina stood and shooed Arzhel and Aria outside.

“Call me if you need anything.” Arzhel called before Seraphina had closed the door.

“Arzhel, she’s so pretty.” I heard Aria’s voice fade together with their shuffling footsteps.

Once I was sure that they were completely gone, I quickly crawled over to the side table where Arzhel put the food.

I took a strange look at the platter served for me. Five layers of flattened fluffy golden brown things they called food. It was dribbled with a brownish thick substance at the top. I don’t know what it’s called but the smell of it makes my mouth watered.

On each side of the platter are two types of cutlery, one with an oval shape bent inwards to create a dent in the center and the other shaped like a curved trident. The tray comes with a translucent cylindrical thing full of warm white liquid and a red sphere-shaped thing that is the same size as my fist.

Despite the odd-looking food, I ate what Arzhel had brought me. My belly was full, and a loud burp broke out from my mouth. I swing my feet to the edge of the bed, feeling the warm rug underneath my feet.

Strange, I know I have lost my memories, but all the things that surround me make me confused. Like it is the first time I have seen anything.

My toes wriggled on the rug, loving how the soft fabric tickled my feet.

After a brief moment, I rose and surveyed my surroundings. The room is large enough for the medicinal herbs to be placed in a neat and orderly manner. My gaze was drawn to the shut door.

Arzhel told me that I could call him if I needed anything, but they never told me that I was not allowed to go out.

Curiosity peaked out in me, my hand found the knob and gave it a little twist. The door creaked open, and a long hallway appeared in front of me. I took a step forward after carefully closing the door behind me. The wooden floor is immaculately polished, with not a speck of dust visible.

The hallway leads me to a huge cream-colored room, with sparkling crystals beautifully attached to the high ceilings, a spiraling staircase at the right corner and another hallway to the opposite side. There are also four long cushioned chairs placed in the middle of the room and a small square table at the center of it. Two large glass windows, draped with heavy curtains, pictures hanging on the wall and decorations were neatly arranged.

Chattering voices from the outside could be heard inside, but the loud footfalls that were coming in my direction caught my attention. Before I could turn to see who it was, a large rough hand grabbed my arms, my body forcibly spun, I hissed in pain as it protested from the sudden movement.

My eyes went wide when I came face to face with an angry-rouge-looking man with intense bright green eyes and a huge scar that ran down from his eyebrows down to his cheeks.

“Who the hell are you!” His voice roared, bouncing off the walls.

A startled ear-splitting shrill involuntarily came out of me. Alerting every living creature in the village.