The King's Obsession

foul smell

ately to reach the surface. And then consciousness knocks m

tter taste rising up from the back of my throat. My body aches, muscles weak as I

d it, roots creeping down through the dirt and into the hole I'm in,

f, I realise with horror t

jabbing into me as I press back against the base of the hole. With each alarmed breath I dr

urning in my throat. Everything I've thrown up is thick and black, po

, filled with bodies in all different states of composition. On some

is go

e body shudders as I breathe in the earthy scents cutting through the decay. Yet I'

vision swirling with bright colours. I'm fading, I can

*

s suddenly

ing slowly seeping back into my limbs. It's silent around me, aside what might be the crackling o

flutte

hand over my eyes. My head feels like a foggy mess. No matter where in my mind I retreat

hen I turn my head, I realise it's a doo

tion, coughing past the s

g up now, pressed back against the wall, staring at her warily. This room, her, this feeling in my body

," she exclaims softly, chewin

I'm bruised all over, my skin littered with scratches. Even under soft sheets,

urniture, the walls and even the ceiling have been hand painted, and there is a hand knitted quilt draped ove

ccent is strange, not from the Jade Province. "We fou

my hands, I rake ba

at war, so I've been at home with my mother, studying about

e Azure Province, where I

here are memories missing, like there's something large I should be remembering, an

ding nervous. "You were quite battered when we found you. My

the place, which is a blessing for my sen

e am

back, a sour taste gathering on my tongue. Emerald Province. I've never been to the Em

t seems familiar, right on the tip of my tongue, that I can't q

par

nce, they live here, in this Province. But why? I don't remember them moving, or me, for that matter. And yet I k

," I mutter, palms pre

the dresser. When she opens it, she reveals some kind of green stalk, which I take warily

te into it, a welcome relief fro

I ask softly, unsure of how I came t

oft, sad. "About two wee

t her blankly. Two weeks? How long w

ss, that I'm alone. I've lost my

ruly