Before I could open my eyes, I found my head to be absolutely throbbing. Other places hurt too, my stomach especially.

It was dark anyway, so I wasn't sure if I was still asleep or not.

Very slowly, I tested out my fingers. They stretched and flexed at my bidding. My toes did too, though my ankles felt a little stiff. Then onto my eyes.

They opened slowly, peeling back like the skin of a grape. It was dark in the room, broken up by splodges of colour imposed by my inner eye. Very gradually, I began to adjust to the darkness, once again using my fingers to deduce that I was on something soft, something smooth, maybe silk.

Sitting up was agony, my stomach feeling like it should crack. My head turned a thousand times and a fire started up in both of my ears.

There was a blaze in a large fireplace. It roared silently, the orange light exploding with heat.

Someone else was in the room. I knew they were. That feeling when you know you're not alone. It was too dark to make any figures out though, my eyes constantly being drawn back to the fire. My neck twisted painfully as I tried to find the person, whimpers escaping my lips as I struggled, exhaustion settling back into my very bones.

There was a noise then. It sounded low, like a heavy footstep.

"Who's there?" I gasped, almost shrieking as a rough hand settled on my arm.

A large shape rose from my left to sit on the bed. It spoke, I think, but the words just like more dull thuds. A man's frame partially blocked out the fire. The voice spoke again, heavily muted, like I was hearing him underwater.

Again, I ran the silk sheets between my fingers, desperately hoping I wasn't where I thought I was. "Where am I?" I focused hard to listen for the answer.

"- you're safe." I managed to pick up just two words, the rest sounding like the wind through trees. Even that took so much focus. The man pulled my shoulders up so my head fell against his chest. I groaned in pain as the motion forced me to bend over further, causing my ears to burn anew. "-safe now. 'll never - you go." I could feel his lips moving above my head and closed my eyes to try to make the words come into focus.

"Who are you?" I yelled. Trying to figure out if it was Perry or Jon, and that the whole riot was a dream, or if it was Gavrila and I really was doomed.

Both rough hands gripped either side of my face and I realised with dismay that it must've been Gavrila. I think he said something again, but it still sounded like it was underwater. Defeated, I shook my head out of his grasp.

Gavrila got off of the bed, leaving an excruciatingly painful ringing in his wake.

One by one, candles and lanterns around the room lit up, illuminating parts of the floor. The prince sat back down with a lantern which lit up all the hollows of his face.

That evil ringing was still shredding my ears and when he looked at me like I was crazy, I lost it.

"Turn off the goddamn alarms." I yelled, my own voice sounding heavy. "Or the bells or whatever. I want Amelie."

Gavrila studied me for a moment, his eyebrows lowered slightly. His lips moved but I wasn't paying attention.

Then the man grabbed my head again and pulled it into his chest. For a moment I was too tired to fight, then I forced all my energy into one big push away from him, landing back on the pillows, shooting more pains through my ears and head.

Gavrila spoke yet again, his lips moving infuriatingly quickly.

"I can't fucking hear you." I shouted, clamping my hands over my ears, trying to shut out the ringing and clear out the water for five minutes so I could try and hear him. "Turn off the goddamn bells and I've got water in my ears and I can't hear you!" Tears spilled down my face as panic set in. "I want to go home! I want to go home. I want to see and I want to go home."

Once again my body was lifted up into his arms. He held me up completely, the glass paneled lantern sitting between us so I could slightly watch his lips as they moved. "You ...n't hear me?" His lips moved very slowly now. I shook my head, welling up in panic again. As his eyebrows crashed down, my face felt like it split in two, pained by an almighty crash to both sides of my head.

Gavrila stood up, scooping me up in his arms and kicking the door open into a blissfully well lit corridor. My head was aching with a searing pain, it made my eyes cross and my mouth hang open. The man carrying me said something again; I could feel the vibrations of his voice against my shoulder.

I was carried down endless tunnels of lights until we plunged once more into semi darkness. My body planted down on a hard armchair and I was abandoned for a few moments.

Suddenly two faces appeared in front of me, an old one and the young one whose lips I had been reading. Something hard was pushed into one of my ears. I screamed and tried to thrash out to make it stop, but my arms were held down as the other ear was assaulted.

Then, when the two men stepped back, I sat there panting, trying to get my strength back, to get my hearing back.

They were talking to each other. I could see it in the low lamp light.

"I can't hear you." I reminded the both of them. "I can't hear you!" I shouted again, the reality of that statement hitting me. "I can't fucking hear you! I can't hear you!"