My eyes sting as they flutter open, the sound of waves washing against the shore fill my ears and it's peaceful. Peaceful in the sense that I have no clue where I am... just that the stars are winking and my worries are washing away with the ocean.

I feel the water rise up my legs and the soft crunchy surface beneath my body. I lift my head slightly, my neck aching with the movement, where in the heavens am I?

A soft purr can be heard and I snap my head to the side, although, I relax when I notice it's only Manora. Her feather-covered head nods in the opposite direction as if trying to show me something.

I give her a small smile before reaching my hand out, from my place on the floor, and touching it to her beak. The hard surface is smooth as the pads of my fingers brush along it.

"Thank you," I smile and her eyes softly close - the action warming my heart. "I guess I should start learning how to save my own life," I scoff and her eyes open again but they're narrower this time.

She nudges my hand with her beak and I try to make a move to stand up. My lips are dry and cracked, my hair matted with salt water, my nightgown drenched - aren't I just the epitome of beauty.

The water washed the majority of the blood away but as soon as I stand, it begins to flow again - trickling down my hip and thigh.

The arrow is still stuck firmly in me, the sight once again making me feel nauseous. I've never been one for gore.

I latch onto Manora, trying to keep my balance, as she leads the way. I'm practically hobbling along, keeping my weight off of my left leg. Manora's too tall to let her aid me in leading me to wherever she is going - at least without the help of Darian.

I wonder how Darian had acquired such a fine beast, especially one I had never heard of before. I wasn't aware our kingdom still allowed any beasts that weren't wild inside the border.

I suppose Darian was the exception... though when isn't he.

After limping for longer than necessary, we finally reach a cobblestone path dusted with small granules of sand. I furrow my eyebrows.

Manora makes a small noise which I am sure means to continue so I do as she says. We both follow the cobble path as the breeze begins to cool, becoming colder as time goes on.

I am about to groan about how long it is taking when we finally reach where Manora was intending to take me. A small cottage is situated in the middle of the tall evergreen trees. It looks cosy enough.

"Is this Darian's safe house?" I ask, daring to speak his name. It feels as though his name is a curse now, that it brings me bad luck and things that I do not want. Because ever since I'd left my home and travelled into his macabre court... everything has gone downhill.

With a soft nod of Manora's head, we continue.

The wooden sticks that line the path immediately glow with a bright fire as we walk, well Manora walks and I just about manage to limp, down towards the cottage.

My side is throbbing so unbearably that it feels as though my left leg is about to be paralysed completely, that the pain will not subside but only intensify. And, it doesn't look as though I will be able to receive any medical attention on this island.

I just need to sleep. Sleep cures everything.

Manora leaves my side and curls up by a tree, fluffing her beautifully dark feathers as she attempts to get comfy, and I approach the door. Nothing about this seems to be what I would perceive as Darian's style. The cute homey vibes that are given are quite the opposite of his palace that seems to be spawned from the very depths of hell.

As soon as I'm through the door, the whole cottage is lit and the fire begins burning. How? The house must have some kind of magical properties.

I slump down into a chair by the fire and inspect my wound to find it's just as bad as I had anticipated. Sweat beads on my forehead despite the cold shiver that runs down my spine. I take a laboured breath as my mouth runs dry.

Finally approaching the stage where I am simply fed up, I wrap my hand around the wooden stick of the arrow. Taking a deep breath, as soon as I exhale I rip the arrow from my side.

A scream so raw rips through me that I taste blood in my mouth, that my throat sings in pain, that my whole body feels as though it is going to shut down. Tears burn in my eyes from the sheer amount of pain conquering my body.

My eyes meet with the undoubtedly large hole in my side from the metal peak of the arrow and the blood gushing out of it. I use the arm of the sofa to aid me in standing but as soon as my left foot touches the floor my leg seizes in pain and I drop.

My blood smears across the floor as I crawl my way to the nearest door, hoping and praying that it is a bathroom. My hand wraps around the handle and the door opens with surprising ease.

I thank the heavens for the bathroom that lay before me. I grab the nearest clean towel and press it against the wound, gritting my teeth as the pressure intensifies the pain.

The white towel quickly turns red from the amount of blood leaking from me.

A sudden rise of nausea takes over me and before I know it, I'm puking into the toilet. It seems to be never-ending as my body continues to expel the contents of my stomach.

When my body finally ceases in its mission to kill me from the inside out, I sit leaning my back against the opposite wall and try to imagine that this is all for something. That I am destined for greatness as Anith put it.

That this miserable life that I have right now is only so my future can be as bright as possible.

I laugh to myself at the fact that this is all my fault. I accepted my father's outrageous bargain to marry the devil and now my court hates everything breath I breathe and I now have a coven of witches to add to the pile of people who despise me.

Not only despise me but have every intention to kill me and there's quite literally nothing I can do to stop it. There's one of me and thousands of them. Doesn't seem very hopeful, does it?

The people I have killed along the way also have an intention to invade my thought and dreams, to occupy my mind for hours on end.

I would do anything to talk to my mother right now, to ask her what to do. But, that's another thing that has been stolen from me... my family. It's only my mother and me now, albeit it's not much but it's enough.

The tile is cold against the skin of my cheek as I move to lay on the floor, deeming it too much to lean against the wall.

Something in the room shifts and I'm not sure if I am going to fall unconscious or my body is going to try to throw up my insides again. I wince as I apply more pressure to my side, still trying to stop the bleeding.

"Who did this to you?" his voice speaks and another shiver runs down my spine. Darian moves closer to me, placing his hand over mine that holds the towel. "Let me see," he coos and I groan before batting his hand anyway.

"The people you were supposed to protect me from," I mock him. I had sustained worse injuries getting here than I would have if I had just stayed at the palace. "This is your fault," I sit up and look him in the eyes.

Darian rests his hand on my knee. He always seems to be touching me in one way or another, whether it's the small of my back or my lips - he always seems to be there.

"I know this is my fault. I was just trying to do what I thought was best for you... that would keep you safe," those eyes are pleading with me but I feel my heart freeze over. I'm done forgiving people so easily.

"Well, you thought wrong," my voice breaks as my side becomes too painful for me to bear. My head drops as I try to breathe through it.

"Just let me help you," Darian tries to reach for me but I recoil from his touch.

"You've done enough helping, don't you think?" I scoff. I told him that I would never forgive him for this and at that point in time, maybe in a month or two, I would have forgiven him. But now, there is no chance, no chance at all.

I lean against the wall as I stand again, Darian following my movements. As soon as I am standing, the wave of nausea hits me again.

"What happened?" his voice is sterner now as I latch my hand onto the counter to steady myself. I don't even know the answer to that question myself.

"You, happened," I decide to go with and Darian's eyes darken, exactly what happens before he gets angry. But, quite frankly, he has no reason to be angry here. I am the one who gets to be angry, not him.

My vision goes hazy and I find myself having to hold onto Darian's arm to keep myself upright. "I will not let you bleed out in my bathroom," Darian is nothing but serious as he scoops me up in his arms, careful not to make contact with the wound and carries me out of the bathroom.

I can't help but let my eyes fall close as he carries me. I have never been so exhausted in my life.

Darian gently lays me down on the sofa before leaving the room. He comes back with a medical kit in hand. He kneels beside me before placing his hand on the hem of my nightgown - which is now crusted with my blood.

"Can I?" he asks and I nod my head.

He slowly peels the gown from the top of my thighs and rests it just below my breasts. I try not to think about how much of me he can see as he takes out the equipment needed for suturing. Darian takes a damp flannel and begins cleaning the dried blood off of me.

"How did you acquire Manora?" I ask casually and he stops in his tracks before he continues again. He clears his throat before he begins.

"It's a story for another time," he says and quickly changes the subject. "So, are you going to tell me what happened or am I going to have to look inside that pretty little head of yours?" he smirks and I shrug.

"That's a story for another time," I mock him and something glints in his eyes - something I have never seen before.

I wince as he gets too close to the wound site and he quickly retracts his hand. "This is going to hurt like a bitch," he says as he turns back to the kit.

"Well, I hate you anyway so I'm not sure it'll make a difference to anything depending on how much it hurts. Do your worse I guess," I screw my eyes shut as he sanitises the area.

As soon as the needle pierces through my skin, it's lights out for me.