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JINFINITE
Super-Earth
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2022
- Location
- The Island of Eroda
It was not long after the strange girl left that Ellis began to weaken. It felt as though he were drowning, only despite the heavy pull he felt towards the ocean, he remained safe and dry on land; not giving into the instinctual temptation of the water.
Had that truly happened? Surely no one would ever believe him if he were to share this story. Finding a girl on the beach and bringing her back to his room to care for her. The unnatural shade of her hair, her mannerisms and inability to speak or understand common tongue. And then watching her skin shift before his very eyes…that was insane. He was insane. Had Ana been here she would have assured him that he was sane and stable, but Ellis was neither blind to the way the palace staff looked at him nor deaf to the whispers that circulated any time he had an episode. So then…was the girl real? Or had he imagined her and all the events from today that kept him from the party his dear sister had put on for him…
The cloth he had washed her with was still out. His bed was still a disheveled mess and Ellis was still in the clothes from his party. All the signs led him to believe that it was not all made up in his head, however none of it would be proof enough to convince anyone else.
The only one who would be able to clear any of this up for him was his sister. Whenever his life did not make sense to him, Ellis had always been able to count on Ana to help him see in black and white when his world was otherwise a muddy shade of gray like the shroud of fog that blanketed the ocean early in the mornings. She was the one who would wake him from a spell and explain to him how he ended up in a completely different room from his last memory. She was the one who would listen to him spew complete nonsense and then recite it back to him in a way that actually made sense. And she was the only one who could calm him down when his heart and mind raced dangerously fast in opposite directions.
So it would come as no surprise when Ellis found himself in their shared hallway knocking on Ana’s bedroom door. Once…twice….thrice—it never took this long before—”…Ana…?”
He had opened her door, at first just a crack and then wide enough to step inside. But Ana’s room was dark and vacant without any reliable indication that she had ever been in.
Where was she!?
Ellis’ pulse was reaching dangerous heights now at the realization that his sister was absent. He could hear it pounding in his ears to the point that the usual deafening roar of the ocean completely escaped him.
He did not stay long, spinning on his heels to return to the safety of his own room where hopefully he would be able to clear his head well enough to—Bijou ran up to meet him as soon as he opened the door to his room and all at once a hazy memory returned of Ana stopping by some hours ago to ask him to watch her puppy. He could not recall where she said she was going, or if she had even disclosed that to him at all, but it was now at least evident that she had not yet returned or else she would have stopped by to retrieve Bijou.
However that would be the last of his rational thinking for the remainder of the night. Once assured that Ana was at least not missing completely, Ellis’ mind drifted back out to sea and with it his body was lured back to the bench seat by the window. The glass was pushed out so the ocean breeze could cool his room and the sound of the waves lulled his heartbeat back down to normal; for a while it worked. Ellis’ arms were draped across the ledge, his head leaning against his shoulder as his eyes watched the water obsessively.
He was too far and it was too dark for him to be able to properly see anything, but that did not matter as his mind made up visions for him to watch. The glistening of silver hair in the moonlight. A tailfin breaking the water’s surface. It was all clear as day to Ellis and he watched on with complete devotion even when his waitstaff came to check on him.
They tried to convince their young prince to finally change out of his party clothes. They asked if there was anything they could get for him—if he was hungry or feeling unwell. But not once did Ellis so much as acknowledge them and their back and forth whispers were lost on him as they debated what they should do. Was it even possible for them to enforce anything on the prince? He did have a long history of being unable to care for himself, so it would be in the entire kingdom’s best interest if they were to intervene in this episode of his. But they still hesitated, not wanting to overstep and later be reprimanded for it. After all the prince otherwise looked in good health, and no one wanted to be responsible if that were to shift because of their involvement.
So in the end Ellis was left alone with his thoughts, or rather with the phantom figures that were dancing before him. His staff could not reach him, Bijou’s scampering around the floor did nothing to pull his attention back into the room. He was locked in his trance until his body mirrored the rolling waves of the ocean and a spell of dizziness knocked Ellis from his seat.
He had reached a point that not even his hallucinations could keep him awake. His eyes burned from sleep deprivation and the long hours he had spent staring out his window. But even after finding just enough clarity to drag himself to his bed, every time he felt himself on the brink of sleep an intense sensation would take over, giving off the feeling of falling from a cliff and waking in a fright just before hitting the rough ocean waves below.
What sleep he did manage was uneasy and restless. It was a scared, nervous, excitement that kept him teetering on the edge of reality and a dreamworld where all his fantasies came true. His mind spun in circles for hours leaving him feeling dizzy and on the verge of fainting even though he was already laying safely in his bed.
”No…come back…wait…help…please…”
Ellis’ muttering rode out on irregular heavy breaths, each one more strained than the last as though he were unable to fill his lungs with enough air—as though he were drowning. He was drowning and the more he struggled the faster he sank, watching helplessly as the mermaid swam further and further away from him. His chest hurt, his body was fatigued and Ellis was seconds away from accepting his fate when the water around him grew warm, and comforting. Where before he was slipping through it to his death, now he felt as though the water was supporting him as though trying to pull him back to the surface.
When at last Ellis was able to process something real and not in his head he let out a sigh of relief at seeing his dear sister Ana as she positioned herself so that she was the only thing in his line of sight, ”Ana…?” His voice was groggy, his exhaustion evident, but she just nodded slowly as though assuring him that this was really happening. Ana was patient as his mind caught up with the rest of him until he offered the first sign of life by weakly wrapping his arms around her and holding her with what little strength he had available to him.
There was a part of him that wanted to ask her what happened. How had he ended up in his bed feeling as though he had been lost at sea for weeks. But Ellis held his tongue as he tried to piece that together himself, working backwards through the jigsaw that made up his memories.
He remembered being alone in his room, and before that he was with the girl he found on the beach. He had been at his party for a while. He had found the girl earlier—but that was roughly where Ellis’ memories turned black. His only reliable memories were that of the girl, the ocean girl whose gaze was engraved in his mind in such a haunting yet familiar way. He could not shake the feeling that he knew her from somewhere, but he presently could not make heads or tails of much of anything.
”Did—“ Ellis suddenly tried to sit up however his arms immediately gave out under his own bodyweight and he sunk further into Ana’s safe and loving embrace, ”Did you see her?”
”Her?”
Ellis said nothing at first, his mind had returned to the beach, however Ana was quick to notice she was losing him and tried again with the combination of running her fingers through his hair while she called him back to her, ”Eli? Did I see who?”
”Her….the girl.”
Ana had not seemed to believe the last story he had told her. She had essentially teased that he was being foolish—that sirens were creatures of myths and legends and did not exist.
But then, how else would she explain what had happened to him out at sea? It was true that his episodes left him confused, but he knew what he saw out there in the water…and he knew what he found on the beach. But once again Ana’s expression as he told her of all of yesterday’s events was one of worry and disbelief rather than wonder and excitement.
He spoke in great detail of the moment he found the girl on the beach, what she looked like and how he felt. How he brought her here into his room and lay her on this very bed—washed the sand from her skin. He shared every second of their short time together right up until their sudden separation after her skin began to change before his very eyes.
”Do you think she will return?” As he spoke, all of Ellis froze. He stared up at his sister with such earnesty, not a single blip of hesitation or uncertainty. He wholeheartedly believed every single word of the mad story he had told her and now everything was riding on Ana’s impending response.
Balanced between the ocean outside and his sister beside him, Ellis’ heart had been lulled down to a steady beat, allowing him to stay present despite every piece of him desperate to return to the beach in hopes that the girl with the moonlight hair would be there waiting for him.
Had that truly happened? Surely no one would ever believe him if he were to share this story. Finding a girl on the beach and bringing her back to his room to care for her. The unnatural shade of her hair, her mannerisms and inability to speak or understand common tongue. And then watching her skin shift before his very eyes…that was insane. He was insane. Had Ana been here she would have assured him that he was sane and stable, but Ellis was neither blind to the way the palace staff looked at him nor deaf to the whispers that circulated any time he had an episode. So then…was the girl real? Or had he imagined her and all the events from today that kept him from the party his dear sister had put on for him…
The cloth he had washed her with was still out. His bed was still a disheveled mess and Ellis was still in the clothes from his party. All the signs led him to believe that it was not all made up in his head, however none of it would be proof enough to convince anyone else.
The only one who would be able to clear any of this up for him was his sister. Whenever his life did not make sense to him, Ellis had always been able to count on Ana to help him see in black and white when his world was otherwise a muddy shade of gray like the shroud of fog that blanketed the ocean early in the mornings. She was the one who would wake him from a spell and explain to him how he ended up in a completely different room from his last memory. She was the one who would listen to him spew complete nonsense and then recite it back to him in a way that actually made sense. And she was the only one who could calm him down when his heart and mind raced dangerously fast in opposite directions.
So it would come as no surprise when Ellis found himself in their shared hallway knocking on Ana’s bedroom door. Once…twice….thrice—it never took this long before—”…Ana…?”
He had opened her door, at first just a crack and then wide enough to step inside. But Ana’s room was dark and vacant without any reliable indication that she had ever been in.
Where was she!?
Ellis’ pulse was reaching dangerous heights now at the realization that his sister was absent. He could hear it pounding in his ears to the point that the usual deafening roar of the ocean completely escaped him.
He did not stay long, spinning on his heels to return to the safety of his own room where hopefully he would be able to clear his head well enough to—Bijou ran up to meet him as soon as he opened the door to his room and all at once a hazy memory returned of Ana stopping by some hours ago to ask him to watch her puppy. He could not recall where she said she was going, or if she had even disclosed that to him at all, but it was now at least evident that she had not yet returned or else she would have stopped by to retrieve Bijou.
However that would be the last of his rational thinking for the remainder of the night. Once assured that Ana was at least not missing completely, Ellis’ mind drifted back out to sea and with it his body was lured back to the bench seat by the window. The glass was pushed out so the ocean breeze could cool his room and the sound of the waves lulled his heartbeat back down to normal; for a while it worked. Ellis’ arms were draped across the ledge, his head leaning against his shoulder as his eyes watched the water obsessively.
He was too far and it was too dark for him to be able to properly see anything, but that did not matter as his mind made up visions for him to watch. The glistening of silver hair in the moonlight. A tailfin breaking the water’s surface. It was all clear as day to Ellis and he watched on with complete devotion even when his waitstaff came to check on him.
They tried to convince their young prince to finally change out of his party clothes. They asked if there was anything they could get for him—if he was hungry or feeling unwell. But not once did Ellis so much as acknowledge them and their back and forth whispers were lost on him as they debated what they should do. Was it even possible for them to enforce anything on the prince? He did have a long history of being unable to care for himself, so it would be in the entire kingdom’s best interest if they were to intervene in this episode of his. But they still hesitated, not wanting to overstep and later be reprimanded for it. After all the prince otherwise looked in good health, and no one wanted to be responsible if that were to shift because of their involvement.
So in the end Ellis was left alone with his thoughts, or rather with the phantom figures that were dancing before him. His staff could not reach him, Bijou’s scampering around the floor did nothing to pull his attention back into the room. He was locked in his trance until his body mirrored the rolling waves of the ocean and a spell of dizziness knocked Ellis from his seat.
He had reached a point that not even his hallucinations could keep him awake. His eyes burned from sleep deprivation and the long hours he had spent staring out his window. But even after finding just enough clarity to drag himself to his bed, every time he felt himself on the brink of sleep an intense sensation would take over, giving off the feeling of falling from a cliff and waking in a fright just before hitting the rough ocean waves below.
What sleep he did manage was uneasy and restless. It was a scared, nervous, excitement that kept him teetering on the edge of reality and a dreamworld where all his fantasies came true. His mind spun in circles for hours leaving him feeling dizzy and on the verge of fainting even though he was already laying safely in his bed.
”No…come back…wait…help…please…”
Ellis’ muttering rode out on irregular heavy breaths, each one more strained than the last as though he were unable to fill his lungs with enough air—as though he were drowning. He was drowning and the more he struggled the faster he sank, watching helplessly as the mermaid swam further and further away from him. His chest hurt, his body was fatigued and Ellis was seconds away from accepting his fate when the water around him grew warm, and comforting. Where before he was slipping through it to his death, now he felt as though the water was supporting him as though trying to pull him back to the surface.
When at last Ellis was able to process something real and not in his head he let out a sigh of relief at seeing his dear sister Ana as she positioned herself so that she was the only thing in his line of sight, ”Ana…?” His voice was groggy, his exhaustion evident, but she just nodded slowly as though assuring him that this was really happening. Ana was patient as his mind caught up with the rest of him until he offered the first sign of life by weakly wrapping his arms around her and holding her with what little strength he had available to him.
There was a part of him that wanted to ask her what happened. How had he ended up in his bed feeling as though he had been lost at sea for weeks. But Ellis held his tongue as he tried to piece that together himself, working backwards through the jigsaw that made up his memories.
He remembered being alone in his room, and before that he was with the girl he found on the beach. He had been at his party for a while. He had found the girl earlier—but that was roughly where Ellis’ memories turned black. His only reliable memories were that of the girl, the ocean girl whose gaze was engraved in his mind in such a haunting yet familiar way. He could not shake the feeling that he knew her from somewhere, but he presently could not make heads or tails of much of anything.
”Did—“ Ellis suddenly tried to sit up however his arms immediately gave out under his own bodyweight and he sunk further into Ana’s safe and loving embrace, ”Did you see her?”
”Her?”
Ellis said nothing at first, his mind had returned to the beach, however Ana was quick to notice she was losing him and tried again with the combination of running her fingers through his hair while she called him back to her, ”Eli? Did I see who?”
”Her….the girl.”
Ana had not seemed to believe the last story he had told her. She had essentially teased that he was being foolish—that sirens were creatures of myths and legends and did not exist.
But then, how else would she explain what had happened to him out at sea? It was true that his episodes left him confused, but he knew what he saw out there in the water…and he knew what he found on the beach. But once again Ana’s expression as he told her of all of yesterday’s events was one of worry and disbelief rather than wonder and excitement.
He spoke in great detail of the moment he found the girl on the beach, what she looked like and how he felt. How he brought her here into his room and lay her on this very bed—washed the sand from her skin. He shared every second of their short time together right up until their sudden separation after her skin began to change before his very eyes.
”Do you think she will return?” As he spoke, all of Ellis froze. He stared up at his sister with such earnesty, not a single blip of hesitation or uncertainty. He wholeheartedly believed every single word of the mad story he had told her and now everything was riding on Ana’s impending response.
Balanced between the ocean outside and his sister beside him, Ellis’ heart had been lulled down to a steady beat, allowing him to stay present despite every piece of him desperate to return to the beach in hopes that the girl with the moonlight hair would be there waiting for him.