Thanks for the feedback, Sugarplum and Tigger! The boy is tainted, to say the least...
Sugarplum, you and your messed up characters! No wonder you passed up on Nathan and gave him to me! *laughs*
So, it's been sometime since I last updated. I had papers. I have finals. This is actually the productivity that happens when it's raining like crazy and you are putting off writing your Cicero paper at midnight!
Geez, it had to be the rain, huh? These were SUCH the mood scenes!
***
Merrick stood at the edge of the unfamiliar river, watching the rough current flow past him. His eyes never left the waters, staring downward, trying to find something.
What he was trying to find, he himself was unsure.
Long moments passed. Silence reigned. He couldn't hear anything. No animals. No wind. Not even the rushing water. He continued to stare, dismissing the gradual strain on his eyes.
Suddenly, he saw something. A general shimmer in the water. Something besides the waves and foam. He didn't know what it was, but it was enough.
He felt his body propelled forward, his bare feet leaving the comfort and coolness of the grass on the bank to step into the river. The round pebbles of the riverbed were hard against the soles of his feet, but he still walked forward.
The water was shallow at first, barely grazing his ankles. However, as his feet took his further into the river, the water began to gradually rise. Two more steps in and the water breeched his knees. Another two steps, he was waist-deep in the river. Four more steps brought the water level to right beneath his chin.
"Merrick, come to me..."
His mother's voice soothingly called to him. His mother... How he ached for her embrace. His body obeyed her call, and he took two more steps forward, completely falling beneath the rough waters.
It was only after being swallowed by the river, did Merrick realize what he had done. Struggling to breathe, Merrick flailed his arms and frantically popped his head above the surface of the river. He gasped for air, and tried to swim back to the shore from which he had started.
"Merrick, come to me..."
Opaline's whispered words called to him once more, a deadly siren. He tried to escape their pull, but he couldn't. No matter how much he moved his arms and kicked his legs, he couldn't escape the undertow of the river and was swallowed by the water, his hollow screams of terrors falling on deaf ears.
***
The first thing Merrick was aware of was the sensation of a water droplet hitting his forehead as his senses slowly awoke from their dormant state. He groaned deep and low, struggling to open his eyes as he pulled himself out of his nightmare. Slowly, he contorted his body, stretching all of his unused muscles thoroughly.
"You awake?"
Merrick turned his head and blinked his bleary eyes in the direction of the voice. "Mmmmmuhhh?"
"I'll take that as a yes." The voice chuckled quietly. "There some bread and milk on the stand next to the bed. If you need anything, just ask."
He heard footsteps as his caretaker left the room. Caretaker. Someone was taking care of him. He had been saved. He had been spared. He wasn't yet sure whether he was grateful yet. Now, he would have to live. Alone.
His vision eventually cleared and once he spotted the bread, he grabbed it out of the tin it was sitting in. Biting into it hungrily and squelching the large growl from his famished stomach, Merrick sat up in the bed he had been laying in and examined his surroundings.
The room was small and the ceiling was low. The floor was made of worn, faded wooden boards, the walls made of cold, crumbling stone. Merrick pulled the one woolen blanket that he had around his body tightly as the room was fairly cold; a fire pit was carved into one of the corners in the room on the floor, but it was evident that the fire that had burned there had gone out quite awhile ago. There was no mirror to be found, but he did note that there was a small wooden chest at the foot of the bed. To the left of the bed was the small, rickety table with his bread and milk. To the right was a slightly larger cabinet with a shelf on top of it, halfway filled with books.
He sat there quietly for some time, nursing his bread and milk, simply staring at his surroundings in awe. He had never seen anything like it. It was nothing like the castle, with its large halls, grand staircases, and luxurious furnishings.
After he had finished with his food, Merrick carefully stepped out of his bed onto the floor. As soon as his bare feet adjusted to the uncomforting cold, Merrick slowly walked around the room once before exiting it to wander into the next room.
This room was twice the size of the bedroom he had been in before, but still was smaller than his own bedroom in the castle. Half of the room was obviously the kitchen as small baskets filled with different types of foods were lined against the wall. Another wall was devoted to the stove, which has a healthy and strong fire burning within it although nothing was being cooked over it at that time. A small, round dining table, he guessed, filled the second half of the room, four chairs surrounding it. There was a door near where the table was set up, and beside the door was a medium-sized window.
Just as Merrick tried to peek out the window, the voice snuck up on him. "There's nothing out there but dirt."
Merrick spun around, appearing as his he had been caught stealing something. "I" he trailed off, not knowing exactly what to say.
Dressed in a heavy brown cloak, the dark-haired, doe-eyed girl smiled softly and stared back at the speechless boy before her.
"My name is Ava."
***
Sugarplum, you and your messed up characters! No wonder you passed up on Nathan and gave him to me! *laughs*
So, it's been sometime since I last updated. I had papers. I have finals. This is actually the productivity that happens when it's raining like crazy and you are putting off writing your Cicero paper at midnight!
Geez, it had to be the rain, huh? These were SUCH the mood scenes!
***
Merrick stood at the edge of the unfamiliar river, watching the rough current flow past him. His eyes never left the waters, staring downward, trying to find something.
What he was trying to find, he himself was unsure.
Long moments passed. Silence reigned. He couldn't hear anything. No animals. No wind. Not even the rushing water. He continued to stare, dismissing the gradual strain on his eyes.
Suddenly, he saw something. A general shimmer in the water. Something besides the waves and foam. He didn't know what it was, but it was enough.
He felt his body propelled forward, his bare feet leaving the comfort and coolness of the grass on the bank to step into the river. The round pebbles of the riverbed were hard against the soles of his feet, but he still walked forward.
The water was shallow at first, barely grazing his ankles. However, as his feet took his further into the river, the water began to gradually rise. Two more steps in and the water breeched his knees. Another two steps, he was waist-deep in the river. Four more steps brought the water level to right beneath his chin.
"Merrick, come to me..."
His mother's voice soothingly called to him. His mother... How he ached for her embrace. His body obeyed her call, and he took two more steps forward, completely falling beneath the rough waters.
It was only after being swallowed by the river, did Merrick realize what he had done. Struggling to breathe, Merrick flailed his arms and frantically popped his head above the surface of the river. He gasped for air, and tried to swim back to the shore from which he had started.
"Merrick, come to me..."
Opaline's whispered words called to him once more, a deadly siren. He tried to escape their pull, but he couldn't. No matter how much he moved his arms and kicked his legs, he couldn't escape the undertow of the river and was swallowed by the water, his hollow screams of terrors falling on deaf ears.
***
The first thing Merrick was aware of was the sensation of a water droplet hitting his forehead as his senses slowly awoke from their dormant state. He groaned deep and low, struggling to open his eyes as he pulled himself out of his nightmare. Slowly, he contorted his body, stretching all of his unused muscles thoroughly.
"You awake?"
Merrick turned his head and blinked his bleary eyes in the direction of the voice. "Mmmmmuhhh?"
"I'll take that as a yes." The voice chuckled quietly. "There some bread and milk on the stand next to the bed. If you need anything, just ask."
He heard footsteps as his caretaker left the room. Caretaker. Someone was taking care of him. He had been saved. He had been spared. He wasn't yet sure whether he was grateful yet. Now, he would have to live. Alone.
His vision eventually cleared and once he spotted the bread, he grabbed it out of the tin it was sitting in. Biting into it hungrily and squelching the large growl from his famished stomach, Merrick sat up in the bed he had been laying in and examined his surroundings.
The room was small and the ceiling was low. The floor was made of worn, faded wooden boards, the walls made of cold, crumbling stone. Merrick pulled the one woolen blanket that he had around his body tightly as the room was fairly cold; a fire pit was carved into one of the corners in the room on the floor, but it was evident that the fire that had burned there had gone out quite awhile ago. There was no mirror to be found, but he did note that there was a small wooden chest at the foot of the bed. To the left of the bed was the small, rickety table with his bread and milk. To the right was a slightly larger cabinet with a shelf on top of it, halfway filled with books.
He sat there quietly for some time, nursing his bread and milk, simply staring at his surroundings in awe. He had never seen anything like it. It was nothing like the castle, with its large halls, grand staircases, and luxurious furnishings.
After he had finished with his food, Merrick carefully stepped out of his bed onto the floor. As soon as his bare feet adjusted to the uncomforting cold, Merrick slowly walked around the room once before exiting it to wander into the next room.
This room was twice the size of the bedroom he had been in before, but still was smaller than his own bedroom in the castle. Half of the room was obviously the kitchen as small baskets filled with different types of foods were lined against the wall. Another wall was devoted to the stove, which has a healthy and strong fire burning within it although nothing was being cooked over it at that time. A small, round dining table, he guessed, filled the second half of the room, four chairs surrounding it. There was a door near where the table was set up, and beside the door was a medium-sized window.
Just as Merrick tried to peek out the window, the voice snuck up on him. "There's nothing out there but dirt."
Merrick spun around, appearing as his he had been caught stealing something. "I" he trailed off, not knowing exactly what to say.
Dressed in a heavy brown cloak, the dark-haired, doe-eyed girl smiled softly and stared back at the speechless boy before her.
"My name is Ava."
***
WhiteZeo
An Oliverette To The End
---
"per se? When did we get into "per se" territory? Are words like "ergo" and "concurrently" looming up ahead?" - Sugarplum in AIM :)
An Oliverette To The End
---
"per se? When did we get into "per se" territory? Are words like "ergo" and "concurrently" looming up ahead?" - Sugarplum in AIM :)
I deleted the Priya/Animus scene, as I really did not like how it caused the rest of the story to fall around it. 
