Chapter 28 Lullabies

Serenity's POV

I felt the soft mattress underneath me as Rham set me down on his bed. I squirmed in pain, reaching for my broken shoulder.

I focused on my breathing to get my mind out of the pain, but it was no good. From afar I can hear Rham giving out orders of what medicines and materials he’d need to fix me up. I try to sit up, but the pain just intensified to a hundred fold.

“Serenity, lie down.” I hear him say. “It would be hard to know if you have any internal injury-“

“Just a couple of broken bones.” I hissed, “Two ribs, my shoulder blade maybe, I don’t think it’s dislocated though.”

“Hm, I never had a patient do analysis on herself before.” He says lightly.

I closed my eyes and let another wave of pain pass through, before I answered him. “Our village healer taught me the basic.”

“As you as the patient?” he teased some more. Then I heard someone enter, “Thank you Gene.”

He opens a bag on the bedside table and pulled out a syringe.

“Please, no more…” I shook my head. “no more drugs…”

“You need this Serenity.” He says, “The pain will just get worse, and I can’t mend your cuts if you keep squirming like that. This is a safe dosage, trust me.”

I looked up at him, pleading, but he returned me the look. He was the doctor, he knows what was better, and if I want to stay alive I need to do what he says.

What he and his father says.

I felt him inject me with the pain killers, but the groggy feeling never came.

“Ready?” he asked, I shook my head. “Serenity, you need to calm down.”

I took a deep breath, which cost a strain on my abdomen that earned me another surge of pain through my body.

Deep breathing can’t help. I thought. The pain was unbearable that you would have thought I would have fallen asleep easily.

“Serenity, don’t fight the sleep.” He says.

Sleep… I thought as an idea came into mind.

““Will you walk a little faster” said a whiting to a snail,” I half sang half utter the words of Liam’s lullaby for me… ““There’s a porpoise close behind us, and he’s treading on my tail.

See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!” I closed my eyes remembering the last night I was with Liam and how his voice sounded singing.

“They are waiting on the shingle- will you come and join the dance?

Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you join the dance?

Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you join the dance?”

By the time I finished i could hardly make out the words and was only half awake.

“Its all good, Serenity, sleep.” I hear Rham say.

“Dance…” was the last word I remembered uttering.

The next time I woke up, I was in a light blue room, two walls of books were on my side and a whole wall consists of window showing off the great view of the mountains.

“Ah, good morning.” I looked up and saw Rham entering the room with a book in his hand.

“What day is it this time?” I groaned.

He chuckled, “You slept for three days.”

I groaned, “I’m turning into a bum.”

He made a face as he sat beside me, “I would prefer to call you sleeping beauty, but bum does suit you.”

I rolled my eyes and grinned.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Like sh*t.” I said raising my right arm, but a shot of pain made me curse like a sailor.

“Hey, hey, easy...” Rham reached for my shoulder. I looked down at my body, I looked like I was ran over by a car with all the bruises I had, even my bruises had bruises.

“You should start healing yourself.” He said, “I had your shackles remove, so feel free and be in whichever skin you feel like to be in.”

I grinned, “Thanks but I prefer this skin.”

“Glad to know.” He says. “Anyway, you must be hungry, I better get you some food.”

“Rham?” I called out to him, and he turned before he stepped out of the door, “Thank you.”

He smiled, “Its no big deal, Serenity.”

“It is for me.” I said.

He nodded, “Do you want anything else aside from food?”

“A bath would be good?”

He gave me another apologetic smile, “Not yet, not with those fresh broken bones, maybe a wash cloth?”

“Can I get it myself?” he gave me another face, “Please? I really need to get out of this bed.”

He shrugged, “Fine, but please be careful with your shoulder.”

I lit up, “Thank you.”

As soon as he left, I made my way out of bed, which was a struggle more than it usually is, and this time it wasn’t just because I don’t want to get up.

I limped to the bathroom where Rham pointed at before he left and turned on the lights. When I turned to the mirror, I gasped at the sight of me. I had a long deep cut on my face and bruises on both cheeks, the edge of my lip was even a bit swollen.

“Looking good Serenity.” I whined and grabbed the face towel hanging beside the faucet and wet it. I start to clean my arms and my legs. I felt really dirty seeing I haven’t step into the shower for more than three weeks, I must have smelled by now, well, maybe that little water trouble with the guard helped keep me clean. I don’t know.

“You still in there Alice?”

“Alice?” I asked back at Rham when I stepped out of the bathroom leaving the wet towel inside.

“The song you were singing when I was checking your wounds, that was from Alice in Wonderland.”

I grinned, “It is. How’d you know?”

He raised a book, “I read it,” he said, “it sounded familiar and I just had to find out why.”

“Its our lullaby, my best friend, my brother and mine.” I said as I sat in bed, he took my hand and help me move to the center of the bed and flopped my pillows so I can sit up.

“And you made a song?”

“It was actually on the movie,” I said as I made myself comfortable, but whined as a pain shot from my shoulder, but it was bearable enough I guess, “it was sang by the-“

“Turtle and the griffin.” He says.

“Yeah, I’m suppose to be Alice.” I chuckled, “My brother was the griffin cause it was suppose to be big and powerful, so my best friend was the turtle, sweet and cute.”

He stifled a laugh, “You’re really close to them aren’t you?”

“Yeah, well,” I sighed, “being the princess has its weak points, being the daughter of the moon makes its worse.”

“Worse?”

“Let’s just say that your father caging me isn’t new at all.” I said, “In fact, I think I prefer his way seeing that he’s literal in caging me, my dad…” is sighed, “with him it was all false hope.”

The room then became quiet, I can feel Rham’s eyes bore into me, while I look away.

“Why were you so scared of that video?” he broke the silence.

“I wasn’t’ scared of the video…” I said. “it was the proximity of your father’s men to them. My brother’s the king, making him the strongest wolf there is, and for him to be unable to smell a hunter so near…”

“You must understand Serenity that it is the new age.” Rham says, “As mystical and wise as your kind is, the humans had found ways to over come what use to be your strength.”

“And that’s what I’m scared of.” I said. “I’m supposed to be the savior of my kind and yet here I am at the mercy of our enemies.”

“I’m not an enemy.” Rham reminded me.

“But you are one of them.” I said. “The fight isn’t just between two different kinds, its blood.”

He stared at me for a few seconds, “Do you see me as your enemy, Serenity?”

“No.” I said. “More of a mediator.” He smiled, “But that isn’t how it works Rham, my credibility is only within my kind, to hunter I’m an end to justify the means.”

“No you aren’t.” Rham said. “You are the princess of your kind, they see you as their hope and light. You can’t give up thinking you can save them that way. You can do more if you are alive, Serenity.” He paused, “Others deaths aren’t your fault, believe me. How do you think we’ve learn so much from your kind?”

I frowned hearing this. A shifter going over to the side of the hunters is unheard of.

“Now, get these in your system and start to heal yourself.” He sets the tray of food on my lap.

I smiled, “Why is it whenever I wake up with you you always have a tray of food to offer?”

“Cause I love to eat.” He says stealing a french toast, I tried to slap his hand away but he was too fast.

He spent the day with me in the room reading, talking and eating, of course checking on my wound every once in a while.

Later that night, he tucked me to bed, but I lied awake, feeling the moon’s presence in the room.

“Mother moon…” I whispered, “please look after them. Protect them always. And tell Eric…” I paused, “remind him how much I love him.”

With that, I closed my eyes, humming Liam’s lullaby.

“Serenity wake up…” I turned on my side and pulled my duvet over my head, “Serenity!”

“What!?” I snapped and was surprised to see Liam. “Liam?”

He chuckled, “Who are you expecting? The tooth fairy?”

“What are you doing here?” I asked looking around, I was back in my room, Liam was sitting by my foot, “Am I dead?”

“No, of course, you’re not, don’t be stupid, Sissy,” he whines.

“But you’re-“

“Somewhere in between.” He said, “If you weren’t so foolishly stubborn and stayed with our kind, then you would have known that I am in a coma and may have the possibility of never being able to stand or walk again.”

“Oh, Liam, I’m so sorry,” I said and threw my arms around him. I looked down at myself, surprised. “What’s-“

“You’re in a dream.” He said, “Well, we both are.”

“What are you doing in my dream?” I asked.

“Well, aside from I missed you, I’m here to remind you of what you have been doing.” He gave me a knowing look and I just sighed.

“I know I almost gave up again, but you can’t really blame me-“

“You only live once Serenity, and I’d be damned if I wake up that you are not there,” he said. “Now, what’s bothering you so much that you can hardly sleep?”

I stared at him, and he was exactly how I remember him, especially if he is being stubborn.

I sighed, “They promised not to harm anyone of you-“

“And they didn’t,” he said.

“But the one who took the video “

“It’s a video sissy,” he whined, “it could have been anyone. God knows you look away during love scenes, what more if I tell you that it's of Anna and Siam.”

I scrunched up my nose and whined.

“Exactly what I mean.” He pointed out.

“Well, the wedding was real,” I said, “and the hunter who took that video was too near for my liking.”

“And what do you plan to do?”

“To give in to his demand,” I said, defeated.

“Well, I guess that’s one way to keep yourself alive.” Liam says, “What’s the problem then?”

“What if he uses my powers to his benefit?” I asked, “Then all shifters would be in trouble more.”

Liam stifled a laugh and thinking, “Well, you had always had a hard time shutting up.”

“Liam!” I snapped, “That’s mean.”

“But its true and the only solution.” He says, then he sighed and faced me, cupping my face with his hands, “You don’t belong here, Serenity. You know that.”

I reached for his hand and held it with mine, “This is where I belong now, Liam.” I said.

“No, your place is at home, with us.” He said. “What that human said earlier is right, you can do so much better when you are alive.”

“You’ve seen Rham?”

He nodded, “He is smart, and it’s obvious that his intentions are clean, but Serenity…” he paused, “right now, you can’t just trust anyone. I need you to be on your guard all the time. A little act of kindness can be to pay for an action that’s yet to be done.”

“What do you mean?”

“Keep fighting Serenity, you know how.” He stood up and walked toward the door. “You have to go home, Eric is waiting for you.”

“Liam, wait!” I said and ran after him. I reached for the door.

I sat up and groaned, doubling in pain with what my sudden movement had caused. I looked around realized I was back in Rham’s bedroom.

“Liam…” I said, but my voice was met by silence.

Silence.

That was the only way.