The Restoration Protocol

27 || should i have done something?

Sebastian's eyes struggle to adjust to the light prying its way beneath his heavy lids. There's a weight in his head. Like a rock just sitting atop his brain, pressing it down. It will only grow heavier if he doesn't sit upright. And as the sight of a dim, round ceiling light creeps into his vision, he's urged to do just that. To sit up, straight and fully and perhaps a little too abruptly for a body that was just shaken into consciousness. But it doesn't matter. The realization of consciousness alone is enough to dull the effects of that resulting pain. Sebastian clutches his temples and sweeps his gaze over the room.

It isn't a hospital. That's the first thing he can deduce. It's just a room. A lavish, well-furnished bedroom with a large, rounded glass window just across from the bed, on either side of which sits a potted, flowering plant. With just a quick glance, Sebastian sees a vase filled with lavender flowers on a white wood dresser beside him. The sweet aroma of it all. He remembers it. And this white and pale green color scheme as well. He's in the Greenhouse Manor.

The sound of a doorknob clicking causes Sebastian's heart to skip a beat. He draws in a sharp breath and looks towards the white door as it opens. A familiar face soon passes through.

"Oh," says Elise, her eyebrows lifting as she notices Sebastian sitting up in the bed. She's wearing that same grey tailcoat vest as when he last saw her. And with her rich black hair pulled into a long ponytail, Sebastian just nearly mistakes her for Julian. But one quick blink erases that image. She smiles at him. "Prince Lotus will be thrilled to hear you're awake, Mr. Serrano. I'll go fetch him."

"Wait, where's-"

Breathless, Sebastian blurts this out, but it isn't enough to stop Elise from leaving the room. On the other hand, the butler's kind, reassuring eyes aren't enough to stop Sebastian, either. He couldn't even get out his full question. It's too vital, he tells himself, to wait another second in agonizing anticipation. His memory is in tact. In the haziness of awaking, it may have briefly slipped, but he remembers now. He remembers why he's here.

Draping his legs over the edge of the bed, Sebastian takes but a moment to look down at his wrist. His bare wrist, where once a watch had been. But it's gone. The PSO watch is gone. Shortly before he collapsed, it had unlatched itself and fallen into the snow, just like Mariko's. Even if someone had recovered the watches it probably wouldn't matter. They aren't supposed to come off. Ever. Even by force, players aren't able to remove them — one of their primary functions is allowing the player to log out of Paracosia whenever they please, after all. It's a crucial item.

Another shaky breath passes through Sebastian's lips as he turns his wrist over. The presence of a watch isn't the only thing that's changed. There are bandages wrapped around his arm. Confused, he takes them off only to find a scar underneath. A discolored patch on his skin, reddish and brown and covering about a hand's worth of space. Underneath some bandages on the back of his left hand, a similar, yet much smaller mark stands out against his white skin. Burn marks. For some reason, looking at them makes him dizzy.

He must have fallen on the campfire. That's the only logical conclusion his brain can draw, even if he can't quite remember it. He knows he was near the fire at the time at least.

Biting his tongue, Sebastian musters the strength to rise to his feet. Unsteadily. It doesn't matter. He has to find Mariko. She collapsed before he did, and with such an unnerved look in her eye, too, as if she had seen something that no one else did. He recalls it so clearly now, as he staggers over to the door. Why? Why did she look so shaken? Up until then, he had been so sure that nothing could phase that girl. At least not to that extreme...

Elise left the door ajar. Sebastian pushes it open fully, then grips the frame just to balance himself for a moment. His vision blurs again. But he fights it. Soon enough, it clears, and the sight of a familiar blonde-haired prince striding gracefully around the corner captures Sebastian's full attention. As does the sight of Sebastian, the prince's. Wide-eyed bewilderment and relief floods every part of Lotus's expression. As his pace quickens, his leaf-shaped cape flows gently behind him.