Siren

Treatement

---Orion's POV---

I hissed as I sat down on the beach, my legs formed and showing a black and blue discoloration at my ankles. There were clear and bloody lines dragged into my skin from the weighted ropes and several of those weights had clashed painfully against my skin and dug in when those men tried to heave me out of the ocean.

In fact, some of those ropes were still impossibly tangled around my ankles, weighing me down as the wet ropes dug painfully into my skin.

Damned those pirates! My ankles were swelling as I sat there, biting through the pain to at least get dressed. My hair was still dripping with water and dressing on the rocks was enough to get me completely drenched once more. But I had to; people were surely roaming the beach at this time in the morning!

Walking was out of the question, as I could barely wriggle my toes without cringing in pain and those ropes were impossible to remove. Staying in my natural form would've been preferable but I didn't know if there were any merfolk tracking my scent.

It was for the best if I stayed out of the ocean for at least another day or two, making sure that nothing was on my trail. By the time I had managed to pull my pants on and was in the process of dragging myself further onto shore, voice resounded close by.

"Hey, are you alright down there?!"

I jolted, looking up at the man shouting from the docks. Several men looked up at the commotion and saw me sitting between the rocks. Within seconds people were scrambling down to my position, several men taking care on the slippery rocks as they made their way over.

Thank the gods my clothes had grown damp and made it look as if I had slipped and fallen in the water. Judging from the worried looks I got and how I physically felt, I looked exhausted.

The men were kind enough to heave me up on my feet, instantly pulling me in between them when I cursed and threatened to fall flat on my face. Grabbing my arms over their shoulders, two of the sailors carried me onto the docks while a messenger boy quickly rushed for the doctor.

"Tsk!" One of the men clicked his tongue in distaste as he untangled the nets from around my feet, noticing the clear rope burns on my ankles along with the deep indentations of the rock weights of the fishing net. "See, this is why I tell people to discard of unwanted nets on land."

Another sailor shook his head before growling in agreement. "Hell, if it were a child that had been trapped, we'd be carrying a corpse to town."

My head tilted with exhaustion but I couldn't rest just yet. The men were keeping me awake, shaking me each time I threatened to doze off. Most likely they were worried I had been drowning and wanted to make sure the doctor had checked me over before allowing me some well needed rest.

After several long minutes and even more time being overlooked and prodded at by the doctor, I was placed in a bed and reassured that no payment was required, as they figured it was one of their own fishermen that had dumped their nets and had me in my current predicament.

I didn't have the energy to argue and simply sighed, coughing as I leaned back on the soft pillows. The doctor assured me he'd check up on me every so often, as to make sure I wasn't getting any complications before he left me for a moment.

Pain webbed from my ankles through my body, my muscles aching from having swam all the way back in one go. Now that I could finally relax and allowed my body some rest, every single muscle burned in protest, making me shiver in pain, perspiration beading on my forehead.

It seemed that the doctor had thought ahead; after his gentle knock, the elderly man smiled and held up a bottle of laudanum, a spoon ready in his left hand. "For the pain and the fever that is surely to come. Having to fight in the current for your life can exhaust any man." He kindly dripped some of the medicine on the spoon and fed it to me, smiling warmly as my eyelids drooped.

"Of course, rest is the best cure there is for any ailment. Rest in peace, knowing that you're safe here. I shall provide you with food and drink and as the people have said before, you won't require any payment, as it's our fault for your pain."

I smiled at the man, coughing against the palm of my hand before whispering a quiet thank you. With the whole near-capture and the fear of residing too long in mer territories, I hadn't thought of hiding my bag, nor did I bring back any coin from my cave. I had been happy enough that I had thought of retrieving some clothing in the first place!

Even with my mind chattering annoyingly, the medicine took effect and soon enough I had fallen asleep. I was barely conscious when the doctor checked up on me every once in a while, though I did stir awake whenever he palmed my forehead to check my temperature before leaving me once more.

When the sun was slowly setting, I was gently nudged awake by the doctor and the scent of the food he carried in. "I apologize for the simple food sir. It's best to keep it easy for now and see what your stomach can handle."

"Thank you sir." I smiled kindly, slowly pushing myself up to accept the food offered and sighed as I received a glass of cool water as well. Breaking the bread, I dipped it into the warm broth and sighed at the warmth that instantly poured into my belly. Making quick work of the small cup of soup and the bread and cheese, I sighed and relaxed further in the bed.

My ankles were still aching quite a bit and I still felt extremely tired but I hadn't expected any less. I had swam far further in a single day than what I'd do in several days, especially with my injury.

I was all too eager to get back on my feet and get moving again though; especially after what happened, I didn't want to sit around and wait to get spotted. I had the niggling suspicion that those Pirates would be more than interested in catching me once more.

A huff escaped me as I looked at the clear skies through the window and scowled. Would they be able to find me though? I was quite a distance away from where they were docked and even though this island was rather close to where I first found that man, we had never breached the surface there...

Doubt settled in my stomach, the food churning and twisting heavily as I bit my lip. As soon as I got out of here, I would leave and probably hide in my cave for a few days, only going out to hunt for myself.

Nodding to that thought, I tugged at the covers and swung my legs out of bed. If I wanted to get out as fast as possible, I needed to build up strength right now. But before I could even put any weight on my ankles, the door squeaked open and the doctor flashed me a disapproving smile as he shook his head.

"Ah, the curse of the youthful, never being able to sit in one spot." He chuckled and easily lifted my feet to gently place them back on the bed. "I know you must be eager to get up and make your way back home, "the old man spoke with a slight scolding tone before clicking his tongue, "But please rest. Those wounds will take their time healing if you don't take the time to allow your body to recover.

I knew he was right as the injuries would probably crack under the stress, not to mention the salty water and I'd be stuck here longer. My stomach churned when I realized that any nearby mer could possible scent the blood in the water if I were to leave now so I quietly agreed with the man and relaxed in the bed.

Sleep and rest were great and all... but also quite boring. The doctor smiled in understanding before returning with the bottle of laudanum and offered me a spoonful. The medicine easily made me feel sleepy, eyelids already drooping on their own as the pain from my injuries faded into the background.

I was vaguely aware of the man placing a basin of water and a sponge next to my ankles, heard his soft reassurance that the medicine would keep the pain to the bare minimum as he needed to wash out the wounds...and then my conscious slipped away from me.

My sleep was once more painless and filled with dreams of chocolate skin and golden eyes that glowed with dark intent. It seemed that even in my dreams, the pirate had no intention as to let me be.