I could feel the breeze gently prodding me awake from my spot on the stiff bed that Valtrox had allowed me in my room. But even with my eyes closed I could feel the absence of the beds tough mattress that made my back ache, the unnerving waters of the sea the first thing I saw as I awoke sprawled across the sand.
The water of the beach looked eerily dark, almost black while I brought my shaky legs to stand, the water so dark that it was opaque.
I had never liked the ocean at night, the usually comforting waters becoming impenetrable to the moons soft light, as if an awful beast could be lurking just below the surface of the seemingly tranquil sea.
But as my eyes became fully adjusted to the darkness of the night, the confusion setting in as to why I was here instead of locked up in Valtrox's home, wondering if it had perhaps just been a figment of my imagination, a conjuring of my persistent fear of being sacrificed, my eyes locked into it, the two orbs of light that loomed right below the oceans surface, like two yellow orbs of light, eyes, hovering just low enough beneath the waters so I wouldn't see just what those eyes were connected to.
My breath caught in my throat, my feet losing purchase on the sand for a moment, stumbling back as the eyes rose above the oceans surface, the water dripping from its slimy body.
I could immediately tell that it was one of the monsters, the one that I had always feared I would be sacrificed to; with white horns rising from its head, its body made of dead, blackened seaweed that stayed together because of a disgusting slime that oozed from its body. It looked anything except for merciful, something that looked exactly like the type of being to kill within an impulse of bloodlust.
I forced myself out of the frozen state that had come with being just so terrified, my breathing coming in almost too quickly for my own lungs to handle as my bare footpaws pushed through the sand, running back to my home which I could already see, its wooden exterior appearing comforting for tue first time.
A roar cut through the sky, so forceful that it was as if the island reverberated in the sheer volume of it, the palm trees shuddering. Loud footsteps quickly sounded behind me, splashing through the water, then the sand soon after.
My body shuddered as I struggled to contain the pungent fear that roiled through my body, the footsteps slamming through the sand increasing in both volume and intensity as the horrid beast approached me, the squelching sound of that disgusting black slime that covered its body becoming louder as it was so close, so fucking close that it sounded as if the monster was looming just inches behind me, so close that-
A shriek teared from my maw as I felt jaws clamp around my shoulder, the breath from the monster and the disgusting stench of rotting corpses that came with it huffed onto my neck, sending a shudder down my back as blood began to stain my blue fur red.
Sharp pain more intense than anything I had felt reverberating through my body, my throat burning in pure pain as I screamed myself raw, my arm coming loose from my shoulder, the tendons tearing before-
My eyes were thrown open, bulging as I threw myself out of my bed, the bed that Valtrox had decided to place in my room, a broken scream breaking from my maw as I collapsed to the ground.
I stared at the ceiling, my chest still rising and falling with that same intensity as when I was on the beach, that horrible creature tearing its massive jaws into my tender skin.
I shut my eyes to prevent the tears from falling from my eyes, but they still did anyway as I began to cry, my long fluffy tail between my legs as I curled up on the floor, the discomfort that would have usually made me ache with pain absent as I cried, struggling to regain my composure.
After a few minutes, my eyes too dry to shed more tears, I pushed myself to my frail legs, only barely being able to hold myself up, leaning myself on the bars of the window to keep myself from falling back down on my ass.
I looked at my house, making out the jagged edges of the wooden structure. It looked so old, so worn from the many foxes who had lived in that home before. But even so, I still felt a deep longing to go back, even if it hadn't been much time at all that I'd been away. Even my mother who always had a disappointed look on her face, one that seemed permanently etched, I still wanted to go back home, instead of being taken deep under the seas, brought to where I felt deep in my chest my death would lie.
*🦈*
I found no sleep for the rest of that night, the dread that had been growing within me for the better part of the night worsening greatly as I stared out of the one small window in this awful room, the small lights from the village bringing light to this moonless night.
I could even see what was probably my own home, positioned near the sea and separated from the rest of the sea foxes.
I wondered if my mother missed me now that I had been taken away, wondered if she cared at all that I was to be sacrificed to the awful beasts the next morning, at the will of whatever terrible things they wished.
I stood there, my legs stiff as the sun barely began to crest the nearby sea, sending dim magenta rays into the darkness of the sky, signaling that the sacrifice was close. I would be brought to the beach soon by now to be taken away forever.
Just as I had thought, I could hear a firm knock at the door, the fox from yesterday throwing the door without waiting for any response.
"Haven't you any decency to make yourself look presentable?!" He scoffed, his strides broad as he made his way towards me, his brows furrowed in annoyance. "You look awful. And you are to be present at the beach in just a few hours."
I turned away from him and back to the window, indeed being able to see the small figures of the sea foxes, their fur in varying shades of blue already beginning to gather near the sea, but keeping a good distance. I reckoned that they feared too much that one of the monsters would leap up and slaughter them if they dared venture too close.
"Well, there isn't any time to waste." He continued. "I don't want to hear anymore aimless fussing from you, alright?"
I nodded, my head only barely making the motions, my ears drooping.
"Okay." I said to him softly.
*🦈*
The fox raked brush through my fur, matted from years of neglect, holding in the cries of pain that made their way through my throat as he and another fox, a servant, one with blonde and wavy hair forced my fur to an adequate level of presentability.
"Why did it have to be me." I said, breaking the taught silence, my voice hoarse from my sleepless night. "Being sacrificed, I mean. I bring home food for the colony just as all the others do. I know there are plenty foxes that do much less than I do, even if they can swim."
"That isn't for us to know." The blonde-haired fox answered, saying nothing else to me as she combed through my fur.
I sighed. I had known that many of the other foxes of my colony had never particularly liked me. If I had to guess, they had some sort of part in choosing me to be sacrificed just because of that, just because I couldn't swim like they could. Like I didn't matter.
"I think he looks presentable enough by now." The male fox said gruffly, setting down the brush which was covered in chunks of my matted fur. "We really should be bringing him to the beach now, Valtrox should be expecting him in only thirty minutes by now."
"Yes, of course." Said the female fox, grabbing my arm and hoisting me up to my feet. "It's time to go now, young one."
"N-no! You don't have to do this-"
"Enough of this!" The male fox interjected, roughly grabbing my wrist, bringing me towards the hallway. "I know these sacrifices are difficult, difficult for us all! But keeping that damn beast waiting will only farther anger him." He growled.
I sniffled, trying to hold in the horrible anxiety that was brewing within me, holding back the tears that were already beginning to line my eyes silver.
But it wouldn't matter how much I tried to resist, what I did beyond this point. Because I would be sacrificed to the beasts, would probably be killed if those awful creatures were as cruel as I had thought them to be. And maybe it would be better off that way. Where my mother wouldn't always be disappointed from having birthed a failure of a son, to not hear what the other sea foxes my age always said about me at school. So I kept myself abstained, head down as I was walked through the castle to meet my impending oblivion.