It was the smell that woke me. Heavy and musky, it choked me and made it difficult to draw in breath. It was....it was like wandering into a field of lilies that were blooming too close to each other, but lilies that gave off the scent of spice and wood bark combined.
My head rested on a pillow of some sort, but ached far too much for me to be aware of it. I tried opening my eyes, but the little light that met them hurt and blurred anything I might have seen. I shut them tight and just lay there taking in as much air as I could with small, shallow gulps of air.
There were sounds...voices...so distorted that it sounded as though great beasts were milling all around me. I did not understand anything that was said, but my head echoed with every utterance. I could sense people moving close to me, though I still could not bear to open my eyes. A wave of nausea passed over me as I became aware of the scent of food mingling with the heavily perfumed air. Without thinking, I brought my hand up to my mouth only to find that both my hands were tightly bound together. For a moment, I rested my head against my bonds and became very still...much as I had seen some small animals do when they hope against hope that a danger will pass them by. It was then I heard one voice above the others. Reverberating like a great bell made of gold, it spoke words I understood in a tone that defied disobedience.
"Eat...it is not my wish that you should die...yet."
