The Girl and the Naga

Chapter 10

"Fae! Fae, Wake up! Come back to me, Fae!" a muffled voice reached my ears.

I opened my eyes slightly, only to shut them quickly as a bright light hurt my eyes.

I tried to breathe in, but I couldn't; my body wasn't listening to me.

I started to cough, but it was hard to do lying on my back. Someone turned me over, and my body immediately started to expel the water from my lungs.

Once my lungs were empty, I started sucking in deep gulps of air. I rolled myself onto my back and looked up at the person who had saved me.

Their silhouette was outlined by the sun, and I had to squint against the rays, but I was still able to tell who it was.

"Leif," I whispered hoarsely, still breathing deeply.

"What were you thinking?! Swimming in a mermaid lake!" he exclaimed.

His face was angry and concerned at the same time.

The light around him made the water dripping off his olive skin sparkle. It was very mesmerizing.

He's very handsome, I thought to myself.

He sighed, realizing that I was too foggy-brained to take in what he was saying.

"Thank God you're alright," he said, lifting me up and hugging me.

My nose was right in his hair. He smelled like honey.

He lay me back down and I closed my eyes, focusing on breathing in and then out.

When I finally felt like my breathing was normal again, I opened my eyes and sat up.

Leif was sitting next to me, staring at me.

"How long have you been looking at me like that?" I asked, blushing.

"A while," he admitted.

I didn't have a reply for that.

"What were you doing, swimming alone? Don't you know how dangerous that is? Where's Alec?" he asked.

"Alec's gone on a hunting trip. I forgot there were mermaids around here. I didn't realize how dangerous it was to swim alone until I was being pulled under water," I answered.

"You're just lucky," he said.

"Why?" I asked.

"You're lucky that I was watching you," he said carefully.

"You...were watching me?" I asked.

"Yeah. Is that too weird?" he replied, turning to look in my eyes.

"A little," I admitted.

He turned his head away in shame and embarrassment.

"But I'm glad you did," I finished.

He turned to look at me through the side of his eye, as if he was checking to make sure I wasn't joking or anything. I smiled sincerely, letting him know I was truly thankful he had been there to save my life.

"So what now?" I asked, leaning back on my arms.

"Why don't you relax, you almost died," he suggested. "I think you deserve a break."

I lay down on the grass and rest my hands behind my head and stared up at the sky, watching the clouds go by.

I relaxed so much that I closed my eyes and almost fell asleep. I rolled over onto my side so that my back faced Leif.

I felt more than heard him move closer to me. His warmth was hard to mistake.

He moved some of my hair out of my face and away from my neck.

When I felt him trace the scar on my neck, my breath hitched. He kept fingering it gently for a few minutes.

When he finally stopped touching it, I released a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.

Leif snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me against him. I felt him breathe in my hair, and I vaguely wondered what I smelled like to him.

I could have pushed him away if I wanted to, but the way I fit in his arms felt so natural, so right, that I decided to leave it be. I shivered slightly as I felt his warmth seep into my cool skin.

Once he had settled, I dared to open my eyes. I couldn't see him, but I saw his arm around my waist. I contemplated how I should handle this situation.

I decided it was harmless and closed my eyes again and relaxed.

I fell asleep for real after a while, and when I woke up, I was still lying next to the lake, except it was now dark out, and I couldn't feel the warm presence of Leif's body anymore. I lifted myself up and turned around.

Leif was still there, sitting up and staring off into space. He turned to look at me and smiled.

"You're hair looks pretty," he said.

Confused, I brought my hand up to my hair. There was something in it. I peered into the water of the lake, and found that flowers were weaved into my hair.

"Did you do this?" I asked, still staring at my reflection.

"Yeah. Do you like it?" he replied.

"I love it," I said, smiling at him.

"It's late, we should probably get you back to the cave," he said, getting to his feet and offering me his hand.

"How come you didn't just carry me back?" I asked as he pulled me to my feet.

"I didn't want to disturb you," he said.

"That was very thoughtful," I replied, smiling at him.

We walked back to Alec's cave, and I headed to the cavern where I always slept. Leif decided to stay right outside the cavern and guard it, since Alec wasn't there to push the rock closed.

I fell back to sleep fairly quickly, but I woke up when I heard voices just outside the cavern. My back was to them, but I knew it was Alec and Leif speaking.

"She what?!" Alec exclaimed.

"Shh, you'll wake her up," Leif whispered. "She went for a swim, and she was almost drowned by your mermaid friends."

"I didn't think she'd go swimming in that lake yet. I was gonna introduce her to the mermaids so that this wouldn't happen," Alec defended. "Is she alright?"

"She's fine. I was keeping an eye on her, and I got to her just in time," Leif replied.

"Thanks man, I owe you one," Alec said.

"No kidding," I barely heard Leif mutter.

There was a tense silence.

"Alright, I guess I'll go now. She'll be safe now that you're here," Leif said, leaving on silent footsteps.

Alec slithered into the cavern and moved the rock in front of the entrance. I closed my eyes as he crawled into the pile of pillows. I could feel him looking at me.

He pulled my blanket up to my shoulders before lying down next to me. I didn't want to open my eyes, since I had a feeling he was probably watching me.

Only when his breathing was deep and regular did I dare to lift my lids slightly.

His eyes were closed and he was sleeping peacefully.

He looks so cute in his sleep, I thought to myself.

I smiled and closed my eyes, falling back to sleep again.