The Beauty's Hidden Beast

60 - A Jewell Needs An Occasional Polish (3k words - approx 12 min read)

YaYa's POV

I told Muir to deal with his business, which he reluctantly did. Vick wanted to show me the canal's progress, so we went outside. That man wouldn't stay in bed for the sake of his health. He had a brain but refused to use it.

Vick reached for my hand and entwined his fingers with mine. I took off my scarf and wrapped it around our hands. He seemed to like it. His face lit up, and a wide grin appeared.

I frowned, feeling a lump of anxiety in the pit of my stomach. He still looked strong due to the clear crystals he consumed every day, but it was like living on an energy drink without the ability to rest. The quick pulse and the dark circles under his eyes said it all.

"Just in case you don't have enough sense to stay alive, at least make your death worth it," I said, staring straight ahead.

He gave me a side glance, his grin widening, "Are you asking me to marry you?"

"Being sick doesn't give you the excuse to act crazy."

"So, no wedding?" He asked, swinging our arms back and forth like an excited child.

"Why promise till death do us apart, when we can have all the eternity to drive each other crazy in the afterlife?" I asked, grinning at the idea, "maybe we'll even have a chance to reincarnate."

He was silent, and when I looked up, he was giving me a strange look.

"You know what?" he said, "I think I'll take that as a yes." Then, he paused, "What about our boys?"

"I'll have to drag their souls along with me. If I leave them behind, they'll haunt me forever, and won't stop blaming me for eternity."

He nodded, "You'd be doomed."

"Totally," I nodded, "They are that messed up."

· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·

We reached the canal and watched the mermen work. Their bodies bulked up, and their skins hardened from the last time I saw them.

Gold approached us and nodded in my direction, "Yang Yali."

I nodded, "Gold."

Gold's gaze stopped at our joined hands for a second before proceeding with the update, "The canal is going according to schedule, but there's a shortage of rocks, so we've been substituting them with sandbags."

"Any casualties?" I asked.

"Nothing serious," Gold answered, "Except for one. He had his tail ripped off, and died."

"How did that happen?"

"A rock crushed his tail, and another rock fell on it, and tore it off," he explained.

"I see," I said.

Gold created a bubble, motioning for us to get inside, and I complied, dragging Vick with me.

Once the bubble closed, Gold led us through the busy canal. The mermen tweaked the canal to suit their needs and built resting places along the sides. There were small, shallow caves on each side of the canal and bigger ones, where mermen could take breaks or hide from danger without interrupting the high traffic.

· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·

Rosa and Bart stayed inside a deep cave behind a bubble screen, under the nearest frozen lake. Gold would lead us there, and with each visit, we would bring essential supplies.