Under The Sea

Chapter Thirty-Six

Heaven is a place on earth. The water was the biggest relief I had ever felt in my life. Although the tub was small, it was still relieving to be in my natural form, to be able to flip my tail and feel the spray of water it sent up into the air. I wanted to stay there forever, enveloped in the clear substance, watching the shimmering scales that covered my legs glow against the cream colored tub. If only there was a way to save and capture an emotion forever. I almost forgot about the challenges I was facing, the pain and the loss. It was nice to finally feel strong, physically at least. The light blemishes and bruises began to fade and clear away completely, but the darker, more rancorous ones stayed pronouncing just how bad the injury was. Pain was just horrible, sickening and humiliating.

Getting out of the water had probably been the hardest thing I had ever had to do, especially in that moment, when I felt like I needed to stay in the water forever. My arms trembled with effort as I tried to lift myself out of the tub by grasping the sides and trusting on my frail wrists not to crack. A sigh and a splash of water told me I wouldn't be going anywhere without help. So much for being stronger.

"Aran? I, um, need help getting out." My voice was quiet and coarse like sand paper. The door creaked once, and then a pair of green and gold eyes framed by thick yellow lashes were staring into mine. His gray shirt was slightly wrinkled and creased, hanging below his hips and blending with the gray specks in his faded blue jeans. He stared at me with tired but delighted eyes. Seeing him look at me like that. . .like I was the only good thing in the world, like I was the one that would save him made me want to live. To simple be. My world had shattered around me, yet he was still here, my beautiful Aran with his tousled hair the color of the sunshine that made up his personality.

I bit my lip and averted my eyes, and decided, that I would fight. I would fight and fight until everything was made right. Aran would have to die over my dead body and so would the people of Atlandria. I'd fight the mental and physical pain, and Aran and I would figure it all out together.

He cleared his throat before coming over to lift me out of the tub and wrap me in a fluffy brown piece of cloth that would soak up the water on my body and help me change back. I dried myself off beside the tub while Aran drained the water in the tub. The silence was right below awkward and I couldn't understand why.

"Forest, I'm so sorry, about Talia and. . .everything. Talia is a witch, she was trying to break our bond, but don't worry I caught on quick enough and managed to stick her in a cell."  

I felt my body start to tingle with the transition of shifting back into my human form. I wrapped the cloth around my chest and gazed at the pair of feet that now gazed back at me. My toes wiggled and my eyebrows shot up at the weird feeling, every time I shifted into a human, I was always fascinated with the many parts that came with the new body form.

I looked up at Aran ready to reassure him that everything was fine, and he had nothing to be sorry for, really. But when I did my words were blown from my head when I saw the magnificent smile covering his face. I noticed that when he smiled, it wasn't just his mouth that changed; his eyes twinkled, his shoulders caved in and his hair fell into his eyes. He looked young and vulnerable.

"What are you smiling at?" I asked, hesitantly.

He shook his head, still smiling, "you're just so adorable, Forest. How could I live without you? Don't you ever leave me like that again, I know you too well, I love you too much for you to just leave like that. You've marked me, please don't run again." Even his words were beautiful.

"I won't, I promise. I should be the one saying sorry. I shouldn't have run off like that, it was irrational."

He shook his head again, "no, after what you saw, it was absolutely rational, but I forgive you anyway." He helped me up, and when I felt his warm lips against my temple, it were as if my body had been cold my entire life and his kiss restored the heat. Maybe heaven was more of a place on earth when I was with him, versus in the water. Deep in the back of my head, there were still haunting images of the visions Mason showed me, but I forced them away, hoping I wouldn't come across anything that might remind me of them.