When The Heart Sings

Chapter 58

Serena's POV:

I woke very slowly and felt somewhat disoriented. The humid air smelled of plants and I could hear an occasional snippet of faint birdsong. I opened my eyes and blinked several times to bring my sight into focus.

Darien's tender expression greeted me. That always made my morning, although I hoped that my morning breath wasn't too bad. It didn't surprise me that I was laying across Darien's chest. I leaned up for a small kiss and he had no problem obliging me.

My arms and legs felt heavy, and I knew that I had slept very deeply. They would limber up as I woke up and used them. I rested my head on Darien's chest and listened to his heartbeat as I tried to wake up.

I didn't recall ever seeing this room before... "Where are we?" My voice was thick with sleep and my throat was sore. My mind didn't really want to wake up and I was having problems recalling exactly how I had ended up here. I hoped that I didn't get kidnapped again and I was just waking up from my rescue...

"We are still on the Dranek's planet, in their village."

That rang some bells. I followed my meandering thoughts as I tried to remember exactly what had happened. "Is there something to drink?" I was really thirsty.

Darien reached over and a bottle of water appeared in his hand. My throat was too sore to ask how a bottle of water from Earth ended up here. Besides, the Dranek had quite a habit of making things from Earth appear if they thought I might need or want them.

I managed to drink about half of the water bottle without sitting up. My waking mind was clearing, and I remembered the walk through the forest, as well as starting the song. Things got blurry from there though.

I vaguely recalled correcting dozens, if not hundreds, of small problems across all of the forests. Normally my range was quite short, so it was bewildering to realize that my song had reached across an entire planet, but it had. Somehow.

I had encouraged seeds to sprout and grow into saplings, and I had removed the rot that plagued almost every tree. I had fixed the problems, but not the cause. The worst part was that I didn't even know what the cause was or had been.

I had been too lost in the song to really remember or even realize what exactly I was doing. The song had also tired me so much that I had pretty much fallen asleep the moment it ended. "How long have I been sleeping?"

"A while."

His vague answer made me slowly blink at him. However, my body was more concerned with the present, rather than how long I had slept. I slowly sat up, "I need to use the washroom..."

"It is the next door on the right." Darien also sat up.

I stretched as I yawned lazily, eventually swinging my feet towards the floor. Darien chuckled before he scooped me up and started carrying me. I protested faintly, "I was getting there..."

He put me down outside the bathroom door, "Yes, but this was more efficient."

I snorted before I grinned at my mate, "I doubted that efficiency had anything to do with it, you just wanted another excuse to carry me."

"Perhaps. Perhaps not."

I went into the bathroom and closed the door behind me to show that I didn't buy his excuse, even if it did get me to the bathroom faster. The toilet looked like it had come from Earth and I had a feeling that this house had been built with me in mind. The toilets in the Dranek camp had been larger and had a different style to them.

I left the bathroom and Darien was sitting at the table with a large bowl of fruit, a plate of sliced bread, and glasses of water. I padded across the room to him as I sat on his lap and stole a quick kiss.

He gestured to the table, "Breakfast is served."

I paused, "Breakfast? How long did I sleep?" I had sung the song just before lunch, surely I could not have slept almost an entire day...

Darien replied softly, "All afternoon and through the night. You were quite tired."

"Wow. I have never slept that long before..."

"I was beginning to wonder if I needed to play the part of Prince Charming and kiss you awake."

That startled a laugh out of me. It probably would have worked too. I loved Darien's kisses. Darien pulled a plate closer to me and I turned my attention to the food as I put some on my plate before humming. The bread was a very dark brown and had a strong flavor. I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. The fruit was good though.

I felt much better after eating and leaned back against Darien, "So, what are our plans for today?"

"No real plans to my knowledge. We can stay here or head back to our home."

"I am kind of hoping to see more of the forest. It was really neat. What do you want to do though?"

Even though I was fascinated by plants and could walk through a forest for hours, I doubted that it was exactly Darien's cup of tea. I didn't really care what we did, as long as we could be together. Darien had shown no signs of wanting alone time, but if he did, I was sure that Saphira would accompany me on another walk through the forest.

Darien shrugged, "I don't really have a preference. I am sure the Dranek will be happy to take us on another tour."

It occurred to me that I didn't know what Darien's favorite hobbies were. Then again, I didn't really know much about his personal preferences. I hadn't really asked either, since I knew he had been in that lab for years and that his parents had passed away at some point before that.

"What kind of hobbies did you used to have? What pastimes do you enjoy?"

To my surprise, Darien started turning red and looked a bit embarrassed. "How can I explain this..." He scratched his head self-consciously, "In the past, I never really had any hobbies. My temper was too short to be a people person, so I mostly wandered around, making forays to various worlds as a way to kill time. I never found anything that made me want to stop or go back somewhere."

I blinked as I tried to wrap my mind around that. It was kind of sad that he never really found something he enjoyed doing...

He exhaled slowly as his eyes met mine, "That was the past though. Now, I have found something to look forward to, something that I would stop for, or go back to find. Something that I want to devote time to."

His heartwarming smile appeared once more, "I found you. I look forward to seeing your smile, hearing your laugh, or watching how you react to things around you. I love watching your dreams. I don't want to leave your side, and even if I do, I would always come back to you."

He wrapped his arms around me as he gently kissed me, "I don't really care where we go or what we do, since the things I enjoy happen with you. I never really had anything before, but now I have you. You are my everything."

I simply didn't have words to reply. His words touched me on levels that I couldn't put words to. I wrapped my arms around him in a hug and nestled my face in the crook of his neck as I tried to project how his words touched me, as well as my own love.

The love I had for him was so deep that I couldn't even find the bottom, there was no way to put limits on it or locate the boundaries. It was so great and profound that even my song would not have been able to relay it.

My love was so strong that it brought tears to my eyes as I considered it. Tears of love. His arms tightened around me as he also returned the hug. We stayed like that for quite some time.

I eventually let go and just leaned against him as I enjoyed our closeness. My hair clung to my forehead due to the humidity of this place and I wiped the stray hairs away from my eyes. I wrinkled my nose as I caught a whiff of myself. My deodorant had definitely worn off.

I glanced back towards the bathroom as I recalled the shower I had seen, "I really need a shower."

Darien nodded and stood up as he put me on my feet, "I need one as well. Mind if I join you?" He held out his hand.

My cheeks heated up in a blush, but I took his hand as we headed towards the shower together.