When The Heart Sings

Chapter 59

Serena's POV:

I admired the forest scenery. The waterfall in front of us split into dozens of rivulets as it cascaded down a hill in an almost magical fashion. They all managed to regroup into a small river as it continued on its journey.

Saphira spoke to Darien, "We usually travel through the trees, so we have never had the need to build a bridge. No tree near here had fallen over to make an impromptu crossing either. If you wish to jump her over it, we can continue on to an even larger waterfall, or we can walk along the river."

Darien glanced at the small river, "I can jump it." He looked down at me, "Feel like continuing?"

"Sure." I was thoroughly enjoying myself and, thankfully, Darien didn't seem bored either. I did notice that he was more interested in the waterfalls than in the plants, so I had asked Saphira if she knew of other nearby waterfalls. I admired the plants on our way between the surprisingly numerous waterfalls.

The land was actually slightly sloped and the almost nonstop rainfall in the distant mountains meant a never-ending flow to the rivers. Darien picked me up before taking a run towards the river. The river was at least the length of a tennis court and I wasn't sure how Darien would manage to jump it.

There were no trees close by, so I kept my eyes open. Wind rushed by as Darien picked up speed before launching himself powerfully into the air. It was almost like we were flying and I laughed aloud in delight.

His feet hit the grass without too hard of a landing. He put me on my feet as I gazed around at the new terrain. Saphira was already on my other side and the five other guards had also crossed, having used the tree branches. I was pretty sure that more Dranek were around, but I didn't see them.

Saphira gestured towards the trail and we started walking once more. The forest looked better and the plants were thriving, much to my relief. That left me free to enjoy the sights and sounds of the forest.

I yawned as I ate breakfast. As much as I was enjoying all of the hiking, sightseeing, and meeting the local Dranek over the last three days, I was not used to the constant activity. Darien contentedly twirled a loose strand of my hair.

He seemed to be relaxed and enjoying himself. I looked up at him, but his eyes were closed. I silently grinned as I recalled how he had looked the other day when I had made a flower crown and put it on his head. I pushed that image to the front of my mind.

"You never did make one for yourself," his eyes opened as he looked at me in amusement.

"I was too distracted by the rather dashing and handsome man beside me." I figured I was getting better at using words in my light flirting attempts.

His responding smile took my breath away and I shared that image as well. He wrapped his arms around me, "You are getting far too good at that, but you best be careful about flattering me so, or the Dranek are going to think that we usually sleep until close to lunch."

I blushed and hid my face against his chest, as much as I enjoyed it, it still embarrassed me slightly. I did a mental tally, but we had a couple of days until I would need those feminine products that Saphira had left in the bathroom for me.

I changed the subject, "We are going to see that mine this afternoon and then visit that Dranek with the cataracts, right?"

"Yes, although I suspect that the Dranek will come here later this evening to meet us."

Darien had wanted to see the mine where they dug out a rather beautiful blue stone, so that was today's event. We were pretty much at loose ends with no real work to do, but we had helped out here and there.