Maji Born

06 - Out of the City

Lavinia held tight to Devarak's hand, kicking hard against the chaotic force that was the water. Her boots weighed her down, she struggled to release her feet with her free hand, letting them sink to the bottom of the canal.

She could feel the water rushing past accompanied by the earsplitting rumble of the passing current. It tore into her senses threatening her consciousness and overpowering her thoughts. She fought to stay conscious. Remember to kick. Stay awake.

"Hold on tight. We have to go under, there are guards at the canal exit," Devarak said, his voice breaking through the chaos of her psyche. She only had seconds to process his words before he ducked below the icy surface pulling her along with him. Lavinia gulped as trying to contain her breath before dropping below the surface.

The water was louder once engulfed by it. Less of a pounding growl and more of an energetic buzzing. It was fierce and wild, and new, she hated it. She struggled to stay under, trying to push away her fear. Not much longer, you can do this. She couldn't do it. She needed to breathe, she was going to die down here. Devarak squeezed her hand. She would be fine. She tried to relax. and then they were surfacing and Devarak was speaking,

"Lie on your back." Devarak, "you'll save energy." He sounded calm as if the water was something familiar to him. She couldn't help but wonder where he had learned to swim. Lavinia did as he said, clumsily attempting to turn over in the water without sinking.

"You need to be calm, here." Devarak guided her into position. She did as he said, attempting to relax and focus on floating. It was more difficult then it appeared.

First, the noise interfered with the process, she hated having to leave her ears submerged. On top of that, her midriff kept sinking. It was definitely less nerve-wracking and easier on her body then kicking. Her mind was sluggish and her limbs echoed this, sinking slightly, her grip on Devarak's hand was failing, but his stayed strong. If she wasn't so scared she may have slipped into sleep. They drifted this way for quite some time in perfect silence, focused on staying alive and afloat.

"Hold on," Devarak shouted over the sound of the rushing water, he had returned to his original position and Lavinia felt a light tug, "There's a good spot to get out." Lavinia could feel their movement angling towards the bank, she flipped back onto her stomach. Thank goodness for trousers. She couldn't imagine doing this in her gown. She would have drowned. She felt a sharp pain as Devarak lunged for a handhold. She swung around, now being tugged toward the bank by Devarak, who had managed to get a strong grasp on the root.

"Grab on!" He adjusted so that he could pull Lavinia close to the bank. "There's a large root on your right." Lavinia grasped for something to help her out of the water. Her fingers dug into loose dirt from the river bank, they slipped and hit the water with a sharp pain, she'd grazed a rock. She gritted her teeth and extended her hand once more. This time she felt the root, she grasped at it, kicking hard to propel herself towards it. 

There! She had a hold of it. Devarak clumsily twisted so that he was farther up the on the rocky edge, he guided her, lifting her most of the way out of the water, pausing to let her steady herself. She was slightly breathless but she pushed on, letting her feet find the rocks and roots, finding her way up the side of the bank. She collapsed onto the muddy slope next to Devarak. They lay in total silence for several minutes, catching their breath and letting their heart beats steady.

"Do you still have it?" She asked She could no longer sense the energy of the stone. Maybe due to how weak and tired she felt, or maybe due to all the sounds and smells surrounding her.

Devarak sat up, releasing her hand as he did so. He fumbled in his pocket for the stone. It was still there, inside the glove. The weight of the Ardaer Stone had almost drawn him under the surface on several occasions and for most of their journey down the rapids, he had been focused on not losing it.