The Royal Within

Chapter 33

------3rd Person-----

Willow ran towards the battle, but saw the fish people were retreating. Knowing that she wasn't needed any more, she ran to her favorite spot. It was hidden in the deep forest, and no one but her knew about it.

In her spot, a ray of sun splashed onto the small pond that supported colorful tiny fish. Willow took off her beaten up shoes, and slowly dipped her toes into the water. The fish swirled around her, happy to see her once again. Their scales changed to the color of their mood, and right now, it was yellow. They were extremely happy.

Willow felt around her pocket, until her hand connected with food. She tossed it into the pond, where the fish ate the food happily. Willow gently touched the water with her hand, and swirled her finger around.

Slowly, a a mix between a horse and a fish rose up from the water. It swam to Willow, and rubbed up against her. Willow ran her fingers through it's mane, and continued to pet it.

"Hi Toby." Willow whispered to the mystical creature. She had found Toby when he was young, and an orphan, just like her. She brought him to this pond, where it was beautiful. At the bottom of the pond, were thousands of big fish that were Toby's food. Toby was Willow's only friend, the only problem, is that he couldn't talk to her. She would only hope he would understand what she says.

"This place is amazing." A familiar voice said, and Willow jumped up, but her toes slipped on the slimy rock her feet rested on in the water. She was off balance, and crashed into the pond. The pond was 12 feet deep, and 25 feet wide, letting Willow have a safe fall. Toby dove underwater, afraid of the intruder.

The fish scattered around her, letting her fall without harming them. Willow came up, and glanced to see who scared her. She grumbled when she figured out the answer to her question. But, she slightly smiled, happy that someone cared enough to follow her.

"Here, let me help." Chris smiled, and offered his hand. Willow swam over to him, and placed her hand in his. Then, she placed her feet against the rocky side, and pulled. Chris remained standing, but he noticed what Willow was trying to do.

"Seriously?" Chris laughed, and let Willow continue to try and pull him into the water. "You know what? I feel bad for scaring you. I'll jump in."

Willow's eyes widened as Chris began to take off his shoes. "That's ok. I was just getting out."

Chris noticed her discomfort, and walked towards her. His shoes were off, and he jumped into the pond.

Willow scrambled to get out of his way, but his splash still sent her under. She came up, looking for Chris. But he was gone. She started treading water, and swam around for Chris.

When she felt a tug on her leg, she shrieked, but then realized it had to be Chris. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of screaming and struggling.

After a minute, Chris emerged from the water, laughing like a maniac. "I heard that shriek!" He shouted in victory.

Willow rolled her eyes. "You're delusional." But, she couldn't help smiling.

Chris grinned at her when he realized she was smiling. That was something she just started to do, and he liked to see it. It made him feel like he was succeeding to make her hate vampires less.

"Now, you said you had a brother right?" Willow nodded to Chris's question. "Have you ever had a water fight?"

Willow's smile grew. "I'm the champion."

Chris smirked. "So am I." He swam closer to her. "I'm afraid you have been misinformed."

Willow arched an eyebrow. She was a pixie, but the water always felt like a part of her. She never lost a fight in the water.

Chris moved first, quickly swimming towards her, and pushing her under the water. She moved to the side, and switched positions with him. She pushed him under the water, until he pushed on her stomach, and causing her to shoot up to the surface.

She dove back under to find him swimming upwards. She let him get to the surface, before wrapping her arms around him, and pushing him bakwards.

They continued to roughhouse, until they both became tired. Willow was panting, and Chris tackled her one last time, secured an arm around her, and pulled her to the side of the pond.

"I think I won." She whispered, and Chris started laughing. He shook his head, and laughed at Willow. She likes him on ghe shoulder pointedly. "I did! Whenever you got up, I pushed you right back down in the water!"

"Uh huh. Who's panting right now?" He paused to let her hear. "Yep. You."

Willow playfully nudged him. "That's not fair. You're a vampire. You don't become tired."

He winked at her, in which she frowned. He internally sighed, and pulled himself out of the water. His clothes stuck to him, outlining the muscles most girls would ogle at. He noticed that the sun was starting to go down.

Willow hopped out as well, and sat down on a log that had fallen near the pond. She sat near the edge, purposely leaving room for Chris. "I don't want to go back."

The breeze pricked at their wet skin, and Willow rubbed her arms. Chris took some sticks he found, and began to rub them together. A small spark lit the area. Chris blower softly onto it, and fed it more sticks. The flame grew, and Willow moved to sit close to the fire and Chris.

Chris took off his jacket, and set it to dry by the fire. "If it's ok with you, can I dry my shirt?"

Willow didn't respond. She continued to hold her hands out to the fire, and try to warm them up. She knew that if she said no, that it wouldn't be fair. But, she also didn't want him to take off his shirt.

Chris moved closer to her. "Was that a yes?" His fingers grabbed the end of his shirt, ready for Willow to say the words.

But Willow shook her head. "We should probably head back." Chris frowned, but nodded. He liked being outdoors, and in the wild. Willow, on the other hand, was tense. The might only reminded her of when her brother was attacked. Even though Chris said he wasn't responsible, she still felt angry.

But that wasn't it. She felt that Chris was only treating her like this out of pity. She wanted to spend time with him, stay out in the wild like what they were doing now, but a tiny voice reminded her it was out of pity. She wanted him to actually be her friend because he wanted to, not because he feels like he needs to as 'payment'.

"Can we stay out here a little bit longer?" Chris's voice was normal, but it held a soft note.

Willow let her want for Chris as a friend win. "Yeah." She fed the fire more sticks, as did Chris.

As they became mote tired, they stopped, and Willow leaned back onto the log. Chris grabbed his jacket, amd laid it over top of her. She cuddled into the jacket, and closed her eyes. Then, he sat up, and watched to make sure nothing would happen to her.

---In the morning-----

Willow yawned, and opened her eyes to the sun beating down on her. She picked up the cloth on top of her, and noticed it was Chris's jacket. She smiled at his kindness, stood up, and put it on her back, not putting her arms through.

"Chris?" She called, and she saw him next to the pond. She walked over, and sat next to him.

He smiled when he saw her, and looked back to the pond. "It's calming."

Willow nodded. "My brother found this place. No one knew about this place except for him and I."

Chris frowned. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have follwed you here."

Willow shook her head. "No, it's ok. It's nice having someone to share this spot with. It's my favorite place to be."

Chris couldn't speak. His heart was exploding...but he didn't know why. It was like extreme happiness, but also excitement, amd a million other things. He dismissed his emotions, as he usually did.

Willow looked out to the water, and Chris did the same. "Thank you for sharing this place with me." Chris whispered.

Willow smiled. There was a moment of silence before Willow whispered "You're welcome."