Diane could not imagine what it must have felt like to be married and yet lonely. She was lonely in her own world, but at least she had no husband, so it was an expected outcome. She suddenly felt so much pity for Athea.
She thought of Dravon. What kind of person was he exactly? A monster or a human. Is he really the way he's been described?
After a few seconds had passed and she didn't get any response, she turned, wondering why Mira was suddenly quiet, only to realize that she was totally alone.
The surroundings were so unfamiliar that Diane panicked. There was a body of water facing her, and behind her thick shrubs of trees. She wondered how she got there. The last thing she remembered was walking alongside Mira at the crowded market at the center of the town. Mira was telling her about Dravon and her family.
Diane concluded that maybe Mira had told her to wait here while she went back to the market to get something she had forgotten to buy earlier and She must have been too obsessed with her thoughts that she took little cognizance. No better explanation for being alone right now, she mumbled to herself and sat on the huge rock overlooking the sea, determined to wait for Mira.
The moon shone so bright that one could mistake the night for morning. The wind blew in the opposite direction to the water's flow, thereby forming ripples that appeared wavy. The sounds from different creatures came together to form a melody. Diane struggled to keep her hair in place during the interval as the wind got stronger. She imagined herself freezing to death while out here and immediately shook off the thought. Her hair that was once tied into a rough bun came down fully as the wind scattered it all over her face. Diane tried to put them in place as she struggled.
She heard a sound, and then silence fell.
She paused to listen, but heard nothing and immediately stood up, scared that a wild animal might have discovered her. When she heard nothing, she imagined she must have been mistaken and made to sit back, but a growl came towards her, as a fierce black dog-like animal jumped out of the forest and lunged in her direction.
Diane stepped back, panicked as she tried to run but tripped on her gown and fell face-first on the wet sand. She looked up and saw the raging animal now a few feet away from her.
There was no way of escaping from death, finally, Diane thought.
She covered her eyes with her hand, expecting to be torn apart in seconds. There was a loud shriek, the sound of metal slicing through flesh, and then a loud thud, all at once. Diane removed her hands from her face. Her eyes quickly fell on the beast whose head lay limply on her dress, its blood turning it into a canvas of red. If whatever slayed the wild beast had been a second late, she would have become food for the wild.
She let out a shriek as she fearfully wiggled it off her dress. She made to stand up, but her leg gave out, and she landed with her back on the ground.
"Are you alright?"
A voice so deep that it thundered in the silence of the river asked.
Diane was taken aback by the wolf attack that she didn't take notice of the slayer whose sword was now dripping with the crimson red blood. She was frightened more by the sight of the human than the animal as she began crawling away slowly. The human, who somehow backed the moon, and therefore whose face was unreadable, stretched its hand towards Diane.
Diane ignored the hand, standing up as tears rolled down her smooth face. The human took back its outstretched hand and made to sheath the blood-soaked sword. Diane stepped back, panicking, and the next second she fell into the water with a loud thud. The human shook his head as he sat on the stone where Diane had sat previously.
Diane felt the cold penetrate her core; she was sinking deeper and deeper. She contemplated holding her breath and staying quietly in, it felt safer than the human who had been able to slay a wolf with a single stroke. She decided it was a better decision and so allowed herself to enjoy the cool feel of the crystal water. She thought of Mira, wondering if she would be outside waiting when she finally came out of the water.
When Diane could not hold her breath anymore, she started to swim towards the surface. It even surprised her that she held on for that long. The longest she can normally stay underwater is for a few minutes. She started to swim towards the surface, now realizing now how deep she had sank. It must have taken several minutes before she finally came to the surface. She walked out only to find the human still there, now washing blood off his sword while sitting on her spot.
If he – Diane has concluded it must be a man – took notice of her, he didn't show it. Diane wanted to tiptoe away, but she had left her shoes beside the huge rock. She considered walking barefoot for a second, but after taking a long look at her new soft and petite feet, she slowly walked to the rock and bent to pick up the shoes.
When she raised her eyes, they settled on the human, just as the moon suddenly cast its shadow on his face. Diane had never seen a man so handsome in a strong but strange way. His silver-colored eyes shone like they had a whole galaxy in them. His cheekbone was so perfectly proportioned that Diane imagined how much it'd cost to get that kind of face in her world, as plastic surgeons are the ones who lived the lavish life when it came to her profession.
She suddenly lost her balance, nearly falling into him, but instead her body came in contact with the hard rock.
She groaned in pain. She was thankful that it wasn't her teeth that made that contact. Next, she was floating on air and then came face-flat on the wet earth.
She tried to understand what had just happened as she sat up and cast a furious glare at the human who had sat back on the rock, minding his sword. He had picked her up while holding the tip of her dress and dropped her just so he could take back his sitting position? Diane huffed in mockery.
How can a human be so heartless? He had not even made an effort to rescue her from the river. What if she could not swim?
She picked up her shoe and the hem of her gown and walked towards the forest without turning back. On getting to the mouth of the forest, she realized there were exactly two paths. She wondered which led to town: the one on her right or left. After several minutes had passed and she was yet to reach a decision for fear that she would miss Mira by following the wrong road, she retreated and stood beside the man who now sat still, staring over the water. The now limp beast was a few feet away from where he sat; Diane removed her eyes from it.
"By chance do you know the path that would lead to town?" she asked him. He didn't so much as look up this time and pointed to the left. Diane said her thanks grudgingly and made to be on her way.
"Don't you think you owe me, milady?"
Diane heard the deep voice say in what sounded more like a rumble than speech. She turned back, questioning her hearing. The man is now facing Diane as he stares straight into her eyes. Diane almost lost her footing under his glare. How could a face like that exist?
"I…I owe you?" Diane stuttered. The fear she felt earlier had long been replaced by something else: anxiety. She felt like a teen standing before her long-time college crush, about to get rejected. Like the time she confessed to Caleb, who was every girl crush in her first year of college, he blatantly told her that she wasn't his type, and Diane had ran all the way home. For over a week, Diane would hide her face in shame.
"For someone who was on the brinks of death, you sure do not know how to show gratitude". He said in that voice that tugged at every inch of her body.
And suddenly he was standing close to Diane, so close she held on to her breath.